Instructional Planning Yearly Update
Date ___12/12/12_______________
Department ________Horticulture______ _
Division ____NAS_____________________
Goals and Recommendations from Program Plan
List the top five Goals and Recommendations from the last Program Plan and indicate whether they have been met?
Goals / Recommendations from six-year plan In progress
Goal Met
Comments
(identify source
of funding)
Continue to increase our student success rates and be
more efficient with our base funding.
Y
Y/N
Replace greenhouse coverings in 2012-13.
Y
Replace 2 staff in 2 years due to retirements
N
Y/N
(Funding
Fund 14)
N/Y
Construct Permaculture site for classes and extension
classes.
Y
Develop Long Cane Crop (Blackberries and
Raspberries) production area with temporary poly
coverings.$15,000
Y
N
(Funding
Fund 14)
N
(Funding
Fund 14)
This is an ongoing exercise to keep our program current,
accessible to students wishing to enter the career and working
with existing faculty and staff expertise. Decreases in
enrollment have been seen with an increase in tuition fees and
a decrease in unemployment.
We are currently in the queue with the local installation
company
Staff has not indicated retirement however, we did have one
short time staff leave and that position was filled.
The site has been leveled, graded, and the permaculture class
has completed a design this semester. We hope to start
construction next fall.
We have received a quote for the structure and hope to install
this summer. The site has been graded and irrigation will be
brought to the site this spring or summer.
New Goals and Recommendations
List any new goals and recommendations identified by the department
Goal/Recommendation
Cost
Explanation/Evidence of Need
Increase student’s ability to transfer to UC
We have had more and more students deciding later in the process of
and CSU’s more seamlessly. We will be
attending our program that they would like to transfer but the AS does
working with Carolyn Jackson on finding
not transfer well.
transferable classes for more of our current
classes and attempt to make transfer
agreements with Cal Poly and Davis
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SLO Assessment Progress: In a sentence or two, describe where your department should be on the Revolving Wheel of Assessment (what
assessment you should have done in the last year) and what was actually done. If not every thing was completed, explain why.
We completed our Instructional plan this past year and we are starting over on the wheel of Assessment. We have designed a 5 year schedule to
assess and evaluate the SLO’s. Each class SLO has been assigned a semester over the next 3 years, and each SLO for certificates the 4th year and
the degree SLO’s during the 5th year. We have assessed all the SLO’s required this semester and discussed as a group. See below.
Fill out the Assessment Results section below.
SLO Assessment Results: List SLO assessments, dialogues, and priorities identified as a result of your assessment below. Attach
Departmental Assessment Analysis Forms completed in the last two semesters.
Core Competency, Course
Date of meeting where
SLO, or CTE Program SLO analysis / dialogue took
Assessed. Example: all course place. Example: Department
SLOs for English 1A, 1B and 2 Meeting 8/27/10
Hort 1A Anticipate how plants
grow in response to a change
in their environment.
Hort 2 Critically assess a soil
sample and make a
recommendation
Hort 52 Critically assess a site
as to its suitability for a
greenhouse operation.
Priorities identified for program as a result of assessment. Example:
Develop strategies for teaching research and documentation skills; share
rubrics for research papers; provide more instructional support outside of
class.
Students were evaluated on how well they understood the various
microclimates in SC county and how those climates affect success of a few
plants growing in one climate compared to others. Microclimates selected
were zone 17 (coastal) and 7 (Ben Lomond). Students need more time and
more exposure to this. A student group project was suggested with class
time set aside for group discussions.
Students were given the results of the soil test conducted on our farm and
asked to make recommendations for fertilizers for a crop of my choice and
expected yields. Students get the process. They understand where to find the
information on fertilizers, mineralization rates, etc, but they get bogged
down with the math calculations. We really need a contextual math class.
Students were assigned a coastal location for a greenhouse range. They
were to assess how weather, sunlight, labor availability, traffic, and zoning
laws would influence the site as a suitable gh site. Most students completed
the task very well. Only a slight bit of help on some of the environmental
factors such as influence of sun, humidity and wind is needed. More time
will be spent next year on how plants respond to these environmental
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Hort 62 Evaluate a site in
terms of sun and shade, views,
soil type and potential uses.
Hort 65 justify the use of
elevation and plan view
drawings to clearly illustrate a
landscape plan
Hort 70 Analyze current
organic production techniques
and justify which system is
recommended for specific
crops grown organically in the
Monterey Bay area
Hort 100A Justify propagation
techniques used for specific
nursery crops
Hort 162PC Critically assess
an urban site for appropriate
methods of retaining as much
incoming energy as possible
Hort 164 Anticipate the
performance of a native plant
in a developed landscape
conditions.
Students who bring in rough design ideas as the semester progresses
typically do better on the final project, as they get feedback from me and
other students make valuable suggestions as well. Many students have a
broader knowledge of plants beyond what is studied in class, especially
those that have taken other plant identification courses. This gives them an
advantage, but even first time students do pretty well.
Students were presented with a lecture on why and how to draw elevations.
Students were then asked to draw an elevation form a base plan and justify
why they chose that location to draw. Worked very well.
Eighty-five percent of students who attended the field trip, participated in
lab, and took the midterm knew the correct answers about the recommended
methods for establishing organic strawberries in the Monterey Bay Area.
However, it appears that answers that required purely memorization (3 and
8) were not as well answered. All other answers depended upon student
observation and participation in the farm labs. This is a good indication that
students learn what they practice in this course, but are less successful
memorizing technical details from a soil test printout or a measurement
taken in the field. Recommend that greater emphasis be placed on facts that
should be memorized.
The techniques were discussed. Plant factors influencing success rates were
discussed. Practice of the techniques with different aged plants showed
excellent hands on learning and students were then tested on which
technique they suggested for different crops. Success was very high.
Critically assess an urban site for appropriate methods of retaining as much
incoming energy as possible. A project was designed to assess students’
mastery of the SLO. Students created and presented a design of a site
including photovoltaic, appropriate planting, earthworks, rainwater
catchment, wildlife habitat, common space and student learning
environments. Overall the project went well. Some projects were not as
detailed as we would have liked. It would be better to have the project due
in smaller pieces giving students more feedback and time to assimilate the
concepts.
Most students comprehend the concept that they are looking at a redwood
forest and oak woodland plant community; therefore, the most appropriate
plants are drawn from this two plant communities. Sun and shade patterns,
soil type, as well as planting space size must also be taken into account in
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Hort 175 Assess components
of a sustainable landscape
their answers.
The presentation project allows students to explore in more depth topics
discussed in class as well as topics of particular interest to them. Most
students create in-depth presentations with statistics and a variety of visual
elements. One option is to present information on 2 sustainable sites and
this can help broaden the sites visited in class.
Most lab questions get students to connect with the elements seen and
evaluate them. Some additional questions could be added to have students
compare and contrast sustainable elements seen at different sites. More
specific grading criteria could be incorporated into the Course Syllabus to
guide students better in the development of their projects
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