June 1, 2015
TCCIA
Fred Hills, PhD
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Makes education come alive to engage
students
Awake curiosity for learning in students
Develop career/professional Skills
Contacts and visibility for students at
professional, scientific conferences
Increased acceptance into competitive
programs and universities
Engage Faculty
 Project
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based learning
Classroom projects, assignments, and presentations
Poster presentations
Scholars Day – posters, prototypes, and
presentations
 Encourage
students to interact, present &
publish at local, state and national forums
 Started
through the Community College
Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI)
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NSF grant through Finger Lakes College in NY
National effort, focused on Sciences
 Faculty
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created a campus wide HURI
Started in the Sciences and Math
Now growing to include all disciplines on campus
Faculty Steering Committee
 Project
based learning expanding to the
classrooms
 Focus on student’s interests
 Direct ties to Honors College
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Trips a continuation of classroom inquiry and
applied learning
Travel to:
 Local field study locations
 MARS – All disciplines
 Honduras – Marine Biology
 Southwest US – Geology, Archeology,
Environmental Sciences, & Engineering
 New Zealand and Australia – Economics,
Engineering and Science
 New York City – Business and Marketing
 Costa Rica – Language and Culture
immersion courses
 Washington DC – History and Government
 Haiti – Nursing and Health Careers
 Joint
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usage:
MCC Health Careers
Family Practice Residents
Local hospital training
EMS and Paramedicine
Occupational Therapy
 Promote
separate and joint exercises
among diverse communities
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Emphasis on real world practices
 Workshops
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Collaborative/Cooperative Learning
Professional Development
 Faculty
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Learning Communities
Teaching and Learning Book Club
Course Learning Communities
 Faculty
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on Teaching Strategies
Summer Institute
4 day intensive workshop
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Students placed in graduate research programs
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18 students to present at the Great Plains Honors Council
Conference with 2 BOE Award winners in 2015
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5 students presented at the Texas Academy of Science- Annual
Meeting. One student won ”Best Poster Presentation- Marine
Sciences Division."
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2 students presented at the Community College Undergraduate
Research Initiative National Posters
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2 students presented their research at the Community College
Undergraduate Research Initiative National Posters Session in
Washington, D.C. Session in Washington, D.C.
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8 students may also attend the Mars Society Convention in
Washington, D.C.
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306 student poster, displays, and presentations at Spring Scholars
Day
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Faculty presentation at the National Collegiate Honors Council
Conference on writing Boot Camp
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Faculty leading collaborative and inquiry based initiatives
 Innovation
in pedagogy - project based/program
based/inquiry based, cooperative and/or
individual research project learning
opportunities
 Ties to new State Core requirements
 Complements College’s student success
initiatives
 Rewards engaged faculty and innovative
 How
does applied learning fit the traditional
community college mission in a time of
shrinking resources?
 Buy-in from faculty – time and effort
 Making it interdisciplinary
 Finding and prioritizing resources
 Long term sustainability
 Expanding
creative spaces and inquiry
opportunities for students and faculty
 Building a Learning Commons
 Expanding “Summer Camps” for students and
faculty
 Digital Repository for Information Exchange
 Building collaborative arrangements with HS
 Expanding pathways with 4-year college
partners
 Administration
buy-in key to success
 Don't reinvent the wheel - find those doing
similar projects and invite them to join
 Promote, promote, promote
 Knowing when to lead and when to step back
and follow
Fred Hills, PhD
Dean of Arts, Sciences & Business
fhills@mclennan.edu
254 299-8661