California Basic Skills Completion Practices to Increase Student Success

The following is from the document and states its purpose.  I highly recommend it for reading on practical resource guide.  Click on the following link to open the document and download it if you like.  [Open Document] I think it is important to consider as we rethink the future of learning assistance and developmental education programs.

"This document is intended to be a practical resource guide for faculty, administrators, and staff to use as they develop, modify, and adapt data-supported and scalable programs and projects on their campuses. These programs include orientation, helping students learn to help themselves, classroom interventions, and course redesigns. Each year, the 112 California Community Colleges receive supplemental Basic Skills Initiative funding. Our hope is that this resource will help our colleges research, plan and implement programs and practices that will assist their students. This resource is neither a research paper nor a thought piece. It is also not a step-by-step “how to.” Instead, the resource is a guide to assist colleges in developing and implementing action plans for using their Basic Skills Initiative funds and any other available funding to increase student success. We encourage colleges to use these funds to institutionalize successful programs and practices and we discourage colleges’ use to implement new pilot programs that cannot be scaled up or sustained long term."

Disruptive Innovation: Embedding Learning Technology into the Classroom (Kellogg Institute Workshop)

On July  15 and 16 I presented a workshop at the Kellogg Institute on embeding learning technology within the classroom and campus learning center.  Click on this link to connect with a special web page that contains all the handouts, PP slides, and web links to other resources.  Most of the technologies shared are those I actually use with my gobal history course at the University of Minnesota.  Others are ones that I plan to pilot text over the upcoming years.

One basic principle to remember when contemplating use of a new learning technology is a basic one, why?  How will the technology help achieve student outocmes better than what is currently used?  How difficult will it be for the instructor and the students to use the technology?  Students have told me repeatedly that they like learning technology in the classroom as long as it is meaningful.  Never make the assumtion that it is easy for students to use without tutorials and support.  It is a learning curve for both the instructor and the students.

I am geeky by nature, but make a point to conduct focus groups with students before I introduce new technologies into the classroom.  These focus groups often give me insights into new emerging technologies that they are using that could be adapated for use within the classroom.  It has taken me a decade to add the learning technolgoies into my class, generally no more than one new thing during an academi semester.  I hope you find one or two ideas to experiment with from all the materials provided through this web site.  Best wishes with your work.

2012 OADE Conference Keynote Talk Resources

Greetings,

I have taught history courses for over three decades. It has been a long journey to provide a better learning environment for my students. Universal Learning Design allows me to embed best practices of learning assistance and developmental education inside my classroom. I am responsible for doing my part to support student success rather than just sending students down the hall and across the campus to locate tutoring or study group programs.

It is a delight to share some resources related to my online keynote talk I shared Friday morning. The following items are available to download.

Click on this link for PowerPoint slide handout of the presentation.

Click on this link to download ULD book edited by Higbee and Goff

Click on this link to download Pedagogy and student services for institutional transformation: Implementation guidebook for student development programs and services.

Click on this like to download Pedagogy and student services for institutional transformation: Implemenation guidebook for faculty members.

Take care,

David