DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 384 405 JC 950 366

AUTHOR Safman, Phyllis, Ed.TITLE Focus: A Forum on Teaching and Learning in Utah

Community Colleges; Volume XII, 1995.INSTITUTION Utah State Board of Higher Ede. ation, Salt Lake

City.PUB DATE Mar 95NOTE 51p.

PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022)JOURNAL CIT Focus; v12 Mar 1995

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *College Instruction; Community Colleges; Educational

Change; Educational Improvement; *EducationalInnovation; English (Second Language); *EnglishInstruction; *Interdisciplinary Approach;*Multicultural Education; Multiple Choice Tests; TwoYear Colleges; Two Year College Students; *WritingInstruction

IDENTIFIERS *Utah

ABSTRACTDesigned as a forum on teaching and learning in

Utah's two-year colleges, "Focus" seeks to promote originality,innovation, and needed changes in the state's two-year institutions.The 1994 volume of "Focus" includes the following articles: (1)"Competency Development and Community Colleges," by Phyllis "Teddi"Safman; (2) "Culture, Logic and Rhetoric in the Multi-CulturalClassroom," by Phyllis Prawl; (3) "Producing Your Own EducationalDocumentaries: A Case for the Low-Budget Approach," by Ron J.Hammond; (4) "Involving Students in Learning through aReading/Writing Approach," by Linda M. Cunningham; (5) "Improving theQuality of Multiple Choice Questions Part 1: Eliminating CommonDesign Errors," by Michael Jay Shively; (6) "Reality-Based Learning'and Interdisciplinary Teams: An Interactive Approach IntegratingAccounting and Engineering Technology," by Robert L. Rogers andMichael J. Stemkoski; (7) "This Is English?" by Sandra Lanier; (8)"Teams for Success," by Jolayne Call and JoEllen Coppersmith; and (9)"Community Colleges and International Education: Broadening the"Community" in Community Colleges," by Victor Aikhionbare. Eacharticle contains references. (MAB)

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3

FOCUS

A Forum on Teaching and Learning in Utah Community Colleges

Editorial BoardRoger BakerSnow College

Kent TempletonCollege of Eastern Utah

Terry BurtonDixie College

Elaine EnglehardtUtah Valley State College

Roselyn H. KirkSalt Lake Community College

EditorPhyllis "Teddi" Safman

Assistant Commissioner, Academic AffairsUtah System of Higher Education

PrinterPrinting Service

University of UtahMarch 1995

4

UTAH STATE BOARD OF REGENTS

Kenneth G. Anderton, ChairmanVernal

Pamela J. AtkinsonSalt Lake City

Hans Q. ChamberlainCedar City

Aileen H. ClydeSpringville

Ian M. CummingSalt Lake City

Douglas S. Fox leySalt Lake City

John B. GoddardOgden

Larzette G. HaleLogan

L. Brent HogganNorth Logan

Karen H. HuntsmanSalt Lake City

Evelyn B. LeeSalt Lake City

Clifford S. Le FevreClearfield

K. L. Mc IffRichfield

Andrea Udy OpfarMurray

Paul S. RogersOrem

Dale 0. ZabriskieSalt Lake City

Cecelia H. Fox ley, Commissioner andChief Executive Officer

CONTENTS

Competency Development and Community Colleges 1

Phyllis "Teddi" SafmanUtah System of Higher Education

Culture, Logic and Rhetoric in the Multi-Cultural Classroom 3

Phyllis PrawlSalt Lake Community College

Producing Your own Educational Documentaries: A Case for the Low-Budget Approach 7

Ron J. Hammond, Ph.D.Utah Valley State College

Involving Students in Learning Through a Reading/Writing Approach 11

Linda M. CunninghamSalt Lake Community College

Improving the Quality of Multiple Choice Questions Part 1: EliminatingCommon Design Errors 17

Michael Jay Shively, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D.Utah Valley State College

Reality-Based Learning and Interdisciplinary Teams: An Interactive ApproachIntegrating Accounting and Engineering Technology 23Robert L. Rogers, P.E.Oregon Institute of TechnologyandMichael J. StemkoskiUtah Valley State College

This is English? 35

Sandra LanierSnow College

Teams for Success 37

Jolayne Call and Jo Ellen CoppersmithUtah Valley State College

Community Colleges and International Education: Broadening the "Community"in Community Colleges 43

Victor AikhionbareSalt Lake Community College

6

Competency Development andCommunity Colleges

by Phyllis Safman, Editor

Welcome to this year's edition of Focus: A Forumon Teaching and Learning in Utah CommunityColleges. This edition features eight articles writtenby community college faculty. Topics range fromenhanced learning for student teams and under-standing speaking patterns in the multiculturalclassroom, to practical designs in the constructionof test questions and strategies for effective readingand writing. All submissions were reviewed by acommittee of faculty members representing all fivecommunity colleges.

One of the prerequisites of being the editor ofFocus is a ready-made forum for sharing mythoughts on issues effecting community collegefaculty and students. Community colleges in theState of Utah serve large numbers of students. Theirgrowth is not only remarkable but planned. TheBoard of Regents determined that students begin-ning their first two years in higher education should

- be encouraged to enter one of Utah's five commu-nity colleges. Thousands of students are registeredand progressing through their academic careers.Most of these students are taking and completinggeneral education courses which satisfy degreerequirements and transfer easily to one of the public,four-year institutions within the system.

In Utah, we are taking a proactive stance inanswering critics who believe that a general educa-tion curriculum has no benefit because it does notlead directly to employment. While the System isnot likely to retort "it does so," faculty and admin-istrators want to say with confidence that a generaleducation curriculum will give students a set ofcompetencies which will hold them in good steadno matter what path they follow.

. Under the leadership of Dr. Reba Kee le, Dean ofUndergraduate Studies, University of Utah, and Dr.Ann Leffler, Professor, Utah State University, andunder the auspices of the State Board of Regents, a

1

Competencies Taskforce was formed. This task-force is examining general education and identi-fying minimal competencies that learners ought todemonstrate upon completion of a general educa-tion curriculum. The taskforce has assembledsubcommittees composed of faculty, librarians,technicians and public educators to determinecompetencies in specific areas such as math,writing, computer literacy and American institu-tions, a State-mandated course.

All subcommittees include representation fromthe community colleges.

Competency identification is not new; compe-tency identification at the system level is rare. TheUniversity of Minnesota has one of the only statesystems that has completed its competency identifi-cation. More unusual is a systemwide discussion ofand agreement on the goals of general education.The outcomes of this process are to provide learnerswith competencies in general education and a seam-less system that promotes transfer among the ninecolleges and universities. Instead of setting require-ments around a set of courses, the taskforce willpropose that requirements be based upon minimalcompetencies that may be arrived at throughvarious methodologies and content areas. Eachinstitution will be free to add other competencies.

Questions asked by the taskforce include thoserelated to technology:

1. Are there competencies that can be developedthrough the use of distance education tech-nologies?

2. If so, what are these competencies?

3. What is needed to assure that both distanceand on-site educators are engaged in thedevelopment of competencies?

4. How are these competencies to be assessed?

7

The work of the taskforce is taking place at thesame time that faculty submissions for technologyfunding are being reviewed. Most of theseproposals are for the purpose of developing orimproving general education courses that arealready being delivered through Channel Nine, aone-way video transmission, or through Ed Net, aninteractive video system.

Data are collected on learner satisfaction withdistance education. For the most part, these datasupport our belief that learners, while they mayprefer face-to-face contact with a class andinstructor, appreciate access to coursework throughtechnology. -

We also know that comparisons between thedelivery of course content through traditional andnon-traditional, technological means indicate thatroughly the same learning takes place in bothsettings.

2

However, we do not yet know if competencydevelopment can be delivered by both traditionaland non-traditional means. And, once competenciesare clearly defined and methodologies are put intoplace to assist learners with competency develop-ment, assessment procedures will be needed toanswer the aforementioned questions. TheUniversity of Minnesota system has identifiedcompetencies but has not yet developed a methodfor assessment.

Opportunities abound for community collegefaculty. Anecdotal data and research are badlyneeded in the area of competency development andassessment. First, faculty from both communitycolleges and four-year institutions need to partici-pate in discussions on goals of general educationand competencies that learners ought to have. Ithink you have a unique opportunity to becomesignificant players in competency development andassessment. Your participation is essential.

8

Culture, Logic and Rhetoric in the Multi-cultural Classroom

By Phyllis Prawl

Non-native speakers of English who enter anAmerican classroom may display obvious commu-nication problems in pronunciation, vocabulary,grammar, and syntax, which are expected to existwhenever one is learning a new language. Firstlanguage interference is the biggest barrier to effec-tive communication in a second language. However,the less obvious communication barrier between L1and L2 is based on first language cultural differ-ences, since culture determines logic and logic is thebasis for rhetoric. Just as culture is not universal,neither is logic or rhetoric (Kaplan). In other words,learning a language's vocabulary, grammar andsyntax are not enough to enable one to communicatein a foreign language. Nor will teaching theseelements _suffice if the goal of the teacher is tocommunicate knowledge to the students. Just as thelanguage learner must understand the cultural logicof the second language in order to be proficient in it,educators must recognize that differences betweencultures may impact rhetoric and cause writing andreading problems in the multi-cultural classroom.Addressing the problems of non-native speakers ofEnglish, who are not yet proficient in the language,is the objective. Obviously, many problems andissues presented here will not be evident in ESLstudents with advanced English skills.

English logic is predoniinantly direct and linear.This is reflected in its rhetoric. English rhetoric isruled by unity and coherence, and an organizationalpattern that flows from general to specific or viceversa. The adroit use of subordinators, not coordina-tors, is a valued skill (O'Shima and Hogue), butmost L2 students in American classrooms comefrom cultures where such writing techniques are notvalued because other logic systems prevail. Thesestudents will not use English logic when writing inEnglish. Therefore, they will likely be judged aspoor writers, even if their English grammar syntaxcome from Asian, Arabic and Hispanic countries.Relevant to the issue is how rhetorics differ from

English, what problems this can cause in the writingand reading of English, and some solutions to theseproblems.

Asian culture has always been associated in theWestern mind with mystique and inscrutability so itshould come as no surprise that the English writingof Asian students may appear obtuse to a nativespeaker of English. Americans honor bold,"simple," straight-to-the-point writing techniquesand usually teach these approaches in compositioncourses. Most Asian cultures consider such writingimmature. Asian cultures stress the use of innuendoand subtlety; directness is considered rude. Withsuch logic driving their rhetoric, Asian writerswould naturally employ the indirect approach to atopic (O'Shima and Hogue). Asian writers areoblique in their analysis of a topic. They "dance"around the subject, never quite coming to the pointas a native English writer would. When anAmerican teacher encounters such writing, he or shewill find it awkward or vague (O'Shima andHogue).

Once this Asian writing approach of indirectnessis recognized by the instructor, he or she can explainto the student how this technique is not appropriatefor English rhetoric. Unfortunately, this is not theend of the problem. Often after Asian students altertheir styles to match English logic, a new problememergeslack of development. Paragraph develop-ment goes from vague or awkward to almost nonex-istent. Once Asian writers use a direct approach toanalyzing a topic, they seem uncertain about how tosupply appropriate and adequate development tosupport the thesis or topic sentence. They may statetheir thesis or topic sentence and follow it almostimmediately with a conclusion. Their nativelanguage development strategies are quite complexbut they have a difficult time adapting them toEnglish and simplifying their writing. The tendencyis to oversimplify, which then causes their writing toappear shallow. Fortunately, these students can

Phyllis Prawl is Assistant Professor in English as a Second Language at Salt Lake Community College,

3 9

easily surmount these problems with practice andfurther explanation. Awareness of the differencesbetween the two writing approaches must occurbefore changes can be made.

If the Asian writer deliberately writes with innu-endo and a crab's sideway attack of a subject, theAsian reader must be anticipating this approachwhen reading. An Asian reader will "fill-in-the-blanks" as he or she reads Asian writing. Thesereaders will find unity in paragraphs where Englishreaders may not (Hinds). What happens when anAsian reader reads English rhetoric may be what Icall "hyper-extension." There may be a tendency tosearch for "clues" or see meanings that do not exist.If their search for meaning is unfulfilled, thesereaders will focus on the most minute details in areading, thus hyper-extending their comprehensionof the main points in a reading. These students willmemorize the most arcane information in a readingand regurgitate it on an exam. They may totallymisunderstand the main idea of a paragraph becausethey have spent so much time narrowing in on thespecifics, searching for the "hidden" meaning theyhave been trained to expect in their native writing.This is a relatively minor reading problem that canbe overcome by explaining the use and location oftopic sentences in English paragraphs. Thesestudents may still memorize the minutiae, but withpractice and time they will no longer look toodeeply to find the controlling ideas.

If Asian writers and readers of English have rela-tively minor difficulties with the rhetoric of English,then Arab and Farsi speaking students are at theopposite end of the spectrum. The rhetoric of Farsiand Arabic follows a logic that is enigmatic to anativr English speaker. The writing styles are sodistinct that a native English speaker followingArabic rhetoric written in English, might judge thewriting as bizarre. It is no surprise then that nativeEnglish instructors are often baffled by the Englishwriting of their Iranian and Arabic students. Arabicand Persian writers prize the use of coordinatorsrather than subordinators in their paragraph devel-opment. The English readerwhose logic preferssubordinationfinds such writing immature andawkward (O'Shima and Hogue). Beyond the subor-

4

dination-coordination issue, other constructionshinder the Arabic writer of English. Arabic andFarsi students use a type of "stop-and-start" methodin their writing. One sentence will present an ideathat will be almost immediately followed by anon sequitur, abruptly halting the train of thought ofthe reader. Then, the original idea, or a closelyrelated point, will be reintroduced. This writingpattern zigzags as it takes the reader from one pointto another in a stop and start rhythm. The para-graphs in this type of writing lack coherencebecause many sentences do not relate to thecontrolling ideas.

A few possible reasons for such writing tech-niques are culturally-based. Arab culture gave theworld wrought iron of the most ornate design alongwith an elaborately florid writing script. The Arabrhetoric reflects this ornateness found elsewhere inthe culture. Following the flow of ideas in a Persianstudent's English paper is almost like tracing thepatterns of a wrought iron grille.

The Arab culture is also enamored of metaphors.This may be due to Islam's influence on the Arabworld. For example, there are ninetv-nine metaphor-ical -names for Allah (God), which are recited inIslamic ritual. If, as some believe, the "way tounderstand the religion of Islam is to analyze thelanguage and rhetoric of its users" (Sisson), mightnot the analysis of a culture's religion lead to anunderstanding of its rhetoric. (Acknowledging thatnot all Arabs or Iranians are Moslem, they still livein a culture dominated and influenced by the Islamicreligion.) This use of metaphors can seem "over-done" to an English reader, and, at the very least,will appear distracting.

One other challenge for English instructors ofFarsi/Arabic students is the attitude toward plagia-rism. In American classrooms and society, plagia-rism is a cultural taboo, punishable by expulsionfrom school or worse. American educators shouldknow that this is not the attitude of the Arabic orPersian student. Copying another's writing isconsidered a form of flattery. These students mayhave been trained to memorize lengthy texts andlater to insert them at will in their own writingswithout acknowledging the original author. They

10

will continue this pattern in their English writing,unless strongly discouraged from doing so. Thismay be devastating for these students in anAmerican classroom. In America, plagiarism is aform of cheating, but convincing Farsi/Arabicstudents to desist is not always easy.

Trying to modify an Arabic student's writing styleis challenging. It is easier for an Asian student tomodify his or her writing to follow English logicpatterns, but much more difficult for a Farsi orArabic student. Undoubtedly, it would be just asdifficult for a native speaker of English to alter hisor her rhetoric to fit the Arabic method. By startingwith the most concrete and basic problems, i.e.,encouraging students to increase their use of subor-dinators and decrease the use of coordinators andmetaphors, the larger blocks to understanding willeventually disappear. If plagiarism is a problem,frequent and strident denunciation of this "sin" isuseful.

Just as Arabic students' writing confounds Englishlogic at times, so does their reading comprehension.Memorization is stressed in the Arab educationsystems. Thus, students continue this learningpattern in English. They may read a text, memorizeit, and on an exam, rewrite word for word, every-thing they remember. This makes it difficult to inter-pret their understanding. On the other hand, if theydo not memorize the material, their answers tocomprehension questions may not be the expectedones. They may respond to a question, not with theanswer sought, but with a metaphor for the correctanswer, or even a parallel. They believe they haveunderstood the material, but, because they do notgive the predicted response, they may not receivecredit for the answer. Again, awareness of culturaldifferences and how they affect logic and culturecan help both instructor and student rise above thisimpediment to learning.

While Arabic writers may fail to relate allsentences in a paragraph to the controlling idea ofthe topic sentence, Hispanic writers fail to relate allsentences in a paragraph to the topic itself. This isdue to the influence of "Spanish rhetoric [which]does not follow the English rule of paragraph unity"(O'Shima and Hogue). These writers insert details

5

in the text that are unrelated. Hispanic culture andlanguage are "colorful" when viewed through Angloeyes. Often, the digressions Hispanic writers insertin their writings are interesting, but they aredistracting to the English reader whose logic doesnot allow digression in rhetoric. Hispanic rhetoric issometimes more descriptive than English soHispanic writers may have difficulty being brief intheir writing. This is in sharp contrast to Asianwriters who may be too brief when attempting tofollow English rhetoric.

Because of their preference for lengthy descriptivewriting, novice Hispanic writers of English oftenemploy run-on sentences and comma splices.Though this writing problem could be first languageinterference, it may also be culturally based sinceHispanic culture does not possess the Anglo world'sattitude of "hurry up and get to the point." For anEnglish reader, Hispanic writing is slow to make itspoint as it meanders from one digression to another.This is also how Anglos views Hispanic culture,slower-paced and more relaxing than their own.Spanish writers support their theses, but they taketime doing it.

This comparison of Spanish rhetoric to English,should make solutions to writing problems obvious.Hispanic students may need to be taught thatEnglish paragraph structure requires unity andcoherence, which are, in turn, directly related to thetopic and its controlling idea. It is rather simple todelete extraneous text. As adequate paragraphdevelopment is usually already in place, students'writing can easily be modified to follow Englishrhetoric.

Hispanic students reading English text have fewdifficulties compared to Asian or Arabic readers.Most ESL Spanish readers can recognize the topicsentences and main ideas when reading- English.When answering comprehension questions, theymay relay more information than is requested, evengiving tangential responses in addition to the requi-site answer. These students generally do not zero-inon the details that an Asian reader finds sointriguing, nor will they answer with the Farsistudents memorized response or apparent paralo-gism. Of the three discussed here, the Hispanic

11

culture has fewer rhetorical differences thanEnglish.

The following steps may be of use when teaching,in a multi-cultural classroom: ( 1 ) explain howAmerican readers are taught to react to written texts,e.g., look for topic sentences and supporting ideas;(2) encourage non-native speakers to look at howtheir own culture influences rhetoric; and (3) requirestudents to rewrite and restructure their own writingto adapt it to English rules of rhetoric (Gonzalez). Inall cases, the "target rhetorical form (English', notthe students' supposed rhetoric, should be empha-sized" (Shishin). It should be understood that no onerhetorical style is better or worse than another. Noneof the explanations of rhetoric or cultures presentedhere is meant to be judgmental. Rhetorical styles aredifferent, not good or bad, and the ESL studentsmust never be made to feel that English rhetoric isthe "best" or "only" one. It is just the appropriateone for writing in English.

This paper is not exhaustive in its explanations orsolutions to rhetorical obstacles in the multi-cultural classroom. If anything, this is a very simpli-fied exegesis, There are many rhetorical elementsinvolved in learning to communicate in a secondlanguage, such as memory, style, delivery andinvention (Liebman-Kleine). These more compli-cated issues are avoided for the sake of brevity sincethe purpose is to create awareness of how cultureinfluences rhetoric. This reveals why writing orreading comprehension of a non-native Englishspeaker does not correspond to that of the nativespeaker. This awareness is the first step to solvingcommunication problems. Communicat km is theprimary obligation to our students,

References

Gonzalez, Ann. "Enthnocentrism and TeachingWriting to Foreign Students." Annual Meeting ofthe College English Association, 22.24 Mar,1979.

Hinds, John. "Contrastive Rhetoric: Japanese andEnglish." TESOL Convention, Honolulu, III:1-6 May 1982.

Kaplan, Robert, "The Anatomy of Rhetoric:Prolegomena to a Functional Theory of Rhetoric,"Essays for Teachers, Language and the leacher;A Series in Applied Linguistics K (1972),

Liebman-Kleine, JoAnne, '"Foward a ContrastiveNew RhetoricA Rhetoric of Process," TES01,Meeting, Anaheim, CA: 3-8 Mar. 1986,

O'Shimu, Alice and Ann Hogue. Writing AcademicEnglish Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 1981,

Mishit), Alexander, "Rhetorical Patterns in l.c'ttcisto the Editor," Journal (4' the Ailhi 111011101' cif

TeChM110,14y 20 ( 1985 ): 17.2K,

Sisson, Ralph alai Fred ( ;Fawner, "A Study ofMuslim Names of Allah as Received byWesterners," Annual Meeting of the EtISIVIIICommunication ASM:laii01, MD: 21Apr, - I May, 1988,

Producing Your Own Educational Documentaries:A Case for the Low-Budget Approach

By Ron J. Hammond, Ph.D.

he tie of video documentaries in the classroompievident among college instructors in almost all

bodes and ucudeutic disciplines. Many instructors01111/e 1141citmentaries to provide students with expo-slap to it explanation of concepts, events andpro% e4ses, I ike pictures, "Videos are worth a thou-snd Yet, all too often instructors are unable

obtain vitIVII documentaries, either because theS 14404 ilw!, weed may be inadequate, or worse, maybot inft.1 HI all All too often, instructors need a*/4 lot and find there arc insufficient

(1' 401001 funds to buy or rent videos.

Ilw l this paper is to demonstrate howollege acuity can create their own

*Oft, ilia at reasonable costs whileotriiii 111 Rpm Ilk needs. This paper will1o. 1 ,6 a 1401 hint 4111t 11011 to the concept of video

ptiltu (bin; practical advice on how to***. sip 1 Ion 11111101 C01111,101011; rind 11

verrtfiklitol owl ii111 11 llskunientiny produced by1/. thmr1ioi s.f Ilehav Science at UtahSiIJf I 'ollege, Summer 19(),4,

Vidvo ihwumenturieNlit*,..i ski!tir Villtlf tit kuitictitary as "a video

it mir It. , yr ogo ClioSed of varioustifitlrlf sn.i (144_ innelibily data, which serves to

0004.P 4 1»+0441 Rft.t v. by climparkftil a events, time.*,. lIui11pl,irkltlr is the key4.44 Vilitholff if their k ml documentary" ( II), Foriti.lotttrt' sir itIrtt 1414.1,1 a Mplldillg is 14 Vide° thWII-Suitt. Out 0 Into 14 k, k vith'l 1.04 Ititge of the

1. If, rIlter typo or weddings or a41"Hittr 111 tillitthr1 l 1111111C,. 11101 11W V141e1 is H (1(.11-pfsrnfii A 111,1 iiilifillHly 5114411(1 include the

.1,4mrrro, tnrrarstive material; introduc-i... drtinilr point of view,*ow.. 1,, r Ott 401irf Ilse; retlibilily: reflection"4. .41 1st' Um/ I! intrirlel audience. The degree to

ko plttink tanittl le emphasized

in relation to other elements is best decided by thecreators of the documentary. Ignoring or excludingany of these elements may greatly reduce the qualityof the final product.

It should be mentioned at this point that one 'lesnot need to be an audiovisual expert in order toproduce a quality video product. Services from tech-nical experts can usually be obtained. Because thetechnical aspects of video production can be over-whelming, it is best to rely on consultation for suchmatter ;.

The most critical aspect of producing a video is tohave a clear understanding, vision or dream of thefinal product. The seven steps presented below willfacilitate the realization of that vision. 'First, decidewhat the subject is (crime, computers, homeless-ness, manufacturing, current events or famouspeople), Second, decide who the audience will be(college students, community members or publicTV). Third, decide what the documentary's person-ality will be, such as news story, sociological, inves-tigative, explanatory, experiential, historical or testi-monial (Wolverton 126). Fourth, write down itsintended purpose: to provide students with a visualpresentation on how to assemble a computer. Fifth,do adequate research on what might already beavailable in this area, what is the state-of-the-art onthe subject, what might be unique or represent asummary presentation of the research. The moreresearch that is done the better the final product.Sixth, write down a statement of the concept encom-passing all of the ideas listed above, such as "thepurpose of this video is to provide studentswith a realistic observation of parental encourage-ment/discouragement of their children at littleleague soccer matches," Finally, write down detailsof how the video production will actually be facili-tated. Work done in the development, taping, editingand mastering should coincide with the decisionsand statements listed above,

f"ftlf t,,, i,./,,). ihrorimoir of lielsavinral Science at Utah Valley State College.slat Pk Si ,--strtorf Av. nth? Sr

13

Practical Advice1. Be Tenacious. Once the statement of the

project is determined, and you are fairly sure that itrepresents the final statement, then stick to it! Be onthe alert for diversionary input which may threatenthe final product. Often the creators of the statementmay be the only ones with a vision of the finalproduct. Be careful of well meaning "armchair"producers who will inevitably catch a glimpse ofwhat is happening, create their own final product (intheir mind), and try to redirect production. While itis important to consider input from colleagues andtechnicians, be aware that the responsibility ofseeing that the final product is realized rests with thecreators. Staying on track may be one of the greatestchallenges throughout the entire process.

2. Be Cost Conscious. Excellent documentariescan be very inexpensive or very expensive toproduce. Consult with professionals before submit-ting a proposal. Categories of expenditures usuallyinclude blank tape. consultation, "volunteers," andaccess to professional equipment and technicians.

3. Use the Experts. Whenever possible usecampus media facilities. Negotiations may reduceor eliminate massive production costs if you and theexperts arrive at a mutually beneficial definition ofyour project and interpret this as part of the mediacenter job description. Previous research indicatesthat each of the five community colleges in Utah hasadequate facilities for documentary productionexcept the College of Eastern Utah. (Faculty theremay want to develop collaborative relationships thatmaximize the use of a neighboring college's produc-tion capacity.)

Some documentaries may be so inexpensive toproduce that in-house funding is possible. Ifexternal funding is available, then carefully insurethat the college or department, and not the externalfunding agency, owns rights to the final product.Realize that you do not have to be an expert in everyaspect of the process. In fact, the more you solicitthe help of others, the more you can focus on thefinal product.

8

UVSC Working ExampleDuring Spring semester of 1993, a call for

proposals was made by faculty from the formerSchool of Health, Sciences and Health professionsand the Center for International Studies at UVSC.Funding was available for faculty who wanted toenhance their curricula with international perspec-tives. The faculty of the Behavioral ScienceDepartment requested about $1,500 in order toproduce a video documentary. The funds wereapproved and the video was completed six monthslater. Many campus departments and services werecoordinated and utilized for the project. Most resis-tance came from those who did not understand theproject. Once people understood, then most wereenthusiastically supportive. Budget estimates weremade in conjunction with the Director of the MediaCenter. Our budget categories included:

1. various types of tape - $300

2. technicians - $220

3. gifts for volunteers - $100

4. professional consultation reimbursing facultyfor their time - $864.

The total came to $1,484. Actual costs were veryclose to these figures.

As psychology and sociology teachers, we feltthat our students would benefit by observing genderfrom an international perspective. We wereconcerned about available documentaries whichwere either too long or too expensive for ourbudget. We wanted a video with numerous subject-specific segments, each no more than 5 to 10minutes in length. We worked together in makingdecisions and creating the vision. The researchaspects of this process were very enriching in termsof familiarity with current international genderissues.

Our next step was to find volunteers. Extensivenetworking with college employees and communityleaders provided us with a list of people who wereborn and raised in a country other than the U.S. Thestudio and volunteers were scheduled for taping ontwo separate dates. Release forms were signed byeach volunteer (see Hausman for examples of

14

release forms) enabling us to use their interviews.The result of those studio sessions amounted to 14hours of unedited video footage.

The next step was to decide which scenes wewould include and the order in which they wouldappear in the video. Our technician suggested usingediting script sheets which were designed tosequence video, sound, and characters (words). Thescript sheet is produced by drawing three rowsacross the length of blank paper (a row for video,sound, and words). Video counter codes synchro-nize these three elements. It is estimated that forevery hour of final product about 10 hours ofediting are required. Accuracy in the editing scriptleads to a shorter editing process.

Many hours were spent in the editing bay whilemastering the original footage according to the editscript. The master tape was made on broadcastgrade metal tape (M2). Finally, the video documen-tary was completed. We wrote a users guidebrochure to accompany the documentary. Thebrochure provided instructors with a ready refer-ence guide and a list of possible classroom applica-tions. A local duplication company was contractedto make professional grade copies from our mastertape. The documentary is now available to twenty-two adjunct and five contract faculty in our depart-ment and is in use in other departments as well.

Textbook companies and national video distribu-tors were contacted and contracts were signed formarketing the video. Thus far we have distributedover 100 copies nationally. Revenues generated bythe sale of the documentary exceed the dollaramount of the original proposal. Proceeds go into asoft money account and will be used to fund otherdepartmental video projects including the nextdocumentary. This example from the Department ofBehavioral Science at UVSC clearly illustrates thatfaculty can produce inexpensive, yet professional,video documentaries for the classroom and even fornational distribution. As state employees, we areobligated to use taxpayer funds wisely andprudently. As teachers, we are obligated to providethe best education for our students. Producing ourown video documentaries allows us to do bothwhile increasing our professional skills and talents.

9

References and Suggested Reading Listfor Video Production

Caruso, James R. A Beginners Guide to ProducingTV: Complete Planning Techniques and Scriptsto Shoot Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,_1990.

Elliot, Geoff. Video Production in Education andTraining Dover NH: Croom Helm, 1984.

Gayeski, Diane. Corporate and Instructional VideoEnglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991.

Harwood, Don. Video as a Second Language: Howto Make a Video Documentary Bayside N.Y.:VTR PUB., 1975.

Hausman, Carl. Modern Video Production: Tools,Techniques, Applications New York: HarperCollins College Pub., 1993.

McQuillin, Lon B. The Video Production GuideIndianapolis, IN: H. W. Sams Pub., 1983.

Schihl, Robert J. Single Camera Video Production:From Concept to Edited Muster Boston: FocalPress, 1989.

"Videography." An 8-30 minutes series available onPBS Adult Learning Satellite Service, 1320Braddock, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698 (1 -800-257- 2578).

Whittaker, Ron. Video Field Production Mtn. View,CA: Mayfield Pub., 1989.

Wiegand, Ingrid. Professional Video ProductionWhite Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Pub.,1985.

Winston, Brian. Working with Video: A

Comprehensive Guide to the World of VideoProduction New York: AMPHOTO, 1986.

Wolverton, Mike. How to Make Documentaries forVideolRadiolFilm: Reality on Reels Houston:Gulf Pub., 1982.

Worth, Richard. Creating Corporate Audio-VisualPresentations: How to Commission and ManageSuccessful Projects New York: Quorum Books,1991.

.0 5

Involving Students in Learning Through aReading/Writing Approach

By Linda M. Cunningham

Teachers in community colleges across thecountry share an unfortunate common experience:teaching students who are bored, uninterested, andgrade-oriented; students who have lost any sense ofownership over their own learning. Many of thesestudents are reluctant to read or write and spend toomuch time trying to figure out "what the teacherwants." These all too common experiences aredemoralizing for both students and teachers whospend weeks or months together without sharingany intellectual excitement or sense of collaborationin the learning adventure.

Putting Students at the Centerof the Classroom

In the past decade, an important pedagogy hasemerged in public schools and colleges. Founded ontheory from cognitive psychology, the new peda-gogy goes beyond territory won by writing-across-the curriculum and learning-across-the-curriculumprograms. This new approach integrates the fourprimary language skills, reading, thinking,speaking, and writing, using a reading/writing base.The integration of language skills has occurred, asJohn Mayher notes in his book Uncommon Sense,because "all four modes of language use involveactive meaning making and active learning . . .

[and] all four modes [are] mutually reinforcing andinterdependent" (206). In an article for the Journalof Basic Writing, Mayher points out that "theprocesses of language use are . . . so complex andsubtly interconnected that attempts to atomize themfor separate teaching doesn't [sic] correspond to theways they are learned and used" (51). Constructingcourses and classrooms that take advantage of theinterrelationship of language skills has led to impor-tant changes in classroom environment, teachingmethodologies, and curricula.

Donald Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky,professors at the University of Pittsburgh, seeking"meaningful writing" opportunities for compositionstudents, designed a reading/writing course aroundthe theme of adolescent development. While theirswas a composition course, their model can work ina variety of disciplines. Recognizing that most of ushave been educated in authoritarian classrooms andthat students have come to expect them,Bartholomae and Petrosky acknowledge the diffi-culty of getting students to feel empowered and takeresponsibility and authority for their own learning.To accomplish the change, they assert, "a course inreading and writing . . . must begin with silence, asilence students must fill. It cannot begin by tellingstudents what to say" (7). But silence isn't enough;the course design and the teacher's methodologymust help students reflect on themselves as readers,speakers, and writers actively involved in makingmeaning for themselves and for those with whomthey wish to communicate. Judith Langer andArthur Applebee reintOrce this point in their bookNow Writing Shapes Thinking, "Effective instruc-tional tasks must allow room for students to havesomething of their own to say in their writing. It isthis sense of purpose that will integrate the variousparts of the task into a coherent whole, providing asense of direction" (141).

To secure student involvement in the subjectmatter of our courses, we must recognize "theimportance of the student's personal connections tothe material being learned, and of his [or her] indi-vidual reasons to be learning it," echoes JohnMayher in Uncommon Sense (79).

Linda M Cunningham is an Assistant Professor of MarketingiBusiness Communication at Salt Lake Community College.

l6

Experimenting witha Reading/Writing Approach

Because of the reported effects of reading/writingmethodology on students' interest and involvementin their learning, I chose to experiment with areading/writing approach in a business Englishcourse for my Masters thesis project. BusinessEnglish, an intensive grammar review course, hasbeen taught at Salt Lake Community College forover twenty years. Initially, the course was an indi-vidualized grammar review, students moving attheir own pace through programmed materials; forthe past ten years, however, it has been taught usinga lecture/workbook approach, the entire classmoving through material at the same pace.

Virtually every student in Business 101 takes thecourse because it is a program requirement; a noto-riously poor student motivator. To increasestudents' involvement, I felt that the reading/writingapproach should offer them opportunity to directsome parts of the course toward their own interests;for instance, they could choose any business-relatedreading material they wanted and identify their ownaudiences for their writing assignments. Theseopportunities to direct their work in the course wereintended to increase students' sense of ownershipover their learning. Further, 1 hoped that oncestudents had something to communicate that wasimportant to them, they would care enough to payattention to the details that make writing interestingand clear for a reader, and that this concern for clearwriting would make them eager to learn a handfulof essential grammar and style conventions. Thereading/writing approach in business English alsooffered students a chance to become more involvedin current business issues. I hoped that they wouldfeel a greater sense of participation in their learningas they move into classes in their majors.

The experimental business English course for thisproject consisted of four elements;

language awareness

reading/writing/revising,

collaboration

presenting/publishing

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In Fall Quarter; 1993, I taught two sections of thecourse using a reading/writing approach similar tothat described in Bartholomae and Petrosky's bookFacts, Artifacts, and Counterfacts. I did not use atraditional textbook for the experimental course;instead, material for students' reading came fromtwo business periodicals; Business Week andFortune. Students chose articles from these periodi-cals to read, think about, and respond to in writing.Their responses to articles they read became our"texts" for the course.

Instruction in the conventions of Standard EditedEnglish was limited to basic sentence terminology(subject, verb, object, modifier) and errors thatoccurred in these students' writing. We usedstudents' writing as the resource for our grammarwork, projecting their work on a screen from anopaque or overhead projector so that everyonecould see it at the same time.

Students in these two sections of bushiess Englishmade solid gains in their writing ability. It appearsthat the work on grammar, punctuation, and styleitems actually yielded more growth than underprevious methods because students were workingwith their own idiosyncratic texts, not sanitizedworkbook sentences.

Changing Roles for TeachersTo move students into a place of authority and

activity requires more than allowing tuem to choosesome of their reading and writing tasks.. It alsorequires change in the way teachers work withstudentsin fact, a fundamental change in the rela-tionship between students and teacher that helpsstudents, as Kenneth Bruffee says, "regain confi-dence in their innate ability . . . to learn withoutbeing taught" (qtd. in Cooper & Holzman 44).

Many teachers who have used reading/writingapproaches in their classes have experienced anunexpected shift in their role in the classroom. Asstudents assumed more ownership of their ownlearning, teachers found that their role evolved froman authority-behind-the-desk model to coach andco-learner with their students. This shift can be veryuncomfortable for teachers who believe that it is

It

their delivery of information that helps studentslearn. But our perception that we "teach" studentsmay be faulty. As Parker and Goodkin note in TheConsequences of Writing, "Because learning islocated in, and flows from, the activities of students,at best teachers can arrange classroom conditions,working alongside students to support, assist, anddirect the activities through which they constructtheir knowledge of the curriculum content" (55). Aquick trip through our own personal learninghistory confirms that we have learned best when wehave been driven by an internal curiosity or desire.Good teachers have helped us discover and promoteour curiosity.

Changing Roles for StudentsStudents who have been turned off by even well-

designed curricula that did not speak to thempersonally have discovered new energy for learningand improving their communicating skills.Reading/writing-based courses allow them room toexplore their own intents and purposes and restorestudents' sense of authority and direction over theirown learning. To develop a sense of authority aslearners, students need to take charge of theirlearning, making choices and directing their gath-ering and communicating of information wheneverpossible. These activities help them discover theircapacity to learn. In Uncommon Sense, JohnMayher says, "Learners are, finally, responsible fortheir own learning. They have to set and solve theprobleMs and develop the skills, but they will do somost effectively in an environment which takestheir meanings and purposes seriously and whichallows them to act as well as react" (105).

In most college courses, students are not entirelyfree to choose how much they will write or whatkinds of documents they will produce. But withinthe frameworks of broad course requirements,teachers can design courses that allow significantchoice and self-direction for writers. Furthermore,our courses can provide social systems that support,encourage, and reward reading, thinking, speaking,and writing to help students gain competence andauthority. In an effective reading/writing classroom,students' peers, as well as their instructor, become

real audiences who have real responses to theirpeers' thinking and writing. This interaction with anaudience is basic to good thinking and writing, andeffective communication. "Writers need to sharetheir writing and hear others, particularly a sensitiveteacher, talking about it with interest," writes TomRomano in Clearing the Way (85). An audience ofone's peers, argue Cooper and Holzman, helpsstudents "[develop] the habits and skills involved infinding readers and making use of their responses"(12). Students aren't the only ones who benefit fromthis conversation about writing. Tom Romanomaintains that the writing conversation allowsteachers to "learn things about [their] students thatwill affect instruction" (85).

Building Community in the ClassroomAnother benefit of reading/writing approaches is

a strong sense of community among students andbetween students and teacher. Vera John-Steineruses the word communitas to refer to "a way ofbeing together" sharing work and enthusiasm "thatstrengthen[s] .the bonds among the students them-selves" (94). Of all the positive outcomes in myproject, the sense of community and effectivecollaboration that developed in the two classes is byfar the most important.

It feels risky to step aside from theteacher/authority role in the classroom and makespace for students to develop relationships witheach other and take control of their own learning.The teacher-as-authority style of teaching we expe-rienced in our own schooling influences ourbehavior more than we like to acknowledge, and alack of alternative models to draw from keeps usfrom risking innovation. In my graduate courses, Iexperienced student-centered, language intensiveteaching that gave me the courage to try areading/writing approach in my project classes.

For effective collaboration, students have to getacquainted with each other quickly and thoroughlyand to develop trust in their peers. I designed thefirst two weeks of the business English coursespecifically to establish a sense of community anddevelop a climate of respect and trust. We gotacquainted through paired interviews, by discussing

readings in small groups, and by reading eachothers' one-pagers (one-page, ungraded reflectionson students' learning and classroom experience) onthe computer network. The one-pagers, in partic-ular, became a major influence in giving us a senseof our similarities as human beings, especially aswriters.

Some instructors fear that this concern for howstudents feel in our classes will diminish the rigor ofcollege courses. Educator and writer Parker Palmerasserts that a "learning space" must provide what hecalls "hospitality," responding to each other and ourideas "with openness and care" (73, 74).Hospitality, in this sense, does not water down thecurriculum, but provides support for students toundertake difficult things and succeed at them.Jesse, a student in one of my classes, discoveredthis principle in the first two weeks, "I know I cando well in the class because I feel comfortable in theclass. For the first time in my life, [I feel] that I amnot too bad of a writer. I never felt like that before.I now write with a little confidence." A youngwoman from Brazil noted that our early get-acquainted exercises and our explorations oflanguage, in general, helped her "feel good, talkingabout my past, my experiences and listening toothers' experiences."

On an end-of-quarter evaluation, 1 asked studentsto assess how working with other students in thecourse had affected their learning, their writing andtheir feelings about the course. Three-fourths ofthose responding made positive comments aboutthe role of collaboration in their learning."Collaboration with other students brings out newideas and opinions. The more information youreceive or learn, the more your brain is expanded,"wrote one student about the group experience.

Students' article responses, one-pagers and thecollaborative report were all intended for the peeraudience as well as the instructor. Responses to arti-cles and one-pagers were shared on the computernetwork; collaborative groups communicated theirreport findings to the class in a formal oral presen-tation. All three types of writing helped givestudents voice and gave them confidence to expresstheir ideas openly, but the collaborative report

14

project, more than any other activity, madeauthority and ownership a reality for most students.Two factors made this particular experience signifi-cant: (1) the fact that students generated their owntopic ideas and then negotiated with others to arriveat a common theme they could work with, and (2)the fact that students had to inform themselves thor-oughly about their chosen topic, particularly theirarea of specialization in the group, in order toproduce the integrated report. The reports wereshort, just three to five pages. In fact, the relativeshortness of the reports actually challenged groupsto look at their collected information with a morecritical eye to see what fit their topic closely andwhat they could do without.

ConclusionWhen classroom environment and teaching

methodology make room for students to exploreideas, and in the process, to create ideas, studentscan truly own their learning. Eleanor Duckworth,author of The Having of Wonderful Ideas maintainsthat students don't "have the idea unless [they've]created it. All else is just words" (qtd. in Meek 30).

In the closing chapter of Language and Learning.James Britton presents the choices this way,

In the end, what we have to do [for students] istrust them . .. we have to trust them for their ownsakes; there is in the long run no viable alternative. . . for teachers whose concern is for the individ-uals themselves, the alternative to trusting them isto try to be them, to live their lives for them. Andthis, of course, is a long, anxious road into failure(270).

References

Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. Facts,Artifacts and Counterfacts Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann, 1986.

Britton, James. Language and Learning CoralGables, FL: University of Miami Press, 1970.

Cooper, Marilyn and Michael Holzman. Writing asSocial Action Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1989.

19

John-Steiner, Vera. Notebooks of the Mind: Explor-ations of Thinking New York: Harper & Row,1987.

Langer, Judith A. and Arthur N. AOplebee. HowWriting Shapes Thinking Urbana, IL: NCTE,1987.

Mayher, John. Uncommon Sense Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann, 1990.

Meek, Anne. "On Thinking About Teaching: AConversation with Eleanor Duckworth." 48.6(1991): 30-34.

15

Palmer, Parker J. To Know as We Are KnownSan Francisco: Harper, 1983.

Parker, Robert P., and Vera Goodkin. TheConsequences of Writing Upper Montclair, NJ:Boynton/Cook, 1987.

Romano, Tom. Clearing the Way Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann, 1987.

--. "Uncommon Sense in the Writing Center."Journal of Basic Writing 11.1 (1992): 47-57.

Improving 'the Quality of Multiple Choice QuestionsPart 1: Eliminat:ng Common Design Errors

By Michael Jay Shively, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D.

There are many different examination formats inuse, and one may be of more value in some subjectareas than others. For most courses, the "perfect"examination mode has yet to be devised. Essay testsare relatively easy to compose and give students anopportunity to express themselves and demonstratetheir knowledge. However, essay questions requireconsiderable faculty time to grade, and the answersare often difficult to evaluate with absolute objec-tivity and consistency. True-false tests are easilycomposed and have the advantage of being scoredby machine.

However, when the 50-50 guessing statistics areexamined, it becomes apparent that students actu-ally score much higher than their level of trueknowledge. On a 100 item true-false exam, astudent who knows the answers to only 20 ques-tions and guesses on the remaining 80 (getting 40 ofthose correct) will score 60/100. Likewise a studentwho "knows" 50 questions will receive a score of75% (+) by guessing on the remaining 50 questions.Once, in my overzealous professional youth, I triedto employ the number-right-minus-number-wrongguessing correction factor and nearly had a mutinyon my hands. Amid a cacaphony of "unfair" I triedto explain the statisticsonly to find that studentsaren't interested in any "facts" that lower theirscores!

Short answer and fill-in-the-blank questionsrequire manual grading but have the advantage offorcing students to compose their own answers.Matching formats can often be machine scored, butmay not lend themselves to-some subject areas andrarely are written above the cognitive domains ofrecognition/recall. Multiple-choice exams require areasonably long time to compose, but they can bemachine scored. Some studies have shown them tobe superior to other examination modes (Bull;Cowles; and Cox). Certainly, they are among themost commonly used test formats. Unfortunately,

multiple choice questions are often poorly writtenand often do not test knowledge and problemsolving skills as well as they potentially can. It isnot the intent of this commentary to condone orcondemn the value of multiple choice questions.Instead, its purpose is to outline some of theirpitfalls and design errors, and to suggest ways thatdefective questions can be improved.

Multiple choice examinations fall into the cate-gory of objective (vs subjective) tests, which theo-retically evaluate the examinees with little interfer-ence from the whims and prejudices of theexaminer (Bull; and Murphree). The questions aredesigned with an initial portion (termed the premiseor stem) followed by several choices. The premisemay be a simple question which one of the choicesanswers, or a fill-in-the-blank statement which oneof the choices correctly completes. The premisemay also be a directive requiring examinees to eval-uate the choices using certain criteria (An overdoseof which one of the following drugs is most likely toinduce hypoglycemic shock in a diabetic indi-vidual?). Regardless of the premise type, examineesare supposed to select the correct choice or answerwhich is "hidden" in a group of wrong choicescalled distractors ("Instructions for theConstruction"). Multiple choice questions can beconsidered to be groups of true-false questions inwhich the answer is "true" (according to the criteriaestablished by the premise) and the distractors are"false."

It is intuitively obvious that the premise, answer,and distractors should fulfill a number of basictenets. The premise should consist of a clear andcomplete expression of the problem to be solved.After reading it, the examinees should knowprecisely what to look for among the choices. Theanswer should completely satisfy the premise Kidnone of the distractors should "fit" its restrictions.Answers and distractors should be clearly stated,

Michael Jay Shively. l).VA M.S.. PhD.. is the Director fin. the Haman Anatomy Program at Utah Valley State College.

17 21

grammatically correct, logically parallel, and free of"give-aways." To gain appreciation for higherquality multiple choice questions, ten examples ofpoor question design will be presented along withsome suggestions for corrections.

1. Too few or too many choices. The optimumnumber of available choices is subject to debate.Fewer than four choices credits random guessingtoo often .and more than six may overburden theselection process. The "guessing" statistics areeasily calculated (Table 1). An individual whoknows nothing about the subject matter can, byguessing, score 25.0 percent on four- choice ques-tions, 20.0 percent on five-choice questions and16.7 percent on those with six choices. There is no"best" number of choices, but question authorsshould be aware of these statistics.

Table 1The statistical "chance" of select;ng the correct

answer to a multiple choice question is inverselyrelated to the number of choices.

Numberof Choices

Chance of "Guessing"the Correct Answer

2. 50.0

3 33.3

4 25.0

5 20.0

6 16.7

7 14.3

8 12.5

9 11.1

10 10.0

2. Any number of correct choices. Sometimesexams are written in which questions can havemultiple answers (multiple answer, multiple choicequestions). These exams should be graded byscoring each choice as a separate entity (making theexam, in effect, a true-false test). Sometimes anunfair scoring system is used which requiresstudents to mark an exact combination of choiceson a given question (such as A. C and D) to receive

18

credit (Kock). This does not distinguish between astudent who knows most of the information withina giVen question (and marks only one choice incor-rectly) and another who knows nothing about thequestion (and mismarks several choices). Anothermisuse of this type of question is a scoring systemin which students can lose more points byanswering incorrectly than they can gain byanswering correctly (Melzer).

3. All of the above are true (or false). This state-ment is sometimes used as the last choice on a givenquestion. Depending on the composition of thepremise, it may weaken the question's discrimina-tory capabilities and may even create more seriousflaws. In its simplest misuse, "all of the above"allows students to correctly answer a questionwithout knowing "all of the above." For example:

Which one of the following is true?A. Fish can swim.B. Sparrows can fly.C. Grast. is green.D. Sugar is sweet.E. All of the above are true.

If A, B, C and D are all true, examinees can imme-diately select E as soon as they realize that any twoof the choices are correct without critical evaluationof the remaining choices. Therefore, a student whoselects choice E in this example does not neces-sarily have to recognize that all of the choices aretrue. In the book of multiple choice question crimes,this is a simple misdemeanor, but the following is afelony:

Which one of the following is false?A. Rocks can swim.B. Dogs can fly.C. The sky is green.D. Salt is sweet.E. All of the above are false.

If A, B, C, and D are all false (as in the aboveexample), this question has several inherent prob-lems. First, as noted in the previous example, assoon as the examinees recognize that any two of thechoices are false, they can select choice E withoutcritical evaluation of the other choices. Second, thestated relationship between the premise and choice

22

E is incorrect under these circumstances because Eis not false but, in fact, true. Finally, keen observers' ay note that if only one of the first four choices isfalse (and is the intended answer), choice Ebecomes a false statement and technically satisfiesthe premise as well! No problem, you say - every-body understands what is meant? Just wait until youhave a good attorney in one of your classes! Theundesirable characteristics of both of these exam-ples can be eliminated by an "all of the above"structure which has true (or false) in the premiseand the opposite in choice E:

Which one of the following is false?A.B.C.D.E. If all of the above are true, choose this

response.

This design eliminates any cognitive dissonancebetween the stem and choice E by indicating sepa-rate consideration of A through D and then E. It alsoprevents the premature selections without criticalevaluations which the first two examples allowed.The converse example of this question (with "true"in the stem and "false" in choice E) presents thesesame desirable features.

4. Nonparallelism. This may occur between thepremise and choices and it may also be presentamong the choices. Nonparallelism is a commondesign error ("Instructions for the Construction").Sometimes it forms a give-away (see item 5). Themost frequent forms of nonparallelism involve:

A. The use of different verb forms or tenses inthe choices of a question.

B. Significant variation in the lengths of thechoices.

C. Choices which are not parallel by virtue oftheir content. Note the nonparallelism inthe following example between choice E (aspecific type of very fast sports car) and theother choices which are general types ofland transportation. How is a studentsupposed to reconcile choice C and choiceE?

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The fastest form of land transportation is by:A. Bus

B. Truck

C. Car

D. Train

E. Maseratti

5. Give-aways. These include a myriad ofspecific workings, structural characteristics, andvarious other peculiarities which aid the students inthe selection of answers in ways not related to theirknowledge of the subject. Incorrect use of "all ofthe above" as outlined above is one form of give-away. Others include:

A. The natural tendency of some questionwriters to make certain choices the answer.Some authors frequently make C theanswer on four-choice questions and D theanswer on five-choice questions. This mayoccur because of the examiners' desire toforce the consideration of several distrac-tors before presenting the answer. While anabsolutely equal number of A's, B's, C's,etc. as answers is unnecessary, a heavyimbalance should be avoided.

B. Stating the answer to one question withinthe premise or a choice of another ques-tion. This give-away may be done inten-tionally but it sometimes occurs uninten-tionally as well.

C. Making the answer longer than the otherchoices by adding embellishments. Thesemay be modifying phrases intended toclarify and prevent examinees from elimi-nating the intended answer for the "wrongreasons". To avoid this give-away, distrac-tors in a question should be developed tothe same degree as the answer.

D. Nonparallism between the premise andsome choices. If the premise asks for acertain number or type of items, anychoices not meeting those pre-requisitescan automatically be eliminated.

Which breed of companion animal has thegreatest expected longevity?A. HorseB. Collie dogC. African Gray ParrotD. SnakeE. Siamese Cat

Discriminating test takers can eliminate choices Aand D because horse and snake are not breeds, (theyare species). Also, some individuals would auto-matically eliminate choice D because they don'tconsider snakes to be companion animals. (Thecorrect answer to the question above, incidentally,is C-parrots often outlive their owners.)

E. Indiscriminate use of never and always. Theseare dangerous words because students canoften find exceptions. In fact, if exceptionsexist, students will find them!

6. Incorrect grammar or composition.Grammatical and compositional errors in questionsare relatively common but they rarely presentserious difficulty for the examinees because theyare usually either intuitively obvious or the exami-nees will ask for clarification. Examples include:

A. Using singular (or plural) subjects or verbs inthe premise with the converse in the choices.

B. Failing to punctuate a question with a ques-tion mark and failing to end complete state-ment choices with a period.

C. Having choices, which are intended tocomplete a premise, not couple correctlywith the premise. Notice the couplingproblem between the premise and choice Cin the following example.

7. Inappropriate choices. Inappropriate choicesare those which do not fit within the frame of refer-ence of the premise. Although they exist in variousforms, perhaps the most common one is the use ofpoor distractors. Ideally, distractors should beabsolutely incorrect but they should seem plausible.One or more choices which are totally ridiculousare not really distractors but are give-aways.Distractors which are partially correct may tend tofrustrate and irritate the examinees. Sometimes

20

questions are designed intentionally to force exam-inees to select a best answer from several feasibleones.

Which one of the following is not a vital organ?A. bloodB. brainC. heartD. kidneyE. skin

This question has numerous problems that includeappropriate choices. First, blood is vital to life, but itis a tissue and not an organthus it is an answer.Kidneys are organs and they are vital as a pair,. butone kidney can be removed in a healthy individualwithout serious consequence. Skin is an organ, andas a whole it is vital, but large areas of it can bedamaged without loss of life.

8. Ambiguity. Ambiguity in the premise orchoices is a complaint often voiced by examinees,but they frequently apply the label to most anyquestion which they miss. Nonetheless, it is a veryreal problem and its cause is related partially toauthors of questions who are so deeply involved inheir specific construction that they often cannotobjectively evaluate their clarity. Having one ormore reviewers familiar with the subject matterread through the exam helps to alleviate thisproblem (as well as many others). Note the ambi-guity in the following example:

Which one of the following is the dog of choicefor protection?A. ChihuahuaB. German shepherdC. DashundD. English pointerE. Irish wolfhound

How is this animal supposed to protect? Bymaking noise? (The Chihuahua and Dashund wouldbe the best choices.) Is the dog supposed to physi-cally attack? (The German Shepherd would be thebest bet.) Is the size of the dog supposed to deterwould-be assailants? (The gentle Irish wolfhoundwould be the best choice and the German shepherdand English pointer would be good choices.Nobody is intimidated by dogs that can get lost intall grass.)

"44,

9. Trick questions. Trick questions are probablybest avoided since they have a tendency to trick themore knowledgeable individuals as frequently asthe others and, therefore, are not a valid testingdevice ("Instructions for the Construction"). Inaddition, they have a tendency to irritate the exam-inees and erode student-teacher rapport.Sometimes, however, we expect students to makefinite distinctions that they consider tricky but arestill expected to discern. I expect my anatomystudents to know the difference between the ileum(part of the small intestine) and the ilium (a boneforming part of the pelvis). Once I make thisdistinction in class and alert them of my expecta-tions, I consider a question such as the following tobe fair and not tricky:

Which organ is matched incorrectly with thesystem to which it belongs?A. heart - cardiovascular systemB. kidney - urinary systemC. ilium - digestive systemD. femur - skeletal systemE. If all of the above are correctly matched,

choose this response.

The answer is C because the ilium is part of theskeletal system. The ileum is a segment of smallintestine. "But," (a student says) "I thought thatilium was just a typographical error." (But, I say,any time we correctly spell an anatomical structure,it is that structure and is not a misspelling ofanother one.)

10. Double jeopardy. There are various formsof "multiple-choice" questions which containstacked odds against the student. One examplewhich already has been discussed is the any-number- of-correct-choices format which is gradedsuch that the examinee must have marked the exactcombination of correct choices for each question toreceive credit. Other examples of stacked odds arevarious forms of paired statements. In the followingexample, the student is directed to select choice A orB if one of them is true and the other is false, but ifthey are both true or false, C or D is to be selected.

21

A. Humans are mammals.B. Snow is composed of crystallized water.C. Both A and B are true.D. Both A and B are false.

This question format does not separate thestudents who make incorrect decisions about A or Bfrom those who decide incorrectly about both A andB. (In other words it equally penalizes the individ-uals who make one or two errors.)

Another variation of this type of double jeopardyconsists of pairs of statements with choicesconcerning them as follows (Moore):

Statement I.Statement II.A. Both of the above are true and related.B. Both of the above are true but unrelated.C. I is true and 11 if falseD. II is true and 1 is false.E. Both of the above are false.

Like the previous example, this design also tendsto penalize equally students who make only oneincorrect judgment with a question and those whomake two or more. Another problem is how thestudents interpret related or unrelated in regard tochoices A and B.

Student are quite adept at recognizing situationswhere bias exists, and double jeopardy questionspresent a serious threat to student-instructorrapport. Many of the instructors who have usedthese types of questions, however, have admittedthat until it was brought to their attention, they didnot realize their questions were unfairly designed. Aselect few refuse to believe the mathematics orcontinue to use them with stubborn disregard oflogical reason or student opinion. Their namesrarely crowd the outstanding teacher lists.

References

Bull, G. "Examinations." J. Med. Ed. 34 (Dec.1959): 1154-1158.

Cowles, J. and J. Hubbard. "A Comparative Studyof Essay and Objective Examinations for MedialStudents." Proceedings of the 62nd AnnualMeeting. J, Med. Ed. 27 (May 1952): 14-17.

wJ

Cox, K. "How Did You Guess? Or, What doMultiple-Choice Questions Measure'?" Med. J,Aust. 1 (June 1976): 884-886.

Dudley, H. "Multiple Choice Tests. Time for aSecond Look." Lancet 2 (1973): 19$,

Instructions for the Construction of Test Items inHealth Fields New York: ProfessionalExamination Service, 1972.

Kock, W., D. Kaplan, and C. kuhe. "Constructingand Evaluating Multiple Choice Questions,"J. Med. Ed. 39 (July 1964): 712-717.

22

Mel/er, C, W S. It, Schoch, and J. 11, Ktiothig."Misconce1tion4 anti Mtwastiaset. nt Niulitttli,('hake Quotiolihti, Alt. Med, d, (Apt,197(,); 3143-587,

Moore, K,: Met liodki of INumittitig Siudotb Itt

Medicine, J. Med, M. 24) 1.401, I0,1):23.27,

Murpliree, II, "Studies on the 144)41)114 wildValidity of Objective lOcatititiation4," J. Med /Al.36 (July 1961): 81.4418,

Pratt, P, and R. Ingersoll, "A Moltdthe Reliability and Validity of Multiple (Examinations," ,/, Med, hl lim14).

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These "interactive qualities," sought by industry,are widely supported by current literature. The MITCommission on Industrial Productivity wants to:

Create a new cadre of students and faculty char-acterized by (1) interest in, and knowledge of, realproblems and their societal, economic, and polit-ical context; (2) an ability to function effectivelyas members of a team creating new products,processes, and systems; (3) an ability to operateeffectively beyond the confines of a single disci-pline; and (4) an integration of a deep under-standing of science and technology with practicalknowledge, a hands-on orientation, and experi-mental skills and insight (Dertouzos 157).

Future graduates must be able to cross boundariesand function in many capacities. Steven R. Raystates in his book Recreating The Workplace: ThePathway To High Performance Work Systems"Today, virtually every major corporation is exper-imenting with team-based work design, up from atiny percentage a decade ago. It is staggering toconsider that by the turn of the century half of allemployees will find themselves operating asmembers of a team" (5).

Since industry is using cross-functional teams, wefelt a need to implement the team-based learningexperience with a practical real-world problem.Technology programs throughout the country claimto be different because they offer practical experi-ence, along with laboratory or engineering classes.Practical experience enhances real-world awarenesswithin these classes. To create a practical experi-ence and achieve the required technical skills andthe interactive course objectives, we designated thefollowing characteristics to be necessary:

I A real-world, team-based and cross-functionalproject was needed to transfer echnical andinteractive skills to the students.

2, A real-world, team-based project was neededto provide the industry outcomes desired forcross-functional, interdisciplinary work skills.

3, The students needed to understand the objec-tives of Integrated Product Development(IPD),

24

4. Evaluations were needed to determine if inter-active abilities have improved.

5. The project proposal needed to be completedin one term.

6. The interdisciplinary approach needed toeffectively place the student at the center ofthe learning process.

7. The students needed to develop work-readyproduct development and team-buildingskills.

Even though we still had more questions thananswers, we decided to go ahead with the classroomexperiment. Students were intuitively analyzing thecost and benefits. A common question was: "Whatabout our other courses?" The students agreed toparticipate and enter the unknown, but there wasskepticism. They questioned the amount of time andwork the project would take. A student question-naire was completed and exchanged with everyone.This questionnaire assessed student talents, inter-ests, hobbies, work experience, technical skills andother pertinent information. Students formed fourteams, with each team consisting of six accountantsand two engineers. Teams decided to choose theirown names by color: red, green, blue and gold. Theteams received project description sheets, a projectproposal outline, evaluation criteria, presentationsuggestions, reading lists and a pat on the back.They were empowered with the responsibilities ofchoosing their own coordinators and developing theentire project.

However, team problems arose immediately.There was a lack of interest, concern and respect foreach others responsibilities. Leadership skills,confidence, and trust in each other was lacking.

The ProjectThe mission of each team was to develop a water-

slide park that could engender funding. Thestudents' mission was to identify how their educa-tion in this project would relate to industry andproduct development. The waterslide project waschosen because it included elements of fluidsystems design and major accounting issues. Thedesign involved complex water distribution

241

networks, pumping systems and environmentalissues. The accounting functions included thegeneration of financial forecasts and budgets, coor-dination of information flow and evaluation ofresults. The accountants and engineers jointly deter-mined the rate of return on investment (ROI), orga-nizational structure, legal structure, marketing andpricing decisions. The responsibilities of the engi-neers and accountants involved cross-functionaldecision-making for estimating costs, determiningequipment specifications, developing the productdesign, and detailing site plans.

The idea of successfully proposing a waterslidepark in Klamath Falls would be a difficult task. Thearea is located at an elevation of 4,000 ft. andusually has harsh spring weather. The population ofthe area is about 60,000.

Two weeks into the project, the teams convenedon campus for an introductory meeting with theindustrial panel. The panel included anattorney/certified public accountant who handlesacquisitions for a large international company, abanking executive who manages commerciallending for a large bank, two entrepreneurs, a cityplanner and a mechanical engineer. Each industrialpanel member spoke for ten to fifteen minutes,explaining critical factors considered important infunding a project. Rate of return on investment wasemphasized along with organizational structure anddesign possibilities. Environmental and trafficissues were discussed. Sample business plans werepresented. The panel advised that teams maintain aspirit of cooperation. In interest of good-will, theycreated skits while competing against each other forprizes. The skits were effective "ice breakers."Although sessions were video-taped throughout theterm, students were encouraged to do additionaltaping of their individual team meetings.

The relaxed atmosphere of this first meeting wasshort-lived as pressure and stress mounted. Someteam members become over zealous in promotingtheir own ideas. Three weeks after their firstmeeting, the teams returned to the auditorium topresent oral ;tad written preliminary reports to theirpeers and instructors. This was the first "shake-down" session. Five weeks later, the panel read

25

final reports, judging the projects for fundability.The schedule seemed overwhelming to the studentsand tension increased as deadlines approached. Thecompression of time and interaction among teammembers required students to direct their ownlearning. We had successfully placed the student(learner) in the center of the educational andtraining experience. R. C. Heterick, President ofEDUCOM, states, ". . . we must find a way to putthe learner at the center of the educational experi-ence. Yet we live in a world where the teacher is atthe center of the educational experience."EDUCOM is a non-profit consortium of over 600colleges and universities and 100 businesses,focused on leading the nation's education commu-nity in integrating information technology into thedisciplines.

Cross-Discipline TeamworkThis project brought together accounting and

engineering students into project teams, facilitatingcreativity through cross-functional teamwork.There was cross-functional use of technology, withinterdisciplinary learning in Computer AidedDesign (CAD), financial spreadsheets and energyissues. In his book ReengineeringLeveraging thePower of Integrated Product Development, Huntstates,

At the heart of Boeing's DevelopmentalOperations (DO) approach is the ProductDevelopment Team (PDT) initiative. The ProductDevelopment Team is a multi-functional teamwith a common goal of developing a specificproduct (78).

Chrysler . . . adopted a platform team approachand this meant forming a small multifunctionalteam composed of specialists in engineering,manufacturing, and marketing as well as outsidesuppliers (84).

Like Boeing and Chrysler, our project engineerswere learning from accountants, and accountantswere learning from engineers. Students werelearning how to complete a team project, whilediscovering the need for cooperation. From the firstmeeting with the industrial panel, the students knew

29

it would take a high quality presentation, withintegrity and valid information, to obtain financing.The business panel became the teams' "customer"during the financing stage. Students realized theproject had many customers; governmental agen-cies, utility companies, vendors, suppliers andwaterslide park trade associations were allcustomers.

The teams experienced difficulties with coordina-tors and leadership. There were delays it telephonecalls and getting organized, meeting deadlines, andteam member scheduling. Student journals keptthroughout the project referred to lack of directionby the instructors. The frustration emerged as angerat other students in the group for not doing theirshare and annoyance at not being told step-by-stepwhat to do and how to do it. Competitiveness ofteam members versus cooperation hinderedprogress. Individuality versus team-building causeddelays on decisions that were critical to advancingthe project. Students realized that diversity, thoughhelpful to the creative process, needed to be meldedtogether if success was to be achieved. Mere aware-ness of the need for cooperation and recognition ofbarriers did not result in immediate solutions.Barriers needed resolution in order to improveperformance. Barbara Cofsky, CMA, CFA andgeneral accounting manager for the EasternFinancial Management Center of DigitalEquipment Corporation writes,

Both between teams and between members, weshould focus on each other's strengths and posi-tive qualities in order to build off and benefit fromthem. High performance work teams not onlyallow a business to do more with less, but theyprovide an excellent vehicle for employees togrow, improve and constantly challenge thestatus-quo.

The immediate response between the engineersand accountants was "Us and Them!" In the begin-ning, bickering between the two groups wascommon. Part of the problem was defining andhandling individual responsibilities. Students foundit difficult to assign responsibility when there was aconflict. If a cost was involved it was accounting,but if it was an equipment specification decision it

26

was engineering. Equipment purchases involvedcosts and engineering specifications that oftenconflicted with the initial budgets and the requiredROI. Revisions were needed and conflict resolutionwas necessary.

At mid-term, a progress report presentation wasgiven by each team. The instructors were merelyobservers. The team members were responsible forpresenting their conceptual ideas and were ques-tioned by their peers. The tension was extreme.Some teams felt competitive and chose not to shareinformation with the other teams. Other teams feltan alliance and knowledge link with each other andelected to share their information. Team membersbegan noticing the behavior and strategy of thedifferent teams. Although the groups all performedwell, dressed formally, and presented profession-ally, the underlying theme was that of "us engineersand them accountants."

The progress report revealed that informationcollected from vendors, realtors, and governmentalagencies was similar for all teams. None of theteams seemed to have a competitive advantage. Thestudents began exploring different measures to gaina competitive advantage and add value to theirproject. How was an advantage going to beachieved? Team. members began to discuss ways toimprove their project through process improvementinitiatives. Students learned the need for creativityand self-direction in coming up with new ideas toadd value to their projects. Alliances with existingbusinesses and institutions became part of the finan-cial solution. We observed the progress of thestudents from the information gathering stage to thestage where they began using information to createnew ideas. The standards of excellence hadincreased since the first meeting. Teams were tryingto find advantages to out perform their competitors.With only five more weeks until "show time," thestudents were having to deal with more pressure.

Breaking Down BarriersEffective melding of the accountants and engi-

neers became apparent in some teams and not inothers. Each team was working against deadlinesand trying to organize workloads. The teams using

30

information and knowledge to meld the two disci-plines of accounting and mechanical engineeringtechnology were performing the best. They devel-oped a high quality product that satisfied orexceeded engineering and customer's requirementswhile meeting financial objectives.

In the eighth week, the industrial panel evaluatedthe students' written rough-drafts and gave feed-back to the teams. With one week left before theirfinal report, corrections suggested by the panelneeded to be made by the team members. Figure 1(page 31) gives an example of the panels feedbackto the teams.

Figures 2 (page 32) and 3 (page 33) illustratesome of the evaluation points considered by thepanel in evaluating the students' written reports andoral presentations.

At the final presentation, engineers provideddrawings and scale models in a trade-show atmos-phere. Accountants displayed graphs, charts,marketing materials, forecasts, and financial infor-mation in the lobby. The atmosphere was profes-sional, with printed brochures, music, and refresh-ments. The panel and students' names andresponsibilities were listed in the brochure. Wediscovered from the students' journals that thebrochure listing the students' names and responsi-bilities was extremely important to students.Students included total quality initiatives into theevening. They displayed pride with special guests,friends, faculty, and administrators present. Theprofessional atmosphere helped to motivate thestudents.

The stage was arranged similar to a congressionalhearing with table cloths, microphones, and nameplates. This format modeled development teampresentations found in industry. The panel wasprovided with final written proposals listing eachteam member's responsibilities in the project.,Teams were allowed fifteen minutes to make theiroral presentation. The panel was allowed to askquestions for ten minutes. The teams were wellprepared and enthusiastic. We observed teams eval-uating each others performance. After the last teampresented, the industrial panel took twenty minutes

to evaluate the teams. This gave the audience andteams time for refreshments and informal discus-sion. The panel, returning to the stage, announcedthat two of the projects qualified for funding andgave each team feedback on their presentations.Panel members discussed what they felt wasoutstanding and what they thought could beimproved. The teams not funded, though greatlydisappointed, recognized their own accomplish-ments. We observed the non-funded team membershaving some difficulty in accepting the decision ofthe panel. After all, every team put a lot of work intothis project.

This behavioral and social experience providedthe students with ethical dilemmas on handlingteam-based learning and competition. During thenext class period, time was taken to review theprocess. Open discussion and written evaluationswere conducted by the students and instructors.Recognition was given to all team members fortheir accomplishments.

Fictitious rewards of $10,000 were given to eachteam as a financial bonus to be allocated to teammembers. Distribution of the money was the meansto assessing the work done by each team member.Team coordinators received the highest allocationof the bonus from the team members, usually from$4,000 to $6,000. Team members receiving thesmallest allocations were usually those who allo-cated their $10,000 equally. The team membersgenerally allocated bonuses to themselves fairlyconsistent with the bonus received from others.Those receiving lower bonuses usually gave them-selves higher amounts than what they received.

Journals kept by the students were useful inassessing outcomes and giving continuous accountsof setbacks and achievements. These journals eval-uated the project from the learner's perspective and.were not graded. The students indicated the correc-tive actions they would have to take to improveteam work and organization on future projects.Students expressed how they would have usedpresentation software and bulletin boards moreeffectively. Many students stated the project builttheir confidence. This indicated that the studentscould make self-assessments and implement

elements of continuous learning and processimprovements. The non-funded team memberswrote about their feelings regarding the results andrevealed to us the experiences of students handlingdisappointments. The journals were read at mid-term and at the end of the term. The journalsprovided students with an outlet. They expressedhumor, frustration, and anger with us for the amountof work and pressure put on them. Students felt theyhad learned a great deal, but were uncertain of thedegree of technical knowledge they had acquired.

Team Problem SolvingTeams divided up the workload in a baseball team

style with each member having a particular respon-sibility. When an individual did not fulfill his/herresponsibility, the team was unable to respondadequately to the required change. Most teams indi-vidualized the project. Students used over the wallengineering versus moving toward concurrent engi-neering. Their journals reflected their resistancetoward change and the difficulties of workingtogether, trusting, and listening to each other. Thejournals gave the instructors and the students theoppoitunity to speak to each other in an open, non-threatening manner.

The funded teams were not made up of the highestGPA students. In fact, the highest GPA student teamhad difficulty agreeing and making decisions. Thisresulted in bottlenecks and lack of participation.The psychology behind this observation is notobvious. Perhaps it suggests that the traditionalstructure of education promotes individual competi-tion instead of cooperation.

FindingsThe groups who practiced teamwork and

surmounted disciplinary boundaries, produced thegreatest achievements. Cofsky states, " . . . theymust orchestrate the work and the processing partic-ularly in terms of integrating them with other orga-nizations." The need for cross-functional teamworkis obvious, but the means for developing this end isnot readily discernible. The main elements in thisproject that developed the "interactive qualities" areas follows:

28

1. The project had a unique structure of beingreality-based, cross-functional, and teamoriented.

2. The unstructured nature of the projectprovided costs and benefits to the students.

3. The project was open-ended and allowed foran increase in scope.

4. The interdisciplinary nature of the projectenabled students to learn from one another asin a one-room schoolhouse.

5. The project allowed alliances and knowledgelinks outside their own discipline for helpingeach other.

6. The journals facilitated communicationamong students and instructors.

7. The project gave students the opportunity forinterdisciplinary peer review and feedbackthroughout the process.

ConclusionThrough review of journals, open discussion with

the students, and overall observations, a significantconclusion can be drawn from this project.Interactive characteristics of students are poorlymeasured by traditional individual testing. Methodsfor giving valuable weight for interactive character-istics in addition to traditional testing for technicalskills is necessary for complete evaluation.Interdisciplinary team projects may be the answerto identifying self-starters, hard workers, andcommunicative individuals. Integration of interac-tive qualities and technical knowledge throughout astudents educational experience is needed to satisfyindustry's needs.

Technology classes should contain a practicalproject demonstrating students' future roles inindustry. Industry-based projects give the studentsthe opportunity to work on "real-world" problems.Projects should involve industrial panels andmentors for evaluation and feedback for thestudents and instructors. Projects help develop acooperative and professional student/teacher rela-tionship with industry. Students at higher or lowerachievement levels are capable of benefitting from

32

reality-based learning. GI aduate programs oftenutilize reality-based projects for learning, butreality-based learning can also be utilized at theundergraduate level. Project solutions and experi-ences may be more or less valuable depending onthe knowledge and motivation of each teammember and their ability to work together. Theproject process and dynamics are part of the educa-tional endeavor.

The reality-based project should relate to tech-nical information presented in class. The projectmay integrate a job function where students partici-pate in the work environment. Classes at the lower-and upper-division design levels can easily incorpo-rate an interdisciplinary project. For example, astatic class could include a project involving thestatic analysis of a bicycle frame, while a thermo-dynamics class could incorporate a study of the heatbalance at the local power plant. There are manyaccounting and engineering problems on campusesthat allow for integration of real-world problemsolving.

Reality-based learning should be practiced atevery opportunity, not only in senior projects. Manyof the concepts learned by our students are beingpracticed in elementary school with group learningand mentoring. Projects can be instituted on a term,semester or roll-over basis with many disciplines.From homework assignments to senior projects,interdisciplinary teamwork can be used. We learncooperative problem solving techniques throughexperience. It makes sense to introduce thi:, experi-ence into the classroom, where risks are minimal,rather than on the production floor where risksinvolve lives and major monetary commitments.Interdisciplinary teamwork is an enhancement inthe educational process and does not replace indi-vidual technical assessment of students.

An interdisciplinary reality-based project requiresfaculty to take a risk and be receptive to handlingthe dynamics of team building. This integratedapproach benefitted us and required a risk by ourstudents and ourselves. We often participated ineach others classes. We learned from each other andgained many of the same benefits as our students.Personal commitment of individual faculty in

different disciplines is the key element to thesuccess of this type of cooperative effort. Theeducational reform required to meet industrialtrends needs to come from a "grass roots" facultyeffort. It is essential to involve industry as a func-tional discipline in reality-based project education.

The nature of our project resulted in the AmericanAccounting Association and the BoeingCorporation recognizing the project as one of the"outstanding innovations in accounting education."Our conclusion regarding reality-based learningmay not represent the right organizational approachfor all, but it certainly is worth a look.

Marshal and Tucker, in their book, Thinking For aLiving: Education and the Wealth of Nations, sumsup the skills needed "to power an emergingeconomy" as follows:

A high capacity for abstract conceptualthinking,

The ability to apply that capacity for abstractthought to complex real-world problems,

The capacity to function effectively in anenvironment in which communication skillsare vital,

The ability to work easily and well with others(80).

Reality-based learning has information retentionbenefits for the students when they learn by "doingthe real thing." Figure 4 (page 34) presents the Coneof Learning which demonstrates a students reten-tion rate through "doing the real thing." It is notnecessary for a real-world project solution to worklike a problem solution at the end of a chapter in atext book. It is better if it doesn't. Part of learningis working out creative solutions to problems thatemerge during the process. This approach givesstudents the opportunity to use their knowledge, becreative, and be at the center of learning.

One prcject can foster other expanded projects.For example, we are exploring the possibilities ofan international team-based experience. Studentsfrom Utah Valley State College, Oregon Institute ofTechnology, and American-Ukrainian College ofBusiness in Kiev are considering networking a

253

project. Steve Teeter, Department Chair ofAccounting, Utah Valley State College, will beteaching at the Kiev campus. This would allowstudents in the U.S. and Ukraine to experience aninternational real-world engineering/accountingproblem. Difficulties will be experienced in thisinternational arena. Experiential learning creates anactive learning environment and motivates studentsto expand their understanding by using andapplying their knowledge.

AcknowledgmentsThis project was supported, in part, by the

Departments of Accounting and Manufacturing andMechanical Engineering Technology at OregonInstitute of Technology, Accounting Department atUtah Valley State College, Interstate Bank,Renaldo's, Jeld-Wen Corporation, Brian Brown &Associates, and the City of Klamath Falls.

References

Cofsky, B. "Digital's Self-Managed AccountingTeams." Management Accounting (Apr. 1993):39-42. .

Dertouszos, M. L., et al. Made In America:Regaining the Productive Edge Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, 1989.

30

Heterick, R. C. "Paradigms and Paradoxes:Preparing for the Information Revolution."Technology for Higher Education 3 (Sept. 1993):8-14.

Hunt, V. D. Reengineering - Leveraging the Powerof Integrated Product Development Vermont:Oliver Wright Publications, Inc., 1993.

Marshall, R. and M. Tucker. Thinking For ALiving: Education and the Wealth of NationsNew York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1992.

Rayner, S. R. Recreating The Workplace: ThePathway to High Petformanc.e Work SystemsVermont: Oliver Wright Publications, Inc., 1993.

FiguresFigure 1. Illustration of Industrial Panel Feedback

to Teams (Partial).

Figure 2. Ilustration of Written Evaluation Form(Partial).

Figure 3. Illustration of Oral Evaluation Form(Partial).

Figure 4. Ilustration of Learning Activity andRetention Rates.

34

Assuming this is a preliminary proposal and that further development would be undertakento consummate a final proposal, please consider the following questions:

GOLD TEAM

14

1. Your Proposal reflects a ROI for investors or 20%. How are you calculating thisfigure? What is the NET ROI? Without a pro-forma Income Statement this will bediVicult to substantiate.

Question: In the proposal, we mention using a $6.00 admission price as the basis forour Income forecast. Why did we use 58.00 in the actual calculation? The result ofthis calculation was $706,320 as the "most likely" scenario.

Question: Earlier in the proposal the short term sales objectives (one year) was$750,000. The difference is material.Question: Why the difference?

4. Your forecast of profitability reflects first year profit to be approximately$225,000.

Question: Is this before tax or after tax, and does it contain interest associatedwith any borrowing you may need to undertake to complete your project?

5. Will this operation require Working Capital? If so, how much? If working capitalis required, is it included in the amount requested as a bank loan?

6. How do you intend to capitalize this project?

7. Who is going to own the project and what operating structure (i.e. Not-for-profit,trust, corporation, partnership) is the operation going to be. As you may know theoperating entity can have a material influence on the profitability and the'returnto investor.

PROJECT BLUE1. Your Proposal reflects a start up cost of just over ???? including land acquisition,

equipment, etc. with the plug figure being the Loan Fee and Working Capital.Congratulations...you did remember that you will need some working capitals In

reviewing your start up costs, the land acquisition ficjure is easily reconciled.The figure for the Equipment/pool appears to be an exact figure, however I don'tlocate any kind of engineers equipment cost breakdown to substantiate this figure.

7 Question: As a potential investor, exactly what tangible assets am I purchasingwith my investment? How did we arrive at the daily cost of operation of theequipment?

Figure 1. Illustration of Industrial Panel Feedback to Teams (Partial)

Written Proposal Review

Reviewer

Proposal Submitted by

Day and time proposal received

1. At first glance, does the written proposal appear well organised, neat, andprofessional?

Note strong and weak points, please.

2. Does the "Proposal Summary" or "Executive Summary" quickly answer these questions?

How 'do the benefits justify the commitment of resources tothe project?

What general or special resources will be required toaccomplish the project? -

How much will the project cost?

What are the major project phases?

How long will the project take?

Are there aspects of this section that are especially noteworthy? Please note them.

4. A proposal's technical details need to be communicated effectively. Communicationincludes organisation, layout, grammar, spelling, use of illustrations, and so on.Please indicate how well you feel the ideas in each area were goanynicated.

5cmgagjsatjanjkaeLtrislyifleraLenm.Very easy to understand, well formatted, clear, unambiguous, well written,well documented, well illustrated, no grammar or spelling errors.

3 Communication was fait.Understandable, ideas generally in order. Grammar, spelling generally OK.

1 11c2jak=1,2L12....±29....E,MR0110.Difficult to understand, poor grammar, spelling errors, inaccurateillustrations, hard to follow, disjointed, illogical, does not read well.

3 1.

Executive Summary

Sponsor's Background C Problem Statement.-

Solution Proposal fi Benefits Summary

Costs/Benefits Analysis

Figure 2. Illustration of Written Evaluation Form (Partial).

Oral Proposal Presentation.

Reviewer

Presentation by

Day and time presented

Please read the written proposal in preparation for the oral presentation. Please beprepared with questions to clarify issues that occurred to you as you read theproposal.

Please evaluate aspects of the presentation using a scale of 0 to 10, with 10representing "Excellent, outstanding" and 0 representing "Very Poor".

1

05 0

Were the purpose of thepresentation and the main pointsto be coveted presented in thefirst 30 seconds to 1minute?

'Did the presentation hold yourattention?

Did the speaker maintain eyecontact?

Was the speaker confident?

Was the speaker animated?

Did the information presentedsupport that in the writtenproposal?

Was the speaker organized?

Were the visual aids effective?

Did the speaker field questionswell?

Was enough time allowed forquestions?

Please note here any strong points in the presentation.

Please note any weak points or points that could be improved.

Figure 3. Illustration of Oral Evaluation Form *(Partial).

37

EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING

WE TEND TO

REMEMBER...

COY. of what we read

E20% of what we hear

E0% o( what we ssa

ran50%-of what we hearand see

L70% of whatwe say

90% of

what webothsayanddo

OUR LEVEL OF

INVOLVEMENT

/ READING

/ HEARINGWORDS

LOOKING ATPICTURES

WATCHING A MOVIE

a1I

Verbal Receiving

LOOKING AT AN EXHIBIT

Visual Receiving

WATCHING A DEMONSTRATION

SEEING IT DONE ON LOCATION \PARTICIPATING IN A DISCUSSION

GIVING A TALK

DOING A DRAMATIC PRESENTATION

Receiving andParticipating

>0--i<-7M

SIMULATING THE REAL EXPERIENCE

DOING THE REAL THING

C)Ozm011r-m

JJz

Figure 4. Illustration of Learning Activity and Retention Rates

38

This is English?

By Sandra Lanier

Too frequently educators fall into the trap of cate-gorizing educational fields and teaching eachsubject as if it were independent of all others. Oftenthis gives students the sense of subject isolation andjustifies their rationale for picking and choosingwhich disciplines they really want to learn, andwhich they will simply endure, if they must, but notnecessarily bother to grasp. Unfortunately, too oftenthe very areas they avoid are the ones they will needmost in their lives, such as written communicationskills that are addressed in the classes genericallyreferred to as "English." Far too often even college-bound students have not grasped the fact that notonly is English their most practiced area of study, itis the basic fibre from which their feelings areexamined and their thoughts are formed. Arguably,language itself is the most personal possession weown. Unfortunately, if students do not have anatural ability in the subject, a background whereEnglish is spoken and used correctly in the home, orexperience with inspired teachers who love thelanguage as well as their students, they view propel.English as a subject to be endured, but never one tobe really comprehended or enjoyed. Further,writing across the curriculum has become such aprevalent activity that students find themselvesfrequently frustrated by their lack of good Englishskills.

One of the successful strategies I have used to meetthis attitudinal problem is to employ the conceptsfound in the disciplines of history, sociology, math,biology, philosophy, and even football.

Knowing that the barriers of attitude and fearmust fall before real learning can occur, I begineach quarter with a history lesson. I go over thedifferent marauding groups that swept over GreatBritain and all of the languages that, consequently,blended together on that relatively small island. Wetalk about how the merging of the Germanic andLatin-based tongues has given remarkable freedomto the English language and allowed it to change

and grow with the times. We then move across thesea and talk about the melting pot of America. Myquestion to the students becomes one of focus ontheir own linguistic backgrounds; that is, did afriendly language specialist wait to greet and teachcorrect English usage to each new immigrant orfrontier settler as he/she settled the area of thepresent day United States of America? As a result ofthe struggle of various groups in grasping a newlanguage or living in relatively isolated areas, inde-pendent kinds of grammar and pronunciationsprang up regionally. These dialects are to be cele-brated, validated, and preserved, but kept inperspective as to where they are best used. As longas people in a particular region need only talk witheach other, communication is relatively easy. Yetgiven the conditions of modern society, where wecan sit in our local businesses or even our ownhomes and have instant access to businesses andgroups everywhere nationally and internationally, itbecomes obvious that communicating with peopleoutside of our immediate culture must require somesemblance of structure and uniformity if we wish tocommunicate clearly.

This, then, introduces the basic goal of communi-cating clearly with everyone with whom we comein contact, including classmates, friends, businesspartners, and even spouses and significant others.These are really sociological issues. We swaphorror stories of relationships damaged or destroyedbecause of poor ability to express ourselves andclearly state what we mein. Furthermore, weexplore the value (and not just the frustration) of theflexibility of our language when we compare its 20percent efficiency with the 90 percent efficiency ofthe Russian language, and we analyze the culturesin which they are spoken. By this time studentinterest begins to peak, and students arc ready totake a new look at an old subject!

For those left-hrain dominant students who cravestructure and feel that English languishes on the

Sandra Lanier is an Academic CounselorlInstructor in Student Support Services at Snow College,

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school will have watched 180)0 hours of TV, TV ispointed to as full of antisocial content, as promotingadvertisements that promise everything if you buysomething. TV is also given responsibility foreroding family communication (2:2). However,Kagan states that "all social and affective develop-ment among all students is improved" (3:1) whenlearning groups are used.

A second crucial area for educators is that ofchanging demographics. The trend to urban livingcontinues, accompanied with increasing societaldiversity and the rise of a new majority. Kaganpoints out that "By the year 2((X). Hispanics willcomprise the largest single segment of school-agedchildren in the state of California" (2:5), Thedanger, according to current statistics, is that almostGIs pocval of Ilispunic children drop out of formaleducation loefore they finish high school. Thisleaves the largest segment of Califorr ia's youngtalulatioo without exposure to higher cc ',cation, Inaddiiii al, Kagan feels the "potential fora race-Ma-llow( crisis is 4101101111g" 12:51,

111.1( again, groups for, learning 4..111 make agteal clthibutimi, They have been I. land "toitopove t ace relath1114 in all integrate( schoolsw here they hove beet, used" t Kagan ),'1 ey havealso been useful in keeping minorities t ) schoolIt (slyer, due to their l(114 air VW gyration, .bleb is11104 In ilii1141011y with minority-culture( valuesthan with tam Lompoitive who() uctivi-110 lki401411 1: 15,

IN' 1111511 ateaa 14k4/114:011 to educators is our trims-

11111941 et ION any, Om ecotany has 11110.0C41 frontI4gt410411 thugh industrial and inn( the informationhis seas, "1 In' transfoimatil at from agriculture to an

based et °many took about 100 years,boa the in4114141411114111n1 441111 an industrially based to

sera iabaannion.service laved economy took Onlythirty years" likirdshin I I; Kagan 2:51, Not only arechanges taking place, but these changes arehappening at nn esrr accelerating hue (Nalsbilt 141.

f ?me re ire. cooperative learning Ito) something tooffer One of Orr results of ming group learning is"bloater at adroit at hit vement than competitivemid italivklualisfie irrIIIIUi t strueitites across all age

levels, subject areas and almost all tasks" (Kagan3:1). Nobody loses with this ark.

Why is team learning effective? With so manyintegrated factors, it is difficult to isolate them inorder to decide which ones are really doing the job.But here are a few:

Students like to talk to each other and so actu-ally spend more time on tasks (Kagan 3:3-4).

Teams also function on Bloom's higher cogni-tive levels (analysis and synthesis), which,according to a study done at Johns HopkinsUniversity, increases retention dramatically(Sillito 101).

The rewards are immediate and dispensed bythe group itselfoften in the form of praisefor each other's work (Kagan 3:4).

Anxiety levels are reduced, as students feelconnected to and supported by their peers(Kagan 3:5).

Team learning is active learning, which ismore effective than passive learning. Itcatches students' interest and keeps it, moti-vating students to a level that would causeteacher burnout if maintained (Michaelsen120),

Alfred North Whitehead said, "The task of auniversity is to weld together imagination and expe-rience" (93), Team learning seems to do just that, Itwelds the imagination and experience of allconcerned, teachers and students, creating a syner-gistic effect.

Method and ApplicationIf, as Kenneth Bruffee states, "Students learn

better through non-competitive collaborative groupwork than in classrooms that are highly individual-ized and competitive" (43), then why is it some-times difficult to motivate ourselves, as teachers, toundertake cooperative teaching? Reminded of theanxieties of second-semester composition studentsas they approach the research assignment, we can,perhaps, identify with their fears as they so oftenexclaim. "I never learned the process of how to doit right. so I don't do it very well," As we think of

42

some of our own less-than-satisfactory experienceswith collaborative learning, we know the failuresare attributed to not knowing the right steps.

Another reason teachers lack enthusiasm aboutthe team learning approach is that they feeldisplaced as the central figure in the classroom. Ifthe collaborative assignment is a truly successfulone, then the students will work independently,needing little, if any, assistance from the instructorduring the class hour. Such an experience can bringabout feelings of loss of control, or "I don't feel likeI'm doing my job." Finally, teachers, they fear, willnot be able to cover all the course objectives. Teamlearning may seem to require a slower method ofteaching. Lectures, chalkboard or overhead presen-tations appear to be more efficient. Some teachersbelieve that collaboration interferes with seriousgoal orientation. We knoW these concerns to be veryreal, but we also know the rewards that come fromteam learning far outweigh the challenges.

Developing confidence in cooperative learning isa mutter of starting with the basics. Obviously, to besuccessful at anything, it helps to know the rules.The following steps arc a compilation from our ownexperiences, as well as some guidelines from thoseknown for their work in the field.

Steps To Effective Teamwork1. Setting the Mood. Jack Shrawder describes

two Business 121 sections taught at the same timein adjacent classrooms. Both teachers have sepa-rated their classes into cooperative learning groupsthat have been given assignments requiring ananalysis of a complicated case as well as recom-mendations for solutions. Both classes are able tofinish the assignment by the end of the class period.However, the end result shows significant differ-ences. The groups in the first class have mediocre,less than innovative responses, compared to thesecond class of students who have devised moreskillful, "comprehensive" conclusions. The differ-ence in the results can be attributed to the secondteacher's pre-group instruction. Shrawderconcludes that for team learning to be successful, itis essential to teach principles of "dialogue anddiscussion." He quotes Peter Sett, '''s The Fifth

Discipline for some important preliminary rules.Students must be prepared to:

A. Accept each other as equals regardless ofprofessional, educational or personal differ-ences.

B. Expose their assumptions to personal andpublic view.

C. Allow a facilitator to help guide the groupthrough an inquiry process to find the truth(2).

Rules can be individualized, but need to be estab-lished at the onset of teamwork, usually at thebeginning of the semester. If concepts of dialogueand discussion are preset, then feelings of trust andcooperation will develop within the group.

2. Arranging the Seating. Kail and Trimbur listas their number-one priority for successful collabo-rative work a classroom that can provide flexibleseating arrangements. If desks and chairs can't bemoved, Kail and Trimbur describe collaborativelearning as "quite literally a pain in the neck and notprofitably organized" (4). Therefore, the first stepafter preparing students for interactive discussion isto arrange the seating so that they are sitting ingroups, face to face. For some instructors, randomgrouping seems to work well, with members of thegroup changing throughout the semester. On theother hand, Larry Michaelsen, in his pamphlet AwnsLearning: A Comprehensive Approach forHarnessing the Power of Small Groups in HigherEducation, champions "permanent and purposefulheterogeneous work groups" (109). We have foundthat the choice of method sometimes is dictated bythe makeup of specific classes. What works wellwith some students and situations may not withothers.

3. Assigning the Task. Groups need a specificgoal or goals to address, or the effort at peergrouping can quickly become a waste of time. Kailand Timbur use an example from Kenneth Bruffee'sA Short Course in Writing, to demonstrate the step-by-step written instructions that can produce effec-tive team work:

39 43

English 212 Intermediate CompositionJanuary 21, 1994

A. Please introduce yourselves.

B. Please introduce yourselves again!

C. Someone in the group will need to take notesand speak for the group. Please select someoneto act as "recorder" for the group.

D. Have one person (not the recorder) read theattached passage to the rest of the group.

E. Decide together which words in each sentenceof the paragraph make direct connections back-ward to something said in a previous sentenceor forward to something said in a latersentence. Draw an arrow under each of thesewords showing the direction of the connection,backward or forward.

F. List the different kinds of connecting wordsthat the paragraph uses (5).

Because these directions are written, the studentsare able to follow them without having to ask theinstructor for explanations. The assignment alsodemands work on a concrete problem. Kail andTrimbur note that:

A. Opportunities for participation are built-in.

B. The task begins where the students are ready tobegin.

C. The task is sequenced (6-7).

Notice that the task can be measured at the end ofthe group activity either by having the groups givean oral report on their findings to the class, or byhaving them submit written work to the instructor.

4. Establishing Grading. Neglecting account-ability in cooperative grouping is an invitation tofailure. Kail am Trimbur point out that "if studentssense (or are told) that grading will be distributedon a curve . . . collaborative learning will fail for thesimple reason that there are no grounds within sucha reward system for students to work together andtry to help each other" (22). If the purpose ofgrouping is explained at the beginning of the courseand emphasis is placed on each student working tofull potential, then, according to Kail and Trirnbur,

40

there can be no ceiling on high grades (23). Implied,then, is that sub-standard work will not be rewardedor accepted, but collaborative work needs to offerstudents an environment for working to optimumsuccess.

In the grading process, having both individual andgroup accountability provides a balance. Forexample, students could be given a reading assign-ment with a written summary exercise to be doneoutside class. At the next class meeting the studentswould then be placed in groups and asked torespond to specific questions about the assignment,with each group submitting a written response.Both individual summaries done outside of classand the group written response would be required aspart of the evaluation of the assignment.

Overcoming Other ObstaclesOnce the "how to's" are mastered, the question of

relinquishing the role of "teacher" may still bothermany college instructors. The old adage, "a guideon the side instead of a sage on the stage," comes tomind. Computer-assisted writing courses often referto the instructor as facilitator. A parallel can bedrawn in the arts or sports disciplines with theteacher as coach. These models are similar to therole of the teacher in the collaborative classroom,where the instructor's "primary role shifts fromdispenser of information to manager of a learningprocess" (Michaelsen 109).

In answering the other question, "How can I covereverything in the semester unless I give the infor-mation to the students," Michaelsen observes thatoften we set our course objectives without reallyunderstanding what our students already know orwhat they have learned from each other. Hesuggests that course objectives need to be morefluid, that "it is possible to set day-to-day opera-tional aspects of a course so that they will also bemutually supportive" (111). In addition, whilecooperative learning can be used exclusively as apedagogy, it can also be effectively combined withlecture and media presentations, class question andanswer sessions, role-playing and modeling, orcomputer-assisted classrooms. Cooperativelearning truly is a teaching method that has applica-tion in every classroom.

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Issues and OutcomesKagan states:

At an accelerating rate we move into a rapidlychanging information-based, high- technology,and interdependent economy. Along with thetraditional role of providing students with basicskills and information, increasingly schools mustproduce students capable of higher-level thinkingskills, communication skills, and social skills(2:1).

One solution to this need is the use of cooperativelearning in the classroom. Student learning groupsprovide at least partial solutions to problems ofsocialization and affective development. Theyimprove race relations and encourage minorities toremain in school. They increase both the quantityand kind of learning that takes place in our class-rooms, while also increasing retention and motiva-tion. They provide us a way to better meet currenteducational needs and prepare students morecompletely for the workplace and society they willenter. As students engage in an interactive, interde-pendent model of learning that duplicates changingworkplace and social conditions, they learn neededprocesses, skills, attributes and attitudes essentialfor their success. In fact, these student groups aremodels of what is currently happening in societyand business outside education's halls. May wesuggest you prepare for the flood and board the ark?Try collaborative learning. Try teams for success.Teams work,

ReferencesAstin, Alexander W. "Competition or Coopera-

tion." Change (Sept. /Oct. 1989): 2-19).

Baker, George L. Address to the Eighteenth AnnualUtah Community College Conference. Salt LakeCity, UT: 8 Apr. 1994,

Bruffee, Kenneth A. "The Art of CollaborativeLearning: Making the Most of KnowledgeablePeers." Change (Mar./Apr. 1987): 43-47.

Fishman, Stephen M. "Explicating Our TacitTradition: John Dewey and CompositionStudies." College Composition and Communi-cation 44.3 (Oct. 1993): 315-30.

Holt, Mara. "Knowledge, Social Relations andAuthority in Collaborative Practices of the 1930sand the 1950s." College Composition andCommunication 44.4 (Dec. 1993): 538-55.

Kagan, Spencer. Cooperative Learning San JuanCapistrano: Resources For Teachers, 1992.

Kail, Harvey, and John Trimbur. CollaborativeLearning: Blair Resources For Teaching WritingEnglewood Cliffs: Blair Press, 1994.

Michaelsen, Larry K. "Team Learning." ToImprove the Academy 11 (1992): 107-122.

Naisbitt, John. Megatrends New York: WarnerBooks, 1982.

Perelman, Lewis J. "Restructuring the System is theSolution." Phi Delta Kappa (Sept. 1988):20-4).

Shrawder, Jack H. "Dialogue" The AdjunctMentor (15 Feb. 1993): 1-2.

Sillito, Melvin T. and Warren D. Wilde.Educating the Gifted Alberta Education, 1983.

Tobias, S. "They're Not Dumb. They're Different:A New 'Tier of Talent' for Science." Change22 (1990): 11-30.

Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock New York: RandomHouse, 1970.

Toffler, Alvin. Learning for Tomorrow New York:Random House, 1974.

Whitehead, Alfred N. The Aims of Education andOther Essays New York: The Free Press, 1929.

4541

Community Colleges and International Education:Broadening the "Community" in Community Colleges

by Victor Aikhionbare

In an increasingly complex world, people andnations have become highly interdependent. Theinternational environment is constantly undergoingmajor changes that will determine the future of theinternational community. It is obvious that theemergence of the global economy and the impact ofcommunications and technology bring new dimen-sions and new issues to world affairs as we movetoward the beginning of the 21st century. As aresult, it seems appropriate that the traditional roleof community colleges must also change to keep upwith the changing world. More than ever, commu-nity college students should be exposed to interna-tional education if they are to better understandtheir place in our complex and interdependentworld. Exposing community college students tointernational education is imperative to the survivalof this country in the changing global order.

The New Mission

Perhaps the most important challenge facingthe community college in the 21st century is how toserve the global community while affirming itsprimary mission of providing lifelong learning andservice to its immediate geographic area.Historically, there has been a false geographicaldivision placed on community colleges. Thecommunity college's "service area" continues to beviewed as limited to the county or district in whichit resides. There continues to be a tendency towardnarrowness of mission by distinguishing betweenwhat is "global" and what is "community."

Therefore, is it any surprise that our studentsremain conspicuously ignorant about others outsidethe traditional "service area" of the communitycollege? Unfortunately, many students graduatingfrom community colleges are largely ignorant aboutother countries around the world. In fact, a largenumber of people all over this country cannot iden-tify on a world map other countries, their capitals

and leaders, located in geographic proximity asclose as Mexico and Canada, and as far away asNigeria Cameroon. Worse, there are somecommunity college students and graduates who areuncomfortable with people who happen to speaklanguages other than English. This xenophobicbehavior maybe displayed toward people fromother countries.

Should community colleges, which are the largestsingle sector of higher education in this country,continue to take what Siegfried Ramler views as "aprovincial approach to curriculum" (44) and whatthe Commission on the Future of CommunityColleges characterizes as a "parochial" mission"(32)? The answer to this question is obvious.Community colleges cannot afford to continue suchprovincialism and parochialism in approaches tocurriculum. As the world becomes more and moreinterdependent, the interests of one community canbe seriously affected by the decisions or actions ofthe others. Linkages connecting the world's peoplesand nations make international education, and theunderstanding of those linkages, more importantthan ever. Utah, like all other states, is becomingincreasingly involved in activities that connect theworld at large: international trade, foreign invest-ment, immigration, and cultural exchanges. All ofthese activities affect virtually every communityand every segment of the global society. Today,international awareness has become essential to thesocial, political, and economic well-being of everycommunity. A local example, the LDS church,demonstrates these linkages. As the church expandsits mission to other parts of the world, many peoplefrom outside the United States are attracted to Utah.

In Michael Leavitt's inaugural speech, heexpressed the state's commitment to a "world-classeducation" (1993). In a Report to the CampusCommunity, President Frank Budd included as partof his vision for SLCC "the preparation of students

Victor Aikhionbare is an instructor of Political Science at Salt Lake Community College. He earned a B.S. and M.PP.A. degree

from Jackson State University and a Ph.D. in Political Science form Texas Tech University.

411 6

for success in the global, international arena"(1992), In fact, many other leaders, educators, andscholars share a similar vision. A common under-standing is emerging, which is summed up in thewords of Roselle K. Chartock, "The bonds thatconnect us to others in the human family are easilyfound in every community and can be used todesign instruction that heightens students' local andglobal awareness" (50).

The new mission, is one that is clearly designed toaddress international dimensions of the communitycollege in the 21st century. This new mission mustbe one that encourages faculty, staff, and students tobecome involved internationally and encouragesstudents to view an international experience as anintegral part of their college education. Studentsneed to have opportunities both on campus andabroad that will foster the development of theirskills, attitudes, and knowledge within a globalsociety.

Conceptualizing International EducationThe term "international" or "global" education

was coined over 20 years ago. Since then there havebeen noticeable efforts in academic circles toprovide greater understanding of what is meant byinternational education. Educators Kenneth A. Tyeand Willard M. Kniep define international educa-tion as "learning about those problems and issueswhich cut across national boundaries and about theinterconnectedness of systemscultural, ecolog-ical, economic, political, and technological." Theyalso contend that global education "involveslearning to understand and appreciate our neighborswith different cultural backgrounds from ours" (47).To this, R. Hanvey adds that it "involves perspec-tive taking; seeing things through the eyes, minds,and heart of others; . . . the realization that whileindividuals may view life differently, they also havecommon needs and wants" (1976).

Ramler conceptualizes international education ashaving "a strong ethical dimension: a value systemthat calls us to accept responsibility for the well-being of our planet." She writes, "This value systemrequires loyalty that, while in the interests of one'sparticular nation, is not exclusive to that nation: a

44

loyalty that is a commitment beyond national (andcommunity) boundaries" (45). This, in my opinion,is what the Commission on the Future ofCommunity Colleges refers to when it urges thecommunity college to build community "in itsbroadest and best sense, encompass(ing) a concernfor the whole ." In its "Vision for a NewCentury," the Commission defines communityas " . . . not only a region to be served, but also as aclimate to be created" (7).

it is important to note that these conceptualiza-tions of international education and the "commu-nity" unequivocally reject the distinction betweenthe traditional "service area of the communitycollege and the world at large. Such distinction is,in this day and age, not only vague and ambiguous,but also limiting in scope. The tendency towardnarrowness, which is often demonstrated by a lackof global vision in general education, must also beunequivocally rejected by community colleges aswe move toward the beginning of the 21st century.Now is the time for the community college to beinspired by a larger vision and expand its sense ofcommunity.

To be internationally conscious does not meanthat community colleges should abdicate commu-nity values. To be aware of other peoples' culturesand beliefs does not mean that community collegesshould teach students to accept ideologies, politicalbeliefs, and practices from other cultures withoutexposing them to the local community's values.International understanding and community valuesare not mutually exclusive. Rather, they shouldcomplement each other.

Impact on StudentsThere is a growing realization that the academic

community brings essential resources to interna-tional challenges. The community college cannot beover looked in a world-wide effort to meet thesechallenges. There is no doubt that internationaleducation will widen our students' horizons andenable them to extend their perspectives and skills,for successful and productive participation as citi-zens in an international environment. Our schoolsshould not only be a place for students to attend

47

class, but also a place for the gestation of thought,ideas, and passions about the world in which welive. International education can provide the foun-dation for developing socially responsible studentswho recognize that the first step in solving commonproblems is to see themselves as part of the interna-tional community and us part of the human family.

It has long been the assumption of classical liber-alism that the more we know about one another, thegreater the chances for "peace" in the world. It hasalso been argued that the realization of our interde-pendence and our common destiny makes "war"unlikely because nations who have come to relyupon one another for vital commodities cannotafford it. Classical liberalism equally suggests thatthe understanding of the various cultures around uscauses people to become more sensitive to eachother's concerns. Hence, it reduces the likelihood ofmisunderstanding. There is no doubt that educationat its best prepares students who are knowledgeableabout the world in which they live. With interna-tional education, students will be able to put theirlives in historical, and social perspective and beprepared to meet their global, social, and civicobligations.

International Education andthe Curriculum

It is becoming more and more obvious that highereducation throughout the world will join its coun-terparts in adapting to rapidly changing circum-stances in the global community. We may havereached the moment in our history when interna-tional education is finally seen as an essentialcurriculum element in our schools rather than atemporary response to some crisis. TheCommission on the Future of Community Collegesrecognizes "the urgent need to provide a core expe-rience of common learning" in community colleges(6). The question is how best to integrate a globalperspective into the curriculum.

The core curriculum suggested here is more thana grab bag of unrelated courses. Effective generaleducation will provide community college studentswith a more integrated view of knowledge and amore authentic global view of life. Community

colleges have the opportunity to meet this challengeby using flexible, innovative programs that accom-modate low enrollments, meet the requirements ofthe traditional student, and also fulfill the needs ofthe growing number of non-traditional students.Thus, a general education core curriculum with aninternational perspective can be articulated withfour-year colleges and universities for the purposeof transfer.

Suggested is a core curriculum that focuses onlanguage, the sciences, mathematics, the arts, andhealth. Such a core curriculum must introducecommunity college students to their heritage, tomembership in groups and institutions, to science,technology and the environment. Such a curriculumshould not only give students essential knowledge,but should also help them to make connectionsacross the disciplines. In the end, they should beable to apply their knowledge to contemporaryinternational issues that affect society.

I do not call for simply adding foreign languagecourses or a unit of international relations toexisting core curriculum. Certainly, this corecurriculum should not be limited to the socialsciences. The proposal here is for current Englishcore curriculum to do away with the reliance almostexclusively on European literature by paying suffi-cient attention to the contributions of others. If thecommunity college student is to understand othercultures, literature is an ideal medium because itreflects universal values and problems. We do nothave to limit students to Western traditions in artand music. We can bring non-Western arts into theclassrooms and enrich our curriculum by usingresources now available in many of our localcommunities.

If we are to ever prepare community collegestudents for the global task ahead of us all, we mustcontinually strive to offer instructions that helpthem learn to see "through the eyes, minds, andhearts of others." This is why the NationalCommission on Social Studies in the Schoolsrecently recommended that U.S. history, which isusually taught as a separate subject, be combinedwith world history it a multi-year sequence. Thisrecommendation recognizes that integrating

AS

national and world history will allow students toplace American history within the larger interna-tional context. "The more we understand about theinternational influences on our past, the moreprepared we will be to play a strong role in theglobal affairs of our future" (1989).

It is true that there may never be an ideal recipefor global curriculum to fit any given school or anygiven region. A committee of the ASCDInternational/Global Education Commission, underthe leadership of Jim Becker of Indiana University,has developed the following working draft of prin-ciples in this regard.

1. All teachers, as well as all students, shouldhave opportunities to learn about and workwith individuals whose ethnic and culturalbackgrounds are different from theirs.

2. International education should be viewed ascross-disciplinary, involving the arts, humani-ties, sciences, and mathematics, as well asforeign langua3es and social studies.

3. The impact on individuals and society fromthe increase in transnational interactionsshould be included in the curriculum,reflecting interdependence between othernations and the United States in a globaleconomy.

4. The changing role of nations in the worldsystem should be explained throughoutinstructional materials, and the increasingnumber and importance of international orga-nizations should be highlighted whereverpossible.

5. The changing and evolving role of the UnitedStates in world affairs should be included inthe study of international trends and develop-ments (1990).

Central to this draft is the principle that interna-tional education is a particular perspective to heinfused into the existing curriculum, not a newsubject to be added to an already heavy curriculum.Our priority should, therefore, be to help teachersidentify places to infuse this global perspective, andthen provide them with the materials and techniquesthey need to do so,

46

ConclusionThere is an urgent need for community colleges to

adjust to global demands. One of the unique char-acteristics of community colleges is the ability torespond quickly and creatively to changing educa-tional mandates. It is encouraging to see that somecommunity colleges are already responding to these21st century challenges by establishing Centers forInternational Studies which are designed todevelop, intensify, and expand the internationalscope of the college. But this effort requires morethan just lip service. There must be a strongcommitment and continuous support from adminis-trators, coupled with a willingness of purpose frominstructors. If we are ever going to build what B.Tye calls a "cosmopolitan culture" (281) within ourschools, we must be willing to provide repeatedexperiences that brings the world into our class-rooms. If we define and understand our responsi-bility as administrators, teachers, and developers ofcurriculum in helping community college studentsbecome knowledgeable about our world and currentissues, we must be willing to infuse an internationalperspective into the learning process in our schools.

ReferencesBecker, Jim, et al. Meeting of the ASCD

Global/International Education Commission, Oct.1990.

Budd, Frank. "Vision for SLCC." A Report to theCampus Community by R. Beebe. (July 1992).

Chartock, R. K. "Identifying Local Links to theWorld." Educational Leadership 48 (Apr. 1991):50-52.

Commission on the Future of Community Colleges."Building Communities: A Vision for a NewCentury - A report." 1988,

Hanvey, R. "An Attainable Global Perspective."Denver: Center for Teaching InternationalRelations, 1976.

Leavitt, M. "Inaugural Address to the Utah StateLegislature." (Jan. 1993).

49

National Commission on Social Studies in Schools."Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21stCentury." (1989).

Ram ler, S. "Global Education for the 21st Cen-tury." Educational Leadership 48 (Apr. 1991):44-46. ..

Tye, B. "The Deep Structure of Schooling." PhiDelta Kappa 69 (Apr. 1987): 281-284.

Tye, K. A. and W. M. Kniep. "Global EducationAround the World." Educational Leadership 48(Apr. 1991): 47-49.

CALL FOR PAPERS 1995

Faculty of Utah community colleges are invited to submit articles for inclusion inFOCUS, an annual forum on teaching and learning in Utah's two-year institutions ofhigher education. The Editorial Board will also consider articles submitted by administra-

tors, staff, students, and others addressing topics of interest to Utah community colleges.

Subject: Manuscripts may deal with curriculum,theory, research, teaching strategies, instructionalmodels, student issues, faculty concerns, advocacy,governance, or any matters pertinent to Utahcommunity colleges.

Format: Manuscripts should be typed, doublespaced, and concisely written in about 2,000 to3,000 words or less. They must be submitted withhard copy and floppy disk in standard wordprocessing format.

Deadline: Manuscripts are Due June 23, 1995 to the

campus Editorial Board representative and June.39.1995 to the Editor in the Commissioner's Office,3 Triad Center, Suite 550, Salt lake City. Utah

H4180-1205.

Review of Articles: The Editorial Board of FOCUS,designated by the faculty associations of Utah's fivecommunity colleges, will review all manuscriptsand determine which articles will be included in thejournal. Consideration will be given to both thesubject matter presented and the quality of the

presentation.

Publication Date: September, 1995

Questions: Please contact your campus representa-tive on the Editorial Board or the Editor, in theCommissioner's Office, or phone (801) 321-7119.

The Editorial BoardFOCUS