2014 Innovation of the Year
Campus: STLCC District
Application Cover Page
Please complete and submit this cover page and all necessary supporting documents to the campus
CIAC chair no later than Monday, January 27, 2014. No late applications will be accepted.
(All of this information and more can be found on our application website: alainnovation.weebly.com)
NAME / TITLE OF INNOVATION
Adult Learning Academy
NAME(s) OF INNOVATOR(s)
Dianne Lee
Professor
Academic Lead
MoHealthWINs
dlee@stlcc.edu
Christine Padberg
Assistant Professor
English Dept. / Reading Program
Meramec Campus
cpadberg4@stlcc.edu
Debbie Char
Assistant Professor
Mathematics
Developmental Math Coordinator
Forest Park Campus
dchar@stlcc.edu
Layla Goushey
Assistant Professor
English Dept.
CTL Coordinator
Forest Park Campus
William J. Harrison Education Center
lgoushey@stlcc.edu
DEPARTMENT(s) INVOLVED
Funded through MoHealthWINs, a Department of Labor TAACCCT grant, the Adult Learning Academy is
a district-wide STLCC-faculty-designed and STLCC-faculty-driven initiative. The departments involved in
this collaboration are math, reading, writing, and members of Workforce Solutions Group.
STATEMENT OF EXPLANATION
Quality
Faculty and staff of the Adult Learning Academy define quality by how well we are able to successfully
implement the curriculum parameters designed by STLCC faculty that are based on research and
recognized best practices. (For further information on the ALA’s measures of quality, please see:
Efficiency
Students are able to attain proficiency in competencies equivalent to RDG 020, RDG 030, ENG 020,
and ENG 030 in an average of 15 weeks. Completion time is more efficient, and the course has an
additional benefit of digital literacy, research practices, and citation standards. Ultimately, the ALA
provides more learning benefit to students in half the time due to its high touch, individualized
approach. Currently, students who initially test into RDG 020 and ENG 020 in our credit courses take at
least 32 weeks to complete the RDG and ENG developmental education sequence.
Completion rates for the ALA MTH 020 self-paced course range from 1 to 33 weeks, with an average of
6.5 weeks. Community college lecture-based courses run 16 weeks, but many of our students at this
level require two 16-week semesters to complete this same material.
Cost Effectiveness
The ALA model has already been transferred to an STLCC collaborative program with SSM
Healthcare. There were no startup costs for time or learning materials since almost everything is
available online and in Blackboard.
Creativity
Collaboration via communication structures utilized by ALA colleagues (face-to-face and online
meetings, the use of web-based tools like Wiggio and Dropbox, and email) allows for creative growth
based on input from all ALA faculty, educational assistants, coaches, and students.
Replication
Replication can be accomplished by utilizing the foundational structure of the Blackboard site,
assignments, rubrics and specified methods of support from coaches. For example, the SSM program is
using the ALA-Literacy and ALA-Math Blackboard course.
The materials ALA-Math faculty and educational assistants have created will also become open source,
and the videos are available to anyone. The contextualized healthcare applications section at the end of
each math chapter could easily be replaced by applications from culinary, STEM, business, or other
realms without altering the basic course content.
Timeliness
Even though the ALA is in its first year, it has been tested by 21 bi-weekly entering cohorts; that is a total
of 208 students in ALA-Math and 75 students in ALA-Literacy. The original foundational course designs
in ALA-Literacy and ALA-Math have remained similar to their original structure. As the course structures
are adjusted in response to student feedback, we anticipate that the Adult Learning Academy will
continue to offer students a productive and successful learning experience.
DESCRIPTION & SUPPORTIVE DOCUMENTS
Did you attach your one-page description?
YES
Do you have any supportive materials to present?
YES
LETTERS OF SUPPORT
Did you attach both of these?
YES
OTHER DOCUMENTATION
Are you providing additional documentation?
YES
Please see all documentation at the following website address: http://alainnovation.weebly.com/