Revitalizing the First-Year Undergraduate Classroom Through an Emphasis on Active Learning and Guided Independent Research

Jesse Spohnholz, Director of the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program and Associate Professor of History, Washington State University Clif Stratton, Assistant Director of the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program and Clinical Assistant Professor of History Kathleen Fry, Roots of Contemporary Issues Faculty Member

University Common Requirements (UCORE) Critical and Creative Thinking Quantitative Reasoning Scientific Literacy Information Literacy Communication Diversity Depth, Breadth, and Integration of Learning

General Education Reform for First Year Students

1. Focus on teaching skills as well as content.

2. Build program capable of innovation through assessment.

3. Help them understand the present-day value of studying

world history to increase student engagement.

Central Claims of the Roots of Contemporary Issues (History 105/305):

1.A deep historical understanding helps us understand the present-day world in a more reasoned, mature, and mature way.

2.Humans have been interconnected with far away places for centuries. Solving central problems today means understanding those connections over time.

Themes: 1. Humans & The Environment 2. Our Shrinking World 3. Inequality 4. Diverse Ways of Thinking 5. Roots of Contemporary Conflicts

Climate Change Global Water Crisis Carbon Energy & Mass Politics Globalization Global Pandemics Global Drug Trade Racial Inequality

Gender Inequality Islam & the West Capitalism & Socialism War & Terror Palestinian-Israeli Conflict War in Afghanistan

Issues Currently Taught:

All lessons must include content

from at least three continents. that goes back to before 1800. that is historical (in a disciplinary sense) but offers insights from other

disciplines.

Basic structure:

Director and Assistant Director

Steering Committee

c.33 sections of 75 students each

History 305 for junior transfers

Mix of lecture, small-group, and all-class discussions

Independent Research Projects Students choose a contemporary issue and explore its historical roots and international scope. They complete separate Library Research Assignments to develop and practice skills. Culminates in a 1200-word essay.

Alignment of Administration, Faculty, and Student Interests 1.Assessment of Research Essays &

Skills 2.Peer-Review 3.Student Evaluations

Peer-Review

Classroom Visits

• Class Content

• Meeting UCORE Learning Goals

• Varied Teaching and Learning Activities

• Positive Learning Environment

• Clear Organization

• Appropriate Use of Media and Technology

• Clear Communication

Peer Review: Classroom Observations Fall 2012 – Spring 2014

Student Evaluations: Spring 2014 (n=865) History 105 helped me integrate ideas and information

from both primary and secondary sources.

Strongly Disagree

2%

Disagree 1% Neutral

6%

Agree 39%

Strongly Agree 52%

How Students Rank History 105 Faculty: Spring 2013

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Excellent Good Neutral Poor Very Poor

Alignment with General Education Reform

Data for Provost Office, Board of Regents, and Accreditation Reports

Faculty control of content and staffing

Student Success and Enthusiasm

Embedded system for improvement and revision

Remaining Challenges

• Ever increasing freshmen classes is resulting in more lower achieving or underprepared students across the university.

• No regular budget line for assessment or other faculty service creates constant need to find funding.

• No alignment between budget (College of Arts and Sciences) and educational mandate (Provost’s Office).

Lesson: General Education reform needs to have comprehensive and coherent administrative structure that aligns with its educational goals.

Sample Unit Theme: Roots of Inequality Issue: Racial Inequality

Sample Unit Theme: Roots of Inequality Issue: Racial Inequality

• Questions: ▫ What is race and when/why/how did humans

develop it as a way to organize and describe difference?

▫ How and why have ideas of race changed over time?

▫ How does understanding race as a historical construction help us make decisions today when interacting with others?

Sample 3-Week Lesson Plan • Week 1 ▫ Lesson 1: Race, Ethnicity and Racism Today ▫ Lesson 2: Race, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade,

and Slave Colonies (15th-18th century) • Week 2 ▫ Lesson 1: The Enlightenment and Scientific

Racism (18th century) ▫ Lesson 2: Race and Imperialism (19th-20th century)

• Week 3 ▫ Lesson 1: White Supremacy and Resistance (20th

century) ▫ Lesson 2: The Legacies of Race Today

Sample Daily Lesson—Race, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and Slave Colonies

Prior to class:

Students explore interactive online database that details the movement of slaves across continents

Prior to class: Students read primary source

documents (colonial era slave codes)

Sample Daily Lesson—Race, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and Slave Colonies

In-class: Professor-led interactive lecture

that provides historical background on the slave trade and asks students to share what they discovered on the database

Students form into small-groups to discuss and analyze the primary sources assigned prior to class

Students engage in large-group discussion that seeks to synthesize the material and answer the question when/why /how did humans construct race?

Library Research Assignments

• Close coordination between Roots faculty and Head of Library Instruction

• About one assignment per three-week issue

• Students receive detailed feedback at each stage

• Particular emphasis on… ▫ Information Literacy

▫ Critical & Creative Thinking

▫ (Written) Communication

LRA #1 LRA #2

• Topic identification

• Analyze documentary coverage

• Analyze tertiary source

• Formulate two research questions

• Search for books using library catalog

• Identify historical vs. non-historical analysis of the topic

• Analyze the argument of 2 historians

• Revise and narrow to a single research question

LRA #3 LRA #4

• Search for/analyze journal articles

• Explore/analyze primary sources

• Draft main argument

• Select 2 additional sources

• Revise main argument

• Bibliography

• Detailed outline

• Culminates in final research essay

N=275 Norming Electronic Rubric

Critical and Creative Thinking & Information Literacy (8 indicators)

• Thesis Construction

• Selection of Appropriate Sources

• Critical Evaluation of the Nature Sources

• Appropriate Analysis of the Content of Sources

• Identification of the Historical Roots of a Contemporary Issue

• Use of Sources to Build Arguments

• Appropriate Quantity of Sources

• Use of Ethical, Legal and Accurate Citation System

National Survey of Student Engagement (First-Year Students)

Challenges Identified by Assessment

• How to best restructure research assignments to… ▫ Continue to teach skills students are acquiring (i.e.

thesis development – “first-year proficient”)

▫ Improve instruction of skills students are not yet acquiring (source analysis – “first-year developing”)

• How to assess 3 other learning goals, even if not part of the research essay assessment ▫ Diversity

▫ Communication

▫ Depth, Breadth, and Integration of Learning

Proposed Changes for Fall 2015

• Recommend students explore cited secondary sources in tertiary encyclopedia in LRA #1

• Move bibliography creation from LRA #4 to LRA #2

• Annotate bibliography in LRA #3 and locate, analyze, and include at least one primary source

• Simplify citation instruction to target main kinds of sources students use

• Ask for outline before thesis revision, and add draft of introductory paragraph (LRA #4)

Remaining Challenges

• Ever increasing freshmen classes is resulting in more lower achieving or underprepared students across the university.

• No regular budget line for assessment or other faculty service creates constant need to find funding.

• No alignment between budget (College of Arts and Sciences) and educational mandate (Provost’s Office).

Lesson: General Education reform needs to have comprehensive and coherent administrative structure that aligns with its educational goals.