Learning Communities
Ready to Find Your World?
Apply now for the 2008-09 First Year Experience Learning Communities!
There are two types of FYE Learning Communities: ones based on a particular program or major (“programmatic”), and ones with a theme linking together several different areas of study (“thematic”). For 2008-09, FYE will offer the following fifteen Learning Communities. There are approximately 400 FYE spaces available, so you will want to consider this option as soon as you can.
Major-Based/Programmatic Learning Communities
Aviation
This Learning Community is for students coming to SCSU with an interest in studying Aviation. It offers the opportunity to make friends with other incoming students who have similar interests while at the same time taking classes together. During Fall and Spring semesters, Aviation FYE students will take three courses together. These include a beginning Aviation course that is required for all majors, an Earth and Atmospheric Science course required for both Aviation Majors, and a popular general education course that satisfies the natural science lab component.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Steven L. Anderson
E-Mail: slanderson@stcloudstate.edu
Computer Science
Information and computation are now acknowledged as fundamental processes in many fields. Computing helps us study the natural and artificial worlds. Conversely, knowledge of the natural world has been used to improve computing. This Learning Community allows you to explore problem solving and communication strategies with fellow students, providing an introduction to computing and its applications. This learning community is a stepping stone to your completion of a minor, applied major, or our nationally accredited major in Computer Science.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Andrew Anda
E-Mail: aanda@stcloudstate.edu
Education
This programmatic Learning Community will provide students who are majoring in any education degree an opportunity to broaden their understanding, critical knowledge and educational practices about China. Courses in this FYE will contribute to increased knowledge and understanding of the social, cultural, educational, economic and political systems of China. Focus areas will include development of basic language skills (Chinese 101 and 102), intercultural and cross-cultural communication skills (CMST 192), and comparative perspectives on disabilities (SPED 203). A cumulative project will be an optional international service learning project during May Intercession 2009. This service learning project will be in a city mutually agreed upon by the faculty and cohort of students. Students will critically examine need areas to determine the location and project objectives. Students will also actively participate in fundraising opportunities to support the international service learning project.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Kathryn E. Johnson
E-Mail: kejohnson@stcloudstate.edu
Engineering
The Engineering Learning Community brings pre-engineering majors together into a supportive, academically focused learning environment. Students will be members of a group that shares their career interests and desire for academic success. The students will form a study group, friendships, and academically support each other. Participation in the program will give the students ties to fellow engineering students and helpful faculty members. Students will need to place into MATH 115 (pre-calculus) or higher via the SCSU Mathematics Placement Exam.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Ratchaneekorn Thamvichai
E-Mail: rthamvichai@stcloudstate.edu
Meteorology
The Meteorology First Year Experience is a programmatic Learning Community for students interested in majoring in meteorology. It provides an environment in which students can quickly get to know other students with similar interests. The coursework in the Meteorology FYE offers a cohesive introduction to the appropriate classes for meteorology majors including our orientation course to the major (EAS 160) and introductory courses in meteorology (EAS 260) and hydrology (EAS 230). In addition, it includes important Core general education coursework (ENGL 191 and CMST 192).
For more information contact the lead professor:
Dr. Anthony Hansen
E-Mail: arhansen@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-2009
Power Up! (DGS)
For Division of General Studies students ONLY.
This Learning Community is designed for Division of General Studies (DGS) students who test into the enhanced version of English 191. The three classes, Reading 110, English 191, and Communication Studies 192, will make extensive use of technology to engage students in this interdisciplinary approach to required classes. Explore ways that wikis, blogs, and eFolios can enhance learning!
For more information contact the lead professor:
Vicky Williams
E-Mail: vlwilliams@stcloudstate.edu
Pre-Med
This community is designed for students interested in pre-med and several other health-related fields of study. In addition to satisfying major program requirements through the selection of courses, students in this community will participate in special activities, discussions and events tailored to their needs as pre-med students. Students will also meet, interact, and establish close relationships with the faculty members of the pre-med committee. These faculty members will not only be teaching and providing them with extra-curricular activities, but also writing their letters of recommendation for entrance to medical school. In addition, students will meet with former students who have been successfully admitted to medical schools, those who have graduated, and other practicing physicians.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Dr. Oladele Gazal
E-mail: ogazal@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-3045
Psychology
This Learning Community designed to take a group of students who have an early expressed interest in the Psychology major and to provide them with an exciting and rapid initiation into the field. By taking two of the four required core courses during their first year at SCSU, PSY FYE students will be able to finish the four core courses by the end of their sophomore year. This will allow the students to shape their course of studies to best reflect their developing interests in psychology.
One way in which the PSY FYE experience will differ from the standard program for psychology majors is that part of their Introduction to Psychology course will be devoted to exploring careers in and/or related to psychology. The instructor will use the extra hour per week allotted to this class section to discuss career areas in more depth, bring in guest speakers, conduct psychological experiments, participate in field trips, and will assign additional readings and assignments designed to help the students learn more about career options. Each student will also use the "eFolio Minnesota" system to begin constructing an academic portfolio, with special emphasis on the Psychology section. This will help the students develop an on-line portfolio of their academic career at SCSU with the hopes of displaying work samples to demonstrate and track their academic and extra-curricular activities at SCSU.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Daren S. Protolipac
E-mail: dsprotolipac@stcloudstate.edu
Thematic Learning Communities
Division of General Studies (DGS) "The Digital Connection"
For Division of General Studies students ONLY.
This proposed cohort is designed for DGS students. We believe that a learning community would directly benefit this unique group of students. The proposed cohort will place students in a learning community of five courses. These courses include three required DGS courses, Discovering the College Experience (COLL 150), Reading and Study Strategies (READ 110), and Power Reading (READ 120). In addition, students will also take General Education courses in history (which also fulfills a racial issues requirement) and speech communications. These courses have been selected for DGS students because they commonly are taken the first year, will all apply towards graduation requirements, and perhaps most importantly, are often challenging for DGS students. In the first semester, students will take COLL 150, READ 110, and HIST 109. These courses provide students with a strong foundation in study strategies, reading, and critical thinking. In the second semester, students will take CMST 192 and RDNG 120. These classes will be collaborative in nature, with assignments that clearly demonstrate the interconnectedness of academic knowledge. Through the learning community approach, it is our hope that students will be more likely to experience academic success. Additionally, the instructors for these courses have developed an engaging, unifying theme of "The Digital Connection." This theme was selected to emphasize communication skills, involve students with technology, and demonstrate that technology can enhance learning. Possibilities for applying this principle to the classes may include the design, creation, and evaluation of electronic information resources, including blogs and podcasts.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Dr. Victoria Williams
E-Mail: vlwilliams@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-4743
Giving Voice to Water
The Giving voice to water FYE is a thematicLearning Community designed to attract students who have yet to decide on a major but whose interests in science and in our relations with the natural environment make this pairing of four courses particularly meaningful. The common theme connecting the four classes is scientific and non-scientific (rhetorical, political) issues in natural environment systems, including case studies that involve water (i.e. rivers, lakes, groundwater, atmosphere, oceans). In the first semester, the cohort will include ENGL 191 in which students will learn about the scientific method, basic conceptual principles in science and technology, and the rhetoric of science. They will also take CSCI 200, where they will learn about the basics of computers and how to use them to help solve interesting scientific problems. Also during this semester, a general scientific perspective on natural environments will be informally discussed in the weekly 1-hour meetings with the cohort leader. During the second semester, students will take EAS 105 and CMST 192. Students will experience the scientific approach to problems that involve water in EAS 105, while at the same time CMST 192 will allow students opportunities to examine how select groups use communication to address water and other environmental issues.
For more information contact the lead professor
Juan J. Fedele
E-Mail: jjfedele@stcloudstate.edu
Las Americas: Language and Peoples
This cohort will introduce students to the interdisciplinary study of Latin America, while advancing their command of the Spanish language. Students will take two terms of Spanish at the intermediate (201-202) level, and a one term introduction to Latin American Studies (LAST 250). They will also take History 109, "Race in America." The latter class will cover all racial groups in the United States, but will give special attention to the experiences of Latinos and Latinas. Instruction in the History and Latin American Studies classes will be primarily in English, but both instructors speak Spanish and will include more Spanish in the classroom as students gain ability to understand it. The cohort is aimed at students who enter with basic Spanish skills and an interest in learning more about Latin America and its people. Students interested in majoring in Spanish or Latin American Studies will particularly benefit, as will students interested in Global Studies, Social Studies Education, world cultures and any of the social sciences. Other students, however, should not hesitate to join. The courses offered in this cohort all meet General Education requirements and will therefore help students graduate in any major: There is virtually no possibility that a student could find that he or she had "wasted" a course by joining this cohort, regardless of any subsequent choice or change of major.
For more information contact the lead professor
Mark G. Jaede
E-Mail: mgjaede@stcloudstate.edu
South Africa-USA: Comparative Analysis of Race Relations in an International Context
This program will allow students to examine the concepts of race, ethnicity, discrimination, prejudice, racism and social inequality in a cross-cultural and global context. With a semester-abroad program, it will also permit them to observe first-hand social changes occurring in a society, South Africa, which had a history of racial oppression, and to compare the efforts at social transformation with those in the USA to undo racial oppression.
For more information contact the lead professor
Dr. Robert Johnson
E-Mail: robjohn@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-4928
Thinking Out Loud: Connecting Lives to Social Change
Do you think outside the box? Are you interested in what is going on in society? Are you interested in connecting your education and your experiences and perspectives to larger social issues? Join this learning community where students come together to “think out-loud” and question things in society like: Does the criminal justice system really work to create justice for all? Does the education system provide equal education for all people? How does the media affect how we understand what is going on in the world? How are different kinds of people portrayed in our society? Check out our webpage to view pictures of our field trip to the Twin Cities and to view our final projects: http://web.stcloudstate.edu/cofox/FYE/FYE.htm.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Dr. Catherine Fox
E-Mail: cofox@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-5106
Virtual Worlds
Do you have a second life? Have you pwned a mob? Know what a MMORPG is (or want to)? Coming next year to SCSU is a brand new first-year experience designed for the tech savvy and those who want to be.We will critically analyze various New Media technologies and theories in real and virtual classrooms.
For more information contact the lead professor
Kristian M. Twombly
E-Mail: kmtwombly@stcloudstate.edu
Special Multicultural Learning Community
These communities are offered in cooperation with the Office of Multicultural Student Services.
Community and Gender
This cohort provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of race, ethnicity, identity, gender, and community in the United States. The cohort is specifically designed to ensure the academic success, retention and full integration of students of color at St. Cloud State University. Students enrolled in this learning community will take courses that meet the General Education requirements in the following categories: two core courses (CMTY 195 and WS 201) and one diversity/racial issues course (CMTY 111).
The cohort is aimed at promoting success for the student of color. Although open to all students, African American, American Indian, Asian American, Latino and immigrant students will especially benefit from this cohort because it addresses the particular difficulties that students of color frequently face when attending any institution of learning outside of their home communities.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Chukwunyere Ugochukwu
E-Mail: ccugochukwu@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-2097
Multicultural Students and Success at SCSU
This learning community is designed specifically for students of color with the purpose of creating non-antagonistic spaces to discuss race, ethnicity, identity and community in which students can create a community of learners that helps students thrive and become successful in college.
For more information contact the lead professor:
Dr. Catherine Fox
E-Mail: cofox@stcloudstate.edu
Phone Number: (320) 308-5106
