Happy New Year
and
Welcome Back!
The Dean’s Corner – January Issue
Welcome Back Faculty!
We have lots of exciting events for the month of January. Of course our classes for the Spring 2014 semester begin on Monday, January 13, 2014. If you need assistance posting your syllabi on Blackboard, please seek help from one of Technology Team members (Michelle Ferguson, Elissa Tobin or Helen West). Due to the busy semester start, the Brown Bag workshop series will return next month beginning on Wednesday, February 5, 2014 with the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Brown Bag at 2 pm in room 3307 hosted by Dr. Khalilah Watson. Please continue to support WAC as it is part of our institution-wide assessment effort. I will host our next Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) Brown Bag on Tuesday, February 11th at 2:30 pm in room 3307. Last semester we covered the first six chapters of Angelo and Cross’ Classroom Assessment Techniques, which was graciously provided to all faculty members by our President Dr. Craig Follins. Chapter 7, which contains the first 27 classroom assessment techniques (CATs), has been assigned for our next meeting. If you missed the first 6 chapters, you still have time to catch up as our next meeting will not occur until next month. If you have been using CATs in your classrooms, please come prepared to share with your colleagues. Thank you for supporting both of these workshops during the past semester.
Thanks to all 65 faculty/staff/students who signed up to serve as judges for the CPS Science fair which will be hosted by OHC on January 23rd. Look for a reminder soon from Michelle Ferguson, our Manager of Instructional Technology.
Many thanks to all of you who signed up to teach Learning Community Courses for the Spring 2014 semester. Helen West, Manager, Instructional Designer will be visiting classrooms next week for courses that are included in Learning Communities (LCs)to administer a pre-survey and to provide information to students regarding the benefits of LCs. Many of you also responded to my call for the college-wide Learning Community Project for this semester. We will have an organizational meeting for this project on Thursday, January 16, 2014 at 2:30 pm in room 3307.
Inside this issue you will get an update on the student STEM Club and its Robotics Team. Helen West, our Instructional Designer, serves as the STEM Club Administrative Coordinator. Faculty advisors include Dr. David Zoller, Prof. Austin Ferguson, Prof. John Jackson, Prof. Sylvester Roebuck and Dr. Jong Kim.
Our Supplemental Instruction (SI) program has become a signature program for us, thanks to the hard work of Prof. Cornelia Forrester, Physical Science faculty and Elissa Tobin, Technology Integration Specialist. Faculty and staff (Prof. John Jackson, Dr. Cynthia Manns, Prof. Sudipta Roy and Mrs. Elissa Tobin) recently attended the national SI training in Kansas City, MO. Trainings were held for new SI student leaders on Thursday, January 9, 2014. The schedule for SI coverage is included in this issue.
Please be mindful of all of the webinars, trainings and workshops offered by our technology staff. These schedules are detailed in this newsletter and will be sent with our regular updates by Elissa Tobin, our Technology Integration Specialist. Also support your fellow faculty members who have graciously agreed to provide workshops for you. If you have a presentation that you wish to share, please contact us. If you wish to attend a conference in your discipline for which you do not have enough professional development funds to attend, please contact us regarding STEM CTL support.
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Welcome Back Faculty!
We have lots of exciting events for the month of January. Of course our classes for the Spring 2014 semester begin on Monday, January 13, 2014. If you need assistance posting your syllabi on Blackboard, please seek help from one of Technology Team members (Michelle Ferguson, Elissa Tobin or Helen West). Due to the busy semester start, the Brown Bag workshop series will return next month beginning on Wednesday, February 5, 2014 with the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Brown Bag at 2 pm in room 3307 hosted by Dr. Khalilah Watson. Please continue to support WAC as it is part of our institution-wide assessment effort. I will host our next Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) Brown Bag on Tuesday, February 11th at 2:30 pm in room 3307. Last semester we covered the first six chapters of Angelo and Cross’ Classroom Assessment Techniques, which was graciously provided to all faculty members by our President Dr. Craig Follins. Chapter 7, which contains the first 27 classroom assessment techniques (CATs), has been assigned for our next meeting. If you missed the first 6 chapters, you still have time to catch up as our next meeting will not occur until next month. If you have been using CATs in your classrooms, please come prepared to share with your colleagues. Thank you for supporting both of these workshops during the past semester.
Thanks to all 65 faculty/staff/students who signed up to serve as judges for the CPS Science fair which will be hosted by OHC on January 23rd. Look for a reminder soon from Michelle Ferguson, our Manager of Instructional Technology.
Many thanks to all of you who signed up to teach Learning Community Courses for the Spring 2014 semester. Helen West, Manager, Instructional Designer will be visiting classrooms next week for courses that are included in Learning Communities (LCs)to administer a pre-survey and to provide information to students regarding the benefits of LCs. Many of you also responded to my call for the college-wide Learning Community Project for this semester. We will have an organizational meeting for this project on Thursday, January 16, 2014 at 2:30 pm in room 3307.
Inside this issue you will get an update on the student STEM Club and its Robotics Team. Helen West, our Instructional Designer, serves as the STEM Club Administrative Coordinator. Faculty advisors include Dr. David Zoller, Prof. Austin Ferguson, Prof. John Jackson, Prof. Sylvester Roebuck and Dr. Jong Kim.
Our Supplemental Instruction (SI) program has become a signature program for us, thanks to the hard work of Prof. Cornelia Forrester, Physical Science faculty and Elissa Tobin, Technology Integration Specialist. Faculty and staff (Prof. John Jackson, Dr. Cynthia Manns, Prof. Sudipta Roy and Mrs. Elissa Tobin) recently attended the national SI training in Kansas City, MO. Trainings were held for new SI student leaders on Thursday, January 9, 2014. The schedule for SI coverage is included in this issue.
Please be mindful of all of the webinars, trainings and workshops offered by our technology staff. These schedules are detailed in this newsletter and will be sent with our regular updates by Elissa Tobin, our Technology Integration Specialist. Also support your fellow faculty members who have graciously agreed to provide workshops for you. If you have a presentation that you wish to share, please contact us. If you wish to attend a conference in your discipline for which you do not have enough professional development funds to attend, please contact us regarding STEM CTL support.
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Fall 2014 Learning Communities Get a Boost of Support in Alignment with District Office Reinvention Strategy
While we have had some successes implementing Learning Communities at Olive-Harvey College, continuous improvement efforts are underway to support learning community enrollment growth by aligning blocked courses with students' education plans.
Low enrollment has been a factor in the cancellation of several Learning Communities planned and scheduled for Spring 2014. The goal of aligning blocked courses with student education plans will ensure that students have the opportunity to equally benefit from each of the paired learning community courses with credits required toward their chosen major.
In support of our Learning Communities during this Spring 2014 semester, and in support of our planning efforts for Fall, 2014, the STEM Center for Teaching and Learning will actively participate in collecting valuable data to drive decisions and institutionalize our focus on continuous improvement in staff performance as well as student learning.
Faculty collaborations are critical components to the Learning Community's success. The STEM CTL (Room 3307) has been reserved on a monthly basis (every 3rd Wednesday) throughout the entire semester beginning Wednesday January 15 through Wednesday, April 16, 2014. We strongly encourage each faculty member to utilize the scheduled collaboration time for curriculum alignment, and to plan the integration of lessons and activities. A Learning Community professional development will be hosted on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 from 2 pm - 4 pm.
The STEM CTL will also administer a Learning Community online pre-survey, followed by an online post-survey at the end of the semester for all students enrolled in the paired courses. The surveys will serve as an additional tool to guide us in our continuous improvement efforts and are also reflective of the best practices implemented in Learning Communities at other colleges and universities. The pre-surveys will begin during the week of January 20, 2014 and will be administered in the following Learning Communities:
Statistics with Psychological Application
Math 125 EG - Mon. 1/20/13 @ 11:15 am
Psychology 201C - Mon. 1/20/13 @ 9:40 am
Decoding Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation 103F - Thurs. 1/23/14 11:15 am
Reading 125N - Tues. 1/21/14 @ 4:00 pm
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While we have had some successes implementing Learning Communities at Olive-Harvey College, continuous improvement efforts are underway to support learning community enrollment growth by aligning blocked courses with students' education plans.
Low enrollment has been a factor in the cancellation of several Learning Communities planned and scheduled for Spring 2014. The goal of aligning blocked courses with student education plans will ensure that students have the opportunity to equally benefit from each of the paired learning community courses with credits required toward their chosen major.
In support of our Learning Communities during this Spring 2014 semester, and in support of our planning efforts for Fall, 2014, the STEM Center for Teaching and Learning will actively participate in collecting valuable data to drive decisions and institutionalize our focus on continuous improvement in staff performance as well as student learning.
Faculty collaborations are critical components to the Learning Community's success. The STEM CTL (Room 3307) has been reserved on a monthly basis (every 3rd Wednesday) throughout the entire semester beginning Wednesday January 15 through Wednesday, April 16, 2014. We strongly encourage each faculty member to utilize the scheduled collaboration time for curriculum alignment, and to plan the integration of lessons and activities. A Learning Community professional development will be hosted on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 from 2 pm - 4 pm.
The STEM CTL will also administer a Learning Community online pre-survey, followed by an online post-survey at the end of the semester for all students enrolled in the paired courses. The surveys will serve as an additional tool to guide us in our continuous improvement efforts and are also reflective of the best practices implemented in Learning Communities at other colleges and universities. The pre-surveys will begin during the week of January 20, 2014 and will be administered in the following Learning Communities:
Statistics with Psychological Application
Math 125 EG - Mon. 1/20/13 @ 11:15 am
Psychology 201C - Mon. 1/20/13 @ 9:40 am
Decoding Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation 103F - Thurs. 1/23/14 11:15 am
Reading 125N - Tues. 1/21/14 @ 4:00 pm
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STEM Club Robotics Team Gears Up For Competition at Purdue University
The Olive-Harvey STEM Club Robotics Team members are working diligently in preparation for their upcoming Robotics competition on February 1, 2014 at Purdue University. Student team members include Curry Williams, Brandon Mobley, Mayowa Balogun, LaShawn Brown, Ishmael Ochir, and Bankole Oluwadamilolo. To get a sneak preview of their task driven robots, visit the team in Room 3319.
The Olive-Harvey STEM Club Robotics Team members are working diligently in preparation for their upcoming Robotics competition on February 1, 2014 at Purdue University. Student team members include Curry Williams, Brandon Mobley, Mayowa Balogun, LaShawn Brown, Ishmael Ochir, and Bankole Oluwadamilolo. To get a sneak preview of their task driven robots, visit the team in Room 3319.
Faculty Highlights
Congratulations to Professors M. Carr and C. Forrester on their Acceptance into the Art of Science Learning Project at the Museum of Science and Industry We are pleased to announce the acceptance of Professors M. Carla Carr and Cornelia Forrester into the Chicago Incubator for Innovation, part of the Art of Science Learning project hosted by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. They are among a talented and diverse group of individuals who will work together from January to December 2014 to learn innovation process skills; practice creativity, collaboration and communication through visual and performing arts; and work in teams to explore STEM-related challenges and learning opportunities. They each will bring valuable contributions to the project from their experience and expertise as they also learn and develop new skills and practices applicable to their own professional context. This incubator is one of three sites nationally participating in this $2.6M initiative that will explore new models of innovation training and connecting artistic processes to science-related initiatives. Professor Carr and Forrester's participation will be instrumental in helping both understand the impact of the new Art of Science Learning initiative and contribute to the understanding of how to integrate art into innovation processes and STEM-related initiatives. |
Congratulations to Richard and Cornelia Slater-Forrester on Their New Arrival
It's a Boy!
Daniel Slater
5 lbs. 13 oz. 20"
d.o.b. 12/21/13
It's a Boy!
Daniel Slater
5 lbs. 13 oz. 20"
d.o.b. 12/21/13
Percy Julian High School Joins Corliss EC STEM High School
in their
Race to the Top
in their
Race to the Top
STEM College and Career Readiness Race to the Top Program is a program designed to better prepare students as they transition from high school to college and to ultimately reduce the need for remediation, particularly in math. This spring the program will be held at two Chicago Public Schools; George H. Corliss Early College STEM High School and Percy L. Julian High School. The program will run from February 3, - May 8, 2014. Major benefits of the programs includes, helping high school students to be more successful in college and more likely to complete, and encouraging high school and college teachers to collaborate on aligning their curricula.
Supplemental Instruction
Supplemental Instruction Supervisor Training - Kansas City, MO
J. Jackson (Mathematics), C. Manns (Social Sciences), S. Roy (Economics), and E. Tobin (STEM CTL) attended a 2-day training on Supplemental Instruction in Kansas City, MO offered by the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Center for Academic Development.
Training covered the following topics: procedures for selecting SI courses and SI leaders; roles of supervisors and leaders as well as benefits; evaluation and funding of the program; training and supervision of SI leaders; theoretical frameworks underlying the SI model; and effective learning strategies and SI session activities. Attendees also participated in SI simulations and mock sessions.Attendees were awarded a certificate of completion for the workshop.
J. Jackson (Mathematics), C. Manns (Social Sciences), S. Roy (Economics), and E. Tobin (STEM CTL) attended a 2-day training on Supplemental Instruction in Kansas City, MO offered by the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Center for Academic Development.
Training covered the following topics: procedures for selecting SI courses and SI leaders; roles of supervisors and leaders as well as benefits; evaluation and funding of the program; training and supervision of SI leaders; theoretical frameworks underlying the SI model; and effective learning strategies and SI session activities. Attendees also participated in SI simulations and mock sessions.Attendees were awarded a certificate of completion for the workshop.
Spring 2014 SI Leader Training
SI Leaders Cyntkaille Coleman (Biology 226/227), Kimberly Ihenacho (Biology 121), Philease Martin (Chemistry 121), Ishmael Ochir (Chemistry 207) and Katrina Randal (Chemistry 201) attended the SI Leader kick-off meeting and training held on Janaury 9th and 10th, 2014. We are in the process of adding 3 more SI Leaders to increase our support in Mathematics.
Professors J. Jackson, S. Roy, and E. Tobin led the working SI training session, which kicked off with a reflection of the previous semester's program, a review of the data and course successes, and ended with a series of mock SI sessions and reflections.
The Spring 2014 SI Schedule will be posted in the February 2014 Newsletter.
Professors J. Jackson, S. Roy, and E. Tobin led the working SI training session, which kicked off with a reflection of the previous semester's program, a review of the data and course successes, and ended with a series of mock SI sessions and reflections.
The Spring 2014 SI Schedule will be posted in the February 2014 Newsletter.
Fall 2013 SI Course Success
STEM CTL Trainings and Workshops
For a current list of upcoming STEM CTL Trainings and Workshops, click here!
Upcoming Blackboard Trainings
Monday January 13th
Thursday January 16th
Tuesday January 21st
Upcoming SMART Classroom Trainings
Using the SMART Classroom to the Fullest
Brown Bags and Faculty Collaboration
Monthly
Upcoming Blackboard Trainings
Monday January 13th
Thursday January 16th
Tuesday January 21st
Upcoming SMART Classroom Trainings
Using the SMART Classroom to the Fullest
- Wednesday January 15 @ 2:30-3:30pm, Room 3319*
- Tuesday January 21 @ 4:00-5:00pm, Room TBD
- Thursday January 23 @ 3:30-4:30pm, Room TBD
Brown Bags and Faculty Collaboration
Monthly
- 1st Wednesdays: Writing Across the Curriculum (K. Watson)
- 2nd Tuesdays: Classroom Assessment Techniques (V. Fullard)
- 3rd Wednesdays: Learning Community Faculty Collaboration (H. West)
- 4th Tuesdays: STEM CTL Committee Meeting (V. Fullard)
- 4th Wednesdays: Ted Talks - Facilitating Educational Innovation Through Ideas and Discourse (M. Carr)