Events
- Annual Convention
- Great Teaching Round-up
- Leading from the middle
- fall conference for faculty leaders
- The Texas Network
"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision."
Events: Annual Convention 2011
Success Seminars
A number of Success Seminars will be conducted during the annual convention. All sessions will be held at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel on Friday afternoon, January 28. No fee or pre-registration is required, but seating may be limited.
Some Success Seminars represent follow-up discussions from the previous evening’s General Session (view video). These demonstrations are made possible through funding initiatives at Texas community colleges, aided by private foundationsincluding the Greater Texas Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Meadows Foundation, Houston Endowment, and the Texas Developmental Education Initiative.
Other sessions will feature technology now demonstrating measurable success, or programs designed to fulfill the instructional mission of community colleges in new and promising ways. Many presenters are faculty members at Texas two-year institutions.
"Looking Ahead: Building the Future of the Student Success Movement"
1:00–2:15
Panelists: Suzanne Walsh, Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, George Grainger, Grant Officer, Houston Endowment, Wynn Rosser, Executive Director, Greater Texas Foundation. Moderator: Byron McClenney, Senior Lecturer, Educational Administration, UT-Austin
Private foundations have invested heavily in efforts to increase student success in higher education. These initiatives have focused both on student preparation for college-level work and persistence once they are admitted to a program. Panelists will consider the progress they have made thus far, and look forward to the next phase in the student success movement.
"The Texas Achieving the Dream and Early College High School Initiatives: Strategies for Success"
1:00-2:15
Panelists: Lynda Villanueva, Director of Transitional Education and Associate Professor of Psychology, Brazosport College; Frank Savina, Professor and Early College Start Instructor of Mathematics, El Paso Community College; Maureen Loiacano, Professor of Mathematics, Lone Star College-Montgomery.
Moderator: Terry Mouchayleh, Director of Professional Development & Evaluation Programs, Austin Community College
Panelists will share how the AtD and ECHS strategies for improving student outcomes have been successfully implemented at their colleges. Participants will have a better understanding of how these models are making an impact on student success in Texas and the role of their fellow faculty members in implementing the most promising innovations emerging from this initiative. Panelist and participants will have an opportunity to discuss how these strategies can be replicated.
"Electronic Portfolios"
2:30-3:45
Panelists: Scott Trudeau, Solutions Consultant, NA Education Sales
Adobe Systems Inc.
Electronic Portfolios are an essential component for assisting lifelong learners as they develop new skills and demonstrate their understanding. Whether for students, Teachers, Professional development learning communities, or for institutional use, an electronic portfolio has become invaluable in education. Acrobat X provides an easy but powerful way to build portfolios from any content and in any environment. With drag and drop ease, authors can assemble a media rich portfolio in which all the components retain their distinctive characteristics and can be easily integrated into collaborative environments to provide unmatched reflective thinking and threaded discussion environments. Examples, tips, tricks, and free resources will be utilized throughout the session.
"Improving Student Success: Continuing the Conversation with National Initiative Leaders"
2:30-3:45
Downloadable Packet: "The Rallying Call: Bringing Game-Changing Results to Developmental Education"
Panelists: Alma Garcia, Early College High School Program; Mike Collins, Jobs for the Future/Developmental Education Initiative; Abby Parcell, MDC/Achieving the Dream.
Moderator: Luzelma Cananles, Director of Grant Development, Accountability & Management Services, Achieving the Dream Data Facilitator, South Texas College
Panelist will share specific examples of how faculty members from around the country are implementing the strategies of national initiatives to increase student success. Participating faculty members will be given an opportunity to discuss how these models can be adapted and implemented at their colleges.
"CTE Career Pathways and Articulation Project"
2:30-3:45
Presenter: Brian Byrne, Researcher, TCCTA; and Kat Davis, Research Assistant, TCCTA
The aim of the project is to help guide those who would benefit from higher education and facilitate their path to enrollment and success in Texas institutions. It is envisioned that the website will be predominately used by high school students, but it will also be used by parents, educators and individuals returning to higher education from the workplace.
This focus group session will introduce the project and look to discuss:
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What information sources high school and community students currently use for career advice, college selection and course transfer information
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What information sources counselors use for career advice and course transfer information
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What information is and is not currently available and barriers faced by students and counselors in finding information
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How we might best meet the needs of students and counselors for information in these areas
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How we might best present this information to ensure it is both engaging and easy to understand for students and counselors.
"Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Best Practices"
2:30-3:45
Presenter: David Sorrells, Professor of English, Lamar State College–Port Arthur
The QEP Handbook makes clear in several passages that reviewing best practices for choosing and developing the QEP topic is in each institution’s interests. We invite you to share your institution’s QEP and learn what others in the state are doing as well. From QEP director or committee member whose job it was (or is) to develop the plan, to faculty or staff members whose job it is to implement and participate in the plan, all are welcome. According to SACS, we all have to create a Quality Enhancement Plan, so we might as well support each other in our efforts.
"Implementing Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning"
4:00-5:15
Presenter: Janet Taborn, Senior Account Manager, McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Through ongoing, in-depth research of instructor and student work flows, employing a wide array of research tools including focus groups, efficacy studies, surveys, contextual inquiries, and ethnographic studies, McGraw-Hill identified real opportunities for improving learning and teaching outcomes. Come and learn about our latest research and the implementation of this research through text and digital tools. Hear from your peers and learn from colleagues employing online digital solutions that empower instructors and drive better course results. Join in for a question and answer session for further exploration.
"Success in Hybrid and Online Courses: A Solution-Focused Approach"
4:00-5:15
Presenter: Carol Barbay, Professor of Psychology, Lamar State College–Port Arthur
Will you be teaching a hybrid or online course soon? Are you teaching a hybrid or online course now that you would like to improve? Dr. Barbay will be discussing a positive, solution-focused approach that will make it more likely you and your students will enjoy your hybrid or online course experience. The solution-focused approach emphasizes how you would like your course to be and suggests strategies to help you realize a more positive experience. We will discuss goals and strategies that emphasize hybrid and online course success and incorporate components in your courses that you consider important and useful. Dr. Barbay will discuss a 7-step model for solution-focused change that you can use right away to assure your hybrid and online courses are successful for you and your students and will help you accomplish goals and objectives reflecting important student learning outcomes.
"Taking Developmental Education by the Horns: How the Texas DEI colleges are dramatically improving student outcomes and influencing state policy strategies"
4:00-5:15
Panelists: Lucy Michal, El Paso Community College; Charles Cook, Houston Community College; Luzelma Canales and Paul Hernandez, South Texas College; and Cynthia Ferrell, Texas Developmental Education State Policy Initiative.
Moderator: Terry Mouchayleh, Director of Professional Development & Evaluation Programs, Austin Community College
Four Texas community colleges, that have earned the recognition as both AtD Leader Colleges and DEI Colleges, will participate in a panel discussion and conversation with participants about how they leveraged the lessons learned during their AtD experiences to design, implement, and scale their most successful developmental education interventions and influence state policy efforts.
Coastal Bend College
El Paso Community College
Houston Community College System
South Texas College
Texas Developmental Education State Policy Initiative
"Waiting for Superman in the Digital Divide"
4:00-5:15
Presenter: Patricia Armstrong, Account Manager, Labyrinth Learning
This presentation explores the value of affordable textbooks and learning management systems in an economy where students are in desperate need of an affordable education.