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GeneralSpace, Georgia Gwinnett College’s repository where you can find creative and intellectual output by students, student groups, faculty, and staff. If you are interested in depositing work in GeneralSpace, please contact Catherine Downey,cdowney@ggc.edu or 678.407.5142, to learn how.
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Recent Submissions
Item Experiential Learning to Increase Student Motivation and Engagement in an Introductory Computing CourseThis paper examines the impact of a career-focused experiential learning (EL) assignment on student engagement and motivation in ITEC 1001 – Introduction to Computing, a general education course. This study details the design and implementation of an EXACT assignment, part of XYZ College's Quality Enhancement Plan, which integrates practical application of course concepts with critical self-reflection on career choices. Students develop career readiness skills by creating artifacts such as resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and ePortfolios. Survey data collected from 386 students after completing the assignment indicate a strong positive perception of engagement and the development of real-world skills. Students found the assignment engaging and valuable, particularly in enhancing their understanding of course content's relevance to their future careers. The paper concludes by discussing implications for incorporating EL in introductory computing courses and proposing future research directions.Item Faculty Use of Experiential Learning and Critical Thinking in School of Business Courses: Current Trends and Future Directions(2025-09-19)As part of a college-wide Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), the School of Business is assessing the integration of experiential learning (EL), reflection, and critical thinking (CT) in its curriculum. EL involves applying course concepts to real-world contexts, supported by reflective activities that deepen learning. This study analyzes faculty-reported course-level data on the presence of EL, reflection, and CT across disciplines, course levels, and EL types. Findings show that over 70% of courses include EL and CT. Reflection is embedded in 57% of courses, though consistency across course sections varies. Problem-based learning and simulations are the most used EL types and are strongly aligned with reflection and CT. Departmental and course-level patterns highlight areas for both expansion and initial implementation. These insights will guide future curriculum planning and course selection for QEP participation.Item Use of AI for critical thinking artifact assessment(Georgia Gwinnett College, 2025-09-19)The project pioneers an innovative approach to evaluating High-Impact Practices (HIPs) by leveraging advanced large language models (LLMs) to automate the grading of student critical thinking reflections. Building on research demonstrating LLMs’ capacity to achieve human-level accuracy in grading complex, multi-step explanations, this initiative addresses scalability challenges as the college expands its Experiential Learning and Critical Thinking (EXACT) Plan by embedding experiential learning and critical thinking into 70+ courses by 2029. The project will develop an AI algorithm trained to assess student reflections using validated rubrics for integrative learning and critical thinking, mirroring the interrater reliability of faculty committees.Item College Student Perspectives of Working with Middle School Students to Enhance STEM interest(Presented: 2025 Kennesaw State University Virtual SoTL Summit, 2025-09-19)The purpose was to assess college students’ perspectives on applying their knowledge to trigger STEM interest among middle school students. Twenty-six college students within various STEM majors (e.g. Biology, Chemistry, Exercise Science, Health Science, Information Technology, and Math) developed and implemented STEM activities for middle school students attending an outreach program on the college campus. Following working with the middle school students, college students were asked to complete an electronic Qualtrics survey containing demographic, opinion, and reflection questions. The college students, overwhelmingly felt that they could apply what they had learned in their courses (88.5%), apply their knowledge to real-world STEM activities to reinforce their learning (84.5%), and participating strongly influenced their view of STEM education (92.3%). This experiential learning opportunity was very well received by STEM major students even if they were not specifically interested in working with this age range of students.Item Faculty Assessor Model for Large-Scale Assessment Data(Presented: 2025 Kennesaw State University Virtual SoTL Summit, 2025-09-19)Best practices models for assessment of critical thinking skillset reflections suggest having a team of faculty assessors who are outside of the course faculty. This team provides independent artifact assessment to determine capability in four critical thinking skillset areas and evaluate students’ skill in cognitive integration across a variety of experiential learning opportunities. The model for assessment utilized a team (two faculty) trained on two rubrics (one for critical thinking skills and one on integrative learning). During the first session of this assessment model, seven raters reviewed 22 artifacts with large and small group training and practice using the two rubrics. During this session, 0.75 or smaller standard deviations were observed for consistency and precision. A second session with seventeen raters will review over 300 artifacts using this small team model over two days. Using this model allows processing many artifacts without overburdening the team and prepares for campus-wide assessment.
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