CAMPUS NEWS
ESL Program is Changing to Better Serve Students
Integrating skills and shortening the sequence is expected to increase retention, success and persistence of ESL students.
The Cañada College ESL program is making some necessary changes to better serve students. The program changes will begin this fall.
ESL is collapsing four different skills (reading, writing, listening/speaking, and grammar) into two courses. Grammar and Writing will be combined into one course while Reading and Listening/Speaking will comprise the second course. Four levels in each skill will still be offered.
Each course will now be five units. In the past, courses in two skills would have been eight units. A hybrid option has also been added to the new combined courses to accommodate to-be-arranged hours and ensure that ESL students learn and use computer technology skills.
These changes will collapse the current 32 sections of ESL into 16 sections this fall. Seven ESL sections in the Community-Based English Tutoring program are being replaced with four ESL Language Skills for the Workforce courses.
“These curriculum changes make it easier for ESL students to take both classes and cover all skills in one semester,” said Jennifer Castello, Dean of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. In the past, ESL students had to take 16 units to cover all of the skills. Now, Castello said, they can cover everything with 10 units. “This leaves three to six units that students can use for Computer Business Office Technology courses. By completing these courses, ESL students will fulfill the computer literacy requirement for certificates and degrees and will specifically fulfill a selective for our new PASS program.”
The Preparation for Academic Scholarship and Success (PASS) Language Certificate is a multi-skill, academic English language certificate. Upon completion, students are able to read, write, speak, and understand English in college-level academic contexts. Students who earn the certificate are prepared to take college courses for transfer, certificates, and degrees in both academic and vocational areas. Additionally, this certificate officially recognizes the acquisition of the English language necessary to succeed in college-level courses and compete successfully in the labor market.
Anniqua Rana, professor of ESL and Reading/Writing Lab coordinator, said ESL Department faculty, in consultation with faculty and student support services across campus, finalized the changes after a series of intensive planning sessions based on research and student input. “The transition and implementation will be a challenge, but with the support of counseling and admissions as well as other student services, this will be an exciting opportunity for ESL students.”
Rana, who also serves as the Bay Area Network Mentor for the statewide Basic Skills Initiative, said integral to the plan is professional development focusing on pedagogy, learning, and assessment. “The ESL faculty will collaborate with the library and this collaboration will be studied by Reference Librarian Dave Patterson.
As a follow-up to the fall 2009 study of placement testing practices for ESL and Generation 1.5 students, UC Santa Cruz will also be collaborating in the evaluation of the program’s changes. Rana said this kind of planning is already being identified as a promising practice on the state level and will be presented at this spring’s California Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference in Santa Clara.
Castello said engaging both full-time and adjunct faculty, students and a large cross-section of personnel across campus from various divisions ensured a thorough process for making the changes. “We used the latest data and talked with everyone involved to help create changes that were in the best interest of the students,” she said.
Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching & Learning
Three faculty chosen to guide the center's activities
Vice President of Instruction, Sarah Perkins, is working with faculty to create the Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching at Learning at the college. The center is a place for collaborative work across the campus to promote a culture of excellence in teaching and learning. The CIETL will offer a wide array of programs, events, and services that foster innovation and the translation of educational research into practice. The CIETL will be coordinated by Carol Rhodes, professor of biology; Anniqua Rana, professor of ESL.English; and Denise Erickson, professor of art history. Currently, the CIETL is organizing committees to guide the center’s activities. Initial funding for CIETL is supported by the President’s Initiative Funds and the former SLOAC Coordinator time.
Cañada College to Host Basic Skills Workshop on Feb. 8
Approximately 50 participants from community colleges around Northern California are expected
The college will host a workshop in February to help basic skills educators examine course coding, curriculum and student pathways to help improve student success.
Faculty, researchers, and administrators from community colleges around northern California will attend the workshop. The workshop will help educators understand the process for coding basic skills classes according to the state’s Basic Skills Rubric. The credit rubrics, adopted by all 110 colleges in spring 2009, provide a matrix for comparing courses across the system and reporting student progress through basic skills. The rubrics are not comprehensive standards nor grading rubrics, but rather outcomes that should be evident at each level described that have been universally defined by community college experts based upon research and nation-wide scans. The noncredit rubrics are defined so as to align with credit outcomes at each level, even though some noncredit courses do not address levels one or two below transfer. Noncredit rubrics and outcomes will be revisited in spring 2010 . This work will benefit the entire system for mandated reporting, individual institutions as educators examine interventions for improving student progress, and students as they have clearly defined expectations for success to reach college level skills.
Next Round of Strategic Planning Underway
Goals from current strategic plan helped guide college through budget cuts
The College Planning Council will begin preparing for the next round of strategic planning in February. “The strategic planning that was done three years ago has served the college extremely well,” President Tom Mohr said. In a college-wide e-mail, Mohr said now is the time to begin planning the future of the college. “We are devoted to becoming a learning college, where we focus every day on two critical questions: Is our work the reflection of best practices and innovation we know about professionally and are we checking in some measured, deliberate way to assess the progress and success of our work so it can be modified in accord with the goals we agreed upon in our departments and divisions?”
Mohr said he expects renewed planning will emphasize success, retention and degree or certificate completion. "Those matters are our most serious challenge, and without innovative ideas and college wide support in engaging in the best professional practices we can identify the imperative for change will only be putative. Planning will also take us into new programs. some of them responding to the new green work force."
The College Planning Council is expected to outline how to proceed with the next round of strategic planning at its next meeting.
National Ford Motor Company Commercial Shot on Campus
November commercial will feature Bay Area celebrity Mike Rowe
Bay Area celebrity Mike Rowe was on campus in November to shoot a national television commercial for the Ford Motor Company. Rowe is the creator and executive producer of Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated series Dirty Jobs With Mike Rowe. According to Les Milne of LM Production Services, the campus was chosen because of its natural beauty and the staff’s willingness to work with the production team. Cañada President Tom Mohr said projects like the television commercial bring in valuable resources. “We need to be creative in these tight budget times,” he said. “We’re looking at all options to raise revenues.”
Classified Senate Raises $2,000 on Holiday Baskets
Money will go to the student scholarship fund
By Roberta Chock
On behalf of the Classified Senate I would like to thank EVERYONE who contributed to the huge success of the Holiday Basket fundraiser this year. We raised $2000 for our scholarship fund! The baskets this year were especially beautiful – and plentiful! Thank you to everyone who contributed to making them. I would also like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Jai, Laura, Brian and the rest of the wonderful staff at the Bookstore for all their help in making this a success—for displaying and arranging the baskets, sending baskets to the other campuses and the District Office, selling tickets, and providing coffee and cookies at the drawing, and in general letting this take over the bookstore for several weeks!! Again, thank you!
Cash for College Workshops
Two workshops will help students and parents with the FAFSA
Two free Cash for College workshops will be held at Cañada College to help prospective students and their parents fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The workshops will be held Saturday, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon and Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Both workshops will be held in Building 9, Room 106.
Each workshop will include a line-by-line review of the FAFSA and an overview of financial aid eligibility and major programs. Spanish assistance is available.
New Book Club to Focus on Leadership
Group will begin meeting Feb. 10
A new book club - The Leadership Chronicles Book Club - will begin meeting every Wednesday starting Feb. 10 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Silent Room in the Library. The first book will be "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni. This bestseller helps readers understand the fascinating, complex world of teams. Lencioni's book serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight.
Beginning Feb. 1, people who purchase a copy of the book at the Cañada College Bookstore will receive 25 percent off the purchase price. The first eight people to sign up for the new club will receive 50 percent off the purchase price. To sign up for the club, e-mail Aja Butler at canstudentactivities@my.smccd.edu. The book club is sponsored by the Associated Students of Cañada College.
Chinese New Year Celebration
Performances on the amphitheater stage and Chinese food highlight the activities
The Office of Student Activities and the Associated Students of Cañada College will host a Chinese New Year Celebration on Thursday, Feb. 11 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. The celebration includes performances by Leung's White Crane Lion Dancers and the Chinese Performing Artists of America - the Flying Apsaras. Students can also enjoy a hands-on silk ribbon dance demonstration. Food includes shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork buns, pot stickers and other traditional Chinese food.
Blood Drive Set for Feb. 2-3
Bloodmobile will be parked in front of the theater
The Spring Semester blood drive will be held Feb. 2-3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Bloodmobile will be parked in front of the Main Theater. To schedule an appointment go to www.bloodheroes.com and click on "donate blood" and enter sponsor code "CanadaCollege". Appointments can also be taken at the Health Center, Building 22, Room 106. For more information, contact JoEllen at (650) 922-7343.
FACES OF CAÑADA
Peter Barbatis Accepts Position in Brooklyn NY
Margie Carrington Named Interim Dean of Student Services
Vice President of Student Services, Peter Barbatis, has accepted a tenured vice president’s position at a community college in Brooklyn. He will leave the college in mid-February. Barbatis has been with the college since July. He was instrumental in developing a new counseling model following severe state budget cuts. “Peter is going to be missed,” said President Tom Mohr. “He was extremely innovative in the face of massive budget cuts and his creativity allowed us to implement a new counseling model that helped serve students at the same level with fewer resources.”
Margie Carrington, a long-time employee at the college and the current Director of Financial Aid, has been named Interim Dean of Student Services. “We need someone to manage the day-to-day activities in Student Services and nobody on campus has a better understanding of Student Services than Margie,” Mohr said. Carrington will report to Vice President of Instruction, Sarah Perkins. Linda Hayes, Dean of Business, Workforce and Athletics, will oversee the Counseling Department in the interim. Mohr said a committee will be formed and a new Vice President will be hired by the end of Spring Semester.
Long-Time EOPS Counselor, Nonan Villanueva, Retires
Villanueva was a friendly face for students for more than 20 years
After starting at Cañada College as a part-time teacher in the English as a Second Language Program more than 20 years ago, Nonan Villanueva moved into the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services as a counselor and became the friendly face of the program.
“At Cañada, it has always been about the people and the noble intent of teaching and learning,” he said. “There have been some great educators at this college.”
He said working with EOPS students was a blessing. “The population is special in that they are low-income and most are the first in their family to attempt college,” he said. “Some have had limited success in prior education. When I say they are special this also relates to their desire. EOPS students want to succeed.”
Villanueva said he’s proud of the fact that, throughout 20 years, he continued to care about the students and his colleagues. “The environment has changed as the state has cut budgets for community colleges and that caring has diminished,” he said. “I’ll miss the students and my colleagues but it is a good time to retire.”
Enriquez Receives "Best Paper" Award
The paper details work he did with students using tablet computers
Amelito Enriquez, professor of mathematics and engineering, received the Best Zone Paper from the American Society for Engineering Education Zone IV (Pacific Southwest, Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain Sections). He received the award for his academic paper titled “Using Tablet PCs to Enhance Student Performance in an Introductory Circuits Course.” Enriquez originally presented the paper at the ASEE- Pacific Southwest Section where it won the conference Best Paper award in San Diego last March. The paper was the culmination of work Enriquez did for the Hewlett-Packard grants of 2005-06 and 2006-07 from which the college received more than $170,000 worth of equipment.
New iPhone Applications Class Popular with Students
Chuck Iverson is offering the class which teaches students how to build apps for popular phone
The next iPhone or iPodTouch application you use may be created by a Cañada College student. Chuck Iverson, professor of mathematics and computer science, is offering a new class this spring that teaches students how to build applications for the popular iPhone and iPodTouch. “The course is not for beginners,” Iverson said. “Students need to have some background in object-oriented computer programming.” The new class is CIS 680CB Programming for the iPhone. It is an introduction to programming the iPhone or iPodtouch. Iverson said the course had strong enrollments and he's anxious to see the work produced by students. More than 800 million applications were downloaded by iPhone users in the first eight months following the phone’s release.
Editor's Note: If you have ideas for the Faces of Cañada section of the online newsletter, please contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340 or by e-mail at hoodr@smccd.edu.
SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS
Summer LEAP Program Helps Students Prepare for College
Initial data collected is encouraging
Data collected from the 19 students involved in the summer LEAP Program (Leadership, Excellence, Achievement & Preparedness) shows that the program was successful in preparing new students for college. Students said that participation in the two-week LEAP Program helped them feel more comfortable with the academic rigors of college. In addition, they felt more confident about their first semester in college and they built strong peer connections. They were also more familiar with the campus and resources available to students. Participants in the Summer LEAP Program tested 23 percent higher in mathematics and slightly higher in writing on the college placement test.
"Romeo Garcia, Salumeh Eslamiah, and the staff involved in this program have done a tremendous job preparing these students for college," President Tom Mohr said. "Preparing new students to succeed in college is a top priority for the entire district and the Summer LEAP Program is an exemplary example of how this works."
The Summer LEAP is a two-week program that aims to instill leadership, excellence, and academic preparedness for incoming Cañada College students or for recent first-year College students who want a re-fresher on college success issues. Within this learning community, students receive an in-depth orientation to campus resources and what college life might look like for them. Students receive tips and strategies on how to successfully navigate through core courses in writing, mathematics, and other academic disciplines with the support of Summer LEAP faculty and counselors. Most importantly, students will have an opportunity to meet other first-year students, participate in cultural enrichment activities, hear from motivational speakers, and encourage one another to succeed in college.
Music Mentor Day Brings 100 Hillsdale High Students to Campus
Redwood Symphony musicians work with students to improve their skills
The Redwood Symphony hosted nearly 100 students from the Hillsdale High music program on Saturday, Jan. 23 for a mentoring session. The students worked directly with members of the orchestra in ensembles and had individual training with Maestro Eric Kujawsky. Each ensemble (two bands and a string orchestra) brought two pieces to work on: one recent and familiar, where they could concentrate on playing with a new conductor/interpretation and to further improve it, and one brand new and very hard piece to sight-read and then prepare for performance. “The kids seemed to be uniformly excited to be there,” said Kujawsky. “Their enthusiasm was energizing, which made the day fly by.”
Two Cañada Students Earn Accounting Scholarships
The $500 scholarships were awarded by CalCPA.org
Tiara Smith and Natalia Vasilyeva, two accounting students at Cañada College, have each received $500 scholarships from CalCPA.org, the statewide association of certified public accountants. Both students are planning to use the money to further their studies. “My goal is to get a BA degree in accounting,” said Smith. “I plan to transfer to Sacramento State to earn my degree and after that I’m considering pursuing my certified public accounting license.” Vasilyeva is a Russian immigrant who has been living in the U.S. for three years. She came to Cañada last spring to take English as a Second Language classes and study Accounting.
Robotics Club Members Teach Middle School Students Robotics, Programming
It's all part of the "Citizen Schools" after-school program
Cañada's Robotics Club worked for 10 weeks with students from the McKinley Institute of Technology who are participating in the after-school program "Citizen Schools." Thanks to members of the Robotics Club, 15 middle school students learned robotics and programming basics using LEGO NXT. They will showcase their final product and will give a presentation of what they learned during the semester. The Cañada College Robotics Club began last year and has been growing rapidly. The club experienced competitive success earlier this year when it defeated the De Anza College Robotics Club in a head-to-head competition.
Black History Month Event Focuses on Police Brutality
Discussion will be led by Professor James Taylor
James Taylor, associate professor politics at the University of San Francisco, will lead a discussion on police brutality in the black community as part of Black History Month at the college. The presentation will be held from 2 to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 3 in Building 3, Room 142. Taylor will explore the relationship between the African American community and the police. Students will also have an opportunity to discuss individual perceptions on the topic. Taylor's discussion is presented by the Office of Student Activities and it is sponsored by the Associated Students of Cañada College.
Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History
Photo and video exhibit will be on display in the Campus Gallery beginning Feb. 1
A photo and video exhibit "Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History" will be on display in the Campus Gallery, Building 9, Room 152, Feb. 1 through March 11. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. A special reception for the opening of the exhibit will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The photo and video exhibit is related to the book of the same name by San Francisco author, Tibet activist, and performance artist Canyon Sam. The exhibit includes the video "The Dissident," Sam's nationally-acclaimed one-woman performance inspired by her meeting with a young Tibetan nun freedom fighter. Also included in the exhibit are photos by the author and archival photos from the collection of Jigme and Rinchen Dolma Taring (author of Daughter of Tibet).
Editor's Note: If you have an idea for a student feature, contact Robert Hood at ext. 3340.
CAMPUS CALENDAR
Please see the EVENTS CALENDAR for the latest event listings.
Editor's Note: If you would like to submit an event to the Cañada Calendar of Events please contact Robert Hood at hoodr@smccd.edu.
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