VCCS Regional Centers for
Teaching Excellence
Commitment to
Teaching,
Learning,
Professional
Enrichment
Center Activities
 Regional
colloquia for VCCS faculty
 Instructional Leadership
 Inquiry the VCCS journal on teaching
and learning
 Mentoring programs to enhance
teaching
 Print and electronic resource
clearinghouses
Center Activities: FISH!
What is the
Fish Philosophy?
One drizzly day in a small fish market on the West Coast, a group of
workers muddled through their jobs of chopping and selling
fish. Suddenly, there was a revelation: If they had to show up and do
these somewhat mundane tasks anyway, why not HAVE FUN?
The employees of the fish market started to change their attitudes. It
became common to see fish flying across the bins of the
kiosk. Shoppers were brought into the act, and were prompted to catch
the fish being thrown across the room. Businessmen from the
commercial buildings across the street began to come during their lunch
hours just to watch the spirit of play being such a success in the
workplace.
Eventually, the workers of the fish market developed an entire
philosophy about work, which involves the following rules:
Have Fun!
Choose your attitude!
Make someone's day!
Be There!
Go FISH!
 Participants
enjoy lunch at
a recent FISH!
Workshop at
New River CC
The BIG Guy
 Chancellor
DuBois presents
on his favorite
topic—great
teachers—at
TNCC and NVCC
Brain Gym
 Tidewater
region faculty
work out at a
Brain Gym
seminar.
The Master Teachers
 Dr.
Terry
Whisnant takes
his Master
Teachers
Seminar on the
road for the
RCTEs
Mentoring and Leadership
 Eric
Hibbison
describes
professional
development
opportunities at
the VCCS New
Faculty Seminar
Regional Center for Teaching Excellence
Fall Refreshers 2003: Motivation, Inspiration,
Interaction
The Regional Center for Teaching Excellence, Central Virginia
Region, serving Blue Ridge, Central Virginia, Dabney S. Lancaster,
Danville, Patrick Henry, and Virginia Western Community Colleges
hosted its first Professional Development activity for the academic
year 2003-2004 on Aug. 22, 2003 at Central Virginia Community
College. Twenty-five full time and adjunct faculty from CVCC, DCC,
DSLCC, as well as personnel from CVCC’s Center for Workforce
Development participated in the animated, motivational, and
interactive exercises presented by Professor Steven Piscitelli of
Florida Community College at Jacksonville, and Dr. Susan Coffey,
formerly of CVCC and currently VCCS Director of Professional
Development. Professor Piscitelli also signed copies of his book
Study Skills: Do I Really Need This Stuff?
Susan Coffey
4-MAT: Which quadrant are you?
Steve Piscitelli “….Keep Austin
weird!”
Whose Center IS this anyway?
 Who
makes the
Centers for
Teaching
Excellence
work?
 YOU
 ME
 US! We’re all in
this together. We
can’t do it
without YOU.
The tip of the iceberg: A sampling
of RCTE Events

Global Education
Boot Camp
videoconferences
 Howard Gardner on
Multiple Intelligences
 James Eison on
Creating a High
Impact Classroom
Environment
Teaching the “new”
English 111 and 112
 Virginia Humanities
Foundation grant
workshop
 Teaching ADHD/LD
students seminar
 VADE regional
conferences, Sp ‘04

The tip of the iceberg: A
sampling of RCTE Events
“Fireside Chat”
dialogues with
Deans and VPs
 Symposia on
Service Learning
 Workshops on
helping students
cope with threats of
terrorism and war


Holistic evaluation
workshop
 “Training for World
Class
Manufacturing”
seminar
 Colloquia on
teaching for
retention
Who benefits from your
participation and input?

Faculty
 Administrators
 Students
 Teachers
 Facilitators
 Learners
Everyone!