Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--For one group of incoming Mississippi State freshmen this fall, "learning" will mean more than hitting the books, attending class and taking tests.
The students also will live together and immerse themselves in the broad diversity of a university campus.
In a new teaching approach being implemented by the Office of Academic Affairs, interested students--from freshmen through seniors--may enroll in 10 thematically linked "learning communities." While not all will live in the same residence halls, all of the special "communities" will be based on interconnected content.
Rich Raymond, head of MSU's English department, is interim director of the MSU Learning Communities and a teacher for one of the program's prototype courses. He expressed confidence that the learning communities' concept will help encourage students to delve deeper, make connections and shift their idea of what it means to attend "class."
"This experience is designed to foster interactive learning," Raymond said. "It takes the traditional classroom experience, with a professor lecturing and students taking notes, and turns it around."
Among other topics, the communities will merge communication, composition and government; environmental design and special education; psychology and communication; creative writing and art history; biological engineering and mathematics; physics, accounting, and agricultural engineering; and two marketing classes.
In cooperation with political science professor Diane Wall and communication instructor Kristi Edmonds, Raymond will teach a learning community course titled "Beyond Taking Sides: Building of the Foundation of Liberty."
"We'll teach three separate courses that build on each other," he explained, adding that reading and writing assignments will dovetail.
Raymond said students will read documents such as the Declaration of Independence and learn about rhetorical, as well as public policy, strategies. "All writing will take place in relation to the readings for government," he added.
In a freshman community taught by psychology professor Tom Carskadon and communication instructor Stacey Mann, University Honors Program freshmen who take the linked courses all will live in the same UHP residence hall. Titled "An Introduction to the Diverse University through Psychology and Communication," the community will receive an in-depth understanding both of the university and real-world issues, the two educators explained.
In one assignment, students will be asked to pick five adults they respect and ask them for their advice to 18-year-olds. For the psychology component, the students will analyze happiness and the characteristics happy people share. In the speech component, they'll be asked to share their findings in a formal presentation.
"We also want to explore the diversity of the university, generating discussions in which we encourage students to ask the tough questions," Carskadon said.
Drawing on campus resources, the professors also will introduce issues such as affirmative action, psychological types and challenges of disabilities. Students will record their thoughts and feelings in a journal.
Writing, analysis, public speaking and personal interaction will give the learning community an entirely different feel than a typical classroom, Mann observed. "This class is more than just learning psychology or public speaking; it is going to allow for more dialogue about the university environment as well as the world around us," she said.
In yet another MSU community, creative writing and art history will merge in courses taught by Becky Hagenston of English and Benjamin Harvey of art. Their group's focus on Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot will include readings in 19th century fiction, gallery visits and discussions of gender and creativity.
"Through readings about what it meant to be middle class during the period, students will get a broader idea of how gender and class affect creativity," Harvey said.
NEWS EDITOR/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Raymond at rr165@msstate.edu or (662) 325-3606.