INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MAY 22, 1990

While the immediate purpose is to transform
particular courses, the ultimate goal is to transform the
entire curriculum. FIPSE faculty are currently sharing
their experiences and insights with colleagues on their
own campuses, and some have been delivering papers
on their work at regional and national academic
conferences. A statewide meeting of community
college faculty this spring will expose the project to a
broader audience and distribute a monograph that will
include summaries of the workshops, sample course
outlines and assignments, and bibliographies.

The Integration Project directors, who read the
journals that faculty keep about their experiences in the
project, report that the participants have expressed
excitement about re-learning the content of their fields,

re-thinking their courses from a feminist perspective,
and teaching newly transformed courses. Faculty also
express their enthusiasm for working with peers from
their own and other colleges.

Gail Forman, Professor, English

This article includes information from “Rethinking the
BIG Question: A Multi-College Community College
Integration Project,” an unpublished article by Myrna
Goldenberg and Shirley Parry.

For further information, contact Gail Forman or Myrna
Goldenberg at the Department of English, Montgomery
College, 51 Mannakee Street, Rockville, MD 20850.

Facilitator-Assisted Learning

When 90% of all college students consider the fear of
speaking before an audience to be a serious handicap,
why is it that Speech 101 (a non-required course) is one
of the most popular courses at Mt. San Jacinto College?
One of the reasons for our success may be the use of
student facilitators. Another may be the overall design
of the program.

In each section, four students from previous classes
are selected by the instructor to facilitate a small group
of 12 to 15 students. In addition to having completed
Speech 101 in a previous semester, each facilitator will
have completed four weekend workshops that enhance
their skills in small group leadership.

All Speech 101 courses are taught in three-hour
blocks, once a week (two day sections and one evening
section). Each class is taught in a lecture hall with four
adjacent small rooms. Each room is furnished with a
lectern, a clock, and a VHS camcorder.

During a semester, a student completes 20 to 24
exercises, which some call “speeches.” Ten to 12 of
these activities are videotaped on the student's own
videocassette. Students then self-evaluate, either at
home or in the college library, according to guidelines
provided in the textbook (written to implement this
program).

A typical class session begins with a 10- to 15-
minute lecture in the large group: reinforcing skills to
be worked on that day, evaluation techniques, and
feedback activities. The next two hours are spent in
small groups, where students complete assignments,
are provided feedback and evaluation by group

members, and receive guidance from the facilitator.
The last 45 minutes are held in a large group, where
some of the students are given the opportunity to
“show off” their talents. The instructor also explains
and illustrates the next week’s assignment(s).

The facilitator’s role is enhanced and strengthened
because he/she is a student who has successfully
completed the course. In addition to serving as an
interpreter of the instructor’s guidelines, the facilitators
encourage, guide, coach, assess progress, and keep
records on each student in their group. Each week, the
points that lead to grades are recorded. Students earn
points for: attendance, evidence of preparation, pres-
entations, and self-evaluation. The student, along with
the facilitator, keeps a record of his/her own progress.

Each week the facilitator meets with the instructor
for 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after class:
building an agenda, problem solving, assessing student
progress, and providing the instructor with names of
students who may need special assistance. This time
also provides the instructor with up-to-date feedback
to learn what works and what needs adjustment.

Most students report an increase in self-confidence,
and they can detail the skills they have gained and
those they plan to use in the future. The best evalu-
ation of this program’s success in the consistently high
retention rate—above 90%—and the number of refer-
rals by students to their friends.

Del Barnett, Instructor, Speech
For further information, contact the author at Mt. San

Jacinto College, 1499 N. State Street, San Jacinto, CA
92383.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

April 20, 1990, Vol. XII, No. 13

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1990
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER
institutions for their own personnel.

 

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