Keeping the Focus on Student Needs: Collaboration in Creation of UNK’s Learning Commons

Editor's Notes

• #2: Introduction of Presenters: TaffneeFaimon, Assistant Director of the Writing Center; Keri Pearson, Coordinator of Academic Peer Tutoring and Assessment; Ronald Wirtz, Coordinator of User Services; Jon Ritterbush, Electronic Resources LibrarianThe UNK Learning Commons will have its official “Grand Opening” in the Calvin T. Ryan Library during the Fall Semester, 2011. However, the Learning Commons has been operating successfully in temporary space within the Library for a full year. This presentation will describe how the Learning Commons was developed over a 2-year period from its inception to the completion of a renovated facility. It will also address our vision for the future of the UNK Learning Commons.This is a condensed version of a presentation given last week at the National College Learning Association annual conference in Indianapolis, and we will have time for Q&A at the end of our session. If you’re online and on Twitter, you can also send questions to this hashtag: #UNKLC
• #3: First, a little background about University of Nebraska Kearney: UNK is a 4-year institution, with approximately 6,500 students, of which 5,100 are undergraduate students. UNK also offers a growing number of online bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.Undergraduate research is a foundational element at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Students have an opportunity to research and publish in a wide array of disciplines, ranging from history to chemistry, from human performance to psychology and political science. This screen highlights some examples from UNK’s “Undergraduate Research Journal,” an annual publication of selected articles submitted by UNK undergraduate students. Many UNK students also attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.Because of this emphasis on research, and opportunities for publication, students must be able to utilize information literacy skills and be able to write well for audiences in their respective areas of inquiry.
• #4: We have structured this presentation in five different sections. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Learning Commons concept, we will provide a brief definition, followed by the vision as it was developed at UNK, the transition involved in moving from separate units toward the reality of shared space and cooperative programs, and a look at what the future might hold.
• #5: So what is a Learning Commons?On this slide we’ve cited several principles that help define a learning commons. Each of these emphasizes the collaborative aspects of gathering, evaluating, and using information to complete an assignment and to learn.Some of you may ask what distinguishes a Learning Commons from an Information Commons? I’ve asked this myself…Paraphrasing what Scott Bennett wrote in a 2008 article in the Journal of Academic Librarianship:“Properly understood, librarians and academic computing staff cannot alone create a learning commons, as they serve but do not define institutional mission.” Other academic units, which establish learning goals, do define the institutional mission and must join librarians and technologists in creating a learning commons. “The fundamental difference … is that the [information commons] supports the institutional mission while the [learning commons] enacts it.”
• #6: In the literature, we’ve also found that, physically, a “Learning Commons” can take on many forms and describe very different spaces. It can exist as stand-alone buildings or be housed within libraries or other campus facilities. It can brandish cutting edge architecture or simply tweak existing design. Many of these elements may already exist within your campuses (maybe even in tandem), but in a Learning Commons there is a deliberate effort to co-locate these services, making them seamless from the student perspective.
• #7: At UNK, our Learning Commons model currently focuses on three main partners in facilitating student success: the Library, the Peer Tutoring program, and the Writing Center. …We’ve come together in one space with the common vision of helping students succeed. Having defined what is a Learning Commons, I’d like to turn this over to ________________ to talk further about the vision.
• #10: Serendipity also played an important part in the development of the UNK Learning Commons, at least in the origin of the project, which started with a discussion between Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Gail Zeller, and Dean Janet Wilke of the Library.
• #14: Another important focus at UNK is a commitment to producing graduates who will possess the skills and attitudes needed for lifelong learning. As noted in the UNK strategic plan, this will include emphasis on technical and information literacy, as well as in the traditional literacy skills of reading and writing.
• #16: Based on a concept created by Writing Center and Learning Commons managers, the campus architect quickly developed a preliminary plan for the space. In the course of many discussions among staff, administration, architects and students, numerous modifications were made to this plan, including a number of changes during the actual construction process.
• #17: At the same time, the Writing Center Director who was tapped to run the Learning Commons moved to China. Also, Learning Commons construction was delayed due to design challenges and the realization that a quick remodel was not possible given the vision of the project.
• #18: The designated 4800 square feet for the Learning Commons remained stripped but mostly untouched as funding sources were sought by higher administration.
• #19: When it became apparent that construction in the new Learning Commons area would not be completed on schedule, the entire west half of the second floor of the Library – an area of around 3700 square feet - was designated as a temporary location for both the Peer Tutoring Program and the Writing Center.
• #20: We were still busy despite the halted construction and less than ideal situations of staffing and space!The Library saw huge growth in 2010-2011.
• #22: The AD position was filled in January 2011, providing needed support and leadership.Funding was appropriated through the UN Foundation after extensive efforts from administration. The constructionplan was finalized in Spring of 2011 and construction began immediately, completing in May 2011.
• #32: Gate count statistics are gathered automatically by counters installed in electronic gates at the entrance and exit of the library. This chart shows monthly total gate counts over a multi-year period – gate count figures are generally several times a month, then totalled:As noted in this quotation from Dean Janet Wilke addressed to SVC Charlie Bicak:“In Library jargon, "Gate Count" refers to the number of bodies physically passing through the library's gate counter. Since we don't require any type of formal check in when users enter, the numbers are most useful in showing broad trends but are less useful when assessing actual "usage." (By-the-way, the numbers can be "shocking" (more people than live in Kearney!) but keep in mind that, for example, staff are counted when they head out the door to a meeting!) (Just by way of explanation: the gate mechanism counts people coming in and leaving. We then divide by two.) Gate Count numbers are compiled by week and month. Now that the month of September is complete, the total is 38,876, up 24.38% over September 2010 at 29,647.”
• #33: …and on to the future!
• #34: So what lies ahead for the UNK Learning Commons?We hope to secure additional funding for updated furniture, more comfortable yet flexible in design to better accommodate groups of various sizes -- flip-top tables and chairs on casters, for example.Along with furniture that allows collaboration, we’d like to add more technology which facilitates tutoring and group-work as well. Having super-sized monitors or LCD TVs connected to computers in the Learning Commons and other group study rooms in the Library would be one example.The Learning Commons is a learning process for all of us, and so assessment is an essential component to gauging success. The Learning Commons staff are exploring new software tools and processes for tracking student use of peer tutoring and the writing center. Accudemia and TutorTrac are just two of the software applications being evaluated to replace our current system (AccuTrack).While Peer Tutoring and the Writing Center are now co-located within the library, our efforts to integrate our services and workflows are continuing. Student workers in the Writing Center may soon be required to complete an “information literacy” tutorial in Blackboard, as part of their training. Currently, the Reference Desk and Learning Commons are located on separate floors within the library. In the future, we might consolidate these service points.In the future, we may also be successful in bringing the IT Help Desk into the library, to provide better technology assistance to students during and after business-hours.
• #35: One major change may be years in the making…The main floor of the Library also houses UNK’s Communications Department. The space is no longer adequate for this academic program, and the Library’s Academic Program Review included a proposal that the space revert to the Library for Learning Commons programs.With additional space, other student services – such as the IT Help Desk – could move into the Library as well, facilitating further program “seamlessness” for UNK students.
• #36: Q&A Time!