LA Regional Network

The second annual Faculty Teaching and Learning Academy completed its semester-long program on May 14. The thirty-one faculty involved come from all nine LACCD colleges and represent a wide range of disciplines. They will receive certificates of achievement from the Board on May 26 at West LA College. The presentation will be followed by a celebration for FTLA participants from both years.

The purpose of the FTLA is to engage a community of faculty in exploring new methods of teaching and learning, in increasing their skills in new technologies, and in helping them form partnerships that advance these practices. Laura Berry, a nursing faculty member at LACC, talked about changes she made in her instruction, letting go of rushing to “cover the content” and allowing students to discover what they needed to learn. “It’s always a leap of faith when you step back from hurrying to ‘get it all done’ to making (students) kind of actively learn, and I think it’s working for me.” Adds Betsy Manchester, chair of LACC’s nursing department, “For the first time everyone passed (not only Laura’s exam but also) the PEDs exam….I can’t help but think that the techniques that Laura is giving the students are really carrying through…There really is a significant change.”

An integral element of this year’s FTLA is a classroom action research project. Many of them focused on collaborative learning, especially the use of social media such as Facebook, as an instructional tool.

The FTLA is a key component of our Student Success Initiative and is a joint effort of the District Academic Senate and district administration. The next class will begin in January 2011, so watch for applications in the fall. Questions or comments should be directed to Deborah Harrington, dharrington@email.laccd.edu.

On Friday, February 26, Dr. Eun-Woo Chang of the National Science Foundation (NSF) came to Los Angeles to  offer support to community colleges as they write grant proposals for submission to the NSF.  Dr. Chang explained the various kinds of programs supported by the NSF and provided exercises to guide the more than 70 faculty and administrators from across the LACCD as well as other colleges from the greater LA area who came to Los Angeles City College for the full day of planned activities.  To see the materials shared by Dr. Chang, go to the Presentations page of this site.

Dr. Eun Woo Chang will visit the LA Region on February 26 to share information on the various grant funding opportunities available through the NSF.  Click here for the flyer with all the details, including a registration link.

The LACCD developmental mathematics faculty inquiry group (FIG) has been collaborating for about a year to identify areas in math learning where students seem to have difficulty.  Pairs of math professors from five of the LACCD colleges and one member from Santa Ana College have been working with their respective departments to identify problems and develop solutions to the problems on their particular campus.  Now, these colleges are ready to implement the solutions in their classes.  To get a sense of the overall parameters of the larger FACCTS Project, click here.

Summary of LACCD Dev Math team projects, Fall 2009

EAST

Ruben and Regis are focused on improving students’ problem solving abilities related to application problems.  Using responses to student surveys as a guide they are creating application problems that resonate with students.  Math topics include: rational equations, quadratic equations, factoring and polynomials.

CITY

Kevin has created a set of SkillBuilders and ModelBuilders.  These are powerpoint and html pages that can be used to help students master key topics in algebra.

Hector has created a Latino student persona and developed tools that help students reflect on their attitude toward math, their performance in math, and their efforts to improve.

 VALLEY

Steven and Teresa are creating Skill Building Activities – 15 minute activities that will be incorporated into each 70 minute class.  Teresa is focusing on activities related to specific elementary and intermediate algebra math topics, and Steve is focusing on activities related to math anxiety and test taking skills.

 WEST

Henri is exploring multiple avenues for improving student performance of math skills.  These approaches include internet-based learning, in-class powerpoint presentations, frequent examinations, and more.

Matt is exploring what motivates students to learn, how students approach learning and studying, and what techniques instructors can use to increase commitment to and effectiveness in studying.  His work so far includes an assessment of students’ attitudes toward mathematics, an examination of student reflections on relationship between performance and commitment, and a review of the literature surrounding motivation and investment in learning.

 PIERCE

Bruce and Kathy have developed an approach to teaching elementary and intermediate algebra with the following key aspects:

1) Lessons have both reading and writing components

2) Classroom lessons are activity based

3) Mathematical concepts and skills are developed in context.  Environmental sustainability is a common theme.

4) Study skills are incorporated into each lesson

5) Professional development is a key component for instructors to share materials, pedagogy and experiences.

They have developed reading materials, classroom activities and homework assignments that are available online.

They are testing this approach in classes this semester and using the results to refine their materials and processes.

 SANTA ANA

Caren is working to help students master application problems in elementary algebra in several ways, by:

1) developing modules of activities and tools for each classic type of application problem.  Part of the focus of the modules is on general problem solving strategy and estimation.

2) developing a WordProbTutor modeled after OLI’s StatLabTutor, which will guide students in setting up equations, solving equations, and provide feedback about their work.

3) working with other departments to identify and then develop discipline-specific application problems

The 2010 FTLA began on January 19 and just completed six intensive full day sessions.  To check out the FTLA activities, click here.

On October 16, 2009, Arend Flick of the Riverside Community College District (Norco campus) came to Pierce College to facilitate a day-long discussion focused on identifying and assessing program level learning outcomes.  More than 100 faculty, administrators, and staff from across the LACCD came together first in constituent groups (student services, CTE faculty, administrators, Social Science faculty, and so forth) then, after a delicious lunch, as college groups to work together to identify appropriate program level learning outcomes and then to create a college program level assessment plan.

Rebecca Tillberg, chair of the LACCD Program Review Task Force, spoke to the group about the continuing work of the task force in trying to build a district-supported online program review model.  Ideally, as colleges develop Program Level Assessment Plans, these plans will be able to collaborate with the emerging online program review so the results of program level assessments can be easily used to enhance learning across the district and perhaps across the region as well.

Handouts and other workshop materials can be viewed on the Assessment page of this site.

Howdy–

Documents we have created at the BSILI are now posted on the BSILI page in this site.  You can leave comments on the documents and make suggestions for improvements.

It has been intense but oh so rewarding to participate in this awwesome gathering.  This group really is outstanding.

In an effort to keep everyone updated on news from Sacramento, Scott Lay of the Community College League of California is posting the latest on Twitter.  You can follow ccleague on Twitter.

It’s easy:  sign up for a Twitter account by going to Twitter.com.  Follow the directions on screen then sign up to follow ccleague.  You will receive updates from Scott as he gets it.  You can also post short comments or questions.

Many at the Regional BSI Workshop held at LA Mission College on May 7 and 8 were interested in information on how to register for the Strengthening Student Success Conference that will be held October 7-9 in San Francisco.  Here is the link to conference information: http://www.rpgroup.org/events/sss09.html.  Don’t wait too long; this excellent conference always fills early and many are disappointed when they are turned away.

Before you leave the RP Group site, you should check out the videos from past Student Success conferences.  Since 2007, most of the sessions at this conference are recorded and placed on the Streaming Video link on the RP Group site so that if you are unable to attend the conference or even if you were there but missed a session that interests you, you have the opportunity to visit–or revisit–that session any time you want to.  One of my favorite presentations is from the 2007 SS Conference: Alchemy at CSM (College of San Mateo) and describes the work of a group of faculty involved in an inquiry group examining writing across the curriculum.  The process they followed and the insights they gained are presented in such a way that every time I view this presentation, I want to gather a group of colleagues from across a variety of disciplines and get to work immediately to talk about how we can help our own students improve their writing skills.

Contribute to the Network by responding to the following questions:

1.  Identify an area where your college excels in supporting students with basic skills needs.

and

2.  Identify an area where your college is challenged in supporting students with basic skills needs.