june 1, 2015 tccia fred hills, phd. makes education come alive to engage students awake curiosity...
TRANSCRIPT
BUILDING CREATIVE SPACES
FOR FACULTY & STUDENT INQUIRY BASED LEARNING
June 1, 2015
TCCIA
Fred Hills, PhD
WHY INQUIRY BASED LEARNING?
Makes education come alive to engage students
Awake curiosity for learning in students Develop career/professional Skills Contacts and visibility for students at
professional, scientific conferences Increased acceptance into competitive
programs and universities Engage Faculty
IN THE CURRICULUM Project based learning
Classroom projects, assignments, and presentations
Poster presentationsScholars Day – posters, prototypes, and
presentations Encourage students to interact, present &
publish at local, state and national forums
HIGHLANDER UNDERGRADU
ATE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
(HURI)
HURI Started through the Community College
Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI) NSF grant through Finger Lakes College in NY National effort, focused on Sciences
Faculty created a campus wide HURI Started in the Sciences and Math Now growing to include all disciplines on campus Faculty Steering Committee
Project based learning expanding to the classrooms
Focus on student’s interests Direct ties to Honors College
STUDENT STUDY TRIPS Trips a continuation of classroom inquiry
and applied learning Travel to:
Local field study locations MARS – All disciplines Honduras – Marine Biology Southwest US – Geology, Archeology,
Environmental Sciences, & Engineering New Zealand and Australia –
Economics, Engineering and Science New York City – Business and Marketing Costa Rica – Language and Culture
immersion courses Washington DC – History and
Government Haiti – Nursing and Health Careers
HEALTH CAREERS SIMULATION LABS
Joint usage:MCC Health CareersFamily Practice ResidentsLocal hospital trainingEMS and ParamedicineOccupational Therapy
Promote separate and joint exercises among diverse communitiesEmphasis on real world practices
FACULTY ENGAGEMENT Workshops on Teaching Strategies
Collaborative/Cooperative LearningProfessional Development
Faculty Learning CommunitiesTeaching and Learning Book ClubCourse Learning Communities
Faculty Summer Institute4 day intensive workshop
MEASURES OF SUCCESS Students placed in graduate research programs 18 students to present at the Great Plains Honors Council
Conference with 2 BOE Award winners in 2015 5 students presented at the Texas Academy of Science-
Annual Meeting. One student won ”Best Poster Presentation- Marine Sciences Division."
2 students presented at the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative National Posters
2 students presented their research at the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative National Posters Session in Washington, D.C. Session in Washington, D.C.
8 students may also attend the Mars Society Convention in Washington, D.C.
306 student poster, displays, and presentations at Spring Scholars Day
Faculty presentation at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference on writing Boot Camp
Faculty leading collaborative and inquiry based initiatives
OPPORTUNITIES Innovation in pedagogy - project
based/program based/inquiry based, cooperative and/or individual research project learning opportunities
Ties to new State Core requirements Complements College’s student success
initiatives Rewards engaged faculty and innovative
CHALLENGES
How does applied learning fit the traditional community college mission in a time of shrinking resources?
Buy-in from faculty – time and effort Making it interdisciplinary Finding and prioritizing resources Long term sustainability
PLANNED Expanding creative spaces and inquiry
opportunities for students and faculty Building a Learning Commons Expanding “Summer Camps” for students
and faculty Digital Repository for Information
Exchange Building collaborative arrangements with
HS Expanding pathways with 4-year college
partners
KEY TO SUCCESS Administration buy-in key to success Don't reinvent the wheel - find those
doing similar projects and invite them to join
Promote, promote, promote Knowing when to lead and when to step
back and follow
