June 1, 2015 TCCIA Fred Hills, PhD. Makes education come alive to engage students Awake curiosity for learning in students Develop career/professional.

BUILDING CREATIVE SPACES

FOR FACULTY & STUDENT INQUIRY BASED LEARNING

June 1, 2015

TCCIA

Fred Hills, PhD

WHY INQUIRY BASED LEARNING?

Makes education come alive to engage students

Awake curiosity for learning in students Develop career/professional Skills Contacts and visibility for students at

professional, scientific conferences Increased acceptance into competitive

programs and universities Engage Faculty

IN THE CURRICULUM Project based learning

Classroom projects, assignments, and presentations

Poster presentationsScholars Day – posters, prototypes, and

presentations Encourage students to interact, present &

publish at local, state and national forums

HIGHLANDER UNDERGRADU

ATE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

(HURI)

HURI Started through the Community College

Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI) NSF grant through Finger Lakes College in NY National effort, focused on Sciences

Faculty created a campus wide HURI Started in the Sciences and Math Now growing to include all disciplines on campus Faculty Steering Committee

Project based learning expanding to the classrooms

Focus on student’s interests Direct ties to Honors College

STUDENT STUDY TRIPS Trips a continuation of classroom inquiry

and applied learning Travel to:

Local field study locations MARS – All disciplines Honduras – Marine Biology Southwest US – Geology, Archeology,

Environmental Sciences, & Engineering New Zealand and Australia –

Economics, Engineering and Science New York City – Business and Marketing Costa Rica – Language and Culture

immersion courses Washington DC – History and

Government Haiti – Nursing and Health Careers

HEALTH CAREERS SIMULATION LABS

Joint usage:MCC Health CareersFamily Practice ResidentsLocal hospital trainingEMS and ParamedicineOccupational Therapy

Promote separate and joint exercises among diverse communitiesEmphasis on real world practices

FACULTY ENGAGEMENT Workshops on Teaching Strategies

Collaborative/Cooperative LearningProfessional Development

Faculty Learning CommunitiesTeaching and Learning Book ClubCourse Learning Communities

Faculty Summer Institute4 day intensive workshop

MEASURES OF SUCCESS Students placed in graduate research programs 18 students to present at the Great Plains Honors Council

Conference with 2 BOE Award winners in 2015 5 students presented at the Texas Academy of Science-

Annual Meeting. One student won ”Best Poster Presentation- Marine Sciences Division."

2 students presented at the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative National Posters

2 students presented their research at the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative National Posters Session in Washington, D.C. Session in Washington, D.C.

8 students may also attend the Mars Society Convention in Washington, D.C.

306 student poster, displays, and presentations at Spring Scholars Day

Faculty presentation at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference on writing Boot Camp

Faculty leading collaborative and inquiry based initiatives

OPPORTUNITIES Innovation in pedagogy - project

based/program based/inquiry based, cooperative and/or individual research project learning opportunities

Ties to new State Core requirements Complements College’s student success

initiatives Rewards engaged faculty and innovative

CHALLENGES

How does applied learning fit the traditional community college mission in a time of shrinking resources?

Buy-in from faculty – time and effort Making it interdisciplinary Finding and prioritizing resources Long term sustainability

PLANNED Expanding creative spaces and inquiry

opportunities for students and faculty Building a Learning Commons Expanding “Summer Camps” for students

and faculty Digital Repository for Information

Exchange Building collaborative arrangements with

HS Expanding pathways with 4-year college

partners

KEY TO SUCCESS Administration buy-in key to success Don't reinvent the wheel - find those

doing similar projects and invite them to join

Promote, promote, promote Knowing when to lead and when to step

back and follow

QUESTIONS

Fred Hills, PhDDean of Arts, Sciences & Business

fhills@mclennan.edu254 299-8661