Discipline/Program

In Fall 20, math courses transitioned to a Live Online format versus traditional online. Faculty spent the summer frantically learning technologies and strategies through workshops, brainstorming sessions, and social media. Math faculty also trained one another on Zoom/Webex, NearPod, and Whiteboard.fi with a common goal -  to learn and implement new tools in the virtual environment to keep students engaged; increasing student success and persistence.

The Life Sciences Division created a divsion level assessment. Though some biology courses were not able to complete the assessment due to the COVID19 response, results show an increase in score from lower level biology courses to higher level courses. 

Student applicants to the DRS office are not prepared for their eligibility meeting. Students do not actively participate and struggle to provide thoughtful/applicable answers to questions.  Some also express a sense of nervousness as if they are on a job interview, which complicates their ability to fully participate in the process.

The STEM program has grown over the past two years, and has caused an increase in tutoring support for Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology courses. With the implementation of the STEM journal, students are able sufficiently prepare for their courses. The STEM tutors of the Academic Success Center are able to share helpful information and insight, for they went through the same courses and instructors as our current students.

Students struggle with mastering concepts in microbiology. Journaling is a method that is documented to help students learn science courses. We implemented journaling recently and wanted to see if there is any significant impact after 3 semesters of collecting data.

Spoiler alert - nope, at least with the way we are implementing journaling currently. We are regrouping and will restructure the directions to hopefully guide students to be more successful in their journaling. 

Differential Equations is a foundation mathematics class for all Engineering. Many STEM students who major in Engineering will be taking this course at Estrella. Laplace Transforms are part of the MAT276 curriculum and is widely used in the field of electrical engineering. The Academic Success Center provides tutoring support services for STEM courses through in-person tutoring, group study sessions, and content guidance. 

In Spring 2018, administrators came back from HLC informing us that we needed to have learning outcomes written and assessed.  We had a college wide push over the past year to get these written at the course, program, and co-curricular level.  We are struggling with people understanding how everything should be aligned, so the assessment coordinators, champions, and committee members are working to help alleviate confusion.  

The program was held during a five week summer session. Twelve students met Monday through Thursday for Math 151 College Algebra/Functions, followed by one hour of tutoring. Students also met Monday through Wednesday for CPD115, Creating College Success in STEM. Every Thursday, students had the opportunity to partake in hands-on STEM workshops and programs, meet current and/or former STEM students, meet with different community professionals to explore the different careers in STEM, and learn about the different supportive programs, such as undergraduate internships.