Project

Edible Book: Engaging Students for National Library Week

Submitted by Elisabeth Rodriguez on

Using National Library Week as a vehicle for outreach to students has been a continual goal for the Information Resources Department. The purpose of the promotion of this week is to engage students to connect and celebrate their library, in this case, Estrella’s library. Previous endeavors included free food and promotional giveaways, however, these activities did not really engage in a connection between the Library, research assistance, and services.

Infusing primary literature into the majors science curriculum (2015/16 MILRF project)

Submitted by Rachel Smith on

In this study, a modified CREATE methodology (www.teachcreate.org) was used to incorporate the reading, analysis and discussion of four primary research papers from the recent biological literature into BIO182.  Individual and group activities were used to integrate the papers into the course; some activities were graded, some were not.  Activities included concept mapping, cartooning of experimental design, paragraph summarizing, data transformation, and figure annotation.

The Revitalization of Service Learning at EMCC

Submitted by Rachel Holmes on

 In 2015/16 EMCC hired a staff member and faculty member to create and manage the Service Learning program. Beginning in 2015/16 there were new initiatives to promote SL on campus: workshops, multiple presentations (i.e.Day-of-Learning), in-class presentations and one-on-one faculty meetings in order to increase faculty and student participation.

Wellness In The Classroom

Submitted by Lyle Bartelt on

Students will be able to analyze recent research relating brain-based learning and healthy lifestyle choices in order to optimize student learning and academic performance.  WITC is a system of linking engagement in healthy habits to assignments in academic classes to encourage engagement in healthy habits.  Students are assigned articles to read followed by class discussion on setting SMART goals in one of five areas; exercise, nutrition, sleep, resiliency, or substance abuse.  Students then set goals and track completion over a period of weeks.  K

Six Years of Data is In! I love my Calculus/Physics Learning Community.

Submitted by Becky Baranowski on

Learning Community (LC) faculty have been saying for 6 years that the main focus on the LC is to help students in future STEM courses.  Majoring in a STEM field is difficult; math is a barrier for most students.  Approximately 20% of community college students start as a STEM major with 69% of them changing it to non-STEM.  The LC course is designed to help students be successful STEM students and truly understand how math and physics are intertwined.  So, student grades were analyzed from fall 2010 - spring 2016.  Students that went through the LC vs.

The Fall 2015 Economics Quantitative Reasoning Assessment Collaborative

Submitted by Erik Huntsinger on

The economics faculty at EMCC collaboratively assessed our students' quantitative reasoning abilities in fall 2015, aligned with EMCC’s Quantitative Reasoning rubric. The assessment required students to place themselves in the hypothetical role of a leader of a task force appointment by the new President of the United States to recommend a strategy for eliminating the US Budget deficit within a year To complete this successfully, students needed to address all areas of the quantitative reasoning rubric.

It's OK to Steal....Learn from the Professionals

Submitted by Becky Baranowski on

For several years now, I have students write lab reports in calculus I, II and differential equations. The set of directions given to students on what to include in the lab report were ones that I created. Every semester, students would ask follow up questions on what to include in their document. Students constantly missed points for missing information/data or not being detailed enough. This past semester, I decided to see if chemistry faculty had a lab report template, and they do! So, Dr.

Research Methods in Psychology – using two courses to observe active learning vs. passive learning

Submitted by Erica Wager on

In Fall 2015, of my Introduction to Psychology classes, I had an honors class required to do a research project. As such, I decided to have my honors class students research, design, run and analyze their own projects (for examples of their projects, feel free to email me!).

At the end of the semester I gave a common final to all of my introductory courses. To explore if actively doing research methods helps learning, I pulled questions from the final having to do with research methods and analyzed performance on those particular questions compared to the test as a whole.

Critical Thinking about Invisible Histories

Submitted by Christina Van on

Two 101 classes were given general information about the voices missing in the textbook version of the history of PSY (see addendum A). Only one of the classes was then assigned to complete a research project identifying and describing one of the voices missing. Students will share slides and be required to respond to classmates' slides for maximum exposure (addendum B). At the end of the semester, both classes will be assessed for the effects of the intervention (addendum C).

The Impact of Peer Mentors in Developmental Reading

Submitted by Steven Peist on

For over three years, I have collaborated with peer mentors from the peer mentoring program in my developmental reading classes including rdg 081, 091, 095, and CRE 101 when the group looped up from RDG 091.  There has been a dramatic increase in student retention, course completion and completion of the next round of courses at the 100 level and above as compared to those sections without a peer mentor.  

Field Experience Experience!

Submitted by Peter Turner on

All EDU courses require a Field Experience (where students go into a local K-12 classroom, under the tutelage of a certified teacher). Taking students through the process to ensure their success is always a challenge, since there are a variety of factors beyond our control (Fingerprint Clearance Card acquisition - FPC -, school placement, etc.). EDU teachers have incorporated a variety of documents and strategies to help achieve a higher success rate (see attachments).

Using Structured Learning Plans to Promote Active Learning in OER courses

Submitted by Susan Malmo on

I'm very sold on the idea of using OERs (Open Educational Resources) -- they save students money, and they allow all students to have immediate access to course materials.  The downside is that some students seem less engaged with these types of course materials; I think this is because they have been conditioned to the ideas of a textbook.

EED210 - Creative and Cognitive Play Lesson Plan

Submitted by Lisa Buccigrosse on

Assement: Early Childhood Education Lesson Plan on Creative and Cognitive Play incorproating components from all 6 Modules of the course. I want students to include and apply the following components within their lesson plan: ​1) Early Childhood Standards; 2) creative activities; 3) safetey considerations; 4) types of play; 5) creative art; 6) creative music and movement; and 7) materials and manipulatives using one of the provided lesson plan templates.

The Value of Authentic Learning Experiences in Building Confidence and Teaching Skills

Submitted by Rachel Holmes on

The EDU students at EMCC strive to become future preK-12th grade teachers.  I strive to prepare my students for the reality of teaching by teaching the students to lesson plan, to provide effective instruction,  and in maintaining strong classroom management.   For the past 3 years, my students have learned the foundational skills in each area through in-class lesson plan writing and teaching their lessons to peers.  While this is valuable practice,  it is not the same as actually teaching children.   In or