Carole Splendore Learning Assessment Coordinator, Chabot College
Scott Hoshida Coordinator of Teaching and learning Center, Berkeley City College
Jennifer Lange Center for Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Chabot College
Cleavon Smith North Bay Learning Network Regional Coordinator, Berkeley City College
Engaging the 6 Cultures of the Academy
William H. Bergquist, Kenneth Pawlak, Jossey-Bass, 2008
To improve functioning
or enact cultural change,
one should first
understand the cultures
that are at work, so that
one can engage them …
The Collegial Culture
 Finds meaning primarily in the disciplines
 Values: faculty research and scholarship, shared
governance
 Believes in: rationality
 Goal: the generation of knowledge, the development
of specific values among young men and women who
are the future leaders of our society
The Managerial Culture
 Finds meaning primarily in the organization of work
that is directed towards specific goals
 Values: fiscal responsibility, effective supervisory skills
 Believes in: its capacity to define and measure its goals
effectively
 Goal: the teaching of specific knowledge, skills, and
attitudes in students so they might become successful
and responsible citizens.
The Developmental Culture
 Finds meaning primarily in the: creation of activities
furthering the personal and professional growth of all
 Values: fiscal personal openness, service to others,
systematic institutional research and curricular
planning
 Believes in the: desire of all men and women to attain
their own personal maturation, while helping others to
become more mature
 Goal: the encouragement of potential for growth for all
The Advocacy Culture
 Finds meaning primarily in the: establishment of
equitable politics, and procedures for the distribution
of resources and benefits within the institution
 Values: confrontation and fair bargaining
 Believes in the: ultimate role of power
 Goal: the establishment of new and more liberating
social attitudes and structures.
The Virtual Culture
 Finds meaning primarily in: responding to the
knowledge generation and dissemination capacity of
the postmodern world
 Values: the global perspective of open, shared,
responsible educational systems
 Believes in: the ability to make sense of the
fragmentation and ambiguity that exists
 Goal: broadening the global learning network
The Tangible Culture
 Finds meaning primarily in: its roots, its community,
and its spiritual grounding
 Values: the predictability of a value-based, face-to-face
education in a stable physical location
 Believes in: the ability of established systems and
technologies to instill the institution’s values
 Goal: the honoring and reintegration of learning from
a local perspective
Berkeley City College – Teaching and Learning Center
Values
 Collaborative & Inclusive
 Research and Inquiry-based
 Student-Oriented
 Sustainable
Collaborative Inquiry:
A tool that matches these values
Comparing Inquiry and Assessment
Sample Inquiries
 How does service-learning impact students’ feeling of
community?
 What do students think they should understand and
feel by the end of their first semester at BCC?
 How can we improve students’ research and writing
skills in English 1a?
 How can we best incorporate technology to address
our language learners’ needs?
Development Efforts in a Collegial Culture
Goals:
 Move faculty from a compliance mentality by
providing a framework for engaging the desire to have
meaningful conversations about teaching, and thus
draw them forward in the process.
 Create conversations in order to build recognition of
common dilemmas and solutions across disciplines.
Development Efforts in a Collegial Culture
Process:
 Bi-weekly readings onto current research in the field (by email)
 Cognition Book Club – monthly discussions on chapters from “The Art
of Changing the Brain”
 Workshops
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Learning Styles
Metacognition
Addressing the Emotional Needs of Learners
Assessment of Deep Learning
Stages of Intellectual Development
Using Learning Objects to Create Engagement
 Variable Flex Activity – Classroom visits both in and out of discipline
 Brown Bag Lunches on “Applying the Science of Learning”
 Flex Day Guest Speaker and Discussions
Development Efforts in a Collegial Culture
Flex Day – Reflecting on Assessment
Data
 Guest speaker Dr. James Zull spoke on how learning
takes place in the brain
 Inter-disciplinary groups discussing examples of
cognitive teaching practices
 Disciplinary groups discussing how they can improve
student learning by viewing their lessons through the
cognitive learning model
Working within the Collegial
Culture
 Work within discipline group, SLOAC reps to lead
 Avoid mass trainings as soon as you have the
infrastructure to do so
 Understand reactions are cutting across values, invite
those values into the practices
 See a rep. from a discipline first to assess the situation,
determine goals, and gain an ally
A Case Study: Inquiry AND Assessment to design an
accelerated basic skills model at Berkeley City College
English 1A SLO Review Findings
 Students not faring well in “Research” outcome
 Existing departmental assessment tool inadequate
Developmental English Program informal pedagogy “chats”
 “Exponential Attrition and the Promise of Acceleration in Developmental
English and Math” by K. Hern and M. Snell
Converging Conclusion
 If we want students writing better research papers, we should give them more
practice IN and BEFORE ENG1A”
Thorny Question
 “What if Pre-1A students score what the department has deemed to be passing
for 1A students?”
Thorny Answer
 1A Credit by Examination
A Case Study: Inquiry AND Assessment to design an
accelerated basic skills model at Berkeley City College
A Case Study: Inquiry AND Assessment to design an
accelerated basic skills model at Berkeley City College
The result:
 More conversations
 More confusion
 More excitement
 More fear
 More fun
 Higher Expectations
 Greater sense of possibilities
 More apprehension
 Greater appreciation for collaborative inquiry
 More ownership of assessment
 More mistakes
 More student engagement
 Greater departmental identity and pride
 The list goes on!