Progress to Date on Objectives: Management Objective B |
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The College will collect and share a common body of knowledge from Vanguard and Champion colleges and research-based literature on best practices regarding key issues and concepts related to student engagement and learning-centered education and practices. The following list details SCC’s progress to-date on collecting and sharing resources related to learning-centered education: The Learning Initiative Website provides links to Vanguard and Champion colleges, as well as links to research on best practices related to assessment, critical thinking, the learning paradigm, and learning outcomes. Additionally, the QEP newsletter, The Exchange, regularly offers links to Web-based resources and features reviews of learning-focused articles. In the spring of 2003, Dr. Atkins presented the Learning Initiative at a meeting attended by all Surry employees. Dr. Atkins discussed the goals and practices associated with learning institutions and outlined the plan to transform SCC into a true learning college. In March, 2003, a team from the College traveled to Phoenix to attend the League’s first annual Learning Summit, a two-day conference devoted to the learning college model. Speakers included Terry O’Banion and John Tagg, two pioneers in the learning college movement, who shared creative, college-wide strategies for enhancing learning. The team included faculty members from the Council on Innovation and Student Learning, the President of the College, two Vice-Presidents, the two academic Deans, and the Director of Planning and Institutional Research. On June 18 and 19, 2003, Dr. Anne Nelson presented a series of workshops on Distance Education course assessment and evaluation for SCC faculty and administration. Participants discussed strategies to make Distance Education more student-focused and learner-centered through course layout and design, communication, and student assessment. On June 25 and 26, 2003, Mr. David Smith and Dr. Rusty Holmes of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College presented workshops for Distance Education faculty on student assessment and evaluation. The workshops focused on making student assessment and evaluation truly student- and learner-centered and covered such topics as learning styles and instructional practices, student-centered learning, authentic learning, and individualized assessment strategies. On June 27, 2003, Dr. Chuck Claxton, Professor in Higher Education Administration at Appalachian State University, met with the President’s Council (a group consisting of President, Vice-Presidents, Deans, and Directors) to discuss the learning college, the learning organization, dialogue groups, and the administrator’s role in the learning organization. A series of SCC Roundtables for the 2003-2004 academic year was planned and facilitated by the Director of the Academic Support Center to focus on such topics as critical thinking, institutional values, the learning college, active learning, service learning, collaborative learning, and student assessment, etc. The SCC Roundtables are envisioned as “dialogue groups” attended by a cross-section of the SCC population with the goal of increasing collaboration and building community by exploring issues related to learning-centered education.
On July 17, 2003, leaders from Isothermal Community College, a League-recognized Champion College, visited campus to share their strategies for becoming more learning centered. In June, 2003, members of the Council on Innovation and Student Learning received a binder containing resources on major aspects of the Initiative: the learning college model, Vanguard and Champion Colleges, learning outcomes assessment, critical thinking, and student engagement. In November, 2003, each SCC faculty member received a packet of information on the Initiative, including three articles related to learning-centered education:
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