Responses To Recommendations
PAGE 5 OF 10
Recommendation Five
Committee Membership
Dr. Diane Moore, Co-Chair, Dean of Liberal Arts and Learning Resources
Tom Roe, Co-Chair, Professor of Photography
Dr. Marta Diane de Jesus, Associate Professor of Biology, Microbiology
and Biotechnology
Paulette Johnson, Professor, Counseling
Raeann Koerner, Professor of Physical Education
Gary Lewis, Professor of Welding
Angie Marquez, Executive Assistant, Classified Senate President
Alisa Moore, Esq., Public Information Officer
Peder Nielsen, Men’s Equipment Manager, Department of Physical
Education
John Palafox, Professor of Business
Terry Pardee, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology
Mary Zacharias, Instructor of Nursing
Recommendation Five
It is recommended that the College effectively coordinate staff development activities. (1996 Standard 2.6, Standard 5.7)
Response
A. Progress on Issue of Staff Development to Meet the Needs of a Diverse Student Population
1. Council for Institutional Development
The issue of the diversity of our student population became a major focus of
a three-year college-wide discussion starting on January 8, 1997 when the
newly formed Council for Institutional Development (CID) began discussions
on “A New Paradigm for Community Colleges: Focus on Learning Instead
of Teaching” (R 5.1). During this time, the 31 faculty and staff members
comprising the CID held many discussions about the diversity of our learners,
which they defined as “unique needs of students based on such considerations
as ethnic background and culture, gender, age, learning and physical disabilities,
and learning styles.” These discussions reflected the charge of CID: “The
Council for Institutional Development is charged with fostering a teaching
and learning climate that visibly supports the educational needs of all students” (R
5.2).
These discussions radiated out from CID to academic departments and other groups,
such as the Administrative Council, which held a retreat to discuss changing
dynamics of student learners (R 5.3).
CID’s affirmation of the centrality of the focus on student learning
and diversity in all that we do, led to a revision of the mission, values and
practices of the College in 1997, with reaffirmation occurring each year and
appearing in each year’s edition of the Ventura College Catalog (R 5.4).
It also pervades the College Plan for 2000-2003 (R 5.5).
2. Futures Forum
The district-wide Futures Forum, established in 1999, and comprised of 12-15
representatives from each college, adopted the work of CID on student learning
and diversity. It was then integrated into the District’s adopted mission,
vision and values (R 5.6) and became a focus of the Futures Forum goals for
the District (R 5.7). Many Futures Forum “learning days” from
1999-2001 included readings and discussions on the topic of student learners
and their diversity, which faculty, staff and managers then brought back
to the campus for sharing in various venues and for targeted discussion in
CID (R 5.8, R 5.9, R 5.10, R 5.11). From the inception of CID and the Futures
Forum to the present, approximately 53 faculty and staff have, as members
of one or both of the groups, participated in extensive learning activities
related to our students, diversity and student learning.
The work of CID, Future’s Forum and the College and District goals became
the driving force for the Staff Development Committee to plan and/or coordinate
many staff development activities on student learning and diversity, and teaching
strategies over the past five years. These include the following projects,
which have become institutionalized intact or have transformed into other projects:
3. Staff Development Activities
•
District Diversity Fund Activities (1996-current)
The District provides funds for each campus annually to hold campus-wide staff diversity activities and send staff to a diversity conference. Campus groups such as the New Majority Committee, the Women’s Concerns Council and others apply for the funds, which are used to sponsor speakers, performers and authors on issues of diversity. These grants allowed the college to institutionalize Women’s History Month and Women’s Day.
During Women’s History Month, the Women’s Concerns Council focuses on celebrating and supporting women of color through guest speakers, workshops, film festivals and the Open Classroom Program during which instructors open their classes to all students for special presentations, films and discussions. Recent years have included campus-wide presentations by Chicana writers, poets and scholars; African American historians, artists, writers and performers; Polynesian dancers and musicians; Native American drummers and lectures; and a film and presentation by Afghani women.
Similarly, Black History Month focuses on the experience of African Americans, and Caesar Chavez’ birthday and Cinco de Mayo activities present issues related to Latinos. All of these diversity activities influence the classroom and the college experience of our students and require months of planning by faculty focused on improving the experience of our diverse student body (R 5.12).
• Sabbaticals (1996-current)
Every year the District funds a minimum of two faculty sabbaticals, some of which involve projects that have components relating to the diversity of our students and how best to enable them to succeed. One example of a sabbatical project is Linda Rovai’s current project to explore how to assess second language students for learning disabilities (R 5.13).
• Foundation Innovation Grants (1996-current)
The Ventura College Foundation annually provides mini grants to faculty and staff. The competitive award process uses as a primary criterion the project’s potential for furthering the College Goals. Many of the projects are related to innovations in teaching strategies as they relate to student learning and diversity (R 5.14).
• Flex Week Activities (1996-current)
Faculty are paid to attend staff development activities during Flex Week which is held the week before each semester begins. The Staff Development Committee has made a deliberate effort to plan and incorporate many workshops and activities on student learning and diversity and teaching strategies in each Flex Week program. Over the past six years, numerous faculty have attended such workshops and activities (R 5.15).
• Great Teachers’ Seminar (1996-current)
Each year the Academic Senate recommends a minimum of two faculty to attend the Great Teachers’ Seminar, where teachers from throughout the nation share information on best practices in teaching, including teaching styles and methods. Participants return from the weeklong event and present workshops for the College faculty on what they have learned. Eighteen faculty members have been Great Teachers’ Seminar participants since 1966 (R 5.16).
• Conferences and Workshops (1996-current)
As a result of AB1725 and TTIP technology training funds from the State, the Staff Development Committee has been able to support hundreds of faculty and staff attending conferences and workshops over the past six years, many of which have dealt with various aspects of student diversity. Many programs and services at the college have been affected. For example, an instructor attended a program called “Women in Poverty” for those who enter the field of child development. As a result of this, she developed a new child development course to meet the special needs of this population (R 5.17).
• Student Equity Plan Activities and Diversity (1996-2002)
Thirty-one projects or activities (most of which are directly related to cultural diversity or alternative delivery systems to meet student differences in learning styles or preparedness) in the College’s Student Equity Plan have been completed. These include such activities as the following:
• Counselors receive continual training in the use of computer and internet-based resources to use with their students.
• Especially in our East Campus, an emphasis on staff’s bilingual skills has been integrated into job descriptions and hiring.
• The Educational Assistance Center (DSPS) staff provides training at counseling meetings on learning disabilities, learning styles and alternative learning strategies.
• EOPS and EAC counselors provide on-going in-service training at counseling meetings on the unique needs of their student population and special programs designed to meet their needs.
• January 1997 Mandatory Flex Day --Toni Forsythe addressed the entire staff about Student Equity and related diversity issues
• Fall 1997 Mandatory Flex Day – Dr. Lyn MacConnaire addressed the entire staff about Student Equity regulations, campus planning, and proposed action.
• Regional Conference on Best Practices for Counselors and Students Services led to a VC all-day conference that evolved into groups formed to develop new programs and review and revise existing student services delivery systems to meet student needs (R 5.18).
• Teaching Techniques Exchange Group (1996-current)
A Teaching Techniques Exchange Group (TTEG) was created by faculty from across the campus interested in meeting monthly to discuss a variety of topics related to student learning and teaching strategies. Approximately 25 faculty members participate in each meeting. Under the auspices of the TTEG, Ventura College was the only community college to host the South Coast Writing Project. Dr Sheridan Blau, South Coast Writing Project Director, also created a special presentation on teaching and learning for our faculty and those from across the district (R 5.19).
• Drama Program (1996-current)
Instructors in the Theater Arts department have chosen plays for production because they highlight specific social issues. Theater faculty have then worked collaboratively with faculty from the social sciences, English, etc. to lead discussions on the social issues and develop student projects around the plays with students from various disciplines (R 5.20).
• New Faculty Orientation (1997-current)
Resulting from a Council on Institutional Development (CID) Employee Orientation task force, orientations are offered for new adjunct faculty during each Flex Week. This orientation includes a discussion of the diverse needs of adult learners. In addition, many divisions provide personal orientations to all new faculty members, which include materials on the topic of diverse learning styles (R 5.21).
• Technology Training and Staff Resource Center (1998-current)
The College has made great strides in institutionalizing technology training for faculty: incorporating into distance education training a component on accessibility which requires that all distance education courses comply with the Chancellor’s Office guidelines (R 5.22), providing a Staff Multimedia Resource Center, and equipping smart classrooms so that instructors can readily integrate technology into their instruction, thereby meeting the diverse needs of their students. These accomplishments are outlined in detail in the 2002 Progress Report, (R 5.23) and were commended by the WASC Team in their report of April 17, 2002 that stated, “there has been special attention given to activities designed to train staff in new technologies.” The team continued, saying, “the College has responded effectively to the portions of the [previous] recommendation regarding the writing of a staff development plan and the staff training in new technologies” (R 5.24).
• Liberal Arts Division Integrates Technology into Instruction (2000-current)
The Liberal Arts and Learning Resources Division, realizing that many of today’s students learn best interactively, sent eight faculty to a Tech Ed conference to learn about interactive software to teach reading and writing. This resulted in faculty initiating experimental projects which infuse instruction with technology for interactive learning in composition and reading courses, using interactive programs such as Plato, Academic System’s Interactive English, Successful College Writing, Skillsbank, and Daedalus (R 5.25). All of these projects have been institutionalized and will be supported by the College’s new high-tech Learning Resources Center. The Department also formed a Daedalus User’s Group that meets monthly (R 5.26).
• Multicultural Collaborative Learning Consortium (1998-2000)
A Multicultural Collaborative Learning Consortium (MCLC) between DeAnza, Yuba and Ventura Colleges was formed to promote learning strategies for diverse student populations and classroom innovations which support collaborative learning.
a. Over the three-year period, 26 faculty from across the campus were trained, attended conferences and workshops, integrated teaching strategies into their classes, and met regularly on campus to share successes and failures (R 5.27).
b. Collaborative Learning Classes (1998-current) The work of the faculty became a regular part of their classroom activities and the institutionalization is evident in every semester’s Schedule of Classes which advertises their sections of classes to students, “Note: CRN XXXXX is taught using collaborative learning” (R 5.28). Classes using collaborative learning and team projects stretch the gamut of disciplines from English to biology (R 5.29).
c. At the end of the grant, the campus MCLC participants were funded for a planning conference to determine how to continue their work (R 5.30).
• South Coast Writing Project (1999-current)
Each year, several English instructors join the South Coast Writing Project with the goal of increasing their repertoire of teaching strategies to match the diversity of their student learners.
• VC Technology Staff Development Report: A Plan for the Decade (1999-2000)
Under the auspices of a grant, a team of faculty and staff spent the year developing a ten-year technology staff development plan which included a needs assessment and a plan including objectives, activities, outcomes and evaluation components. This plan is continuing to be implemented (R 5.31).
• Staff Development Committee Mission Statement & Objectives (1999-current)
In 1999 the Staff Development Committee, under the auspices of the Council for Institutional Development, held a planning retreat to create a Staff Development Mission Statement, Objectives and an annual plan. The mission and objectives have been revisited and discussed regularly by the Committee. One of the objectives is “to provide in-service and retraining to meet changing staff, student and community needs” (R 5.32).
• Carnegie Scholar (2000-01)
Judy Garey, Theater Arts Professor, was chosen as one of 60 National Carnegie Scholars to study teaching and learning. Her Carnegie Scholar project was the creation of Interdisciplinary Linked Classes between Theater Appreciation and African American History, and also between Theater Appreciation and Women in Literature. These classes were involved together in a joint final project in which the students worked in various roles as a theater production team, working on a Black play in the first case, and a women’s play in the second (R 5.33).
• TTIP Staff Innovation Grants (2000-current)
The Staff Development Committee awards annually mini grants to faculty for innovative staff development projects involving instructional technology (R 5.34).
• Teaching and Learning Center (2002)
The MCLC participants, along with Judy Garey, Carnegie Scholar, wrote a proposal for the development of a Teaching and Learning Center and submitted it to the State Chancellor’s Fund For Student Success (R 5.35). Since the grant was not funded, the Staff Development committee approved a scaled-down Proposal for Teaching and Learning Center activities; however there was no funding for it, since the State cut all Staff Development funds from its budget (R 5.36). This scaled down proposal became transformed into a symposium funded by Title V.
• Title V Symposium (August 2002)
The TTEG, augmented by other faculty and staff, planned an all-day teaching symposium, which was attended by 58 faculty members and funded by Title V. Workshops at the symposium included “Great Teaching Techniques”, “Integrating Service Learning Into Curricula”, “Meeting the Needs of a Diverse Student Population/Matching Teaching Strategies to Learning Styles”, “Paired Classes and Learning Communities”, and “Application of Teaching Strategies”. The Symposium will be an annual event for the next five years (R 5.37).
• Liberal Arts and Learning Resources Division Monthly Workshops (2001-present)
The Liberal Arts and Learning Resources Division, comprised of 103 faculty and staff, holds monthly division meetings that begin with a professional development workshop on a topic relating to teaching and learning. Many of the workshops include discussion on how to meet the diverse needs of our students (R 5.38).
• Title V Faculty Grants (2002-2007)
The College has received a Title V grant to focus on meeting the diverse needs of Hispanic students with difficulty succeeding in specific gateway classes including English composition. This has spawned, to date, 13 Title V-sponsored faculty staff development projects focused on meeting the unique needs of these students (R 5.39).
• Language Arts Department Monthly Forums (2002-current)
The Language Arts Department, comprising 66 full and part-time faculty members, has instituted monthly forums “to provide a forum for the discussion of pedagogies, theory, trends in the field and other topics of interest related to English studies.” Forums have included topics including best practices in teaching English to at-risk students, teaching reading across the curriculum, etc. (R 5.40).
• Nursing Department Learning Style Training (2002-current)
The Nursing Department has trained its entire faculty in how to assess and counsel students regarding their diverse learning styles, and the faculty provide learning strategies workshops to their students. Faculty members have also worked closely with faculty from the learning disabilities program to learn how best to help students with learning disabilities (R 5.41).
B. Progress on Issue of Evaluation of Staff Development Activities to Measure the Effectiveness of These Initiatives
Although there are many currently existing evaluation processes for different staff development activities, the Staff Development Committee needs to develop a plan to evolve them into an integrated system which is designed to measure the effectiveness of staff development initiatives. Progress on evaluation is as follows:
In Fall 1998, two measures to evaluate staff development activities were used.
• Staff Survey of the College Environment
This survey included the level of staff satisfaction with the Staff Resource Center, Staff Orientation, Technology Support and Staff Development (R 5.42).
• Strategic Planning Open Forum
A strategic planning open forum was held for faculty and staff, which produced many comments in relation to staff development (R 5.43). The Staff Development Committee reviewed the results of these two evaluation measures and used them to improve its planning and selection of activities for the following year.
1. Trailblazer Self-Assessment Study
A major evaluation process was completed in Fall 2000 when the College submitted
itself to a self-analysis under the Trailblazer Self-Assessment Study (R
5.44). The self-analysis included a description of staff development activities
as well as self-identified opportunities for improvement. This was followed
by a response to the self-study which included strengths and opportunities
for improvement provided by the outside readers.
The Staff Development Committee discussed the results of the Trailblazer Assessment
and, with the catalyst of a Continuous Quality Improvement Network activity
in the summer of 2000, developed its first College-wide Comprehensive Staff
Development Plan.
2. VC Comprehensive Staff Development Plan
The Staff Development Committee built into its Comprehensive Plan a method
of evaluation prescribed for each of the activities listed for each
of its four sections - recruitment and selection, orientation, care
and communication, and on-going staff development (R 5.45). Implementation
dates have been pushed back due to funding constraints; therefore evaluations
have not yet been completed. However, many on-going staff development
activities have an evaluation component built into them. Following
are some examples:
• Flex Workshop Evaluation. From 1996 to the present, the Staff Development Committee has implemented a Flex Week activity evaluation, which is used to assess the effectiveness of Flex Week training and to plan Flex Week for the following semesters (R 5.46).
• Sabbatical Reports. Each year the faculty members who have been given sabbaticals present final reports that the Sabbatical Committee and the Chancellor use to determine if they have met their objectives (R 5.47).
• Great Teachers’ Seminar Participant Reports. Each year the TTEG sponsors presentations by faculty who attended the Great Teachers’ Seminar.
• Foundation Staff Innovation Grant Reports. Each faculty member who completes a VC Foundation project must complete an evaluation component, which the Foundation Board reviews (R 5.48).
• Title V Faculty Project Reports. Every Title V-sponsored faculty project has an evaluation component that is used to assess the effectiveness of the project in helping the College meet Title V objectives (R 5.49).
• Conference and Workshop Reports. All classified employees who attend conferences or workshops that are funded by the Staff Development Committee must submit an evaluation form upon their return. A similar system, which is implemented in some divisions, exists for the faculty (R 5.50).
• Symposium on Teaching and Learning. In October 2002, the Title V Office conducted a follow-up survey of those who attended the Symposium to determine if faculty were employing the techniques they had learned (R 5.51).
C. Evaluation and Plan
In conclusion, the College has made significant progress in the development,
implementation and coordination of its staff development activities.
The Comprehensive Staff Development Plan is central to this process
and continues to provide vision and direction to the diverse staff
development activities that occur throughout the campus.
Recommendation Five List of Documents
| R 5.1 | Council For Institutional Development Inaugural Meeting Memo 1-8-97. |
| R 5.2 | VC Planning History 1996-2001 |
| R 5.3 | Management Retreat Notes 8-11-97 |
| R 5.4 | VC Mission Statement |
| R 5.5 | VC The College Plan 2000-2003 |
| R 5.6 | CCVC Futures Forum - Mission/Vision/Values Team |
| R 5.7 | Futures Forum Meeting 2-23-01�� |
| R 5.8 | Futures Forum Summer Meetings And Opportunities |
| R 5.9 | Futures Forum Minutes 1-21-00 |
| R 5.10 | The Learner Centered Curriculum Model |
| R 5.11 | Futures Forum Meeting 1-26-01 |
| R 5.12 | VC Use Of Staff Diversity Funds |
| R 5.13 | Sabbatical List |
| R 5.14 | Grant Recipients |
| R 5.15 | Interdisciplinary Collaboration 1-11-96 |
| R 5.16 | 2002 Great Teachers Seminar Memo Of January 2002 |
| R 5.17 | Samples Of Conference/Workshops Attended By VC Faculty & Staff |
| R 5.18 | Staff Development/Accreditation Report: Cultural DiversityAlternative Learning Styles |
| R 5.19 | Teaching Techniques Exchange Group Meeting |
| R 5.20 | VC Theatre - Plays Working With Other Depts. |
| R 5.21 | Memo (5-13-97) Re Council For Institutional Development (CID). |
| R 5.22 | Learning Styles Training For Distance Learning Faculty |
| R 5.23 | VC Accreditation Self-Study Report |
| R 5.24 | Final Accreditation Report From WASC Team |
| R 5.25 | Title V Faculty Project (English Academic Systems) Memo Dated 10-23-01 |
| R 5.26 | Daedalus Training |
| R 5.27 | MCLC Project:� Some Working Definitions |
| R 5.28 | VC Fall 2002 Schedule |
| R 5.29 | Learning Styles Email Of October 2002 |
| R 5.30 | VC Foundation Staff Innovation Grant Letter To Edith Conn 5-1-00. |
| R 5.31 | VC Technology Staff Development Report:� A Plan For The Decade |
| R 5.32 | Staff Development Mission Statement |
| R 5.33 | Proposal For The Nat'l Conference On Diversity In Teaching & Learning In American Higher Ed� |
| R 5.34 | Memo Request For Application TTIP Mini Grant |
| R 5.35 | Grant Agreement Institutionalization Grant 2001-2002 |
| R 5.36 | Proposal For VC Teaching & Learning Center Spring 2002 |
| R 5.37 | Title V Symposium On Teaching & Learning 8-15-02 |
| R 5.38 | Liberal Arts Division Faculty Exchanges |
| R 5.39 | Gateway Class Faculty Projects |
| R 5.40 | Liberal Arts Division Memo 11-12-02 |
| R 5.41 | Learning Styles E-Mail 11-2002 |
| R 5.42 | VC Staff Survey Of The College Environment - Fall 1998����� |
| R 5.43 | VC Staff Survey Written Responses From Open Forum & Committees - Fall 1998 |
| R 5.44 | Trailblazer Self-Assessment Study Memo |
| R 5.45 | Recruitment & Selection |
| R 5.46 | Activity Evaluation |
| R 5.47 | Agreement Between VCCCD� & VC Federation Of College Teachers AFT Local 1828, AFL-CIO |
| R 5.48 | VC Foundation Staff Innovation Grants 2002-2003 |
| R 5.49 | VC Title V Application For Extra Hourly Assignment - Fall 2002 |
| R 5.50 | Conference & Travel Evaluation |
| R 5.51 | Symposium On Teaching & Learning Follow Up |
Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura, CA 93003 (805) 654-6400