Antioch Fine-tuning New Curriculum

By Jim Tomlinson '05
Reprinted with permission from the Yellow Springs News

Next September, students new to Antioch College will be the first to enroll in the First Year Learning Communities, or FYLCs, that are the centerpiece of Antioch's redesigned academic program.

The FYLCs are a pilot project of Antioch's new curriculum, which is at the core of a comprehensive institutional assessment of the College known around campus as the renewal plan. The changes in the plan are aimed at improving Antioch's financial stability, with a focus on recruiting and retaining students.

At Antioch, the FYLCs will involve two to three professors teaching a class of students. New students this fall will be able to choose one of three learning communities, all of which integrate a variety of academic disciplines, for each of their first two terms on campus. An FYLC will count for 16 credits, which is equivalent to a normal course load under Antioch's current curriculum.

Colette Palamar, professor of environmental studies at the College, has been leading a team of faculty, staff and students who are in charge of developing the FYLCs for the next academic year. "The process has been really collaborative and creative," Palamar said of the team's progress, which will culminate in a final report that will be released in a couple of weeks.

The FLYCs are about "getting out of traditional classroom spaces and working with people in the (greater) community," Palamar said, and each learning community will emphasize service and experiential activities off campus.

Palamar has spoken to a representative from YSI Incorporated about utilizing students to do research on how the company can utilize more environmentally friendly materials. She said that she anticipates students will have additional opportunities to engage in educational activities with village organizations.

A unique feature of Antioch's adaptation of the learning community model will be the "bookends,"a week at the beginning and end of each term, as well as half a week in the middle, when FYLCs won't meet as usual. Instead, this will be a time of intensive advising and studying for students, as well as time for faculty retreats.

The bookend at the end of each term will feature the "Antioch Conference," Palamar said, during which members of the FYLCs will gather to share the results of extended learning projects, as well as hear from other parts of campus, including senior projects from graduating students.

Facets of Antioch's new academic model such as these won't allow the "FYLCs to become isolated islands of scholarship," Palamar said. Instead, organizers hope the bookends and the Antioch Conference "provide for a much more tightly knit community," she said.

"We hope to build a culture around it that's important to the academic community," Palamar said of the Antioch Conference.

Next year will also bring the first phase of campus renovations called for in the renewal plan. According to Palamar, the first floor of the Science Building will be redesigned this summer to accommodate the number of students expected to enroll in the learning communities.

The College has established three FYLCs for both the fall and spring terms. Palamar said that she expects about 30 students to enroll in each FYLC. Palamar will teach a FLYC, along with economics professor Janice Kinghorn and another visiting professor, called "Confronting Consumption: Paradoxes of Plenty."

Another FLYC is "Embodied Mind/Thinking Body," taught by biology professor Brenda Moore, Jill Becker, who teaches dance, and a visiting professor of philosophy. The third, focusing on environmental justice, will be taught by Ann Bohlen, who teaches film, chemistry professor Kabuika Butamina and a third professor.

One of the spring-term FLYCs is "Revolutions," which will led by Bob Devine, who teaches communications, Africana studies professor Jahwara Giddings and Scott Warren, a professor of philosophy. Warren described the class as addressing the theme, "What makes a revolution a revolution, and how do they unfold as processes and events?" He said he hopes the class will give students a broad perspective on what is common among social, scientific, political and artistic revolutions.

The second spring FLYC is called "American Identities: Exploring Visual and Cultural Narratives," with photography professor Dennie Eagleson, anthropology professor Aaron Lampman and Jean Gregorek, a literature professor. The third spring FYLC is called "Water Matters," with biology professor Jill Yager, David Kammler, a chemistry professor and literature professor Ben Grossberg.

Warren, who was the dean of students before returning to teaching philosophy, said the implementation of the FYLCs is "the way of the future."

The co-op program will also undergo a transformation. In place of the current co-op model, in which students are able to select from a variety of jobs scattered throughout the world, next year's freshmen class will choose from two or three co-op communities in a major urban area in the U.S.

Adam Howard, associate dean of faculty and professor of education, has been leading the team in charge of evaluating and redesigning the co-op program.

He said the new model would provide "independence that students value, along with structure and support." According to a report by the team, firstyear students going on co-op during summer 2006 will engage in independent living and working, as in the current program, but will also participate in shared learning activities, such as small group seminars, individual consultations and e-learning activities.

There will also be a representative from Antioch in each of the co-op locations. "Our current model of complete independence is not working," Howard said.

"We can't recruit students very well, because there's not enough support on co-op, which doesn't appeal to the needs of a larger student population," he said. "We have to broaden our market, but still maintain our innovative, more progressive nature." Warren said that even though Antioch has been studying the learning community model from other schools, "the Antioch spirit will animate it in a unique way."

"There's a critical mass of faculty and students with openness of mind and spirit that you have to have to make the program work," he said.