Mt. San Antonio College's Developmental Education (DE) Faculty Certification Program has been in place for seven years and focuses on providing participants with opportunities to not only understand the basic developmental education principles, current learning theory, and active learning strategies that support student success, but also to provide them with methods and strategies for application both within the classroom and beyond. Once they have applied the developmental principles and strategies in both mock and real classroom situations, program participants are shown how to assess the results of their applications both as individuals and with feedback from their fellow DE participants. Finally, faculty are shown how to use the assessment results they have gathered to revise their methods and strategies for application within the classroom to better serve their students, thus completing the learning cycle for faculty and simultaneously supporting student-centered success.
The program consists of three eight-week modules with each module totaling 16 hours of class time and 16 hours of homework. Faculty earn two units of crossover credit for their participation in each of the modules for a total of six units of crossover credit once they complete the program. Seventy-four full-time and six adjunct faculty members from 24 different departments across campus have enrolled in the Developmental Education (DE) Program, and 52 have successfully completed the entire certification process. Through regular programmatic assessments, more than 90% of participants have reported making modifications to their teaching, and more than 80% have reported positive changes in their students' participation in class, level of enthusiasm, control over their own learning, and overall course completion. For more information regarding Mt. SAC's DE Certification Program, contact Rick Stepp-Bolling (EStepp-Bolling [at] mtsac.edu) or Lori Walker (LWalker [at] mtsac.edu).
March
2009