Faculty Spotlight
Center for Teaching & Learning www.chabotcollege.edu/LearningConnection/ctl/news/spotlight.asp Center for Teaching & Learning May 2011 Volume 3, Issue 1 Chabot College’s Great Teachers 2011 Chabot College is fortunate to have many excellent teachers whose dedication to the craft of teaching and learning breathes life into the campus and inspires stu‐
dents to achieve beyond what they believed possible. Each spring we recognize one faculty member from each division for their invaluable contributions to both stu‐
dents and to the college. The award includes attendance at the California Great Teachers Seminar, paid for by Title III funds. The process to receive the award is the following: each dean is asked to make nomi‐
nations within his/her division by describing how the nominees demonstrate excel‐
lence in (1) exhibiting personal qualities that promote student learning; (2) prepar‐
ing outstanding teaching materials; (3) employing especially effective teaching strategies; and (4) overall dedication to teaching. These descriptions explain the many facets of excellent teaching: from carefully crafted presentations to hands‐on activities, from small group discussions and pres‐
entations to one‐on‐one personalized conversations. Whatever the presentation method, the descriptions present teaching that incites curiosity in students and that engages them thoroughly in the process of learning. Congratulations to our 2011 Great Teachers. In This Issue: 2 Great Teachers 2011 9 6 ESL Program Development 10 Assessing Speaking Skills 8 Acceleration Conference 12 Starting Students Strong ECD Spanish Cohort 15 Conference Presenters 2010‐11 Eric Schultz—School of the Arts Music Instructor Center for Teaching & Learning Dr. Eric Schultz teaches Music and Music Recording Technology in the School of the Arts. Though he has been here only two years, he has already made a huge impact in this program and with its students. In addition to reworking the entire curriculum for the program during his first year in the job, he has up‐
dated the software and setup of the music lab and brought in important industry professionals to work with his students. He has spent countless hours working mixing the sound for jazz and wind concerts. Eric is a constant advocate for SOTA, the music department, and his music recording and technology students. He has developed cutting‐edge 21st century curriculum to meet the needs and demands of a changing arts work‐
force and career options for our Chabot community at‐large. His hands
‐on approach to learning and technol‐
ogy allows not only his students, but colleagues to share in the collabora‐
tive journey of making art by imple‐
menting state‐of‐the‐art, industry standard technology and resources into our classes. Patricia Wu—Science & Mathematics Biology Instructor Page 2 Being a great teacher requires work in and out of the classroom. In addition to teaching, Patricia created a biotech program in partnership with Ohlone College and Tennyson High, participated in the reading ap‐
prenticeship training to better classroom instruction, became curriculum representative for the division, and took on the faculty lead role for anatomy, which requires the handling of the cadavers . . . just to name a few. In the classroom, students always appreciate her clarity when teaching and are appreciative of her approach to facilitating their learning. After receiving reading apprenticeship training herself, she began sharing the information she learned and started training others in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields as an official read‐
ing apprenticeship trainer. In January she co‐led a reading apprenticeship training, funded by Title III, for Chabot’s Science and Math faculty and is now the Focused Inquiry Group leader and mentor for the participants from the training. She tirelessly works to better her instruc‐
tion as well as the college; always going above and beyond to support our stu‐
dents, their learning, and the learning environment on campus. Kent Uchiyama—Language Arts ESL Instructor Center for Teaching & Learning Kent is patient and kind with his students. He is approachable, willing to stop whatever he is doing at the moment to work with a student who drops by. His great sense of humor puts his students at ease. He is empathetic and encouraging. Kent‘s primary goal is to make sure that his students get what they need in order to succeed in their studies and their educa‐
tional goals. He makes sure his students know about the various resources available to them at our college. Kent uses his original and creative materials to make grammar lessons fun and meaningful to English as a Second Language students at all levels. His explanations about grammar and writing are easy to follow. When introducing a new concept, Kent provides helpful exam‐
ples to students. He has written a textbook on using English verb tenses, available on the internet free to anyone who wants to use it, and it is a valuable resource for students and teachers alike. Kent believes in keeping the "teacher talk" minimal to avoid increasing the information overload that many of our ESL students may already be experiencing. Kent also helps students develop academic reading strategies and the joy of reading by applying re‐
search‐based strategies he learned from participating in WestEd’s Reading Apprenticeship professional development program. Kent works hard for the ESL program, Language Arts division, and college. He is willing to take on an extra challenge or project. He has helped to hire, mentor, and evaluate adjunct and full‐time ESL instructors and has served on hiring committees in other disciplines. He has participated in the college‐wide Basic Skills Initiative and collaborated with the Learning Connection in developing ESL supplementary materials for the Language Center. Last year, Kent was the ESL contact for a community needs assessment funded by a Title III grant. He has developed new curriculum to train tutors to tutor ESL students, and this year is focusing materials on contextualized language development in Career Technical Education courses with funding from a TRIO grant. He is a fine colleague to work with and is available when we need his input or help with work‐related matters. His work reflects his love of teaching, whether in working with students or colleagues. Page 3 Connie Telles—Health, PE & Athletics Nursing Instructor Center for Teaching & Learning Connie Telles has been a Medical‐Surgical Instructor in the Chabot College Nursing Program for the past 10 years. Last year she moved over to Obstetrical Nursing for the first time. Part of her coming over to this new assignment was her bringing into Chabot College simulation educa‐
tion. Simulation education is the cutting edge pedagogy in Nursing Education. Simulation manikins are employed now in all areas of Nursing Education, from Medical Surgi‐
cal, to Pediatrics, and Obstetrics. These manikins are life‐
like human replicas that feel pain, bleed, and communicate symptoms. To effect instruction with these “teaching tools” requires the development of complex scenarios that mimic real life events that the Nursing student might experience with a real patients. The preparation, development, and implemen‐
tation of this teaching paradigm is complex, and it requires detailed planning as well as technical knowledge of the inner workings of the manikins. Connie recently completed a doctoral degree where her focus was in simulation education. She has written grants to bring simulation education to the col‐
lege, by securing the funding for the construction of a brand new state‐of‐the‐art Nursing Simulation Laboratory. This has been almost wholly funded with grant monies procured by Connie, with a little help with the equipment through Measure B dollars. Connie is developing the teacher training aspect of this for the Nursing faculty as a part of our moving towards incorporating simulation education into our Nursing curriculum. Connie Telles is truly a 21st century great teacher and very deserving of this award. Jan Novak—Applied Technology & Business Business Instructor Page 4 Jan Novak is an outstanding representative of Chabot’s exemplary faculty. Here are just a few of her outstanding qualities:  When I think of student learning and personal qualities, I re‐
member how Jan has led the charge in research for key delibera‐
tions and decisions. Examples include her research into our stu‐
dents enrolled in Chabot online learning, and sampling Business students to drive the Unit Plan. She questions the status quo and tackles meaningful projects like her work with Business Adjuncts and SLO’s. She has a curious sharp mind that is backed by tireless energy and work.  I always use Jan’s syllabi as examples for new faculty. Jan’s or‐
ganization for her Blackboard enabled classes is a model for colleagues. Her engagement of students in face‐to‐face teaching is a pleasure to watch, including role playing in legal proceedings, marketing presentations, and more— all in the context of fresh current examples.  Reinforced through her continuing enrollment in graduate level courses, Jan uses her years of class‐
room experience and emerging research in teaching adult learners to “mix it up” in order to maintain student motivation in pursuit of learning goals. Jan’s use of technology is perhaps the most visible teaching strategy, but it is backed by her penchant for organization of every course component.  One of the most visible measures of Jan’s dedication is her “involvement.” A leader within her ag‐
gressive discipline coupled with her leadership in college‐wide activities (Online, Entrepreneurship…
and more) positions her as one of our most active and effective faculty. ValJean Dale—Psychology & Counseling Counselor/Instructor Center for Teaching & Learning Counselor/Instructor/Coordinator, ValJean Dale has been teaching a variety of courses in the Psychology‐
Counseling discipline, including PSCN 1, 10, 11, 22, 80, and Tutoring 31. ValJean brings a wealth of real‐life ongoing clinical experience to her pedagogy, helping students connect the classroom theory with real‐life psychology‐counseling experiences through case study analysis, multimedia presentations, community agency partnerships and on‐campus service leadership experiential learning programs such as the Peer Advisor program. ValJean goes the additional mile to advocate for mental health resources, learning ma‐
terials and awareness of its importance in relation to student suc‐
cess and our mission to serve our diverse communities. She also coordinates the Adult and Dislocated Worker Career & Transfer FIPSE grant to help more students complete their educational goals through implementing much of what she teaches in the classroom, including a case management approach to student support, intercul‐
tural sensitivity and mental health support for workers in difficult transitions. She organizes her teaching in a way that requires students to be actively engaged in their learning and career development, such as cooperative learning groups, research projects that culminate in professional level presentations, and processing classroom issues that arise in relation to the field of study, bringing an increased level of relevance to the instruction provided. ValJean demonstrates her commitment to teaching through Student Learning Outcomes Assessment, providing experiential and leader‐
ship‐based learning opportunities for students, and constantly con‐
necting career exploration with classroom learning to maximize student motivation and engagement. Stu‐
dents benefit from her professionalism, commitment to student learning and mental health advocacy for all members of our educational community, an area that is often stigmatized and challenged, to find a ta‐
ble for dialogue on the pervasiveness of mental health disorders in our society. ValJean Dale is an example of a teacher who walks the talk of facilitating student engagement, health and learning. Michael Thompson—Social Sciences History Instructor Page 5 History Instructor Michael Thompson has brought extraordinary expertise and energy to the develop‐
ment and teaching of History curriculum, including African American History and foundational U.S. His‐
tory, as well as to his work with the Daraja Project and his development of contextualized basic skills offer‐
ings for History students. He is an accomplished scholar whose passion for and commitment to teach‐
ing continue to be a gift to Chabot's students. He is a respected colleague and mentor, who inspires others through sharing his knowledge of subject matter as well as teaching methodology. ESL Program Evaluation: Highlights from the Community Needs Assessment by Kent Uchiyama, Linnea Wahamaki, Sandra Genera, and Ramon Parada Center for Teaching & Learning Our project is centered around a few funda‐
mental inquiries:  What are the needs of the English learners in our area?  How well are we meeting those needs?  How can we best restructure our program to meet the needs that we aren’t completely addressing?  In restructuring our program, what can we learn from the ESL programs in our surrounding communities? Counselor Sandra Genera We approached these questions from a few different directions, one of which was working with a consultant to perform a community needs assessment. This assessment gathered information from English learners in our community, local organizations that serve immigrant communities, and members of our ESL program at Chabot. We then distributed surveys to English language learners in our community through Hayward School District’s parent network and through our own classes at Chabot. Page 6 Process: The needs assessment was performed by Juan Carlos Bojorquez of WestEd. After interviewing several of Chabot’s ESL instructors as well as leaders of immigrant community organizations, Mr. Bojorquez created an ESL needs survey with suggestions and feedback from ESL Faculty Inquiry Group. We surveyed two groups: current Chabot students and parents of ESL students in the Hayward Unified School District. Significant Findings:  Over 60% of the respondents said that they learned about Chabot’s ESL program through family and friends.  65% had taken only one or two ESL classes of any kind.  Overall, the most common reason all respondents gave for wanting to learn English was “prepare for academic classes”.  Among HUSD parents, “family literacy” was the most important reason to learn English. This was followed by “participate more in my community” and “prepare to look for work.” Preparation for academic classes came in fourth among this group of respon‐
dents.  A majority of all respondents cited grammar, writing, and speaking classes as the ones they were most likely to take, each one getting a positive response from 90‐93% of the respondents. 89% indicated that they would take a reading class. 86% indicated that they would take a class focused on job‐related English. The report went on to say, “One noteworthy observation was the consistency with which classes focused on job‐related English seemed the least popular class. This should be considered when determining the role of vocational study in Chabot’s ESL program.” However, 86% is still a sizeable major‐
ity of respondents, and, despite Mr. Bojorquez’s caution, the numbers still suggest a ‐ ESL, continued on next page ‐ ESL, continued from previous page 
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‐ ESL, continued on next page Page 7 Preliminary Ideas:  We are currently offering preparation for academic classes, primarily through integrated reading/
writing/grammar classes. When we have sufficient FTEF to offer them, there seems to be a need (86% positive response) for vocational ESL classes.  We should be offering more speaking classes. We may want to pilot a variety of smaller unit speaking classes with an academic focus, e.g.—pronunciation, conversation, or perhaps presentation skills. Speaking courses with a less academic focus could be considered supplemental and might be discussed as an offering through Community Education.  We might explore ways to offer more morning or evening classes since these are by far the best times for our students. We have offered courses at the San Leandro Center in the past, and we may want to explore other off‐campus possibilities at those times.  We could offer more classes with fewer than 6 units. Since cost is issue for our students, offering classes with fewer units may make them more accessible.  When resources become available to offer additional classes, we might try offering classes below the high‐beginning/low intermediate level.  Because of the recent cutbacks in our ESL classes, we cannot accommodate more students at this time, but when we are in a position to expand the program, it might be useful to advertise our program in the community. This advertising could be relatively inexpensive, such as ads in foreign language news‐
papers. Other options could include outreach or partnerships with organizations that serve our stu‐
dents’ language communities. Since people who know about the program heard of it through word of mouth, it may be that we’re not fully utilizing other means of getting the word out.  Most respondents had only taken one or two ESL classes, not nearly enough to become proficient in English. This suggests that there may be a large untapped market in our community if we can create new classes that address some of the other needs of our potential students.  To help students move into a career or transfer, ESL faculty could work with counseling to add a coun‐
seling component to the curriculum to assure that all our ESL students have easy access to a counselor, Center for Teaching & Learning 
desire in the community for vocational ESL courses, especially since “prepare to look for work” was the third most common reason for non‐Chabot respondents to take an ESL class. When asked which type of ESL class they felt was most important, 330 respondents listed speaking as one of their top four choices. This was by the far the most popular response. Combined reading/
writing/grammar classes were a distant second at 216. Interviews with community leaders identified a need for basic and beginning level English speaking and literacy classes because “...their constituents had low literacy skills in both English and their pri‐
mary language, and thus needed very basic ESL courses”. Mornings and evenings seem to be far and away the best times for prospective students to take classes. The largest plurality of Chabot students (49%) indicated that classes meeting twice a week best fit their schedule. The largest plurality on non‐Chabot respondents (43%) said that meeting four days a week was best for them. Both groups also indicated that significantly less homework than we currently offer would be best for them. Chabot students indicated that 6.66 hours per week would be best, while non‐Chabot respondents indicated that 4.38 hours a week was best. Overall, work schedules were by far the most commonly cited challenge that might make it difficult for respondents to take an ESL class, followed by childcare. For HUSD parents, childcare was the greatest challenge. Cost seems to be an important consideration for prospective students. While a huge majority (82‐96%, depending on how the numbers were broken down) indicated they would definitely take ESL classes if they were free, this number dropped dramatically when students were asked if they would pay for classes at $26 per unit. Generally, the more units per class (and hence the greater the tuition), the fewer students said they would definitely take it. ‐ ESL, continued from previous page especially prior to registration periods so that they can receive help with their college plans. Center for Teaching & Learning Overall, “prepare for academic classes” was the most com‐
mon reason for wanting to learn English. This indicates that our current program is meeting a very real need in our community (and doing it quite well, according to our gradu‐
ates’ success rates in English 101a and 102). However, non‐
Chabot respondents indicated that “family literacy,” “participate more in my community,” and “prepare to look for work” were their top priorities. It seems that there is a need in our community for general ESL classes whose pri‐
mary goal is to help our students and their families adjust ESL Instructor Linnea Wahamaki to school, work, and community in the U.S.A. In light of the additional findings regarding homework and tuition, it might be best if these classes had fewer units and less homework than our present core classes. There was some discussion within the committee about whether such classes fall within Chabot’s mission. Undoubtedly, we can fulfill many, perhaps all, of the above needs with classes geared towards Chabot’s mission of academic and career preparation. However, we might explore other venues that could also meet this need, such as community education or adult school. Service learning and CTE partnerships may partially address this need. The ESL faculty are committed to serving the ESL population in the community in order to create new pathways and opportunities for ESL learners. To this end, we have already partnered with counseling and Career Technical Education (CTE) on a federal TRIO Grant that will help funded some innovative programs. Reflecting on these survey results and preliminary ideas, and working with the grant advi‐
sory team, we have started developing new ESL curriculum that are embedded within current Chabot Automotive Technology courses. This pilot course began in Spring 2011. Program expansion is planned for Machine Tool Technology and Welding. Summer Learning Institute
June 9-11 at Chabot College
Come join educators at this 3-day Summer Learning Institute that is, if you choose, the beginning of a
year long process where faculty from across campuses are supported by each other and AIC to implement and assess accelerated models and curriculum.
Page 8 The Acceleration in Context Summer Learning Institute offers educators--from counseling to foundation
skills courses to administration and all across the disciplines--the opportunity to reflect upon and redesign how we go about teaching and learning. Bringing Acceleration models to a campus takes teamwork,
so we strongly encourage you to bring a team of colleagues to the SLI.
The conference attendance fee is $175. For teams of 4 or more from a single school the cost is $125
per team member. This price includes: 7 meals, 3 full days of activities, a raft of materials, informative
and interactive presentations and workshops, and an on-going opportunity for networking throughout the
next academic year.
For more information: smcfarland@chabotcollege.edu 510.723.7427
To register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WHLJ9GX
ESL Support for Spanish‐speaking Early Childhood Development Students by Ana DelAguila Center for Teaching & Learning Page 9 Chabot College is one of the few colleges in the Bay Area that offers Early Childhood Development (ECD) monolingual/bilingual courses to Spanish‐speaking students. The program began in 2001 as a result of a request from Spanish‐speaking Family Child Care Providers who wanted to take ECD courses in order to improve the quality of their programs. Every Child Counts, First Five Alameda County, funded the first cohort and currently funds the coordination of this program. Currently, Spanish Cohort ECD courses are institutionalized and fully supported by the ECD Discipline, Social Sciences Division. The program provides access to higher education to the local Spanish‐speaking community, includ‐
ing those of Lathrop, Madera, Sacramento, Richmond, San Jose, and other areas. By the end of the program, students completed four core Early Child Development classes, the minimum required by California Child Care Licensing to work with young children. At the same time, participants re‐
ceived an Associate Teacher Certificate from Chabot College. An important component of the program is the completion of ESL classes. Most of students who participate in the Spanish Cohort program work long hours during the week or drive long distances to come to school. This is the reason why cohort courses are offered on Saturdays. The fact that the ESL department does not offer core ESL courses (6 units) on Saturdays makes it almost impos‐
sible for our cohort participants to be enrolled in such courses (ESL 110A, ESL 110B, ESL 110C or ESL 110D). A portion of the BSI grant funding was used to develop a sequence of ESL courses that will be of‐
fered to cohort participants. Once in place, these three‐unit courses will meet the needs of our stu‐
dents as they are planned to be offered on Saturdays. The newly developed ESL courses are ESL 149I, ESL 149J, ESL149K, and ESL149L. At the completion of these courses, students will have ac‐
quired English skills equivalent to completion of ESL 110B. The other portion of the grant funding was used to provide academic support to cohort partici‐
pants currently enrolled in GNST 9901 ESL for ECD Students course. Both groups, Cohort 10 and Cohort 11 benefited from a bilingual Learning Assistant who worked closely with instructors and students during GNST 9901 classes in Spring 2010. Results from the Learning Engagement Survey shows that students were satisfied with Learning Assistance. In Fall 2010, Cohort 11 participants took a second ESL assessment after completing two semesters of GNST 9901. Results show that 57% of the students had correctly answered more questions (CELSA‐1), but placement remained the same. Unfortunately, few students from Cohort 11 partici‐
pated in the second assessment. Thus, the data may not accurately represent progress of students. Cohort 10 participants took the assessment after completing three GNST 9901 courses. Results show that 80% of the students increased their total number of correct answers, and 20% placed in the next level ESL course. The ECD faculty are hopeful that the ESL discipline will be able to offer courses that were devel‐
oped specifically for Spanish Cohort participants. Our goal is to prepare a diverse and qualified workforce that reflects the diversity of children and families in our community. One of the program objectives is to increase English skills of participants, which is only possible if ESL classes are acces‐
sible to them. Assessing Student Speaking Skills Across the College by Carolyn Arnold Center for Teaching & Learning Page 10 Communication is one of our College‐wide Learning Goals (CWLG), and Speaking is one of the stated components of this CWLG. While Communication Studies (CS) courses explicitly teach public speaking, many courses in other disciplines require students to give a verbal presenta‐
tion. However, instructors in the non‐CS disciplines are not explicitly teaching speaking skills and may not know how to assess them. The purpose of this FIG was to find a systematic way to assess student presentations at Chabot in disciplines other than Communication Studies so that faculty who require presentations in their classes would have a useful assessment rubric. This FIG was a pilot project that developed and tested the use of several rubrics to see how they worked for disciplines other than Com‐
munication Studies. FIG members represented the disciplines of CS, ESL, and Chemistry. The CS instructors all teach students speaking skills and were interested in whether they could use a common rubric. The ESL instructor was teaching the ESL Listening and Speaking course and had several planned presentations during the semester. She was interested in a rubric that she could use for those presentations that reflected what she was teaching. The Chemistry instructors include one presentation in their Chemistry 12A course in order to evaluate the Course Learning Outcome (CLO) that students can explain basic chemical compounds to each other. They were looking for guidance regarding criteria on how to assess the presentations apart from looking at the students' understanding of the subject material. The FIG leader was the Coordinator of Institu‐
tional Research & Grants, who had led earlier pilots in assessing the CWLGs of critical thinking and global and cultural involvement. She was interested in developing and testing a rubric that could be used by instructors across campus to assess this learning goal. The group met three times — once to introduce the project, once to present the rubrics and practice using them to assess a presentation, and once to share and discuss their assessment results. After the initial meeting in August, one of the CS instructors reviewed the various ru‐
brics used in CS to assess speeches and integrated them into two rubrics that could be used by faculty in other disciplines. These rubrics consisted of one detailed rubric with four compo‐
nents—PREPARATION and CREDIBILITY as a speaker, NONVERBAL DELIVERY, VERBAL COM‐
MUNICATION, and LOGIC and ORGANIZATION—each with a five‐
point scale, and one holistic rubric combining these components into one five‐point scale. The second meeting in September consisted of a discussion and training about how to use the rubrics. Then, between September and December, the FIG members tested these new rubrics on presentations in their classes. The rubrics were used in courses ranging from Communication Studies, where speaking was the major subject of the course, to ESL, where speaking was one part of the course, to Chemistry, where speaking, per se, was not be‐
ing taught. Using an assignment late in the semester, the faculty all recorded their assessment scores from the rubrics and entered their data in eLumen. Chemistry Instructor Harjot Sawhney ‐ Speaking, continued on next page ‐ Speaking, continued from previous page Center for Teaching & Learning FIG members met at the end of the semester to discuss their assess‐
ment results and report and discuss how the rubrics had worked for them. The ESL instructor liked the detailed rubric, although she moved pro‐
nunciation from “verbal communication” to “nonverbal communica‐
tion” because it made more sense to her and to her students. She found that since she was teaching speaking, the detailed rubric was useful to pinpoint where the students needed help. The Chemistry instructors met together and collapsed the four‐
component detailed rubric into only two components – the content (what) and the clarity (how). Although they learned from the common CS rubric, much of the detailed language in the rubrics was not mean‐
ingful to them so they developed the two‐component rubric with just a few words that adequately assessed the required speech components. The Communication Studies instructors also found that the common Communication Studies rubrics were not useful to them, in part because they typically used Instructor Veronica Martinez much finer grain assessments than 4‐5 points and in part because these common rubrics did not reflect the unique professional lenses and training that they each brought to their classes. Thus, the common rubrics had dulled the edges of their various tools for teaching and assessing speaking. They decided that they wanted to use their own rubrics, but that it had been useful to them to see how non‐CS instructors interpreted the ru‐
brics. This discussion yielded a useful continuum for when a detailed rubric would be used and when a sim‐
ple one might be better. Due to feedback from the non‐CS faculty, the CS instructor revised the rubrics one more time, by sim‐
plifying the four‐component detailed rubric (same four components), and by creating a very simple two‐component rubric (What did the speaker say? How did they say it?), based on what the chemis‐
try instructors had done. The non‐CS instructors appreciated these revisions, and felt that these rubrics were easier to use for non‐ CS faculty. These instructors also decided that another goal of this FIG would be to increase the number of instructors teaching and assessing speaking (as well as a global and cultural involvement), and that they would seek out opportunities to present these rubrics and their experience to show other faculty how easy and satisfying it was to do. FIG Members: Andrew Wells, Chemistry Angela Hobbs, ESL Carolyn Arnold, Institutional Research (FIG Leader) Christine Warda, Communication Studies Donna Gibson, Chemistry Harjot Sawhney, Chemistry Jason Ames, Communication Studies Patti Keeling, Communication Studies Ramon Parada, Counseling Veronica Martinez, Communication Studies Page 11 
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Providing a Strong Student Start by Matt Kritscher and Monica Molton Center for Teaching & Learning Page 12 The Basic Skills Committee enacted a Strategic Plan that emphasized helping students get off to a strong start, leveraging Chabot’s Early Deci‐
sion, Assessment, Orientation, Counseling (Matriculation) Services and the newly piloted Peer Advisor Program. These four strategic areas were designed to provide relevant information on student support services as well as initial ex‐
posure to the diverse career pathways available to Chabot College students. The Peer Advisor Program is a program that Counselor Sadie Ashraf competitively selects more experienced Chabot students to work up to 20 hours per week in all aspects of Student Support Services. With the main purpose to connect students with vital sup‐
port services this will help to ensure the students’ success in college. Peer Advisors perform a variety of duties in many different areas. The areas in which they provide support and coverage to include:  The Welcome Desk/ Student Online Services — They walk students over to Student Online Services to assist them with logging into ClassWeb, registering for classes, or filling out the FASFA form online. They also provide directions, paper forms and information to students, by either taking the students to the building that they need to go, giving them general forms that they need to fill out and answering questions that the student may have.  Career and Transfer Center — The Peer Advisors perform many different duties in the center; they keep the job binders updated with the most current job listings, they post job an‐
nouncements and transfer related events in designated areas around campus, they maintain an electronic employer data base, they create flyers for visiting university representatives and employment representatives. Peer Advisors provide support during Transfer Day and the Career Fair.  Project Renew — Peer Advisors provide supportive services such as data entry, filing, class‐
room assistance, and assistance with special events. Peer Advisor Training Program – Peer Advisor training is delivered through both the TUTR 31 class as well as through additional topic‐specific training meetings that are in addition to this class. Topics covered are outlined below: 1. Career & Transfer Center Workshops  Transfer Basics – Sadie Ashraf, Counselor/Instructor  Introduction to transfer to four‐year college/universities  Introduction to Career & Transfer Center resources  Introduction to Student Education Plans and www.Assist.org 2. The Purpose of the Peer Advisor – ValJean Dale, Counselor/ Coordinator  Introductions  During this session the Peers were taught how to do a 30 Second Peer Advi‐
sor presentation for class room presentations on student support services  Service Areas – Introductions to service area managers and the duties of each service area  Online Services, Career and Transfer Center, Project Renew, Financial Aid, A&R, Special Programs & Assessment Center ‐ Strong Start, continued on next page ‐ Strong Start, continued from previous page Page 13 ‐ Strong Start, continued on next page Center for Teaching & Learning 3. Communications – Christine Warda, Communications Instructor  Effective Listening, Ethnocentrism/Prejudice, Noise (External/Internal), Jump to Conclu‐
sions, Pseudo‐listening 4. Distressed Student Assistance Strategies – ValJean Dale, Counselor/Coordinator  Campus Mental/Counseling Services  Classroom Emergency/Intervention  Campus Safety/Security  Alameda County Resources and Agency 5. Career & Transfer Ctr. Workshop on Major Exploration ‐ Sadie Ashraf, Counselor/Instructor 6. Eureka ‐ Self assessment , career assessments, and research universities and majors 7. Transfer/Transfer Admission Agreements – Dara Greene, Counselor/Instructor  CSU Mentor, www.Assist.org, www.eureka.org, IGETS, and 102 for UC Transferable Courses. 8. Sexual Harassment Training – ValJean Dale, Counselor/Coordinator  A Common Sense Approach – Video Presentation 9. Special Programs Training ‐ Dean Shimada  EOPS, Aspire, Puente , Daraja, CalWorks / CARE, Disabled Student Services 10. The Role of a Peer Advisor ‐ Dean Kritscher  Defining the Role of a Peer Advisor  Service, establishing positive relationships with faculty and staff, Leadership ex‐
perience, introduction to teaching. 11. Financial Aid ‐ Kathryn Linzmeyer, Director of Financial Aid  FASFA, Disbursement dates, Hire 1 Credit Card, Loans / Scholarships 12. Admission and Records ‐ Judy Young, Director of A & R  FERPA, Computer Use Policy, Concurrent Enrollment 13. Special Events Production Training  Gladiator Welcome Day  Chabot College OPEN HOUSE  Effective Tour Communication, (i.e. Big Talk, Little Talk)  Effective Note Taking  Interpreting Schedules Enhancing Early Decision Follow‐up & Increasing New Student Assessment, Orientation & Counsel‐
ing (Early Matriculation Participation) Chabot’s Early Decision program encourages students to participate in admission, assessment, and orientation early in the Spring Semester to provide earlier registration dates to participating students. The challenge has been attracting more students, especially those from African American and Chi‐
cano/Latino background, to participate in the Early Decision program or the Matriculation process early in the spring or at least early summer. The earlier students matriculate, the better their persis‐
tence rates, so peer‐lead outreach contacts were utilized to increase the diversity of early matricu‐
lants. Peer Advisors initiated the following outreach to prospective students: a. Peer Advisors followed up with High School senior students to ensure that they com‐
pleted their Math and English Assessment Tests in order to participate in Early Decision Mega Day that is sponsored by the Counseling Division to help these students plan & reg‐
ister for their first semester at Chabot. At Mega Day, students meet with a counselor, register for classes, learn about financial aid and other student support services b. First time students or re‐entry students who have been assessed in Math and English and/
or completed the Online Orientation during May 13 to August 15, 2010 were encouraged to “commit to college” and complete the Counseling (PSCN 25) Matriculation component. ‐ Strong Start, continued from previous page c. Prepa Conference Participants ‐ Sandra Genera, Counselor/ Instructor and Ramon Parada, Counselor/ Instructor  Extended outreach to Latino and Spanish‐speaking youth and families who attended PREPA Outreach Day to funnel participants into Mega Day and early matriculation Center for Teaching & Learning Page 14 Peer Mentoring for New Students Peer Advisors provide “mentorship” for incoming freshman. They build a positive relationship with mentees that have gone through the PSCN 25 classes. They continue to follow up with their mentees using various means of communication. The most common effective way that they communicate is through email. The mentees often seek out the Peer Advisors for guid‐
ance, especially when a first time student becomes over whelmed with classes and are in need for someone to offer resources and support. Peer Advising Student Services – Increasing Student Life and Career Exploration  PSCN 20 Classes – “The College Experience” This class is designed for all students to help them transition into college and maximize successful matriculation. The Peer Advisor’s role in this class was to be the instructor’s assistant.  PSCN 25 Classes—“Transition to College Academic Program Planning.” This class targets incoming freshmen and requires the completion of several steps which include completing the English and Math assessment, the online orientation, and attending a program plan‐
ning session. The Peer Advisor’s role is to establish and start a relationship with the new students by introducing themselves as a customized resource and exchanging contact in‐
formation.  Campus Tours  Lincoln Academy  Stars Academy  One on One individual tours coordinated by Peer Advisors to introduce mentees to Chabot Campus and all the resources available to them.  Class Presentations – Peer Advisor “elevator speech” on benefits of and how to use the various student support services and programs  Career and Transfer Workshops ‐ Peer Advisors greet students and help them acclimate to “how the Career and Transfer Center operates.” They introduce the students to the Self Sufficiency Center; this where students can use the job binders to search for off campus jobs; they can also use the fax machine to send out resumes to future employers; there is a dedicated phone line for students to receive over the phone interviews with potential em‐
ployers. The Self Sufficiency Center also serves as a Transfer Re‐
sources Center; where students can research University’s cata‐
logs. Peer Advisors also introduce students to the upcoming workshops and events that take place in the Career and Transfer Center, as well as assist Counselors/Instructors with the various workshops and Career Events that take place throughout the year. The Peer Advisors use the Career Centers computers to introduce students to the many job search databases that exist online, as well instruct students on how to use, www.eureka.org to research careers, universities, and take career assessment tests, which counselors can use to advise students on career choices and universities. Peer Advisors have supported the fol‐
lowing Career & Transfer Workshops: Counselor Dara Greene ‐ Strong Start, continued on next page ‐ Strong Start, continued from previous page Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) General Information UC TAG Online Help Transfer Basics Major Exploration Personal Statement Workshops Eureka – (http://eureka.org) Scholarship Search Special Events Conducted with Peer Advisor Assistance  Early Decision & Mega Day – Over 2000 applicants, over 1200 assessed, and 560 registered by May 10, 2010 (applicant pool nearly doubled, assessment increased over 60% and Mega Day attendance increased over 15%)  Prepa Conference ‐ Over 60 Chicano/Latino students and their families attended and received preparation for Mega Day  Chabot College Gladiator Welcome Day – Over 600 students participated in music and enter‐
tainment, learning about degree programs and student services, drawings for FREE prizes, get‐
ting student ID cards, buying books, and meeting the staff and faculty  University of Phoenix Ignition 2010‐‐The Peer Advisors served as hosts, classroom assistants for the presenters, and event promotions  Nummi Focus Groups to document transferable work skills using the CAEL work skills template  EDD /WIP – Co Enrollment Meeting Hosts  Hayward Adult School – ESL Cohort Information Session Hosts  Ongoing Computer Classes for Basic Excel and Microsoft Word conducted in English and Span‐
ish—Four Peer Advisors assisted the Instructor with basic computer applications, (Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel).  TAA‐WIA 1ST Orientation Training Hosts  Auto, Welding and Machining Certificate Cohort Program Orientation Hosts Center for Teaching & Learning 
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Chabot College Conference Presentations by Faculty Congratulations and Thank You for Sharing Your Knowledge Page 15 Innovations 2011 Conference:  Tom DeWit ‐ The Umoja Community: Comprehensive Success Strategies for African‐American Students  Sean McFarland ‐ Design Mind: Authoring Curriculum and Accelerating Learning  Sean McFarland and Tom DeWit ‐ Acceleration in Context: Designing and Implementing Accelerated Curriculum Across Basic Skills Achieving the Dream  Sean McFarland & Tom DeWit ‐ The Acceleration in Context Initiative: How Departments Develop Accelerated Curriculum and Scale It Inside the College  Sean McFarland & Tom DeWit ‐ Experience Practices That Close The Achievement Gap and Dialogue with Stu‐
dents From California Umoja Community Programs Complete College America Winter & Spring Completion Academies:  Tom DeWit ‐ Time to Degree Symposium  Tom DeWit ‐ Remediation Symposium Georgia English Redesign Conference:  Tom DeWit ‐ Plenary speaker “Whats love got to do with it” Conference:  Tom DeWit – Keynote speaker ‐Conferences, continued on next page Chabot College Conference Presentations by Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning California Community Colleges Board of Governors Presentation:  Sean McFarland and Tom DeWit ‐ The Promise of Acceleration in Context Tom DeWit, Sean McFarland, Monique Williams, and Jamie Chandler also CREATED four conferences :  Umoja 6 at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa  “Intersecting Literacies” Conference at Mesa College in San Diego  CTE Conference co‐presented by Career Ladders and FIN CTE in Oakland  Acceleration in Context Conferences, held on numerous campuses: American River College, Chaffey College, San Diego City College, Mesa College, Chabot College, Modesto Junior College Student Success Conference:  Jane Wolford and Patricia Wu ‐ Reading ,Thinking, Learning: Chabot College’s Reading Apprenticeship FIG  Alisa Klevens and Katie Hern ‐ Assessor, Assess Thyself: Inquiring into the Assessment Placement Process  Carolyn Arnold and Tom DeWit ‐ Collaborative Inquiry: Institutional Researchers and Faculty Working Together  Katie Hern, Tom DeWit, and Sean McFarland ‐ Exploring Inquiry: Ideas and Innovations from the Faculty Inquiry Network.  Katie Hern ‐ Acceleration in Developmental English and Math: Restructuring Curricula and Reducing the Length of Developmental Sequences  Katie Hern – “Student Engagement.” Problem‐Solving Community. Faculty Inquiry Network Conference:  Katie Hern – Assessor, Assess Thyself  Kent Uchiyama – Chabot’s ESL Program and Our Community: How Do They Match Up?  Veronica Martinez and Harjot Sawhney ‐ Communication  Deonne Kunkel – Instructors Step Aside: Peer Learning Assistants in the Classroom  Jane Wolford – “But I Don’t Know How to Teach Reading, I’m not an English Teacher!” Reading Apprenticeship at Chabot College WASC Academic Resource Conference:  Carole Splendore and Jennifer Lange ‐ Places to Learn: Changing the Culture of Teaching and Learning Institutional Service Project Directors Meeting: Advancing Educational Achievement  George Railey, Katie Hern, and Patricia Shannon ‐ Accelerated Developmental English: A High‐Leverage Strategy for Increasing Student Success in College‐Level Coursework Our Focus: The Child & Creciendo Juntos Conference 2011  Sandra Genera ‐ Completando la Educacion General Para un grado de AA/Completing your General Education for an AA degree in Early Childhood Development Education Summit for African American & Latino Students  Sandra Genera ‐ Benefits of Attending a Community College National AAUP Conference  Lani Wilson ‐ Obama's American Graduation Initiative: Can You Hear Me Now? Commission on the Future, Community College League of California Annual Legislative Meeting of the Community College League of California  Katie Hern – Accelerated Developmental English & Math National Conference of the American Association of Community Colleges  Katie Hern ‐ College Completion: Accelerating Developmental Education is the First Step Page 16 Mt. Diablo Dental Hygiene Society Annual Fall Continuing Education Conference  JoAnn Galliano—Infection Control and California Law Support for the Center for Teaching & Learning provided by a Federal Title III grant.