Cascadia's Learning Experience
Group Work
Cascadia believes strongly
that all students need to develop the ability to work effectively in small group
settings. We believe that teamwork directly furthers each of our core learning
outcomes. This is a belief that is supported by extensive research on effective
teaching and learning. Employers consistently tell us that the ability to
communicate, problem-solve, make decisions and interact with diverse individuals
and viewpoints in a group setting is critical to success in the workplace, no
matter what type of position one holds. Students must know how to work and
interact collaboratively in order to survive in today’s complex, interdependent
and increasingly international world. This is why teamwork is important to
Cascadia. Students will find classes throughout Cascadia’s curriculum –
foundation classes, academic classes, technology classes – that require students
to work in group settings on a variety of projects.
Distance Learning
Cascadia offers distance
learning classes online and by telecourse. Please see the schedule of classes
for courses offered. Cascadia’s online courses are designed by Cascadia faculty
or offered through Washington Online (WAOL), a cooperative effort among
Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges. For more information, and a
complete listing of student services and course offerings, see the WAOL Web
site: www.waol.org or Cascadia’s Web site
www.cascadia.edu.
Electronic Portfolio (ePortfolio)
At Cascadia, students develop
personalized, electronic, Web-based portfolios to demonstrate their learning.
The ePortfolio provides a place to record and store a wide range of important
materials and information, including career and educational goals, academic
accomplishments, special projects, personal reflections and affirmations from
others.
The ePortfolio holds tangible
products that demonstrate students’ skills and showcases their accomplishments.
Students create an initial portfolio as part of the College Strategies class and
add to its content throughout their college experience. The ePortfolio is an
effective way for students to demonstrate knowledge, skills and abilities to
prospective employers or universities. Explore ePortfolio at
http://eportfolio.cascadia.edu/students/help.
Learning Communities
Learning Communities offer an
alternative to the traditional individual course approach. These programs are
based on specific themes, and synthesize knowledge and ideas across different
disciplines to help students understand patterns and make connections among
different schools of knowledge, and to integrate their studies with personal
experience and intellectual growth.
A typical program might meet two to four days a week for approximately 2-4 hours
each day. The course may include
workshops, seminars, lectures, field trips, group projects and writing
assignments. Seminars play a crucial role in the learning process, in which
participants learn to analyze and critique arguments, cooperate in group
discussion, read critically and debate logically. Writing assignments and group
projects allow students to clarify and express their ideas and make connections
among many subjects.
Learning Communities represent
an integrated educational approach. College level Learning Community courses
apply to the Associate in Integrated Studies and Associate in Science degrees,
and may transfer to other colleges and universities.
Student Feedback
Because Cascadia is a learning
college, everyone is responsible for continuously learning and improving. One of
the best ways for faculty to improve their teaching is to find out what students
are experiencing as learners in their classes. As a result, faculty may
frequently set aside class time to gather students’ feedback. They may use
students’ tests and assignments to show what and how well students are
learning. They may ask for very quick responses at the end of a class period to
find out what was clear that day and what was not. Sometimes teachers will ask a
colleague to come in and gather feedback from the class as a whole, in a process
called Small Group Instructional Diagnostics or SGID. The facilitator will
gather information from the class through group discussion, and will carry their
responses back to the teacher, without linking the information to any individual
student. In the SGID process students will be asked to identify what’s working,
what’s not, and how the teacher could increase student learning in the
class. Finally, teachers may ask students to evaluate their courses at the end
of the quarter after they have experienced all but the very end of the class.
This process is anonymous, usually written, and is designed to allow students to
be honest and helpful as they answer questions about the teacher and the
class. All of the faculty appreciate students’ time and insights about how they
can support student learning.
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