Faculty Development and Ensured Learning

Purpose: The purpose of this community of practice is to provide a forum for faculty developers to share ideas, best practices, and resources. It is also a place to connect with other faculty developers, build relationships, and identify opportunities for collaboration.

People: The members of this community of practice will be faculty developers from the 34 community and technical colleges in Washington State. They will be at all levels of experience, from those who are just starting out to those who are seasoned veterans and may hold a range of titles, such as faculty leads, teaching and learning directors, deans or vice presidents.

Practice: The focus of this community of practice will be on the practice of faculty development. This includes topics such as:

• Teaching and learning theory
• Instructional design
• Assessment
• Faculty mentoring
• Professional development

Activities: The activities of this community of practice will include:

• Monthly online meetings
• Virtual discussion forums
• Sharing of resources
• Collaboration on projects

Benefits: The benefits of participating in this community of practice include:

• Networking with other faculty developers
• Access to resources and best practices 
• Professional development opportunities
• Increased knowledge and skills

To join this community of practice, send an email to ssc@sbctc.edu

The New Faculty Institute is an annual faculty professional development event designed with new tenure track faculty in mind. It is typically held in early September. This event will have sessions designed to help new faculty:

• Understand the different types of pedagogy and how to apply them in their teaching
• Develop effective teaching strategies that meet the needs of their students
• Become familiar with the State Board for Community and Technical College system and organization
• Connect with other new community college teachers and share resources and ideas

Led by SBCTC's Student Success Center with funding from College Spark Washington, a college consortium is working to change the assessment model for English 101 classes, which have been identified as key gatekeeper courses in college. Anti-racist writing assessments are a way to ensure students in English 101 courses are taught and assessed without negative racial bias.

Another purpose of building this work is to support English departments and practitioners across the Washington State CTC system to “increase the percentage of students who earn their first college-level credits in English within one year of college enrollment” by closing equity gaps for historically underserved students of color (HU-SOC). This project aligns with Guided Pathways in Washington State as this work will address one of the Essential Practices of a Guided Pathways redesign, College-Level English Within One Year of Enrollment, and do so in the spirit of the SBCTC vision to lead with racial equity.

The college consortium looks forward to sharing best practices throughout the college system.

This year more than 14 groups and individuals presented at the renowned National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in higher ed (NCORE).  Both the Student Success Center and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion teams value the work of our colleagues and want to bring this work back to Washington.  

We are creating a series of content called NCORE Encore in which presentations will be repeated at local conferences and we are also working on on demand recordings as well. Be on the lookout for these awesome sessions! 

Washington community college math faculty continue to reform and/or transform math placement and math course pathways with the goal of helping students complete their college level math requirements. To support these efforts, SBCTC is offering the following professional development opportunities for math faculty this year:

• Attend in-person math retreats and convenings for math faculty to share with and learn from their colleagues across the state. Additionally, math faculty are invited to join their partners in Transitional Studies (BEdA) at in-person BEdA Math Pathways training sessions. For information about upcoming events, go to the SBCTC Professional Development Calendar.
• Join virtual learning communities on topics such as data science, themed MATH& 107 courses, and instructional pedagogy. Learn more by emailing Dawn Draus to gain access to the Canvas Math Pathways and Placement Course.

This annual two-day event will bring together faculty members and teaching and learning professionals from community and technical colleges in Washington state to discuss topics in assessment, teaching, and learning. The conference will explore a variety of topics related to faculty and student success.

The conference will provide opportunities for participants to:

• Learn about the latest research and practices in teaching and learning
• Share best practices and strategies for using assessment data to inform instruction
• Create a collaborative space for participants to network and learn from each other
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning

Check the conference webpage for updates.