2018 Fall Flex Day

Friday, August 10, 2018

Today’s sessions have been sorted into four different strands.

  • Building Connections & Community
  • Collaborating for Student Success
  • Innovations in Teaching & Learning
  • Know Your Campus

Continental Breakfast 7:30 am in OAB 114

You must sign in to receive credit for all flex sessions.

Most sessions are scheduled for one hour with a ten-minute passing period.

**Indicates a session is more than one hour

 

Sessions

Encourage Engagement with Flipgrid

OAB 273
Melinda (Mindy) Shirey, Business & Technology
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning

Bring your cell phone or tablet and experience social learning through a sample Flipgrid conversation. Flipgrid is likely unfamiliar to you, but it is easy to use, works across platforms, and comes with built-in tools to protect student privacy as well as comply with ADA standards. Instruction will include a how-to for embedding grids seamlessly into Canvas, which works well for both online and face-to-face environments as well as demonstrating the use of rubrics and optional grading techniques. You will see firsthand how Flipgrid engages participants while maintaining privacy and building equity. This session will provide both theoretical and hands-on approaches to engaging students. It’s video the way students use video: short, authentic, and fun! -Flipgrid.com

LGBTQ Cultural Competence Training

OAB 172
Jerry Thurston, Communication Arts; Alana Reed, DSP&S
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success
**8:00am-10:10am

This two-hour training offers attendees basic information on the needs and concerns of our LGBTQ campus population, a historically disenfranchised demographic. The training will offer basic terminology and several strategies toward becoming a caring, competent ally to the LGBTQ campus. All in attendance will receive a detailed resources pamphlet with on- and off-campus resources that will give detailed information toward making our campus climate safe and welcoming. Attendees will be offered the opportunity to sign a contract agreeing to be an ally to the LGBTQ community. Those doing so will receive a FCC Safe Space Ally sticker to display in the office space to identify themselves as a trained ally to whom someone in need can turn.

Resources Available for Students - Treasure Hunt

OAB 173
Julie Lynes, Counseling; Rebecca Benas, English; Leigh Ann Bane, Reading
Strand: Know Your Campus
**8:00am-10:10am

Back by popular demand, this walking treasure hunt will identify and explain many of the student services available on the FCC campus. Faculty will be divided into teams and provided clues to reach the next destination. The treasure hunt will include finding information specific to ten resources such as the Tutorial Center, Psychological Services, Student Activities, etc. Faculty teams will physically visit the areas and a small prize will be provided to the team that is first to successfully complete the treasure hunt. The activity will conclude with open dialog amongst faculty on how to introduce students to campus services on the first day of class and throughout the semester, ways to incorporate student services resources into a syllabus, and strategies on how to build student competency and comfort in using resources. This was the most raved about flex session last fall and faculty feedback included comments such as,

I have been at FCC for seven years and did not know where many of these services were.
This was the most useful activity I have ever participated in at Flex Day!
More people need to experience this!

The Winds of Change: Basic Skills, Multiple Measures, and AB 705

OAB 183
Donna Cooper, Library & Learning Support Services; Julie Preston-Smith, Counseling
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success

California Community Colleges have focused on meeting the needs of basic skills students for the last ten years through the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI). While these efforts have yielded some level of success, they have not provided the level of scalable successes necessary to address equity gaps. Over the last five years, research across the state and nation have shown dramatic, scalable success for students using multiple measures for placement, co-requisites, and noncredit. This session will show FCC’s recent data on the results of our full implementation of multiple measures as well as provide attendees with an overview of AB 705, an understanding of co-requisites, the role of noncredit in helping students be successful, and how all of these changes impact other courses and services at the college.

Title IX Basics – It’s Not All About Athletics

OAB 278
Sean Henderson & Lorraine Smith, Title IX Coordinators
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success

Title IX of the Education Code states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. What does Title IX protection mean? How does this affect faculty? Students? Staff? Fresno City College’s responsibility is to create a safe educational environment, prevent sexual misconduct, and respond to allegations of discrimination. All employees will be required to complete Title IX training this year. You can fulfill this requirement by attending this flex day presentation.

Canvas Tips and Tricks for Lab/Lecture Instruction

T-501
Bryan Lee & Tammy Camacho, Applied Technology
**9:10am-11:20am
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning

The Canvas Learning Management System is a powerful tool that has the potential to improve learning outcomes in lab/lecture courses. In this session, we will explore the use of rubrics, discussion groups, quiz banks, quiz features, and other intermediate to advanced features, all in the context of lab/lecture andragogy. In order to achieve maximum benefit from this training, you should already have developed basic comprehension and navigation skills in the Canvas Learning Management System.

Equity and Excellence: Accommodations

OAB 171
Stephanie Crosby, DSP&S
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success

It’s common knowledge that the college is required by federal and state laws to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. However, misunderstanding what the duty to provide reasonable accommodations can be is a source of concern. Some instructors worry that providing accommodations will force colleges to lower academic standards and foist onto society a generation of unqualified professionals, or simply compel faculty to violate their own concepts of fair treatment of all students. This session will discuss accommodations and how they impact instruction. Participants will learn about ways to partner with DSP&S regarding accommodations, how accommodations are determined, and what laws guide practice. Additionally, participants will discuss how accommodations can be integrated into instruction through universal design to provide the broadest access to all students. A disability studies lens will be used throughout this session to advance an understanding of accommodations as a way to promote access and student outcomes in courses.

FYI: Title V Cooperative Grant Project Updates

OAB 274
David Childers, Office of Instruction
Strand: Know Your Campus

As we wrap up the third year of the Title V Cooperative Grant Project, it is a great time to reflect on past accomplishments – and set our sights on what is to come over the final two years of the project. Come find out what services are available for faculty and staff, get updates on major grant initiatives, provide feedback on potential future initiatives, and ask any pertinent questions you might have. Topics may include, but are not limited to, technology infrastructure, professional development, course design, the SCCCD portal, and statewide technology initiatives.

Social-Emotional Intelligence: Tangible Equity

OAB 176
Jennifer Dorian & Shushanek Silvas, PASS Program
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning
**9:10am-11:20am

Intellectual intelligence is ranked as the pinnacle in intelligence, not only by higher education but also by common culture. However, research indicates the often-overlooked importance of social and emotional intelligence, which when honed and paired with intellectual intelligence, has the power to create engaging and equitable learning environments. There has been a recent push for intrusive interaction in students’ lives. This presentation prefers the term engaged interaction. In the midst of change within higher education, you may feel confused about how you can transform your connections with students to make equity tangible rather than just a word. This session will examine the intelligences behind the terms student equity and student engagement and identify which practices may be most suited to your teaching style and environment.
In the second hour of this session, we plan to meet in small groups or one-on-one with you as you develop plans to transform your interactions and classrooms using social and emotional intelligence. This is an opportunity to discuss ideas, ask questions, and discuss potential implementation plans with the presenters in a more relaxed environment. Research, anecdotes, theories, and practice will be discussed based on the needs of attendees.

Starfish Student Success Platform: An Introduction

BE 133
Kayla Mannon & Gerard Johnson, Counseling
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success

FCC students face barriers in reaching their educational goals. This is especially true for historically marginalized and underrepresented students. The Starfish Student Success Platform is an additional tool to assist us in identifying and removing barriers. It connects students, faculty, counselors, and campus support systems to improve student access, success, persistence, and retention. This session will cover key functions and benefits of Starfish. Early Alert is a convenient way to keep track of students and raises flags when we observe a pattern of behavior that concerns us, but also provides kudos when students are on the right track. Connect encourages students to engage more deeply in their academic lives, connecting them to people and resources by providing a case management and communication tool. Degree Planner, used by students and counselors to work with Student Educational Plans, checks progress towards goals, gives notifications of being off-track and can be useful for schedule planning. Implementation of the Starfish Student Success Platform will enhance the collaboration between Student Services and Instruction by providing an effective communication network focused on the student.

After this session, an open lab will be offered in BE 133 for those interested in exploring the Starfish software. The maximum allowable flex credit for the open lab is one hour, regardless of the actual time spent in the lab. Flex credit is not available for attendance less than 30 minutes.

Faculty Showcase with Instructional Technology

OAB 180
Kevin Scritchfield, Office of Instruction; Carolyn De Anda, Photography; Rebecca Benas, English; Aaron Pankratz, Economics; Sally Potter, EMLS/Linguistics; Teresa Tarazi, English
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning
**10:20am-12:30pm

Your fellow faculty members are using different tech tools and methodologies to enhance student learning and success in their face-to-face and online courses. Hear about how Aaron Pankratz uses quick, cell phone-based quizzes as a formative assessment tool to evaluate his students' understanding of his economics material enabling him to determine what he needs to reiterate in the next class meeting. Teresa Tarazi is using the built-in video recording tools within Canvas to provide personalized feedback to her students on their assignment submissions. Carolyn De Anda will be sharing how to use Blueprint Courses in Canvas. Sally Potter will be sharing about Open Educational Resources. And Rebecca Benas will be showing how she uses Turnitin as a formative assessment tool with her students. There will be several other instructors sharing their most innovative technological methodology. This will be a fun and fast-paced session where you can observe what other people are doing to reach their students!

Hand in Hand: Working with Interpreters

OAB 171
Tabitha Dubois, Stephanie Crosby, Kendra Cronk, & Kristen Del Rosario, ASL/DSP&S
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success

Our deaf and hard-of-hearing students often face unique challenges in the classroom that leave them at a disadvantage, which has a direct impact on success. While sign language interpreters are one of the primary resources for mitigating those challenges, the relationship between instructor and interpreter can either help or hinder that success. This session will share practical tips for working seamlessly with sign language interpreters, discuss the interpreters’ role, and provide insight into cultural elements that may impact the interpretation process. Myths and common misunderstandings will be addressed with an eye toward creating a positive experience for instructors and students in the classroom.

The Culturally Inclusive Classroom and Campus

OAB 278
Natasha Bibayoff, Human Services
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning

This session will orient attendees from all disciplines towards culturally responsive teaching practices. Attendees will participate in exercises that support the development of your classroom environment to reflect the diversity of the campus and community. You will gain an understanding of what a culturally inclusive classroom means and ways to move towards this by reflecting on the impact of one’s own course content, student assumptions, and societal identities. Ideas around pedagogy, instructional practice, course design, student engagement techniques, and teaching strategies will be discussed to create a more inclusive classroom and campus.

The Myth of Learning Styles

OAB 273
Mary Ann Valentino, Psychology
Strand: Innovations in teaching and Learning

The popular theory that students learn best if they are taught according to their learning style continues to be discredited by research evidence; however, teachers and students continue to hold on to the idea and perpetuate the myth. This session will explore the research that debunks learning styles and demonstrate an understanding of learning strategies that have been shown to be superior to strategies based on learning styles. This session is centered on pedagogy, instructional practice, and teaching strategies for improved student learning.

A Longitudinal Study: ETC, Course Success, and Closing Equity Gaps

OAB 183
Donna Cooper, Library & Learning Support Services; Ruby Sangha Rico, ETC
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning

Improving the academic performance of our basic skills students has been a pressing goal for educational institutions throughout our nation. Academic support services such as Extending the Class (ETC) provide a positive learning environment, enhance course content understanding, and generate a sense of belonging among student participants. Institutional Research has examined more than 5,000 students over the course of three years, displaying the relationship between the effectiveness of ETC usage and the success of our basic skills students. The presenters will demystify common ideas about their ability as well as their potential to be successful in transfer level courses. Presenters will also address improved success rates of disproportionately impacted student groups and show how equity gaps have been reduced by ETC usage. This session will speak to the ways in which ETC is impacting student success inside and outside the classroom.

A Taste of Culture and Language

OAB 271
Maribel M. Ternate & Nereyda Maroot, Foreign Language
Strand: Building Connections & Community

Fresno is a melting pot of many cultures and languages. The Spanish language has become one of the most popular foreign languages to learn because of the strong communities that share their heritage here in the Central Valley. Although Spanish is the official language of twenty-one countries in Latin America and Spain, there are still differences of which many people are not aware. This session will offer a glimpse of some of the differences (and similarities) between the Latino/Hispanic language and culture by comparing Spanish cuisine and Latino cuisine. For example, horchata from Mexico is not the same as horchata from Spain and a torta from Mexico is not the same as a torta from Argentina. Mini lessons will be presented to learn vocabulary and small samples of the cuisine will be shared to reinforce the understanding of how cuisine and vocabulary changes across Spain and Latin America.

FCC and CUE Partnership Progress

OAB 173
Ray Ramirez, Student Equity; Karla Kirk, African American Studies; Mary Ann Valentino, Psychology; Juan Guzman, English; Alex Adams, Institutional Research; Janice Wong, Student Activities
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success

In January 2017, Fresno City College and the Center for Urban Education (CUE) launched a two-year project to examine and better understand the state of equity at FCC with the goal of improving equitable opportunities and outcomes for our students. Our partnership begins with a range of data collection and reporting efforts. The overarching goal is to develop a working sense of where FCC is with regards to equity, what equity work is currently being undertaken, how FCC can advance that equity work going forward, and how CUE can support FCC in these efforts. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a comprehensive overview of our progress with Phase One as well as the trajectory of Phase Two. There will be a cross-functional focus on students, instructional faculty, and student support services professionals with regard to how the results (quantitative) and findings (qualitative) from Phase One can be used to inform institutional practice and professional development to improve opportunities and outcomes for underserved students.

What's Your Plan? Assessment Culture at FCC

OAB 274
Outcomes and Assessment Committee Members
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning

None of us wants to wait until program review to frantically mine and report assessment data. We want a culture of regular assessment and feedback that helps create a sufficient database from which we can plan for the future of our programs. The purpose of assessing course outcomes is to determine if students are learning what we want them to learn and to plan for the program accordingly. This session is intended to help you understand how your course design connects to the identified SLOs of the course and how you can plan and use assessment results to determine future needs of your programs.

Explore FCC Languages, poster

Sandra Cortes & Carmen Mata, Foreign Language
Strand: Know Your Campus

Do you know we teach nine different languages at FCC? They are Spanish, French, German, Hmong, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Armenian, and American Sign Language (ASL). The study of a foreign language is a must for students who are involved with programs such as the Police Academy, nursing program, and early childhood education. The rise of dual language schools in the Central Valley demonstrates how our community realizes the value of a second language. One of the benefits of learning a second language is building connections to our communities so students and professionals can achieve academic and professional growth in their careers. Let’s discover the power of languages!

How to Help Our Student Veterans, poster

Sylvia A. Sanchez, Veterans Resource Center
Strand: Building Connections & Community

The U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and our returning veterans are attending community colleges more than ever. This poster session will explain classroom strategies that will not only benefit veterans but other students who might also be coping with anxiety or panic. If we can reduce absenteeism, our student veterans add much to the classroom and, in return, are good additions to the workforce when they graduate.

What Do You Know about FCC International Students? poster

Janine Gonzales-Cerda, Lucely Rosas, Kathy Frary, International Students’ Program
Strand: Know Your Campus

Gain a better understanding of our international student population and collaborate with the International Student Program staff to help support international students on campus for their successful academic and personal pursuits.

eLumen Training

LI-207
Diane de Freitas & Kelli O’Rourke, Curriculum Committee
**1:30pm-4:30pm
Strand: Know Your Campus

eLumen is the new integrated college platform for curriculum, program review, and student learning outcomes (SLO) assessment. This training will focus on the curriculum management piece. All faculty planning to submit curriculum proposals fall 2018 and/or spring 2019 will need this training. Department chairs and curriculum committee members are also encouraged to attend to learn how to manage your roles in the workflow. You do not need to stay all three hours (minimum one hour for credit) but we ask that all participants start at 1:30pm.

Get Your Black Belt in Canvas & Other Resources

OAB 180
Kevin Scritchfield, Office of Instruction
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning

Online resources that focus on how to help faculty with their course materials and course design within Canvas will be explained. We will look at what is available to you in the Teacher’s Toolbox, Kung Fu Canvas, and The DEC-202 self-paced course. These items include videos and other helpful tools for you to learn how to submit your grades, how to create a screencast, how to use rubrics in your courses, and many other topics. These topics will also help you to look forward to opportunities such as submitting your online courses for the Online Education Initiative Course Exchange.

OER You Kidding Me?

LI-118
Sally Potter, Humanities
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning
**1:30pm-3:30pm

Interested in ensuring all your students have access to your course material? Tired of using publishers’ mediocre, overpriced content? Participate in this how-to discussion on Open Educational Resources (OER), which provide students access to course materials and a greater chance at success. Participants will have time to search through OER collections for materials that may be better aligned with our Course Outlines of Record than traditional publisher content.

The Real-World Classroom: Project-Based Learning

OAB 176
Jacqueline Williams, English; Melissa Long, English at Porterville College
Strand: Innovations in Teaching & Learning
**1:30pm-3:30pm

There is a tendency to assume project-based learning is just a student engagement strategy. While project-based learning is engaging for both the students and the instructor, it’s about deepening students’ understanding of the material and allowing them to practice the skills they will be called on to use when they leave academia and enter the workforce. Discover hands-on activities that address the affective domain by giving students the opportunity to lead, collaborate, and create in the classroom space. This session also details how classroom, learning-management, and personal technology are utilized in the completion of these projects and specifically addresses how to adapt these activities to an online classroom. The panelists will share how these activities are related to content-area skills and how they translate to skills in every class and in the workforce. According to numerous articles on the employment outlook for 2018, employers are seeking students with demonstrable communication, collaboration, creation, and design skills, and this presentation will help attendees design purposeful assignments to give students those desired experiences.

Using Survey Results to Increase Underserved Student Success

OAB 173
Ray Ramirez. Student Equity; Alex Adams, Institutional Research
Strand: Collaborating for Student Success
**1:30pm-3:30pm

In fall 2017, FCC participated in the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) Institutional Assessment Package (IAP). The IAP is a comprehensive assessment package for examining factors that influence underserved student success. The package includes three surveys designed to identify areas in need of enhanced attention for institutional practice and professional development. This presentation will share notable findings from the IAP and facilitate dialogue on some of our strengths and opportunities to improve outcomes of underserved students.