Institute/Session Summary:

The purpose of this institute is to provide participants with the all the tools and data necessary to implements their own version of the Focused Learning study skills course.  The Focused Learning course can be adapted and applied in a wide variety of academic subjects as a paired course with a traditional academic course.  The institute program will present information beginning with the creation of the program at Virginia Commonwealth University, the changes and development of the program since inception and historical data demonstrating the success of the program.  The unique aspect of this program as compared to many others is that it is a graded, two-credit course.  This is not referenced for students as a developmental course because students of all levels utilize this course.

This presentation is especially relevant to CRLA members as we all look for new and innovative ways to engage students and overcome large class size.  I previously presented on this subject in Long Beach to favorable reviews and based on the feedback from participants feel it is ideal to expand to an institute.  Additional advantages of this program include a reasonable cost to the learning center or other administrative unit.  This course has been developed and revised by me for the past three years.  I supervise all aspects of this program including hiring the student staff.

Presentation materials will include a multi-media presentation that will not only include material about how to implement the course (syllabi, staff training materials, classroom activities) but also short video excerpts of actual Focused Learning classes.

A basic outline of the presentation follows below:

Introduction and History

In the fall of 2004 Virginia Commonwealth University noted a need for additional study skills classes.  Specifically classes that could be paired with a difficult biology course course, rooted in the course but with a strong study skills emphasis.  These classes were to be in addition to a full-scale tutoring and Supplemental Instruction program.  This program has continued to grow since the fall of 2004 with excellent results.  The program has now been expanded to include a variety of courses paired for conditionally admitted students (to the university) as well as an expanded program within the biology department.  In the fall of 2006 the program served 319 students in seven different subjects. The course was developed using Supplemental Instruction and problem-based learning.  These courses are peer facilitated and administered by the learning center director.  We will also briefly walk through the process to become an official university course.

Syllabus Development

In this portion participants will get the chance to work with the current Focused Learning class.  We will go over how to adapt the syllabus for particular programs as well as the "why and how" of the assignments.  Also I will be explaining why this program works for such a variety of classes and different levels of learners by using the same assignments in different ways.

Staff Selection and Training

The focus here will be on how and why it is different from training tutors and SI leaders.  Portions of the training manual will be provided.  The institute participants will also be asked to engage in some brief training role-play exercises.

Student Recruitment and Participation

In this portion I will try to answer the eternal question- how do we get students to become active participants in their learning?  We will address this topic for this particular course, it is especially relevant because the success of the students and the course hinges on motivating the students to be active participants throughout the semester.  We will also briefly cover how students are recruited and registered for the course.

Faculty Participation

We will cover how to make the faculty feel comfortable with the idea of a paired study skills course.  I will also get in to details regarding how much faculty support is needed and how to be successful when faculty buy-in is not possible.

Managing the Course   

Includes tips for student staff oversight, student grade reviews throughout the semester and how to manage multiple courses while still running a learning center.  The key here is that this can be added to a center without adding additional professional staff.  This portion will also include participation and discussion of classroom activities.
Evaluation and Data Elements here include how to conduct an evaluation of a Focused Learning class.  Historical reporting will be shared to show gains as the program has been revised.  Typical outcomes show 80% of Focused Learning participants completing their paired course with a grade of A, B or C as compared with only 60% of non-participants in the same course.  Participants are encouraged to use the data to help support program development at their institutions.

Throughout the presentation participants will be asked to engage with materials and discuss what they are learning.  This cannot be a passive learning session, all of the focus is on developing an active learning study skills classroom.  Active participation will be required.

This session will be covering a large amount of material but at the completion of the institute participants should have a sufficient understanding of how to implement their own Focused Learning program.