Groundbreaking Initiative to Support Black Male Persistence

Groundbreaking Initiative to Support Black Male Persistence

DR. DARRYL HYLTON, JR.

OPINION: CEO, Dr. Darryl Hylton, Jr., shares his experience on creating a course specifically designed for African-American males.

THE INCEPTION

During the matriculation in my doctoral program, I collaborated with the Center for Student Success at Mars Hill University to create an opportunity to increase the retention and [eventually] graduation rates of African-American males who traditionally have the lowest degree completion. The original idea to create the First Year Seminar was met with minor resistance from various constituents across campus due to fear of the sections being considered a form of segregation. As defined by Dictionary.com, segregation is "the separation of people or things from the main body or group". Using this definition as a foundation, I explained to my constituents that we were already "segregating" and providing specific support services for certain specialized populations (i.e. Bonner Scholars and Honors Program). With that rationale coupled with the institutional research, it was finally accepted [with reservations] to begin Fall 2019.

COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Upon the acceptance of the sections, my colleague (Dr. DeAndre Howard) and I began the journey of course development. We knew from the beginning that our approach had to be different. There had to be an intentional effort in applying cultural relevant pedagogy through course lectures, assignments, discussions, etc. while maintaining the integrity of the course learning outcomes. Course curriculum planning began around mid-May and was not finalized until mid-July. Simultaneously, I collaborated with the Office of Admissions to gather a list of students who selfidentified as male and African-American (per their application). Upon receiving the list, I called every student and spoke with them (and their families) about this new opportunity. The students who were interested and accepted the invitation were registered for the section. While most students contacted said yes, there were a couple that declined. By the end of the summer orientations and before the semester began, Dr. Howard and I met face-to-face with each family and student. On the first day of class we welcomed 28 students (23 Football, 2 Basketball 2 Lacrosse, and 1 Track) from six different states (NC, GA, SC, FL, CT, and LA).

COURSE STRUCTURE

As an adult education practitioner, I understand the need to challenge and support students to become self directed when critically thinking and analyzing situations in problem solving. With this unique cohort of students, this student development theory was even more important. Utilizing a blended course format teaching from a culturally relevant pedagogical lens, I intentionally incorporated creativity, charisma, and leadership through the use of group discussions, case studies, and reflective writing. It is important to me to provide spaces for students to use their words and voices to express their thoughts while trying to navigate the educational system, negate stereotypes, and for many of them become the first in their family to graduate from college.

The Daily Affirmation. Every Tuesday and Thursday I greeted each student at the door with a smile and firm handshake. I wanted each student to feel welcomed into the learning environment and know that they were a valuable contributor to the course. During every class period I used some type of classroom management tool to mix up the collaboration (seating) arrangements to entice varied group dynamics. This was often done with students matching a piece of candy or 'UNO' card selected upon entering the classroom with its corresponding seat. Although the seating arrangements changed every class meeting, one thing that remained constant was the daily affirmation. The daily affirmation inspired by words from Dr. Rita Pearson's Ted Talk, 'Every Child Needs A Champion', was used as a reminder for that they were more than their circumstances, stereotypes, and obstacles. When it was time to recite the affirmation, everyone stood to their feet out of respect for the piece; it was a powerful display of the commitment to themselves and their peers to achieve Black excellence.

I am powerful, I am strong and had a purpose before anyone had an opinion.

-- An excerpt from the First Year Seminar Affirmation

Writing Expectations. From my experience teaching courses with a [semi] intense writing curriculum, I realized [over the years] many students were not prepared for the academic rigor. For example, in FYS 111, when students submitted writing assignments, Dr. Howard and I noticed that we were providing "suggestive feedback" encouraging students to visit the writing center to improve their writing. But, that's all it was - a suggestion. Students did not utilized the feedback, and consequently their writing did not improve. Reflecting on the experience, we decided that for this seminar course visiting the writing center would count twenty percent their overall grade on writing assignments. As one could imagine, students were not happy about the expectation; however, there were many positive unintended and unintentional consequences, as a result. First, it didn't dawn on me that my expectation of visiting the writing center to receive the twenty percent naturally "forced" students to complete their assignments early. Ultimately, because students had their assignments reviewed by the writing center, they felt confident to submit their work early. Yes, I had no late assignments. In addition, because the writing center was in close proximity to other tutoring resources, students started taking advantage of the other resources available to them for their other classes. By creating this writing expectation, I ultimately helped shift paradigms about tutoring and develop healthy habits of utilizing campus resources.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Building community amongst these scholars was more than just facilitating an academic space, it was also about creating a network between their families. Familial support was extremely helpful for Dr. Howard and I as we navigated the semester; however, I realized that while the parents were connected with us, as instructors, they were not connected with each other.

As the semester progressed, I created opportunities for parents to engage with each other and their students outside of the classroom. For example, at the midway point during the fall semester, I provided the opportunity for families to submit a short one minute video of loved ones wishing their student good luck on the upcoming midterms as well as just providing overall support; many of the students in our class had not been home since they arrived for football camp in early August. One of the most successful networking for our families was the coordination of the inaugural 'Black Family Tailgate'. During homecoming, we had about 20 families participate. Each family (and even some Black faculty/staff members) chipped in to help make it a success. Everyone enjoyed themselves, was happy to meet one another, and establish another layer of support for students.

COURSE OUTCOMES

Of course, with such a specialized course serving this population, student outcome data is very critical. Overall, our retention and student satisfaction were above average compared to the overall retention and student satisfaction for all first year students. Some of the quantitative data yielded includes:

0% of students failed the First Year Seminar Course.

82% (23/28) students earned a grade of 'C' or better in the seminar course.

0% of students were academically suspended from the Fall 2020 semester.

25% (7/28) students were on academic probation for the Fall 2020 semester.

71% (20/28) students returned to the university for the Spring 2020 semester.

In addition to the quantitative data, two qualitative surveys were given to students - one from the university (End of Course Survey) and the other from me. Of the two surveys, there were two open ended questions that allowed students to share their perspective of the course. First, when asked to share the most meaningful element of the course some students responded:

Being in a class with a bunch of students my color.

Black kids coming together to do great things.

The fact that we had an all Black FYS class helped us understand more of why we should push harder as Black males

The other open ended question asked students if they believed that having African-American male professors changed their perception of self and opened their eyes to more opportunities and they think and plan for the future and to explain.

The responses from students included:

Yes. It's good to see another Black man and even better teaching a college course.

Yes. It shows that Black males can be something special.

Yes. They showed me points of views I never saw.

Yes. Because if he can do it, I can and even more.

CONCLUSION

With the evidence provided, it was clear that this was not only effective, but necessary. As an educator who has taught variations of the First Year Seminar course multiple semesters at multiple institutions, this was by far the most impactful experience. While they may not realize it, I learned so much from them and for that I am appreciative.

In closing, there are 4 major take-aways from teaching this cohort that are beneficial for educators (or anyone) considering entering this type of space.

1. DON'T ASSUME all Black male student experiences are the same or that all Black males come from broken households.

2. FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IS KEY. No one knows the student better than those who helped raise them.

3. THE EXPECTATIONS SET are the expectations achieved. Period.

4. MOVING BEYOND INITIATIVE is essential if we want to show our commitment to Black male student success.

There is plenty of work to be done here and other institutions. It is not for those who are not passionate about the work. It cannot be a one man show. However, if institutional leaders can come together with an intentional investment in helping, we can truly make an impact.

from left to right: Christopher Gardner II, Dr. Darryl Hylton, Daquan Carter after their presentation at the 5th annual Uplifting Black Males conference at Virginia Tech University.