Skyline College
Skyline Mid-term Inquiry Update Video
Barriers to Research at the Campus Level
Non-native English speakers at Skyline College have a complex and diverse set of backgrounds and represent a variety of linguistic needs. Some students have attended one or more years of high school in the United States. Others are newcomers to the country and are fully literate in their first languages, with some even holding degrees in their first language. Still others are only marginally literate in their first language. A team of English, ESL, and Early Childhood Education faculty members will investigate the English language needs of students in the Early Childhood Education program (ECE), asking: What is the impact of first-language literacy levels on Spanish-speaking students’ ability to succeed in the ECE program? Can an intervention that combines Spanish literacy education and contextualized ESL improve outcomes for these students?
Team Leader:
Leigh Anne Sippel / ESL
650-738-4408
sippell@smccd.edu
Team Members:
Kate Williams Browne / ECE Program Coordinator
Dr. Luciana Castro / Spanish
Skyline College Proposal
Las Positas College
Hero’s Journey: A Journey of Inquiry
Your College Assessment, Not Just Another Test video
Dare to Prepare for Your College Assessment video
LPC’s Spot Light on Assessment
LPC Mid-term Inquiry Update Video
LPC Lesson Study and Katie Hern’s Visit
Models of Acceleration/ Learning Communities
At Las Positas College, the desire to better understand students’ experiences was piqued by program-level data recently generated by the college’s institutional researcher. This data shows that students in the two-semester developmental English track are less successful than those in the open-entry, accelerated, one-semester course. Students in the accelerated course were much more likely to complete their class and go on to earn higher grades in English 1A. Furthermore, students who have higher reading scores were more likely to withdraw when enrolled in the two-semester developmental sequence. These findings will serve as the starting point for a collaborative team of English and Counseling faculty. The goal will be to use collaborative Inquiry to connect student voices, institutional data, and program innovation to examine LPC’s English curriculum: Is a two-semester developmental English track needed? If so, which students need this track? What processes are required to identify and guide students to one track or the other? And what instructional support structures are required to help all students be successful?
Team Leader:
Elena Cole / English
925-424-1250
ecole@laspositascollege.edu
Team Members:
Dr. Catherine Eagan / English, English Lab Program Coordinator
Michelle Gonzales / English
Dr. Karin Spirn / English
Nancy Wright / ESL Counselor
Muareen O’Herin
Las Positas College Proposal
Los Angeles Trade Technical Community College
La Trade Mid-term Inquiry Update Video
In the Utilities and Construction Project at Los Angeles Trade Technical Community College, instructors see a critical gap between students’ motivation to learn and succeed (which begins high) and their ability to sustain that motivation while maintaining or increasing their performance in the learning environment. This is likely influenced by many external factors beyond faculty control — financial pressures, environmental and family stress, health issues, legal challenges, violence, etc. However, the team has a hunch that strong faculty-student relationships and attention to students’ emotional intelligence may help bridge this gap. The inquiry will examine this hunch, and investigate how culturally relevant tools might be used to strengthen student-faculty interactions.
Team Leader:
Dr. Allison Tom-Miura
213-763-3759 Fax: 213-763-5399
tommiuaj@lattc.edu
Team Members:
Maryanne Galindo / Credit (Community Planning Department) and Non-credit (Basic Skills) disciplines
Jah’Shams Abdul-Mu’min / Credit (Community Planning Department) and Non-credit (Basic Skills) disciplines
Los Angeles Trade Technical Community College Proposal
Los Medanos College / English
LMC English Mid-term Inquiry Update Video
This Faculty Inquiry aims to improve the educational outcomes for African American students in English 70, an integrated reading and writing course three levels below English 1A. Building upon practices used in the Umoja program and other learning communities, the Inquiry team will: 1. Involve African American students in both facilitating and participating in focus groups, interviews, and videotaping. 2. Integrate the students’ reading habits within the course to develop academic reading skills. 3. Increase faculty/student interaction, particularly in the first eight weeks of class, as suggested by the CCSSE nationwide survey. 4. Model and promote study groups to increase skills, community-building, and leadership. The inquiry: Does adopting these learning community practices foster higher retention and success among African-American students in stand-alone sections?
Team Leader:
Joellen Hiltbrand / English Co-Chair,
Developmental Education Committee
925-439-2181 x 3193
jhiltbrand@losmedanos.edu
Team Members:
Tess Caldwell / English
Katalina Wethington / English
Michael Yeong / English
Los Medanos College / English Proposal
Los Medanos / Puente / Carnegie Foundation
Math Lesson Study: Math is Fun!
Data and English: An Undiscovered Country
Student Voices: Why We Hate Math
LMC Spotlight: Case Study David Lopez
In collaboration with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, this project aims to address the low persistence and success rates within developmental Math across the state. Instead of the standard three- to four-semester developmental path toward Calculus, this project will create an open-entry, one-semester accelerated course that prepares students for transfer-level Statistics. This course will be part of a one-year sequence within the Puente Learning Community at Los Medanos. The sequence will build on the spirit and principles of the Puente Program by addressing issues relevant to Latino(a) and Generation 1.5 students; utilizing student-centered, process-oriented pedagogy; and fostering student self-efficacy and leadership. The primary inquiry: How does this experiment impact student outcomes, including rates of transfer-readiness?
Team Leaders:
Maria Tuttle / Puente Director
Myra Snell / Math
925-439-2181 (Maria x 3381; Myra x 3135)
mtuttle@losmedanos.edu / msnell@losmedanos.edu
Team Member:
Marco Godinez / Puente Counselor
Los Medanos / Puente / Carnegie Foundation Proposal
About FIN
The Faculty Inquiry Network’s (FIN) purpose is to support professional development which includes: conducting faculty inquiry; revisiting basic skills assumptions; interpreting and integrating data; accessing student voices; developing students as co-inquirers; making visible; using technology for teaching and learning; creating and supporting new initiatives, curriculum and program development; constructing educational tools using digital media; and hosting dialogue around student and faculty learning.
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