Demand Side Learning

Summer Program

We have designed a national program where Internet based collaborative environments, and campus based summer workshops, are used to recruit high school students into the college system. The argument for federal funding is based on the principle of lifting under-served students economically. A focus may be made on the much needed decentralization of energy and commodity use and production infrastructure, as well as a new social philosophy based on demand side capitalism.

For this to be successful, new pedagogy, new curriculum and new use of communication and collaborative technology is desired. The College is positioned to showcase a functional system with the required properties. If initial funding may be found within a few months, the program could start in the summer of 2009.

To this point, the program would use "demand side educational theory" and "topic mapping" as a means to re-focus graduating high school students on academic success. Two groups of between 600 - 800 students would enroll in a six week program on campus. Residence halls staff, security, social events, administrative staff and faculty would direct a high quality experience designed to communicate the demand side learning process, a pedagogy and curriculum. The curriculum would have three focus areas; foundations of arithmetic and set theory, educational principles of the liberal arts, and historical perspectives.

During this period of six weeks, students will be introduced to a number of universities and colleges. The "Bridge" program will assist students in making the selection, on demonstrating promise, and preparing for the college experience. Many students will decide to enroll in the College, but some will be placed in some of the best universities in the nation.

The program at the College will be unique

Web based tools will serve a topic mapping pedagogy where students co-develop a collective set of class notes. While under development, this set of notes will be exchanged between students primarily using pencil and paper, with some "blank paper presentations" scanned and lifted to a private web site. Cell phones and other computer technology will be connected so that all students and all faculty have 7-24 access to a advanced collaborative environment similar to Blackboard. The collective set of notes will be a product of the entire student body, with guidance and direction by faculty.

Our students are already using this pedagogy in the development of class notes and a common class collection of topics and topic descriptions.

Start up funding of around 2 million is needed from single private donor. This money will be used to start a trust fund. Each year, the program is designed to create the funds to be used the following year. With the conversion of Stone hall room 201 (unused now) to an office and workshop resource, an small investment would make the pedagogy available to all freshman students at the College during the semester Spring 2009. Thus making the case for the larger investment.