Volume XXXII, No. 23 | October 15, 2010 Bridging the Gap Between Student Services and Faculty A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my office and received a phone call from a co-worker who worked in student services. As an English instructor, I had received these phone calls in the past. He [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 23 | October 15, 2010 Goodbye to the Greatest Coach in History—Remembering My Breakfasts with Coach Wooden June 4, 2010, was a day of inevitability. John Wooden, legendary basketball coach, passed away a few months short of a century of life. The media was filled with stories, statistics, and reminiscences [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 22 | October 8, 2010 Engaging the New Learner! or What is Multimedia Anyway?! As I excitedly presented “Engaging the New Learner” or “What is Multimedia Anyway?!” to professors during the College Educators Development Program Phase 4 Western Region Conference, I noted that educators are very resourceful (as if that [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 21 | October 1, 2010 Handshakes, Dialogue, and Table Graces: A Business Etiquette Workshop Students learn more when they are intensely involved in their education and are provided learning experiences in different settings. Shelton State Community College’s Career Services Center teamed up with other areas of the college and a [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 21 | October 1, 2010 College Writing for Non-Writers In the technical fields, being able to do something demonstrates a certain level of skill development. Being able to write about what one has done demonstrates a deeper understanding of the material. Helping our technology students improve their writing skills is [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 20 | September 24, 2010 A Record Year for America’s Community Colleges In the past year, the spotlight has been on community colleges in the United States. In July 2009, President Obama gave unprecedented support for the community college mission in his announcement of the American Graduation Initiative (AGI), stating: [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 19 | September 17, 2010 Seamless Performance Alert Intervention System (PAIS): Accountability and Outcomes The issues of accountability and outcomes are critical to improving student success and retention. As a result of targeted efforts to address ongoing declines in retention, Baltimore City Community College is successfully reversing this trend through [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 18 | September 10, 2010 21st Century Technology and Pedagogy When I started teaching college some years ago, my only teaching methodology was lecture. This, of course, I learned from my teachers and my teachers from theirs. Moreover, the only technological support tools available were overhead projectors, videos, and hand-held [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 17 | September 3, 2010 Common Read: A Community of Learners Experienced instructors have long recognized that reading well means being able to enter into useful, shared conversations with others. These conversations allow students to express their own ideas and to do so in an informed way as a response [...]

Volume XXXII, No. 16 | August 27, 2010 How Hurricane Katrina Changed Me as a Teacher Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005. The day afterwards, the 17th Street canal levees broke. The break was three blocks away from our modest home on Bellaire Drive. My husband, his family, and I [...]