十大赌博正规平台在线(Aquinas College)的81名一年级学生现在已经完成了两门四学分课程 college courses this semester, and it’s only October.
这些学生参加了一个创新的试点项目，使他们能够完成 one class at a time. 只有少数几所美国学院和大学提供， one-class-at-a-time scheduling, also known as the block model得到了学生和教师的积极评价.
现代学生不断变化的需求是十大赌博正规平台在线决定的核心 pursue this new scheduling model. This class of freshman had their education disrupted 新型冠状病毒肺炎大流行开始时，接下来的几个班级也是如此.
“我们有一群学生在寻求有意义的体验和人际关系 teaching,” Dr. Gretchen Rumohr, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs, explains. “We went through a period of inquiry, 探索了其他大学的做法，觉得街区模式将是一个很好的选择 fit for today’s students.”
And so far, students agree. From a survey of students in the block model pilot, out 在77名受访者中，没有一个学生表示他们不会推荐分组教学模式 98%的受访者认为，在传统的时间安排中，他们的同龄人都有这种感觉 positively impacted their engagement and participation 在课堂上es.
What does taking one class at a time look like?
在传统的课程安排中，大学生一周上几节课 schedules can be vastly different from day to day. For example, Monday’s classes could begin at 8 a.m. and Tuesday’s might not start until the afternoon. Students may have 难以安排他们的工作时间，制定例行公事或管理期望 在传统的课程安排中，几位教授同时教授不同的学科.
通过分组调度，学生们从周一到周五9点在同一个班级上课 a.m. 到中午. They immerse themselves in a single course for three and a half weeks, 完成最后的评估，然后在开始之前享受一个为期四天的周末 their next class in a new subject. Each semester, students take four four-credit classes 每年总共32个学分，超过了四年制毕业的要求 年.
学生们说他们喜欢这种模式的一个原因是，它给了他们 有机会完全沉浸在他们正在学习的科目中. 在这三周半的时间里，他们有时间和空间去探索它 means to be historians, 作家, biologists 和更多的. 他们不会把自己的兴趣和时间分散在几个科目上.
“当你只专注于一门课时，你就可以集中注意力了 on studying for that class,” said first-year student, Maria Hillary. “When you have 多门课，很难决定你应该学什么. If I only have one class, that’s my priority.”
Freshman Chloe Russell agrees. “It’s just one class, so I don’t have to worry about anything else,” she said. “My stress is pretty low compared to my senior year of high 学校.”
灵活的下午和一贯的日程安排也有助于学生管理他们的时间 as they settle into a new environment. Scheduling a hangout with friends, work hours, time to complete homework, or team practices is simplified.
“我肯定有更多的空闲时间，”一年级学生杰森·斯旺森(Jason Swanson)说 游泳和潜水队的少校和成员，他选择参加社团模式. “我只上了三个小时的课，然后我就可以去游泳了，这很好。 practice and I’m part of the history club, too. It gives you the opportunity to do those things because you’ve got that consistent schedule.”
Experiencing Subjects Firsthand
每天有三个小时的上课时间，教师们可以设计自己的课程 with embedded experiential learning opportunities. Experiential learning prioritizes 动手，现实世界的主动学习，或者边做边学，然后反思. For example, Dr. Amy Dunham Strand’s 以气候正义为主题的第一年研讨会已经度过了第一届 在多明尼加姐妹会的玛丽伍德校区种植野花塞 of Grand Rapids .
“我们还去了农贸市场，”一年级学生玛丽亚·希拉里说. “We 走到那里，我们和供应商谈了谈，问了他们问题. That was really 很酷:现实世界中的人们正在做些什么来帮助环境 and how it affects everybody’s lives. It made me more connected to what I’m learning 在课堂上.”
在罗布·彼得的人类生物学课上，学生们定期去实验室看解剖 they’re discussing firsthand.
“实际上，我现在正在解剖一颗心脏，”尼克·达什纳告诉我们 during his Human Biology lab. “Next Friday we’re taking a field trip to an exhibit to showcase the human body, which I think will be fun.”
“我们让学生在社区参观大急流城公共博物馆的藏品 Archives and Research Center for their World History class,” 博士说. Rumohr. “他们 got to be historians. Those are the kinds of experiences that students remember. 他们 the kinds of experiences that breed community. And they’re also the kinds of experiences that make for really memorable, impactful teaching.”
Fostering Connection in the Classroom
分组模式也加深了课堂关系，因为学生们加强了联系 with each other as well as with professors. For first year students, who are adjusting 对于一个全新的社区来说，定期与一群同伴见面是有显著价值的. 一些学生甚至觉得他们在街区找到了一生的朋友.
“我已经有了几个非常亲密的朋友，尽管这才六年半 weeks so far,” said Joseph Pupillo. “It’s great to have that so early on in the semester.”
“We’re moving through this together,” said Preslee Hall. “The block definitely makes it a lot easier to talk to people and get to know people. It’s really nice to get myself in a position where I can make friends easily.”
教授们已经习惯了一周要看好几堂课的学生 also witnessing the benefits of this relationship-rich environment. The connections 刻薄的学生在讨论中更自在，也更愿意寻求帮助.
“从老师的角度来看，我比自己更快地了解了我的学生 would in a regular semester,” 博士说. Dunham Strand. “And they’re generally more 现在.”
区块模型试点将在2023-2024学年的剩余时间内继续进行 并将在2024-2025学年迎来一批新的一年级学生. 十大赌博正规平台在线可能会决定是否延长一次一节课的安排 across the entire curriculum before the end of this academic year. If they decide 将该计划扩展到所有班级，这一变化将在2025年秋季发生.
教师可以进行专业发展，因为这些决定是经过权衡的. “We 获得了18.5万美元的拨款，用于在校园内建立卓越教学中心。” 博士说. Rumohr. “We will be giving out course redesign grants to teachers who wish 了解更多关于这个模式的知识，这样老师们就能在我们前进的过程中得到支持.”
Spots for next year are limited. First-year applicants 对分组模式感兴趣的人应该表示对一次上一节课的兴趣 在3月1日之前申请和交押金的时间安排将被考虑 one of the limited block spaces in Fall of 2024.
