Teaching and Learning Center

A place for faculty and staff at BCC.

 
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Past Activities & Events

Fall 2010 Programs

Posted on by teaching-and-learning

This fall, Title III and the Basic Skills Initiative are running four different types of activities in the Teaching and Learning Center.

The Inclusive Classroom
This workshop series taught by Dr. Kimberly Mayfield from Holy Names College focuses on helping teachers develop curriculum and teaching practices that reach students with a wide-range of life experiences, learning styles, and cultural backgrounds. Monthly workshops will be held during Fall 2010 and participants will continue in Spring 2010 as mentors to additional participants. Compensation (subject to change): $1000 stipend for full participation. Contacts: Joan Berezin (jberezin@peralta.edu) & Terry Tricomi (ttricomi@peralta.edu).

Student Learning Outcomes Workshop
Dr. Mary J. Allen will present a workshop on how create simple and sustainable assessments connected to your department’s Student Learning Outcomes. The training will consist of one initial workshop with follow-up meetings to complete SLOs by department. Faculty appointed by department to conduct SLO assessment and follow-up should sign-up and attend the first workshop. Compensation: TBA. Contacts: Joan Berezin (jberezin@peralta.edu) & Terry Tricomi (ttricomi@peralta.edu).

Faculty/Staff Inquiry Groups [FIGs]
Teams of faculty and staff work together to research a thorny issues the encounter when working with students. The research questions should require the team to gather data from students to better understand the issue. Orientation in September; final presentation in late November/early December; meetings with team during semester.Priority will be given to inter-disciplinary teams, projects designed to close the assessment loop, and projects that focus on basic skills students. Compensation: $400 for team lead/$300 for participants (maximum 5). Contact: Scott Hoshida (shoshida@peralta.edu; 510-981-2897).

Faculty Peer Mentoring Program
This fall, the TLC will test two different peer-based assessment models to give participating faculty mid-term feedback on their teaching. The first model will include video-taping classroom teaching and conducting self-assessments, and the second model includes student feedback facilitated and recorded by another faculty member. In both cases, the Program Leaders will help set up the assessments, gather data about the effectiveness of each, and create recommendations for future professional development to support teaching and learning. Contact: Laura Ruberto (lruberto@peralta.edu) or Linda McAllister (lmcallister@peralta.edu).

TLC Workshop Development Grant (application to be released in October)
This pilot mini-grant program will fund a few teachers to develop workshops in Spring 2010. No compensation in F2010. Contact: Scott Hoshida (shoshida@peralta.edu; 510-981-2897).

Other Workshops, Programs, Presentations, etc.
If you are interested in using the Teaching and Learning Center for any event for faculty and staff at BCC, then please do not hesitate to contact the coordinator, Scott Hoshida, to schedule a time to use the space and to help publicize your event.

Spring 2010 Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIG) – Final Report Summary

Posted on by teaching-and-learning

In Spring 2010, 7 groups participated in a pilot Faculty Inquiry Group project sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Center and funded by the Basic Skills Initiative. Here are the original questions that they posed: Spring 2010 FIGs.

Here is a chart that summarizes each of their projects: Spring 2010 FIG Summaries.

Open House Survey Results – Spring 2010

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In Spring 2010, we surveyed staff and faculty during our open house these questions:

  1. As a teacher or staff member at BCC, what one thing do you do for students that would inspire or be helpful to your colleagues?
  2. What is one thing in your work that you would like to change or improve to better student success at BCC?
  3. How might the campus–colleagues, Title 3, the Teaching and Learning Center, etc.–provide the resources, support, and/or community to help you share your expertise and inspiration or help you improve your practice?

A few highlights:

On what they do to support students:

  • I listen! Listen to their concerns and trials of life and refer them to others as need be.
  • Try to get to know student goals — figure out where they want to go/what they want to do and encourage that.
  • Keep pointing out relevance to their personal lives (how an assignment in excel can help future business majors).

On what they would like to improve:

  • Even though it happens to a degree, I would like to see more connections between students and the variety of real world organizational cultures in which they may work. It will help them to understand why they are here from a variety of employers’ perspectives.
  • Have more time to meet with students in group settings to address some of their same questions or concerns.
  • Connect students to resources beyond the scope of my classroom.
  • How to motivate students (other than making the connection between subject and real life).
  • More activities, creative group discussions in class. More ways to scaffold assignments.

On what the campus can help make these improvements happen:

  • Encourage and support cross-disciplinary collaboration.
  • Regular workshops on classroom dynamics, cultural diversity, tips for teachers.
  • Hold informal get-togethers to exchange ideas — structure events by topics: error correction, group-writing, classroom management, etc.
  • Perhaps students, especially at the basic skills levels, take a class on how to succeed in college. for example, taking notes, doing homework, reading the book.

To see a full listing of how people answered the same questions during the TLC’s open house in May 2010, click here: TLC Survey Spring 2010.

Faculty Inquiry Groups — Spring 2010

Posted on by teaching-and-learning

In Spring 2010, the Teaching and Learning Center is piloting Faculty Inquiry Groups to increase teacher collaboration around issues they are passionate about. Listed below are the seven small teams selected to participate in this project and their research question. After they complete their research, there will be links to their findings, resolutions, and a video interview that documents their project.

  • Counseling: What are the factors that hinder or support Latino BCC student in completing their academic goals? How can the counselors and classroom faculty address these factors? Team Lead: Luz O. Moreno. Members: Sandra Mendez and Felicia Tripp.
  • English (creative writing in composition classes): How do instructors show students the connections between creative and expository writing? Team Lead: Tom Moniz. Members: Robyn Brooks and Clif Ross.
  • English as a Second Language (ESL): What skills should ESL teachers prioritize to prepare ESL students for English 1A and other transfer-level courses? Team Lead: Ellen Rosenfield. Members: Patricia Seery, Cara Statucki, and Gabrielle Winer.
  • Science: What kinds of active learning teaching methods help students learn scientific concepts?  Team Lead: Linda McPherson. Members: Irania Alarcon, Elena Givental, Rita Haberlin, and Doug Schmidt.
  • Service-Learning (interdisciplinary): How does service-learning help students feel a sense of empowerment? What activist skills do student acquire that they will apply beyond the term? Team Lead: Matt Freeman. Members: Kate Koelle, Juana Alicia Montoya, and Stephanie Sanders-Badt.
  • Spanish: Why are so few students completing certificates or preparing for degrees in Spanish? Team Lead: Dr. Gabriela Pisano. Members: Dr. Fabian Banga, Allene Hamilton-Young, Willy Lizarraga, and Jose Martin.
  • Tutoring (English): How can we provide basic skills students better access to English tutoring appointments? Team Lead: Chris Lebo-Planas. Members: Caitlin Fischer, Jenny Lowood, and Esther Suarez-Burton.

For more information, please contact Scott Hoshida at shoshida@peralta.edu or 510-981-2897.