a.k.a. The tale of the “chicken with its head cut off”!
What is the impact of the learning culture?
Before students join my San Diego City College MESA Program, they must first attend a “welcome to MESA” meeting with me where they learn what MESA can do for them and what MESA expects from them, beginning by completing the learning culture training plan. Then they are asked to decide whether they are IN or OUT – meaning that they are either joining MESA or not, and they’re asked to give a reason why for their choice. The student pictured above – a first-generation Latino majoring in computer science, answered, “I’m in because I feel like a chicken with its head cut off!”
However, this is a finals week “feel good” story to celebrate the commitment and success of this Latino student. Among his classes, he took trigonometry with a professor who is known to be challenging, especially for students who are in the dark with regards to the learning culture, but, for my MESA Creators who own the learning culture, he is a terrific professor. I congratulate my Latino student for embracing the learning culture to fight the fight in trigonometry. He immediately proved to himself that not only could he do it, but that the learning culture is very powerful, when he earned a 94% score on the first exam. Yet he also learned the valuable lesson that self-sabotage is a choice for failure (see “top 5 ways in which students sabotage themselves” handout), when he didn’t do well on the 2nd exam. This was a true wake-up call, because he knew that, empowered with the learning culture, he has the ability to be in control of his learning – and he did take control by earning A-grades on exams 3 and 4!
My student visited me early in finals week when all he had left was the trigonometry final, but, because he was empowered with the learning culture, there was no doubt that he would pass the class. Trigonometry is not easy, and in a class with 40% attrition before the final and likely 25% or fewer students passing the class, my MESA Creator was the top student in the class going into the final. The only question left was whether he would earn a perfect 100% score on the final! He also made my day by showing me his exam review packets (pictured above) – with dividers for BPR, lecture notes, homework, section summaries, and handouts, plus a plan of attack, and a corrected exam, which he created during the semester as he prepared for each of the four exams by using the “strategy for organizing class work,” as detailed in Section III.5.b in Turning on the Lights! Ironically, I learned that when his professor happened to see a review packet during the semester, the professor said to my student, “Why are you doing all that extra work?” Why? Because that’s what you do in the learning culture, and it’s an explicit example of Creator Law #3 – work smarter, not harder, professor. Clearly, the professor was also in the dark with regards to the learning culture!
As a cumulative exam, the trigonometry final tested everything covered during the semester, but my MESA Creator was well prepared with his review packets to easily be prepared for the exam – unlike other students who are in the dark and must go over everything to prepare for the final. When I asked my student what difference the learning culture made for him, he shook his head and replied, “I would have been one of those students who is no longer in the class!”
As promised, my MESA Creator checked-in with me after the trigonometry final. I was thrilled to see him to learn his experience with the final, and I immediately asked, “How did it go?” With a big and confident grin, he simply replied, “I crushed it!” (insert smiling emoji!)
Not surprisingly, trigonometry became his favorite class! He shared that, after the final, he was the last student to leave the class, and he thanked the professor for the experience before leaving. When asked what he thought about his professor, whom most students view as challenging, he replied with a smile, “He’s awesome!” However, when asked about his experience in trigonometry if he were one of those students in the dark with regards to the learning culture, he replied, “I would have been sitting it the back with my head down.”
Clearly, my MESA Creator is no longer a “chicken with its head cut off” nor is he sitting in the back with his head down! With many lessons learned from this semester, and beyond proving that the learning culture is very powerful, he has proven to himself that he has what it takes to succeed, and he is well on his way to creating his success in the bright light of the learning culture. When I asked him what he liked best about the learning culture, he replied, “I like the freedom you get when you immerse yourself in the learning culture!”
Again, this very dramatic student success story epitomizes the student experience as captured by this quote:
“In the light of the learning culture, students find hope and true empowerment; while in the dark, they find trauma, including depression, self-doubt, and abandoned dreams.”
Here we have the student experience and student voice, but is anyone listening? What more is needed? Percentages? Is this statistically significant? What is the theoretical framework? No, the students want to be in the light of the learning culture! In fact, when I’ve shared the learning culture with many higher education professionals, they too often reply, “I wish I had that when I started in college!” Have our leaders forgotten about their first-year experiences and trauma? Why does it seem that many leaders dismiss the learning culture praxis or choose to ignore it altogether? Yet, the learning culture must be the foundation on which student success is built; otherwise, what foundation are the students building on?
With the availability of many FREE and powerful resources on the Turning on the Lights website, is it truly a choice, i.e., whether to turn on the lights to empower students with the learning culture or leave them to be traumatized in the dark? Research on first-generation student status informs us that far too many of our students are in the dark when they begin their college studies, with Latinos and African Americans having the highest percentages of first-generation students. The most important thing any first-generation or first-year program can do for students is to turn on the lights for them! Moreover, on my travels to Eastern New Mexico University Roswell, I learned of a school of engineering at another university with a 39% student retention rate! How is this possible? Is there a double standard? When this level of performance is repeated by any student, they are quickly placed on academic probation, which is often followed by academic disqualification! I call on higher education leaders to turn on the lights for students when they begin their studies, then continue with existing high impact practices and strategies to help students succeed and achieve their true potential!
One year later, the student, who once felt “like a chicken with its head cut off,” is truly in control of his learning and excelling in the coursework in his education plan for transfer in computer science, and this achievement was recognized by his selection into the outstanding STEM Pathways Program at San Diego State University (SDSU), which provides essential mentoring support within a peer community of scholars to help students “navigate how to transition from community college to a 4-year university, explore STEM careers, and pursue a career that best fits their interests” – plus providing guaranteed transfer admission to SDSU! This rising scholar is well on his way to future success at SDSU and life, and he is enjoying the FREEDOM which is the “purpose for the learning” in the learning culture.