A Proposal for a Contra Costa Community College District Teaching Academy. Submitted by Nancy Ybarra, faculty, Los Medanos College

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1 A Proposal for a Contra Costa Community College District Teaching Academy Submitted by Nancy Ybarra, faculty, Los Medanos College Background Information In Fall 2009, I completed a sabbatical project to research the possibility of forming a Teaching Academy for the faculty of our district. The Teaching Academy would offer credit courses in teaching and learning that faculty could take on site at one of the campuses, and which they could use to advance on our salary schedule. In order to find out if other community colleges in California were already doing this, I collaborated on a statewide survey of the field and followed up with respondents to learn more about programs offered throughout the state. In addition, I worked closely with our district staff development committee to survey employees in our district to assess interest in credit courses as a professional development option, and to determine what topics faculty would like to see covered. In addition to conversations with campus staff development coordinators, I also met with Academic Senate presidents and our union president to discuss viable options and presented some of these options to our Chancellor s Cabinet. The following proposal summarizes what I have learned and recommendations I am submitting to the district staff development committee for its consideration. I also suggest that the proposal be reviewed by the Academic Senates of each college, so that the college staff development coordinators will have their input when considering the proposal for possible funding and implementation. Professional Development Credit Courses in California Community Colleges A number of California community colleges offer credit professional development courses in teaching and learning that can be used for salary advancement. The following programs were identified through a review of online sources, contact with state organizations such as the Chancellor s Office and Academic Senate, and a statewide survey done in collaboration with the RP Group and the statewide Basic Skills Initiative professional development grant: 1. Mount San Antonio College (Mt. Sac) Developmental Education Faculty Certificate Program (Chancellor s Office Exemplary Program) 6 units of lower division credit approved by local salary advancement committee as crossover units, meaning they can be used to advance to the next classification on their salary schedule This program consists of three modules of instruction offered over the course of one year. For each module, faculty meet face to face for sixteen hours, (8 two hour sessions) and complete sixteen hours of homework. Module One: Philosophy and Definitions of Developmental Education. 1

2 Module Two: Integrating a Developmental Education Approach within the Classroom. Module Three: Introduction to Learning A fourth module has been added this year, for an additional two units. Cost to participants: 0 Cost to college: $5880 one time cost to develop modules; on-going yearly cost of $5770 to pay 2 facilitators to teach the course- currently funded by BSI 2. College of the Canyons- Institute of Teaching and Learning (Chancellor s Office Exemplary Program) ITL Courses : The following courses are in the COC College catalog and are enrolled in and paid for in the same way as any other course on campus. They may be used for salary advancement. EDU 088 Introduction to Educational Technology (1 unit) EDU 101 Fundamentals of Teaching (2 units) EDU 106 Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning (2 units) EDU 107 Intermediate Online Teaching and Learning ( 2 units) ITL Workshops: The following courses are not in the COC College catalog, are offered only through the Institute, and are approved by the District for salary advancement. Faculty may also choose to receive flex credit rather than course credit. Case Studies in Classroom Teaching (2units) Classroom Observation (1 unit) Community College Education (2 units) Microteaching (1 unit) Cost to participants: community college tuition cost per unit Cost to college: load for instructors 3. Moorpark College Moorpark offers the following professional development courses (.5 units each) that are approved by their curriculum committee, listed in their college catalog, and approved for advancement on their salary schedule (lower division units). They are in the process of approving additional courses this semester on culturally relevant pedagogy, and are putting some of the courses online to reach a wider audience. PDEV M01 Outcome-Based Curriculum PDEV M01D Designing a Course: Learning Modules PDEV M02 Collaborative Learning 2

3 PDEV M03 Leadership Styles PDEV M11 Conflict Resolution PDEV M12 Team Building Cost to participants: community college tuition cost per unit Cost to college: load for instructors 4. Miramar- Seminar in Teaching and Learning Miramar offers their faculty the opportunity to earn 4 units of graduate credit through San Diego State University College of Extended Studies. Credit is earned by taking a seminar offered at Miramar each semester. To earn credit participants must attend 14 of 16 scheduled classes, meet with the instructor individually once during the semester and maintain a reflective journal. The seminar is intended as an in depth examination of teaching practice with an emphasis on promoting student engagement. Participants are surveyed at the beginning of the semester to provide direction for course topics. Faculty may attend on a drop in basis if they do not wish to receive course credit. The course is taught by a Miramar faculty member who was approved as instructor of record by SDSU. Cost to participants: $ for 4 graduate units Cost to Miramar:.20 load for instructor of record 5. San Diego City College (Chancellor s Office Exemplary Program) San Diego City College offered their faculty the opportunity to earn graduate credit through UC San Diego for participation in a professional development program linked to their Learning Communities program. The program elements include: 1. University extension (UCSD) courses offered on campus for faculty development focused on teaching and learning. Courses offered include: + College Student Development: Enhancing Teaching and Learning Outcomes for Latino Students (Spring 2006) + From Teaching to Learning: Transforming the Classroom into a Learning Community (Fall 2007) + Developing Successful Teaching and Learning Strategies for Learning Communities (Spring 2008) + Organic Praxis: Theory and Practice in Learning Communities at City College (Fall 2008) + What the Best College Teachers Do: Effective Instructional Practices Applied to Learning Communities 2. Workshops on curriculum development for learning communities 3

4 3. Retreats for learning community teams including faculty, counselors, tutors and other student support staff 4. Weekly meetings of learning community teams 5. A central website to share resources Costs for this program, including payment for upper division units from UC San Diego extension were covered by a Title V grant; now that the grant is over, they are no longer offering course credit, but the other elements of the program remain in place, and their learning communities are expanding. While the grant was in effect, 60 faculty members took the credit courses. 6. LA Community College District: Faculty Teaching and Learning Academy The LACCD Faculty Teaching and Learning Academy is a joint collaboration of District administration and the District Academic Senate. Faculty in the district have the opportunity to earn 3 lower division units of credit in Directed Studies in Education. These units may be used for salary advancement. A course is offered each semester on one of the campuses in the district, and faculty meet face to face for about 42 hours during the semester, and have about 12 additional hours of work on a team project. Each instructor develops an e portfolio that includes a revised syllabus and first day assignment, a teaching philosophy statement, peer observations, and a team project. The emphasis in the course is on helping faculty learn how to: Incorporate new technologies into classroom instruction in order to promote student engagement and active learning Create a thoughtful, reflective community of learners in the classroom Use learning theory and motivational theory in practical ways Infuse essential academic learning skills and critical thinking into all classrooms Collaborate with peers to develop a culture where professional learning is valued Upon completion of the course, faculty receive a certificate from the District Board and are honored at an end of year Board meeting with a brief ceremony and reception. Cost to participants: community college tuition per unit 4

5 Cost to district: load for faculty to teach the course 7. Sacramento State College of Continuing Education: Faculty Preparation Certificate Program This certificate program offered through Sac State Continuing Ed consists of 4 graduate level courses that earn 3 units each. While this program had been offered on site at Sac State since 2001, it is now completely online. The instructors are community college faculty who have been determined to be qualified to teach the courses by Sac State. The cost is per unit which equals $ per course or $3300 for the certificate. A non-credit option is available at a lower cost ( not disclosed). It is a cohort program that is typically offered beginning in the Spring, continuing over the summer, and culminating with an onsite experience in the Fall. ( This would be some kind of mentoring or coaching experience on our campus.) They would be willing to work with a cohort exclusively from our district, if desired. A cohort typically includes 25 students. The courses are: ID 250 The Community College Institution and Student* ID 251 Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment at the Community College ID 252 Theory and Practice: Effective Teaching and Classroom Communication Strategies ID 253 Sponsored Experiences at the Community College *This course can be skipped by more experienced faculty if they do not intend to get the certificate. Cost to participants: $825. per course/ $3300 for the certificate Survey of CCCCD Faculty regarding professional development credit courses In Fall 2009, I worked with the district staff development committee to include questions about faculty interest in professional development credit courses on a more comprehensive professional development needs assessment for all employees in the district. The following is a summary of faculty responses to the section on professional development credit courses. Full Time Faculty Respondents: 150 (DVC: 62; SRC: 5; LMC: 50: BRTW: 1; CCC: 31) Topics of Greatest Interest (in ranked order) (147 responses) 1. Teaching Underprepared Students 2. Instructional and Curriculum Design 3. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy 4. Grading and Assessment 5. Project Based Learning/Active Learning 5

6 Interest in Professional Development Options (in ranked order) (146 responses) 1. Flex Workshops 2. Campus Based Workshop Series 3. Conferences/Travel 4. Credit Courses: 59 people (approximately 40% of all full time respondents) Type of Credit: 16 responses Upper Division: 13 Graduate: 9 Lower Division: 4 Who should teach these courses? 15 responses 12 community college faculty 3 CSU faculty Are you interested in teaching a course like this? 17 responses 2 Yes 6- maybe 9 - no Adjunct Faculty Respondents: 58 (DVC: 34 SRC: 6 LMC: 13 CCC: 5) Topics of Greatest Interest (in ranked order) 55 responses 1 Grading and Assessment 2. Teaching Underprepared Students 3. Instructional/Curriculum Design ; Project Based, Active Learning; Designing Effective Learning Communities Interest in Professional Development Options (54 responses) 1. Campus Based Workshop Series 2. Flex Workshops 3. Conferences/Travel 4. Credit Courses: 29 people (approximately 53% of all respondents) Type of Credit: 7 responses 6

7 Graduate: 7 Upper Division: 3 Lower Division: 1 Who should teach these courses? 7 responses CSU faculty: Community college faculty: 2 Would you be interested? 4- Yes 1- maybe 2-no See Appendix for breakdown of survey results by college. In addition to the faculty responses reported above, 44 classified staff and 10 administrators were interested in taking credit courses on teaching and learning. Input from Key Constituents in our district College Staff Development Coordinators I attended district staff development meetings throughout the Fall semester and learned more about what professional development opportunities are already being provided to faculty on each campus. Campus based programs and workshops are unique to each college, although each campus has some version of a Nexus program for new faculty. As state funding for professional development has been greatly diminished, faculty find it increasingly difficult to secure funding to attend professional conferences, even if they have been invited to present. Faculty do, however, value the opportunity to meet with their colleagues on campus and see flex workshops and other campus based workshops as their best alternatives for professional development. Given this interest in campus based activities, a Teaching Academy might best begin by building on existing efforts on each campus to bring faculty together around questions of teaching and learning. College staff development coordinators also recommend beginning with the topics of interest identified in the survey. Academic Senate Presidents I attended three FSCC meetings and kept the Senate presidents informed about the overall idea for a Teaching Academy, the survey results, programs offered at other community colleges in the state, and possible options for our district. 7

8 The Academic Senate Presidents are supportive of the concept of a Teaching Academy and will work with their college staff development coordinators to present survey results and possible options for a Teaching Academy to their local senates. United Faculty The United Faculty president supports the idea of a Teaching Academy for faculty in our district, especially given that faculty can use credits earned to advance on the salary schedule. We reviewed newly approved language in our contract regarding salary advancement and discussed options for in house awarding of credit for professional development courses offered in our district. This type of credit is provided for in our contract. The advantage of this is that credit, even upper division credit, could be negotiated for purposes of salary advancement and could be provided at community college tuition rate. The disadvantage would be that the credits could be used for salary advancement only within our district. Chancellor s Cabinet I presented the results of the teaching and learning section of the district wide survey on professional development to the Chancellor s Cabinet in December, along with a summary of exemplary programs that offer credit courses for professional development that faculty can use to advance on the salary schedule. They too were supportive of the creation of a district Teaching Academy and agreed that the district staff development committee would be the appropriate group to review the proposal and make a recommendation. Possible Partnership with Cal State Universities I contacted personnel at 3 Cal State universities: Cal State East Bay, San Francisco State and Sacramento State. All three would be willing to partner with us in offering credit courses for upper division or graduate credit through their Colleges of Extended Studies. The most formal of these programs is the Faculty Preparation Certificate already detailed above and offered through Sac State s College of Extended Studies. San Francisco State would be open to working with us to develop courses that suit our needs, and invites us to submit a proposal. Cal State East Bay offered several options: It is possible to offer professional development credit courses through the CSU East Bay Continuing and International Education extension program- it could be upper division or graduate credit. The fees are $ per quarter unit, and most courses are 4 quarter units, thus a course would cost the faculty member $ Quarter courses are usually 10 weeks. One existing course, ED 6440: Curriculum in Science and Health Education is flexible enough that it could be adapted to meet a more general purpose. It is also possible that entirely new courses could be developed and approved through CSU East Bay. The courses would typically be taught by CSU faculty, but it is possible that they could be co-taught with a community college faculty member. Usually, graduate courses have 20 students enrolled, but lower numbers are possible with continuing education 8

9 courses. Courses could be offered on site at one of our colleges or at the Concord Campus of CSU East Bay on Ygnacio Valley Rd. Another possibility is contract courses which can go as low as $59 per unit, but there would not be much incentive for CSU faculty to want to teach these unless the compensation they received was somehow supplemented with grant funding. This option, however, could be used if the instructor of the course was a community college instructor who was approved by CSU but paid by the community college district. The following is a direct quote from correspondence with Professor David Stronk, CSU East Bay, Department of Teacher Education: Any qualified person could submit a proposal to Continuing and International Education to do a course. The proposal needs to be approved at several levels of the University. Our Department of Teacher Education has professors who are competent to teach the requested course(s) and could probably use existing courses in our Department to provide the course (that may be adapted to meet the needs of community-college professors.) A contract course through Continuing and International Education charges only a bookkeeping fee because it does not provide any money to pay the professor for teaching the course. If a grant pays the professor to teach the course, then through this grant, the students in the course can pay very little to enroll in the contract course. Recommended Options for a Teaching Academy in CCCCD: Based on a review of what other community colleges in California are providing for their faculty, the results of a survey of our faculty, and the input of key constituent groups in our district, the following are my top 3 recommendations for offering professional development credit courses in our district: (Please note that the options are not mutually exclusive, and elements from one option could be combined with elements of another to create a fourth or fifth option.) 1.District wide Teaching Seminar Series Begin with 2-3 intensive flex days conducted in a fashion similar to the Great Teachers Seminar during which participants would select the topic or topics they wish to pursue during the remainder of the semester. Meet for 8 two-hour sessions during the semester, approximately every other week to discuss selected topics; campus locations could be rotated each semester. People could opt to take this for course credit, or just for the flex credit, choosing just to sit in for the semester meetings. Those wanting credit would keep a reflective journal during the semester, and write a final reflection paper on seminar topics. Credit could be offered in district or in collaboration with CSU East Bay for graduate credit. Cost to participants: community college tuition per unit if offered in district. 9

10 Cost to district: Load for community college faculty to facilitate the seminars; meals during flex sessions; printing costs for course materials 2. Establish a Teaching Academy that would offer Institutes on Selected Topics in Teaching and Learning A Teaching Academy would be established in our district and would be run by a Director ( faculty reassigned time) and a steering committee appointed by FSCC. Participants apply to be accepted to the Institute and their applications are reviewed by the Director of the Teaching Academy and the steering committee who will establish criteria for selecting applicants. Selected participants agree to meet for two flex days- one in August and one in January. In the Fall semester they would meet for 2 hours a week for 15 weeks and in the Spring semester they would complete a project, implementing what they learned in the Fall semester. All work would be represented in an e portfolio and at the end of the year, they would receive credit commensurate with hours- perhaps 6 units 3 units for each semester. The curriculum would be developed by faculty interested in teaching the course and approved by a faculty group appointed by the FSCC. Topics would vary each semester, beginning with the topics of interest identified on the recently completed survey, and would be offered on different campuses in different semesters. This format could be used to provide intensive professional development around a particular initiative such as learning communities or faculty inquiry groups. Flex days, or at least 1 flex day, could be used to bring in expert speakers, and these sessions could be open to anyone in the district who wanted to attend. Cost to participants: community college tuition per unit Cost to district: Reassigned time for Director of Teaching Academy; stipend to develop curriculum; reassigned time/load or stipend for 2 facilitators to run the course sessions; fees for any expert speakers 3. District staff development committee collaborates with CSU East Bay to develop and offer an upper division or graduate level course in selected topics in teaching. Offer the course at the Concord campus extension of CSU East Bay. Cost to participants: CSU tuition rates if taught by CSU faculty member; per unit if taught by community college instructor, but instructor must be approved by CSU. Cost to district: Stipend for community college faculty member to collaborate on developent of curriculum and/or team teach with CSU faculty, or to be the sole instructor of record for the course 10

11 ACTION PLAN for OPTION 1: TEACHING ACADEMY offers a district wide TEACHING SEMINAR SERIES TIMELINE ACTION COST APRIL 2010 District Staff Development committee identifies 2 seminar leaders to plan Jan 2011 flex Teaching Seminar (2-3 days) MAY 2010 SEPT 2010 OCT NOV DEC 2010 JAN Seminar Leaders have initial meeting to plan dates and work schedule for Fall in order to prepare Jan.2011 Seminar Seminar Leaders identify place to hold Seminar Series in January Seminar Leaders plan structure and activities for Seminar, perhaps following Great Teachers Seminar format. Seminar Leaders send out announcement and invite faculty to apply to attend January seminar. Applicants are asked to identify their top 3 areas of interest. Applicants are selected and seminar leaders make logistical preparations for January seminar. SEMINAR offered in January flex. Seminar leaders receive double flex credit plus stipend of $1000. each for planning and facilitating flex seminar. Variable depending on place selected- could be held at one of the colleges or at Cal State EB Concord campus for nominal fee. Costs for printing, supplies, etc. estimated at $ applicants will be selected to attend the seminar. Continental breakfast and lunch for 3 days for 32 people, cost estimated at $

12 FEB- MAY 2011 Follow up sessions: 2 hours every other week for a total of 8 sessions Seminar leaders facilitate follow up sessions and bring in resources relevant to topics participants want to study further. TOTAL ESTIMATED COST TO DISTRICT Flex Seminar facilitation Flex Meals Flex Supplies 300 Semester Seminar Facilitation (20.00 per person/day) Seminar leaders each receive.10 load for leading seminar sessions during the semester. (Cost to district is estimated at $4500) $8, 800 excluding cost of external location for seminar This is a one-semester option, so costs are for one semester. ACTION PLAN for OPTION 2: TEACHING ACADEMY offers an INSTITUTE ON SELECTED TOPIC in Teaching and Learning TIMELINE ACTION COST APRIL 2010 FSCC appoints faculty steering committee to advise Teaching Academy. Steering Committee announces reassigned time position of Director of Teaching Academy and invites letters of interest. MAY 2010 SEPT 2010 Director of Teaching Academy selected by FSCC Director invites faculty to submit prospectus for curriculum for professional development course on topics of interest identified in Fall 09 survey. (Format will be created by director and approved by.30 reassigned time position beginning Spring

13 OCTOBER 2010 NOVEMBER 2010 FEBRUARY APRIL 2011 APRIL 2011 MAY 2011 AUGUST 2011 SEPT NOV 2011 JANUARY 2012 steering committee) Interested faculty work on prospectus. Director and steering committee select one prospectus to be developed into a course outline for the professional development course. Faculty member writes course outline and plans curriculum. (Teams of 2 would be encouraged to cowrite and co-teach the curriculum.) Professional development course is advertised and faculty are invited to apply to participate in Teaching Academy. 30 Participants are selected by FSCC Steering Committee and Director COURSE begins in August flex on one of the college campuses COURSE sessions meet weekly for 2 hours each week. Beginning mid-semester, faculty begin to consider a project to be carried out in Spring 2012 FLEX 2 DAY workshop to present projects to be carried out in SPRING 2012 and to share ideas and resources Director conducts evaluation on fall course sessions. Each faculty member is paid a stipend of $1000 to write course outline and plan curriculum..20 load for course (.10 each if shared by 2 instructors) Course instructors receive double flex credit plus a $500. Stipend for facilitating flex workshop 13

14 FEB-MAY 2012 AUGUST FLEX 2012 AUG- NOV NOV 2012 TOTAL ESTIMATED COST TO DISTRICT Director invites faculty in district to submit prospectus for new course to be offered in second cycle. Faculty do projects and document using e portfolios in consultation with course instructors. PORTOLIOS evaluated and graded Director and Steering Committee review submitted prospectus and select second course to be developed Faculty who developed e portfolios are invited to offer flex workshops to share what they learned. Faculty member(s) write second course outline and plan curriculum. Director evaluates first course and plans for improvement. Second professional development course is advertised and will begin with FLEX JAN 2013 cycle continues Course instructors receive.20 load ( or.10 if shared with 2 instructors) to meet for 3 hours with each faculty member working on a project and to help them with their e portfolio For each one year cycle of instruction.30 reassigned time for Director beginning SPR 2011 $ 1000 for each course written and curriculum developed (Cost would be $2000 $6750 per semester x 2 semesters= 13,

15 if written by a team of 2) $1000 for facilitation of flex workshop.20 load for instruction of PD course and supervision of 2nd semester projects for a total of.40 load for one year cycle (This load would be shared if team taught.) TOTAL: 25,500 ACTION PLAN FOR OPTION 3: COURSE offered in collaboration with CSU East Bay APRIL 2010 District Staff Development committee asks FSCC to recommend course to be developed in collaboration with Cal State East Bay based 15

16 SEPT 2010 on survey of Fall 2009 and to identify faculty who would be interested in this collaboration FSCC makes recommendation of course topic and identifies interested faculty District Staff Dev. Committee contacts Cal State EB to arrange for faculty on both campuses to meet OCTOBER DEC.2010 SPRING 2011 FALL 2011 TOTAL ESTIMATED COST TO DISTRICT CCCCD faculty and CSUEB faculty meet to develop course Course goes through approval process at CSU East Bay Course is offered at CSU East Bay Concord campus Stipend for community college faculty to develop course in collaboration with CSU faculty member If community college faculty member receives load to team teach or be sole instructor of record:.20 load (A community college instructor would need to be approved by CSU) Note that in this option the cost of the course would be paid by the faculty enrolling in the course. This would be $2000 $4500. For one semester TOTAL: $6500 for one semester or $ 13,000 for one year 16

17 approximately $640 for 4 quarter units if offered as a CSU extension course, or possibly $240 for 4 quarter units if taught by a community college faculty member approved by CSU. 17