One classroom at Allen Community College is offering a glimpse into the form of modern education, and what it may be in the future. ON WEDNESDAY afternoon, the ACC and Altoona students were spending their 80-minute foundations of graphic design class time working on assorted projects. The high school students and college students were scattered around the room, in no particular order. THE COURSE is just part of a computer accreditation program through ACC. When the high school students have completed 24-hours worth of required classes, they will have a certificate in web design through the college.
Christy Cutshaw’s classroom number is B24, and inside its walls is quite a range of students. There are high school students as young as 15, traditional college-age students and non-traditional students as old as 50.
“I have never taught like this,” Cutshaw said, while sitting in her classroom. She is a computer science instructor with the college, and has been working with ACC since 2010.
The high school students are a group of five who commute from Altoona-Midway High School five days a week since August. Every afternoon, they load up in a bus and make the 35-minute drive to the Allen campus for their computer class with Cutshaw.
Dean Phillips, one of the students from Altoona, said the idea was introduced to him through their advisor, and he was intrigued by it. He said he appreciates the cooperative learning environment a more “mature” classroom can offer.
“It’s more mature than at high school. I can get more done,” Phillips said. “It’s your own choice to be here.”
“It’s difficult not because of the age, but the ability,” Cutshaw said of the classroom dynamic. There is no computer prerequisite to the course. “Some have had experience, others have never sat in front of a Mac before.”
In fact, Cutshaw added that several of the ACC students have never even taken a computer course before. She said the high school students seem to be the more technologically inclined members of the group, especially with Macintosh computers. They have iPad tablets that are sent with them from their high school.
“They (high school students) are most excited about the setup,” she said. “They probably have more opportunities.”
Cutshaw is coming full-circle in a way. Prior to moving to ACC, she taught computer courses at Altoona-Midway High School. In fact, she had most of the high school students enrolled in her course during their seventh-grade year. Now, she can see what kind of people they have become, and what they can do.
“They’re different people,” she said.
She recalled a class day when she was absent, and the class met without her and communicated via text messages and online messages. Her 50-year-old student was having issues with her computer program, and the high school students were more than happy to assist their classmate. When Cutshaw returned, her older student couldn’t wait to report of their helpful assistance.
“They have that mindset,” Cutshaw said. “My favorite thing about the whole deal is how they help each other.”
She expects most of the Altoona students to return next semester for classes — all of them are currently juniors. When asked if her non-traditional classes have been more challenging, she thought for a moment and said, “actually, no, not really.”
“I give them free creative room,” she said. “Everybody brings a strength. They’ll get out of their comfort zone.”
Cutshaw said she believes the younger students have a leg up on other high school students through their experience.
“Some kids sometimes in high school are pretty intimidated by college,” she said. “They get a bigger picture of what college is like.”
Ryan Smith, a first-year student at ACC, said there have been minimal adjustments to having younger, and older, students in the classroom.
“They actually blend in pretty well,” he said.
Cutshaw said all of her students, whether they are 50, 20 or 15, have had no problems connecting with each other and working collaboratively.
“They have easily built relationships,” she said. “They (the ACC students) have been very accepting.”
The younger students are still getting used to a classroom with the freedoms of college.
“They had to get used to not raising their hands to go to the restroom,” Cutshaw said with a laugh.
Across the full spectrum of her students, their success in the classroom is not dependent on age, she said, but their motivation level in general. The high school students have learned that their education produces what they put into it.
The high school students have had to come in on days when their high school was on vacation, and have had to learn that they will not receive regular progress reports on their achievements and progress. Cutshaw didn’t seem worried about her group of five high school students — or any of her students for that matter.
She is already looking forward to the next semester.
“It’s nice to have a different outlook on things,” she said. “I’ve loved it.”
Bridging the age gap
