6 | September 29, 2010
College Life
Laugh night
Students gathered in Lou’s Place Sept. 23 for a com-
edy night featuring both local and out-of-town co-
medians. (Above) Garland resident Veronica Garza
scowls as she delivers her performance. (Below)
Sophomore theatre major Aaron Broyles and fresh-
man biochemistry major Michael Tshisekedi show
grins and let out laughs as the comedians work the
crowd.
The Rambler | www.therambler.org
Program continues to thrive
Barry Grubbs
bgrubbs@mail.txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan University is offering
the Learning Communities Program to
freshmen for the third straight year, but
the program has been expanded this year
to include transfer students for the first
time.
The Learning Communities program
was launched following a $1.98 million
grant Wesleyan received from the U.S.
Department of Education’s Strengthen-
ing Institutions Program (Title III). The
larger goal of improving student reten-
tion rates is only one aspect of the pro-
gram’s impact on campus.
Dr. Katherine Prater, dean of Univer-
sity College, said Learning Communities
provide an outstanding learning experi-
ence for Wesleyan’s students. The pro-
gram allows groups of incoming fresh-
men to enroll in classes that are linked
together, providing student-centered
teaching aimed at increasing student re-
tention.
“The real focus is to assist freshman
and transfer students in their transition
to the university environment,” Prater
said.
This year, most of the Learning Com-
munities have focus, Prater said.
“We’ve evolved a little bit this year into
something that is hopefully more effec-
tive for the students,” she said.
That focus is achieved by providing as-
signments between classes that are cross-
listed. A student may read an assignment
in history class and write a paper about
it in English class. Prater said this kind
of joint-assignment approach helps stu-
dents to see how things are interrelated.
The newest addition of linked classes for
freshmen this year is the tandem of col-
lege algebra and personal finance. Joint
assignments are designed to make a con-
nection between math and life.
“We’re going to give the students as-
signments that will show how what they
are learning in math class can be useful in
everyday life,” Prater said.
She said one of the surprising results of
the program is the way student-centered
teaching has evolved due to faculty devel-
opment training. Learning Communities
faculty have also used new technologies
such as Smartboards and social network-
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Games played on multiple dates and times.
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Dr. Carol Johnson-Gerandas, visiting assistant professor of communication, works
with Learning Community students on a walk-in basis at the freshman advising cen-
ter on the second floor of the library.
ing to enhance student engagement and
learning.
The program not only serves to bring
young students together, but encourages
more meaningful collaboration between
instructors, said mathematics profes-
sor Dr. Mary Landers. Landers served
since the program began, and said she
believes the faculty members working in
Learning Communities add value to the
learning experience because they employ
innovative techniques to capture the stu-
dent’s imagination.
One example of the approach is the in-
structors’ use of math skills to relate fi-
nancial management tactics to students.
For the first time since the program
was unveiled, fall 2010 transfer students
are able to participate in a version of the
Learning Communities program. Forty
transfer students and eight faculty mem-
bers are involved in the new transfer LC
for fall 2010.
The transfer Learning Communities are
generally geared to a specific major field
of study, such as education, business or
paralegal studies. These communities do
not yet incorporate the joint assignment
feature found in the freshman program.
“The transfer program does not isolate
new students from returning students in
the classroom the way freshman Learn-
ing Communities do,” Prater said. “But
overall results are expected to be similar.”
Director of Student Support Programs
SGA
Contact Us at
Phone: 817-531-7550
Email: stugov@txwes.edu
Visit us at
OC Hall 202 and 204
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Angie Ruiz | Rambler Staff
and Services Melody Bell Fowler said
students feel a sense of family and cama-
raderie with one another.
“Instructors are able to work together
on common assignments allowing for
lessons across the disciplines,” Fowler
said.
Learning Communities offer an extra
level of support to incoming freshmen
and transfer students that seems to trans-
late to retention as well as an enriched
learning experience, said Title III activity
director Laurel Mayo. The students’ at-
titudes are the best way to measure the
program’s success, she said.
Sophomore accounting major Eric
Montez experienced success in the LC
program last year.
“I was not only able to start with good
study habits and learn proper time man-
agement, but made new friends out of my
fellow classmates,” he said.
Mayo said a high percentage of stu-
dents who have completed the program
have expressed interest in seeing the
Learning Communities continue beyond
the freshman level.
The number of faculty and students
involved in Learning Communities has
nearly doubled since the fall of 2008.
Fall 2010 enrollment saw 75 percent of
freshmen enrolled in learning communi-
ties compared to 44 percent for fall 2008.
Faculty involvement doubled from 13
to 26 instructors over the same term.
2010