March

Reassignment

Resolutions 1.03 F05 and 1.02 F07 (available on the Academic Senate website at http://www.asccc.org/resources/resolutions) seek to examine and research reassigned time issues. In the former resolution the Senate was asked to survey the field, which has been done annually for several years, and report; in the latter it was asked to do further research and expand upon this; and both resolutions emphasized the need to determine best practices.

Basic Skills and Career Technical Education (CTE )-Contextualized Learning

I really hesitated about using this title for my article (I know, it looks pretty basic, but..) because I don't want to give the impression that this article is an all-encompassing article about contextualized learning and its value with basic skills and CTE programs and projects. It is just the starting point to describe some of the efforts that have been going forth on this important initiative.

Things Fall Apart: The Centre Can Hold-Reflections on Accreditation and Faculty Leadership

Two stars appear in the firmament. First, the number of colleges on warning (or worse: probation or show cause, the final stage prior to revocation of accreditation) seems to be increasing. Second, the number of colleges with chancellor, president, and other top administrative positions that are vacant or have recent or interim appointees also seems to be on the rise. These twin stars call to mind lines from W. B. Yeats' famous poem, The Second Coming:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

All Are Leaders

Teaching and learning never stops at West Los Angeles College. Since 2002, our college has held Leadership Retreats once a year. Initially, the retreats were limited to college leaders as defined by those who served on college committees. Most retreats are held off-campus with the focus ranging from evaluating the mission and values of the college to finding ways to make participatory governance more effective; from planning and accreditation to retention strategies.

Santa Barbara City College's SLO Faculty Development Project

Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) has made the incorporation of student learning outcomes (SLOs) a central focus for the past four years. Members of the college community have been engaged in an intense, ongoing, self-reflective dialogue about using SLOs to improve student learning. This dialog, which began in June 2004, has resulted in the development and institutionalization of the SLO Implementation Cycle that includes Course, Program and Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (PSLOs and ISLOs).

Pedagogy of Love: Organic Praxis in Teaching and Learning

Initiated in Spring 2006, Pedagogy of Love: Organic Praxis in Teaching and Learning is a professional development program linked to Learning Communities and designed for faculty by faculty with a focus on student retention and success. This program is supported by funding through the City College Title V Program, Basic Skills Initiative and college general fund.

The program elements include:

Developmental Education Faculty Certification Program

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.

Keeping the Conversation Going: The Institute of Teaching and Learning at College of the Canyons

Achieving teaching excellence is a career long endeavor requiring a never-ending exploration of the mysteries of the teaching and learning process. Increasingly, colleges support this endeavor through teaching centers or institutes, which provide a broad-based collection of programs focused on teaching improvement. College of the Canyons (COC) has developed its Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) with this purpose in mind.

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