Wittenberg University Local Learning Community
Location: Springfield, Ohio
Institution type: Private liberal arts college
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,326 (Spring 2022)
Postgraduate enrollment: 44 (Spring 2022)
Participating faculty in:
- Biology
- Business
- Chemistry
- Communications
- Economics
- English
- Environmental Science
- Psychology
- Religion
- Sociology
Jump to: Motivation | Approaches | Challenges | Outcomes
Faculty were recruited for the BASICS project based on their disciplinary backgrounds, prior participation in similar programs, and commitment to teaching development. While formal LLC meetings were initially key to tracking progress and sharing insights, much of the collaboration eventually took place informally through one-on-one discussions. Despite financial challenges and faculty departures, the project's impact on transdisciplinary teaching and wicked problem approaches has been sustained among Wittenberg faculty.
Motivation
We believe that the faculty who ended up participating did so in large part based on the opportunity to work with an extremely creative PI team, associate with a cross-section of faculty teaching in similar areas from a diverse set of universities unlike our own, and collaborate closely with faculty from various departments with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds at their own institution (and the exposure to, or recognition by, faculty outside their own department may be more important in matters of promotion and tenure at smaller institutions). Cross-disciplinary interests whether through their participation in interdisciplinary majors or regarding their scholarly work probably play a role, too.
The goals of the LLC's initially were simple: to orient the group relative to the grant objectives and expectations, introduce them to the broader BASICS group of faculty, especially the leadership, as a means of motivating them, and acquaint them with basic pieces of information important to the work (i.e., wicked problems, UN's Sustainable Development Goals, backward design, transdisciplinary teaching). This was done initially within the larger, virtual meetings with Bentley and NIU but was revisited in parts in subsequent LLC meetings in the beginning. With time, the goals of the LLC's changed. They were a means to relay information from leadership meetings, review the progress of module development, present early results of teaching experiences (as a means of motivation), and set schedules and expectations. With time and continued experience with the modules, the LLC's transitioned again to less formal opportunities to share experiences in the classroom, successes and problematic areas, and shared troubleshooting of concerns.
Approaches
Faculty were contacted individually about participating in the BASICS project, generally through personal contact by one of the PIs. Before that, there was discussion among the PIs about who might comprise the first two cohorts, and specifically the composition of the respective cohorts. Faculty were vetted based on distribution between business and the sciences, their past participation in similar activities (e.g., SERC InTeGrate program, Noyce Active Learning Strategies for Effective Teaching), prior work with the PIs, and/or a demonstrated record of, or commitment to, development as teachers.Faculty in this group were provided information on the grant objectives and the time and effort commitments required of faculty participants, and following this, they were asked for their commitment. The financial incentives were undoubtedly an important factor in their acceptance given the summertime commitments relative to the workshop and in-semester work to modify their courses to implement the modules. At that point, they were asked if they had preferences regarding their participation in Cohort 1 or Cohort 2. The PI's seeded Cohort 1 to a degree to ensure representation on one hand, but a successful start on the other.
Selections for cohorts 3 and 4 were different in the sense that we did not stay within the confines of business and science. The standards for selection were not different from before, to ensure successful completion of the work. Still, the faculty that might fit these criteria were limited because of the size of our faculty. In these selections, faculty with courses that addressed environmental or sustainability issues were approached regardless of discipline. Cohort 3 and 4 included members from Communication, English, and Religion.
Our LLC normally met once a semester during the first three years (Cohort 1 & 2). After that, we held meetings annually. While all members were invited to meetings, the initial years targeted our first two cohorts.. Early meetings had specific objectives such as tracking progress, troubleshooting difficulties, providing reminders about timelines (e.g., Wittenberg payments, Bentley's administration of the grant, or SERC's assessment), and celebrate milestones. However, these sessions often felt more like informal gatherings where faculty shared their experiences, discussed concerns about teaching transdisciplinary content beyond their own expertise, and exchanged course-specific exercises in a round-robin format.
Challenges
We are a small university where faculty frequently see each other in meetings or socially. We easily connect online, by phone, or in the hallway for quick questions. While formal meetings were initially very important, particularly for the earlier cohorts, much of the formative discussion took place outside LLC meetings. As a result, attendance at the formal LLC meetings declined, consisting mostly of active cohort members and a couple of steadfast members. Instead, business was often conducted in one-on-one discussions between one of the PI's and a cohort member either to address a question or provide encouragement. Administrative and assessment needs or deadlines were also communicated this way.
The formal LLC meetings, as mentioned above, became more social, and focused on sharing experiences. These discussions were typically driven by cohort members rather than by the PI leadership. There was not a concerted effort to increase participation from the larger membership as the necessary work was being done, by both the PI's and the teaching faculty.
Outcomes
Like our partner institutions, some of our faculty partners have left the institution to pursue careers at other institutions. These roles are administrative and focus on program or faculty development and undergraduate advising, rather than classroom teaching. Due to this, along with significant financial facing our institution, systemic change has not occurred on a university scale.
Following the leadership meeting with presidents, provosts, and administrative leaders, we discussed with our president and provost the idea of incorporating transdisciplinary teaching and wicked problems in our new faculty orientation. Unfortunately, this initiative did not move forward due to the faculty cuts announced this past summer.
Despite these challenges, we believe that the exposure to wicked problems and transdisciplinary teaching had an impact on individual faculty at Wittenberg, especially those in Cohorts 1 and 2. For example, faculty report framing many classroom discussions in the wicked problem, systems thinking approach. This impact continues through relationships developed through the summer workshops, LLC meetings, and hallway conversations related to teaching the modules. Systemic change is difficult and requires genuine interest and commitment, encouragement, and investment. However, the shared experience among faculty already committed to development as teachers will have lasting effects.
This influence can extend beyond individuals, depending on the connections. For example, three of the four faculty currently teaching the environmental science program also participated in BASICS (two additional participating faculty in the program also were part of BASICS but have left the University). This represents a cohort of like-minded scientists with a vested interest in issues of sustainability but also wicked problems. The modules remain a topic of discussion, at a minimum in a conceptual sense (i.e., the wicked problem approach, a technique in the common exercise, or a discipline-specific exercise). Most recently, these ideas were part of the discussion around remodeling a classroom to better facilitate group work in our core environmental science courses. For example, as we have gained experience with the new classroom setup, we've used Mural to share group work and maintain a record of collaboration between groups.