An Academic Experiment at Trinity University

Sofia Bahena '07 stood in front of a classroom and prepared to teach a class in a campus building where she had taken numerous courses as a Trinity University undergraduate. The moment felt surreal, she said, because among those seated before her were professors who had taught and mentored her as well as the incoming president of the school.

"I feel like the process of learning and how I understand learning has changed over time," said Bahena, who majored in sociology and business administration at Trinity. "When you think about learning as a process, we all follow a process as people, and that fact lessened my nerves. Activities that center on learning are not about the person who is standing in the front of the room but group interactions and the process they follow to learn. In the end, it was a very good experience."

After earning a doctorate from Harvard University, Bahena returned to her hometown of San Antonio as an education associate at the Intercultural Development Research Association, an independent, non-profit organization that promotes educational opportunity for all children. At the urging of her mentor, Arturo Madrid, the Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, she agreed to participate in one of 23 classes taught as part of the Great Trinity Experiment.

The event functioned as an academic symposium to commemorate the inauguration of Trinity's 19th president, Danny J. Anderson, in February. The idea was to "flip the script" with professors sitting in classrooms being taught by energetic and innovative students, staff, and alumni. Bahena led a session called "Knowledge Mobilization: Connecting Research to Policy and Practice."

Her topic was related to her research and her non-profit organization using data to illustrate her points and to encourage the "learners" to interact with each other. Data visualization, she said, "has the power to craft a message."

In preparation for the Trinity community for the "experiment," participants assembled in Laurie Auditorium to hear a charge from Anderson to keep four questions in mind during the sessions they taught or attended:

• With whom do we learn or should we learn?
• How should we be learning?
• What should we be learning?
• Why should we learn or experiment?

Another session, led by Kim Nguyen '16 and Kylie Moden '17, was intended to teach sufficient computer code in order to design a website in one hour. Toward the end of the class, one student appeared exasperated because the final product was not what she expected.

"Oh, I see," Moden said, pointing to one tiny character on the computer monitor. That's an ‘i' -- not an ‘I' -- that's the thing about coding. Just one character can change the color." In wrapping up the class, Moden encouraged the students to keep practicing. "There are a lot of coding resources online. You can always learn code. It's great."

One of her "students" was Glenn Kroeger, associate professor of geosciences, who said he codes "all day long, every day" as part of his research protocol. He said he did learn a few software shortcuts, and Moden said it was "fun" to share her love for coding.

All the courses offered are listed here. Here is a sample of some of the sessions:

Balancing Acts: Symmetry and Balance in Mathematics and Art
"Instructors" Jeanna Goodrich Balreira '08, editor of Trinity magazine, and student Samantha Skory '16 used concepts of physical and aesthetic weight to create a three-dimensional art installation out of origami cranes.

The Struggle is Real: Student Identity Development and the College Experience
"Instructor" Stacy Davidson, director for Academic Support, was joined by four students to discuss the many ways to establish identity, develop autonomy, manage emotions, and find out where to fit in during the college years. Said Tahlar Rowe '18, "I am a complex person, but I'm a cool person at the end of the day."

Drumming with Your Hands: An Introduction to Hand Drumming
Taught by two students, all participants were given drums and received a brief history of hand drumming along with details on different music cultures of the world and types of drums -- Conga, Bongo, Djembe, and Tubano. The class played along to Rockin' Robin, I Want to Be a Mighty King, and the Jackson Five song, I Want You Back. "Instructor" Luisa Ruge-Jones '16 said, "We all sound like musicians now, even though we all come from different disciplines."

Let's do the Time Warp Again! A Scholarly Look at the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Class attendees had been encouraged to see the movie before the class, and discussions were focused on themes of gender and sexuality. Religion professor C. McKenzie Brown, the faculty adviser to the class, said, "It exceeded my expectations."

You drink the rocks you stand on: How San Antonio's geology defines its water
Two geosciences students guided professors, members of the Trinity Board of Trustees, staff, and non-geosciences students through a series of experiments to test for the hardness and alkalinity of water, among other tests. "It was fun," said Yvette Muniz ‘17, one of the "instructors."

Designing our Life: Using Design Thinking to Discover, Organize, and Creatively Blend Your Passions
Lisa Jasinski, from the Office of Academic Affairs, was joined by four students to discuss what it means to design something, with the goal of having designs that are human-centered, sustainable, intuitive, safe, simple, and stem from radical collaboration of the designers.

The Evolving Face of Homelessness
Students living in HOPE Hall held an interactive exercise for the class to experience a feeling of not owning anything and screened a powerful video about city crews that clear abandoned areas of items such as mattresses and boxes filled with personal articles while the occupants are away. Jay Stracke ‘17 said many homeless are treated like they are invisible. The class developed "hope boxes" containing objects such as hygiene kits, hot meals, drug and addiction programs, dental checkups, day care, and other helpful programs and items.