Responses To Recommendations

Committee Membership

Ismael de la Rocha, Co-Chair, Dean of Social Sciences and Foreign Languages
Lisa Anderson, Co-Chair, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Deborah Ventura, Professor of English

Recommendation One

The College should implement a broadly based, institutionally supported program to offer the faculty the opportunity to explore a variety of student learning styles and the associated teaching strategies. (1996 Standard 4A.1, 4B.3, 4D.5)

Response

The College has made important strides in responding to this Recommendation.

A. Progress on Institutionally Supported Program to Explore New Teaching Strategies
The issues of student learning and creating a student-centered model for Ventura College is at the core of the Council for Institutional Development (CID), a “think tank” formed by the President of Ventura College. In forming CID, the College President, in conjunction with the Academic Senate President and President’s Cabinet asked the questions, “Who are our students?” and “How can the College best serve them?” Using this analysis, they identified categories of staff necessary for CID discussions to generate a complete picture of the College. They examined the relationships between the assigned activities and the varied needs of our students.

To this end, representative appointments were created, for example, to include staff from basic skills, financial aid, vocational education, tutoring, and matriculation, and the Educational Assistance Center, as well as what might be considered the more traditional representative committee memberships, such as student services, general education, and Academic and Classified Senates. In order to allow the broadest participation, individuals rotate off the committee, but over the last five years the 31 appointments have been filled by faculty and staff members who have met to discuss issues pertinent to the needs of our diverse student population and the improvement of Ventura College.

From these discussions, Mission, Vision and Goals Statements evolved that have been widely discussed and embraced by the Ventura College faculty and staff, and then accepted and approved by the President’s Cabinet. The Mission Statement exemplifies Ventura College’s recognition of the importance of supporting different teaching strategies that respond to diverse learning styles. Our Mission is:

To offer a comprehensive curriculum that accommodates a global understanding and a diverse selection of discipline and learning approaches.

Of particular importance to Recommendation One is Goal #5, which states that:

Ventura College will expand and implement its comprehensive campus-wide-coordinated staff development program-motivating and supporting staff to gain skills that will sustain them as outstanding members of the college learning community (R 1.1).

The work of individual faculty members, departments and divisions demonstrates the College-wide effort to explore teaching strategies that meet the diverse learning styles of the student population. Over the past six years, there has been a wide array of projects and programs to further educate faculty on teaching methods.

1. Teaching Techniques Exchange Group

While funding has not existed for some specific projects, the campus has remained committed to addressing the instructional needs of our diverse student body. The Teaching Techniques Exchange Group (TTEG) has emerged as the clearinghouse, sounding board and impetus for innovative teaching at Ventura College. In 1996, two faculty members, Lauri Moore, (Sociology) and Deborah Ventura (English), created a cross-discipline faculty idea exchange network at Ventura College, called the TTEG. For the past six years, this group of adjunct and full-time faculty has been meeting monthly to discuss, share and evaluate successful teaching, learning, classroom management, and assessment techniques. The group determines the topic of the exchanges in advance based on faculty interest surveys and it is then advertised to the campus. While meetings are open and at-large, participation fluctuates depending on the topic. Approximately 25 College faculty members from disciplines across the campus participate on a regular basis. In addition, the TTEG maintains a mailing list of a larger body of teachers who receive the classroom materials from the meetings even though they cannot attend at the time scheduled for the semester (R 1.2).

The emphasis of the group is on improving instruction through cross discipline discussions, examinations of innovative teaching techniques, and classroom activities that focus on the diverse learning styles of the students at Ventura College. Participating disciplines include: Journalism, History, Health Science, Math, Political Science, Reading, Geography, Language Arts, Physical Education, Theater, Nursing, Biology, Psychology, Chicano History, Sociology, and Learning Skills. Those instructors presenting an instruction-related topic bring handouts for the rest of the group and create “mini in-services” illustrating the rationale for the technique, how the technique might be used in other disciplines, and the students’ response. Often, presenting faculty model the activity using the TTEG as participants. Ideas for and information about innovations being made at the department level are disseminated through this group’s mini workshops. General discussion follows and precedes each presentation and sometimes is carried over into the following meeting. Discussion also usually involves faculty members reporting on the results of their attempts to use the new teaching and learning techniques from the previous TTEG meetings. In addition to the focus on teaching techniques and assessment, the group has hosted workshops for faculty by experts in mental health who presented strategies for working with students who might be in crisis.

Some of the topics discussed have included:

• Using simulations in the classroom
• Creating a variety of student performance evaluations and assessment
• Teaching to diverse Learning Styles
• Establishing cross-discipline paired classrooms
• Using cooperative learning groups in the classroom
• Engaging students in class discussions
• Developing collaborative examinations
• Assessing students’ Learning Styles

a. Paired Classes
One innovation that grew out of the discussions at the TTEG was the paired class offering of English and Biology. The College arranged for instructors to offer back-to-back classes in English and Biology that allowed students to participate in a paired learning model centered on Environmental Studies. Some of the class meetings were team-taught, and all used collaborative learning and other methods designed to reach students through their varying learning modalities. Although one of the participating faculty members has since left the college, an Environmental Studies core was created at Ventura College based on the principles of paired classes.

b. Great Teachers’ Seminar
Annually, the Ventura College Academic Senate selects three faculty members to participate in the Great Teachers’ Seminar (R 1.3). The Seminars are held in Santa Barbara, Oregon and Hawaii. The purpose of the Seminar is to “bring together teachers, counselors, librarians and other faculty to explore teaching and learning innovations, and solutions to problems…”
The Seminar is a weeklong event where California community college faculty meet to share information about teaching styles and methods. This information is then shared with the Ventura College faculty during Flex Week or in a special seminar/workshop presentation. The Ventura County Community College District/Ventura College is committed to supporting the Great Teacher Seminar and covers the cost of the room, board and registration for all participants. Since 1996, 18 Ventura College instructors and professors have participated.

c. TTEG Presents “The Best of the Best”
In addition to the regularly scheduled meetings, in 1999 the TTEG began hosting faculty returning from the Great Teachers’ Seminar in “The Best of the Best”, a presentation of practices they were exposed to from their Seminar participation. This event is held during Flex Week at the beginning of the Fall semester and advertised in the Flex Week Calendar. This “Best of the Great Teacher’s Seminar” event is always well attended, and even attracts faculty from other campuses. The Great Teachers’ Seminar participants provide materials for the group and copies for the mailing list. Participants present their best practices in the mini in-service format of the TTEG. Because this event is advertised and open to the entire college community, the TTEG has become the vehicle for wider faculty access to the Great Teachers’ experience far beyond those who are selected to attend the Great Teachers’ Seminar each year.

d. TTEG Assists with Organization of and Participates in Teaching and Learning Symposium Sponsored by Title V Grant for Hispanic Serving Institutions

The coordinators of the TTEG helped organize a very successful Symposium for Teaching and Learning held as part of the Ventura College Flex Week Fall 2002. It was supported by the Title V grant. The Title V Grant received by Ventura College in 2001 offers the College the opportunity to support faculty in developing alternative teaching styles that would improve the education of Hispanic students in the gateway classes (R 1.4).

On August 15, 2002, Title V sponsored the Symposium on Teaching and Learning. Fifty-eight faculty members attended the Symposium. Topics included:

• Meeting the Needs of a Diverse Student Population - Ideas for using multi cultural materials and matching teaching strategies to learning styles
• Paired Classes and Learning Communities- Cross discipline approaches to teaching and learning
• Service Learning- Creating a community based learning experience for students
• Teaching Techniques Exchange- Incorporating group testing, using icebreakers, and encouraging full student participation.

The Title V grant made handouts and in-service materials from the workshops available during the Symposium and those attending were given binders that included handouts on other successful classroom activities contributed by TTEG. Attendees at the Teaching and Learning Symposium also learned about the activities of TTEG. This resulted in many of the participants later joining the TTEG.

In Fall 2002, the Title V committee surveyed faculty members who participated in the symposium to determine if techniques learned during the Teaching and Learning Symposium were being used in the classroom. The responses indicated that the Teaching and Learning Symposium had been successful in focusing on how students learn and encouraging instructors to use innovative methods in their teaching.

e. Other Projects Funded by Title V Grant for Hispanic Serving Institutions
During the Summer and Fall 2002 semesters, the Title V grant supported several innovative faculty projects that explored new teaching techniques, including:

• English Department faculty use of the “interactive English” program in their composition class.
• A sociology professor conducted a Sociology Forum for part time faculty in Sociology to help them assess their teaching strategies.
• The Psychology and Multimedia faculty collaboration in infusing multimedia projects in the Psychology curricula.
• The Biology department developed a service-learning program for biology students.
• A Theater Arts instructor worked with the Math 10 class to assess how math is perceived from different learning perspectives.
• Professor Dianne Armstrong evaluated the award winning MET Program (Multicultural Education Transfer) and is recommending implementation at Ventura College (R 1.4).

2. Division and Programs Develop New Strategies

a. Educational Assistance Center
Instructors and aides from the Educational Assistance Center (EAC) and the Learning Skills Program have been active participants in TTEG, and over the years have presented mini workshops on current learning theory, assessment, and methods which support diversifying instructional strategies to reflect students’ learning styles.

In addition to these activities, the Ventura College EAC strives to keep their faculty and staff continually improving their Learning Skills program. Faculty attend yearly conferences which have helped them to implement a new curriculum connecting their Learning Skills and Assistive Computer Technology programs to improve academic skills. EAC has also provided in-service training for faculty in other disciplines. Dr. Jeff Barsch, a leader in the field of learning disabilities and various learning styles, has provided training for faculty on identifying and addressing students' varying learning styles and how this information can be applied to improve student success.

The faculty and counselors from the EAC have worked with instructors in the Reading program to revamp curriculum and create a liaison between their programs in order to facilitate the movement of students between the Learning Skills program and the English and Reading classes. Christine O’Neil, liaison for the program, has been instrumental in facilitating the incorporation of learning materials and programs used in the Learning Skills classes, such as in Phonics instruction, into the Reading program. This is of great benefit to students with learning disabilities and also to all other students because of the program’s emphasis on diverse learning styles.

The faculty members from the EAC have also worked closely with the faculty from the Nursing Department to help reach students with learning disabilities who are enrolled in the School of Nursing (R 1.5).

b. School of Nursing
As a part of the regular meeting schedules and again at the Teaching and Learning Symposium sponsored by Title V, the TTEG hosted faculty from the School of Nursing in a presentation of their implementation of group assessment and collaborative learning models.

In 2000, the School of Nursing undertook a pilot study to identify problems in student retention. This study continues to not only improve retention but also to identify predictors of academic difficulty and individual learning problems and to institute instructional methods to assist students at risk. The faculty in the School of Nursing and Allied Health at Ventura College have developed a learning assistance program, PASS (Program for Academic Student Success), to support the academic success of students from entry to graduation. The components of this program include retention and progress committees, testing to identify at-risk students and their potential learning difficulties and learning styles, tracking of student progress, and referrals to College resources, counseling and support services. The School of Nursing faculty have also implemented new educational tools and strategies into their instruction based on some of the new understanding of the students' learning styles (R 1.6).

c. Language Arts Department
Language Arts faculty have participated in the TTEG since its inception. As a result, many of the innovative techniques presented have become part of the instructional methods used in Language Arts. The department has been particularly interested in establishing an assessment process that would help measure student readiness for courses.

In 1999, the Language Arts Department spearheaded a district wide discussion and study of student competencies and the need for the three colleges in the district to implement a widespread assessment of students in order to facilitate meeting graduation competencies in reading and writing. When these efforts failed, the Language Arts Department researched, developed, validated, and implemented their own assessment tools for students wishing to enter the English Composition sequence at Ventura College. The assessment process was implemented in Spring 2002. It allows the department to assess students who are entering a composition level and establish a level of competency needed for students to move to the next level. In conjunction with rewriting the course outlines for these classes, the Language Arts Department has been able to enforce prerequisites and provide a structured sequence based on measured student learning (R 1.7).

d. “Theater in the Classroom” Program
Over the past six years, through the TTEG and through separate initiatives, the Theater Department faculty has worked to connect their program to others across the campus. These efforts have taken many forms. Theater faculty have visited Creative Writing classrooms to provide workshops on writing drama as a vehicle for encouraging students to submit plays for possible inclusion in the One Act Play Festival. The Theater Department has also used the team teaching activities of faculty from the History and Theater Departments to connect their program to other teaching and learning activities. During this program, the African American History class and the Theater class met during the semester to study and construct a production of a play by an African- American author. In addition to the above special collaborations, the Theater Department has created the Meet the Director and Actors Program, which is a part of most productions. Most plays are selected for performance because of their relevance to subjects or texts being studied in other disciplines. Classes across campus are then invited into the theater for pre-production discussions on the plays and the events or issues surrounding the plays (R 1.8).

The TTEG functions with no institutional financial support. This year the TTEG is hoping to receive support for a facilitator or coordinator position, honorariums for speakers, supplies and conference and travel. While the TTEG is an ongoing umbrella for innovative teaching and learning exploration, the TTEG’s goals are to become a part of a staff development process for the large number of adjunct faculty hired every year and to continue supporting innovating teaching on the Ventura College campus.

3. Multicultural Collaborative Learning Consortium
Between the years 1998-2000 Ventura College participated in the Multicultural Collaborative Learning Consortium (MCLC) with De Anza and Yuba Community Colleges. The Consortium was formed to promote learning strategies for diverse student populations.

During that period, about 20 members of the Ventura College faculty were involved in the "Multicultural Collaborative Learning Communities Project," initiated by English Professor Edith Conn. This project engaged faculty in conferences and workshops that promoted collaborative learning through innovative classroom structuring which addressed the variety of learning styles for diverse student populations. Although many instructors use collaborative methods in their classes, as a result of their participation, the MCLC instructors who incorporated collaborative learning methods into their classes are advertised as such in the schedule (R 1.8).

In 2000, when the funding for the "Multicultural Collaborative Learning Project" came to an end, Theatre Arts Professor Judy Garey proposed a new project built on collaborative learning called the "Campus Collaborative Community." This was designed to bridge and connect disciplines by providing a support network for instructors who wished to initiate interdisciplinary classroom partnerships using drama as a learning methodology. The development of this teaching and learning study center, the "Campus Collaborative Community" would serve as a communication tool for the faculty to create two-or-multi teacher course-clusters. Although it has been discussed and supported by the Staff Development Committee, a funding source has yet to be identified (R 1.9).

4. Diversification of Instructional Delivery
The success of the technology growth at the College has not only been an asset to meeting the needs of the diverse student population, but it has also provided the faculty with training in technology and its use as an educational tool. The Distance Learning Coordinator, Carol Coltrin, continually offers numerous staff development workshops and meetings on a variety of topics from "How to Teach a Television Course", "Creating a Distance Education Course", "Developing a Website For Your Course" to software training and using the Internet as a teaching tool (R 1.10).

Faculty members have, through their research, training, and participation in workshops greatly expanded the number of courses offered as distance education courses over the Internet. These courses allow students who cannot otherwise enroll in courses, due to workloads and childcare needs, to pursue their educational goals. In the past four years, the Mathematics/Science Division has developed 15 Internet courses, the Language/Arts Division 11, Nursing two, Social Science nine, Counseling three, Health one, and Physical Education one.

In Fall 2002, in addition to the distance education courses, the Language Arts Department piloted an interactive computer-based program system in their composition classes and is monitoring its success and assessing its impact on student learning. Instructors who are piloting the use of the interactive program have held workshops for the rest of the department and opened their classrooms for observation by their peers.

5. One Book, One Campus Program
In Spring 2002, the California Council for Humanities invited all Californians to read John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. This project, according to the Council was “designed to strengthen California communities by bringing people together to read John Steinbeck's classic novel, and share their experiences as Californians.”

In support of the One Book/One State Program, and coordinated by a faculty member from the English Department and a staff member from the Library, faculty, staff and managers developed a innovative six-week program titled One Book, One Campus. The program was a cross-discipline collaboration attempting to involve the whole campus in teaching and learning about the novel and the topics surrounding it and to permit The Grapes of Wrath to be accessible to all students on campus, no matter what their skill level, learning style or language sophistication (R 1.11).

Teachers in such diverse disciplines as Political Science, History, Learning Skills, Economics, English and Sociology met and discussed strategies for using the novel in their classes and then placed it on their syllabi. Art, Photography, E.S.L., Biology, Child Development, Nutrition, Anthropology, and Creative Writing instructors developed classroom activities on issues relevant to the novel. Cross discipline collaborations also included faculty in Economics, Women’s History, Photography, Chicano History, English, American History and Sociology presenting panel discussions for students on the novel and the social, historical and political context in which it was written. The Art, Photography, and History departments developed a presentation on and exhibit of depression era photographs from the Congressional Library and the Center for Steinbeck Studies. English and Photography instructors collaborated with the Library staff to create Spanish and English informational library exhibits of photographer Dorothea Lange, The New Deal and John Steinbeck. In addition, Photography and Biology instructors created hands-on activities for their students through field trips and exhibits.

As student accessibility to the novel was a key consideration for the College, the college library and the Women’s and Re-entry Center ordered copies of the text in Spanish and English that were made available for students to check out. Additionally, the college bookstore discounted the book for students. During the days in which it took to read the novel aloud in a campus-wide marathon reading, students were able to hear The Grapes of Wrath read in English and Spanish, and from Braille and interpreted into American Sign Language. Faculty from many disciplines including Physical Education, E.S.L., English, Sociology, E.O.P.S and managers, students, and staff read during the marathon. In addition to having access to the novel in two languages during the oral readings, classes were invited to view four films recounting the migration and immigration experience, one from a Cambodian immigrant’s view, one about immigrants from Central America, another about a Latina whose parents are migrant workers, and the original 1939 film of the novel.

Information about the novel and issues surrounding it was also available orally and visually to students through five guest lecture programs: a community activist and liaison for issues related to the homeless; a “California Steinbeck Scholar”; a farm worker and agricultural labor organizer; a history and educational materials television producer from U.C.S.B.; and an expert on hunger in the county. Additionally, the Theater Department created a staged reading of the novel that featured scenes and music from the novel.

Finally, students utilized the speakers, films and activities over the course of the six weeks as research for the Ventura College Library-sponsored Oral History Project. Classes were held in the library during which students were able to record their families’ migration on a giant world map and present their research projects on topics related to their own family histories while incorporating information from the One Book/One Campus program.

In all, thousands of students participated in the One Book, One Campus program with cross discipline materials, events and classroom activities designed for students enrolled in E.S.L., the Social Sciences, Fine Arts, Language Arts, Reading, Spanish Language, Sciences, and Learning Skills programs. Ventura College was the only college in the District to participate in the One Book One State Program. The president’s office funded this year’s program and has committed to future programs. Faculty, staff and managers have decided to institutionalize this program and will create a One Book, One Campus program every year which addresses the variety of ways students learn by creating a college-wide, cross discipline learning community.

6. Ventura College Foundation Grants
Over the past several years, the Ventura College Foundation has been very supportive of faculty who are developing different techniques to use in the classroom. The Foundation offers Staff Innovation Grants of up to $2,000 for faculty and staff who undertake projects that “improve and enrich student instruction and advance research, scholarship, or professional development” (R 1.11). Since 1996 the Foundation has awarded numerous grants to Ventura College faculty and staff. Some of the grants approved included:

• Collaborative project to develop an “Ethics across the Curriculum” course
• To attend a summer seminar in “thinking skills” for Learning Skill classes
• Create interactive computer-assisted instructional program for foreign languages
• To attend a seminar on innovative ways of teaching/counseling
• To develop a link between reading and writing classes

7. Sabbatical Leaves
The Sabbatical Leaves Committee fosters a competitive process that tends to reward those proposals focused on improving instruction and services and which have a collaborative professional component. They continue to be a source of renewal for individual faculty members and allow for innovative research to be brought back to the campus for inclusion in programs and services. The Sabbatical Leave Committee reviews faculty proposals and recommends at least three projects every year. The Board of Trustees approves the proposals. The Board of Trustees has approved more than 25 Sabbatical proposals over the past four years. Recent sabbatical leave proposals which were approved, include:

• Research Learning Disability assessment needs of second language, CalWORKs, and transfer students and identify ways to incorporate critical issues into Educational Assistance Center programs and services
• Prepare a set of Computer Algebra System worksheets and electronic manuals for faculty and students improving both faculty prepared demonstrations and the worksheets used by students for experimentation and homework
• Research cooperative learning and experimental methods of Economics instruction and incorporate these methods into Introduction to Economics and Principles of Economics by sharing research with other Ventura College Economics instructors

While most sabbatical proposals outline methods for the recipients to share their research with their colleagues, the TTEG intends to begin hosting formal college-wide sabbatical leave reports in order for all faculty to have access to the information returning faculty have gathered from their sabbaticals (R 1.13).

8. Staff Development projects
Since 1996 the Staff Development Committee, through Staff Development grants, has supported faculty innovation in teaching. The Staff Development funds were distributed in two ways:

a. Faculty submitted proposals to the Staff Development Committee for funding of special projects
b. The Staff Development Committee allocated a certain amount of the funds (based on the number of full-time and part-time faculty) to each Division. The Division then decided how these funds would be expended. Many Divisions conducted in-service activities or supported Conference and Travel for the faculty in the Division. (R 1.14; R 1.15) For example, the Social Science Division sponsored several in-service workshops that included:

• Classroom Management Techniques
• Using Power Point in the Classroom
• Collaborative Group Techniques
• Engaging students

9. Conference and Travel
The District/College has also committed District funds to support faculty who desire to attend conferences. Ventura College appropriated $15,000 ($100.00 per full-time faculty member) in academic year 2002-03 for faculty conference and travel as required by the AFT/District Contract (R 1.16). Faculty members have an opportunity to use these funds for staff development purposes and to learn new teaching techniques. For example, the Reading department attended the National Conference last year, which focused on teaching, learning and assessment.

B. Summary
In conclusion, the College has implemented numerous activities and opportunities for faculty to explore, develop, evaluate and implement different teaching strategies to broaden the variety of delivery methods available to enhance student learning.

Recommendation One List of Documents

R 1.1	Ventura College Mission Statements and Goals-CID
R 1.2	Collection of announcements and materials produced by the Teaching Technique Exchange Group
R 1.3	Great Teacher flyers announcing purpose, application process and deadlines
R 1.4	Title V. Description of Grant, application, August 15, 2002 Symposium, and faculty projects supported by the grant
R 1.5	Educational Assistance Center report on different activities related to learning styles
R 1.6	Nursing Program report of PASS program for Academic Student Success
R 1.7	Language Arts Division list of activities related to different teaching techniques
R 1.8	Spring Schedule 2001 with classes designated to be taught using the Collaborative Learning technique
R 1.9	Proposal for Campus Collaborative Community and Center for the Study of Teaching and Learning
R 1.10	Distance Learning Staff Development:� 2001-2002
R 1.11	Grapes of Wrath. Announcement, request for participation, and calendar of events
R 1.12	Ventura College Foundation Application and listing of Staff Innovation Grants funded by the Foundation
R 1.13	Copies of Sabbatical Leave Proposals supported by Ventura College
R 1.14	Staff Development Committee Application for TTIP Mini Grants
R 1.15	Math Science/Division report on activities promoting new teaching styles
R 1.16	Section 8.7D of the VCCCD/AFT Contract referring to Conference and Travel for faculty

 

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