Innovation Abstracts, NISOD’s flagship teaching strategies publication, provides an excellent opportunity for community and technical college educators to learn about and share best ideas about programs, projects, and strategies that improve students’ higher education experiences.

31 Jan, 2014

Students’ Questions Open New Paths to Explore

2022-10-31T16:36:42-05:00

Volume XXXVI, No. 3 | January 31, 2014 Students' Questions Open New Paths to Explore In "Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers," a course for pre-service teachers, I decided that the homework would always be the same. The students would ask three questions using the following format: "My question is…" and "I ask it [...]

Students’ Questions Open New Paths to Explore2022-10-31T16:36:42-05:00
24 Jan, 2014

Eliminate the Need for Textbooks by Leveraging Professional Organizations

2022-10-31T16:36:42-05:00

Volume XXXVI, No. 2 | January 24, 2014 Eliminate the Need for Textbooks by Leveraging Professional Organizations Course materials must be updated continually in order for professional and technical programs to stay current with industry and to ensure students are graduating with the necessary skills. But, textbooks are a big expense for students, [...]

Eliminate the Need for Textbooks by Leveraging Professional Organizations2022-10-31T16:36:42-05:00
17 Jan, 2014

Time for Fun and Games?

2022-10-31T16:36:42-05:00

Volume XXXVI, No. 1 | January 17, 2014 Time for Fun and Games? My students are engaged in a heated argument about the words "therefore," "as a result," "so," and "thus." What do the words have in common? What question can they devise to explain their relationship? More significantly, why do these [...]

Time for Fun and Games?2022-10-31T16:36:42-05:00
6 Dec, 2013

The Sandbox—Not Just an Instructional Materials Resource Center

2022-10-31T16:36:41-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 29 | December 6, 2013 The Sandbox—Not Just an Instructional Materials Resource Center Background Lone Star College-CyFair opened its doors in 2003 as a one-campus/two-location concept. The idea was to have two locations—a bigger campus that the majority of the students would attend and a smaller location that would be easily accessible from [...]

The Sandbox—Not Just an Instructional Materials Resource Center2022-10-31T16:36:41-05:00
27 Nov, 2013

A Community College and School District Special Education Partnership

2022-10-31T16:36:37-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 27 | November 15, 2013 A Community College and School District Special Education Partnership In spring 2012, Parkland Area School District (PASD) approached Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) about developing a learning support class on the LCCC campus to help the PASD special education students better transition into the community. [...]

A Community College and School District Special Education Partnership2022-10-31T16:36:37-05:00
22 Nov, 2013

Spirit Becomes Act: Creating Your Own Instructional Support System

2022-10-31T16:36:36-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 28 | November 22, 2013 Spirit Becomes Act: Creating Your Own Instructional Support System It was an unbelievable sight—325 students, faculty, and community members ready to reenact the Union army's 6th Corps march to Gettysburg. It wasn't money that enabled this moment. Neither was it a program, a pamphlet, a [...]

Spirit Becomes Act: Creating Your Own Instructional Support System2022-10-31T16:36:36-05:00
7 Nov, 2013

Forming a Psychology Club

2022-10-31T16:36:36-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 26 | November 7, 2013 Forming a Psychology Club This article describes the groundwork, resourcing, implementation, and research topics of a new psychology club at El Centro College (ECC) and may serve as a template for others wishing to start a psychology club on their campuses. Determining the Best Approach [...]

Forming a Psychology Club2022-10-31T16:36:36-05:00
1 Nov, 2013

Establishing a Campus-Based GED to College Transition Program

2022-10-31T16:36:40-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 25 | November 1, 2013 Establishing a Campus-Based GED to College Transition Program The challenge of educating adults lacking a GED is daunting. Classes offered through literacy centers/community agencies tend to focus primarily on GED completion and not on helping adults make the transition to college. San Antonio College's GED [...]

Establishing a Campus-Based GED to College Transition Program2022-10-31T16:36:40-05:00
25 Oct, 2013

Retention Issues in the Community College

2022-10-31T16:36:40-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 24 | October 25, 2013 Retention Issues in the Community College It seems that each time the spring semester rolls around, we have increased retention issues. As a result, retention efforts were the topic of a recent conversation in the Transitional English department. Much of the literature I have [...]

Retention Issues in the Community College2022-10-31T16:36:40-05:00
18 Oct, 2013

The Use of DNA Sequencing in the Microbiology Lab

2022-10-31T16:36:40-05:00

Volume XXXV, No. 23 | October 18, 2013 The Use of DNA Sequencing in the Microbiology Lab Most of the students enrolled in microbiology at Gateway Technical College wish to enter the nursing program. One of the objectives of the course is learning how to identify bacteria properly. There are different approaches to [...]

The Use of DNA Sequencing in the Microbiology Lab2022-10-31T16:36:40-05:00