WHERE HAVE ALL THE CLASSROOMS GONE? REJECTING TRADITIONAL SEAT TIME FOR FIELD AND PROJECT WORK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA WESTERN

Starting in 2005, the University of Montana Western became the first public university in the United States to adopt a system of immersion scheduling where students take one class at a time. Each class is 18 instructional days and each day of work consists of whatever time it takes to get the job done. The Environmental Sciences Department has been using these large blocks of time to teach their core courses in the field, with little to no seat time. We focus on projects and make certain that they have a direct benefit to society. This approach has been very successful, resulting in the highest student retention rates in Montana and graduation rates that have increased by as much as 45 percent. In addition, placement rates of Environmental Sciences students within two years of graduation average 92 percent. The Montana Western faculty have been recognized through five consecutive Carnegie/CASE teaching awards, including the first and only U.S. Professor of the Year Award to a Montana professor.

One example of the many classes that have little to no seat time is Environmental Field Studies. Since 2006, students have been conducting very detailed assessments of stream morphology, in-stream macroinvertebrates, riparian vegetation and stream habitat on the upper Big Hole River and its tributaries in southwest Montana. The goal of the project is to assess riparian restoration efforts conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in order to improve habitat for fluvial Arctic grayling. The assessment data and reports, which are typically upwards of 350 pages in length, are used by the agencies to adjust their restoration efforts and better utilize their limited resources. This project saves the agencies money, serves as research for the professor and results in unparalleled portfolio pieces for the students. At a time when students need more than a transcript listing of courses to land a job or get into graduate school, abandoning the traditional classroom makes a measureable difference.