Notre Dame College...Becoming the finest, small, Catholic,
liberal arts college in the Great Lakes region
Notre Dame College Self-Study Report
Chapter 4: Creating Learning Environments
"There are a number of (students) that are very talented and have a lot of motivation toward the performing arts that haven’t been tapped yet. And I find…that when you put them in presentational venues, they learn very quickly… the results are astonishing…I think literature stays on the page too much; it needs to jump off the page. In the world of presentation, in the world of theater, that happens. It informs what you read, it informs how you read, and it informs what you remember."
Peter Manos
Adjunct Professor in Communications and Theater
Core Component: Notre Dame College creates effective learning environments.
Assessment results inform improvements in curriculum, pedagogy, instructional resources, and student services.
• A course evaluation is completed by students at the end of each semester for each course. Questions include information about curriculum content and teaching skills. In addition to the course instructor, survey results are available to the VPAA and the division chairs.
Notre Dame College provides an environment that supports all learners and respects the diversity they bring.
• Teacher candidates within the Education Division experience a variety of field placements. Each site is identified by a number 1, 2, or 3, which recognizes the level of diversity. “1” indicates a diversity level of the student body between 0 and 25 percent. “2” indicates a diversity level of the student body between 26 percent and 50 percent. “3” indicates a diversity level of the student body between 51 percent and 100 percent. Notre Dame utilizes approximately 723 sites. The analysis performed for the years 2002 – 2004 indicate the average diversity level of all sites equals 1.79. The average diversity of undergraduate site placements equals 2.04. The average diversity of post-baccalaureate site placements equals 1.86.
• The classroom arrangement matches the type of interaction that occurs in the course. The College offers classrooms with traditional seating, seminar rooms, classrooms with the flexibility to rearrange furniture, computer labs, and a SMART Classroom. Faculty can request specific classrooms depending on the learning environments they intend to create.
• The SMART Classroom was built in Fall, 2005 to facilitate student interaction and involvement. Technology includes 40 laptops and a projector system that can project computer and video images on touch screen white boards. The SMART Boards encourage students to interact in the learning process. An application widely used with the SMART Boards is Inspiration/Kidspiration, a concept-mapping, graphic-organizer software that stimulates brain-storming, visual organization, and student involvement.
Advising systems focus on student learning, including the mastery of skills required for academic success.
• The Advising Center interacts directly with students to plan their programs and coursework. The Advising Center staff use placement tests and transcripts to determine appropriate coursework for students. Faculty members also serve as advisors.
• The Dwyer Learning Center is available to aid students in all academic subjects. Through peer tutoring, study groups, and other academic support, the Center helps students achieve academic success.
THE NURSING PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT LAB SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED SUMMER, 2007.
Notre Dame College employs, when appropriate, new technologies that enhance effective learning environments for students.
• Four computer labs are available 24/7 in the Administration Building. Laser and ink jet black/white and color printers provide paper copies.
• The residence halls and the Library have small computer labs available for student use and the Falcon Café has wireless capability.
• Projector and computer carts are available for classroom use.
• Completion of the Nursing Performance Enhancement Lab is anticipated for Summer, 2007. The proposal to the Parker-Hannifin Foundation describes this lab:
The lab will simulate an actual hospital setting to ensure comfort and familiarity with the surroundings when students transfer to a clinical setting. The lab will include hospital beds and other furniture, patient privacy curtains, computer stations for charting, medication carts and emergency equipment for codes.
Performance enhancing simulation labs are excellent for team training and crisis management and have an accepted, validated role in anesthesia training. The lab will combine manikin and virtual computer technology to provide performance enhancement simulation training.
Students will learn specific skills such as listening to heart and breath sounds and giving shots through performance on a manikin which simulates actual patient responses seen in the clinical setting. Advanced manikins, such as Mega Code Kelly and Nursing Anne, and computerized simulators such as VitalSimTM will allow students to experience specific medical scenarios such as emergency situations, operations, and child birth. These experiential technologies will be enhanced through the use of virtual computer programs that support the development of skills with increasing complexity, thereby challenging the learner to improve their performance within a safe learning environment.
• The Education Department uses digital camcorders to videotape student teachers in action in their field placements. These tapes are used by the student teachers to assess their own growth in content presentation, effective delivery, and classroom management.
• The Education Department also uses a portable SMART Board, palm pilots, and digital cameras to support integration of content within their classes.
• Graphing calculators are available for math classes and education classes to illustrate concepts in various ways.
• The Education Department implemented Tk20, an online assessment system for the 2005 – 2006 academic year. Every course instructor sends a capstone assignment to the students through this system. The student uploads the assignment, provides the artifact to be assessed, and receives feedback from the instructor through the system. Analysis of the aggregated data will aid the Education Department in improving programs in line with NCATE accreditation.
Notre Dame College’s systems of quality assurance include regular review of whether its educational strategies, activities, processes, and technologies enhance student learning.
As part of the NCATE accreditation process, the Education Department has formed an Educational Academic University Board (EAUB) comprised of education and non-education faculty. This committee meets annually to assess how the education majors are succeeding in non-education classes and what improvements should to be made to strengthen student learning.