College Profiles

Patrick Henry Community College

Background

Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC) in Martinsville, Va., serves rural residents of three counties—Patrick, Henry and part of Franklin—in the Piedmont of south-central Virginia.  The region has been hard hit economically in recent years, and in 2008 had an unemployment rate of 12.1% (compared to Virginia’s 4.0%).  PHCC has a total enrollment of about 3,300 students.

The college’s enrollment has swelled as unemployed workers use Trade Act benefits, which the federal government grants to workers displaced by foreign trade or production shifted to foreign countries, to obtain new job skills.  One-third of the college’s first-time degree-seeking students are minorities; 80% test into developmental courses.

Achieving the Dream Interventions

Active Cooperative Learning (ACL)

PHCC is moving from a lecture based instructional model to one where the learner is actively engaged and more accountable for his/her learning.  In order to ensure the successful transition to active cooperative learning, the college has provided at least 15 professional development opportunities; currently, 62% of the college’s full time faculty and 100% of those teaching developmental education courses have completed extensive training and adopted ACL strategies.

Effective cooperative learning improves critical thinking ability, and PHCC chose to study improvements in critical thinking skills as one explicit student learning outcome of ACL.  After an exhaustive review of literature, the college decided to use the California Test of Critical Thinking Skills (CTCTS), viewed as the “gold standard” by many in measuring critical thinking, as a part of their evaluation of ACL.

Results

PHCC has tracked student retention based on active cooperative learning (ACL) participation. Students enrolled in courses using ACL have a higher rate of persistence over the first year.

One explicit student learning outcome of the ACL experience is improved critical thinking skills. PHCC set a goal to raise the average score of their graduating class to be at or above the CTCTS test norms and the Virginia Community College System average in five years.  This goal was exceeded in the first year of the program.