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Contact person: Katy Kilcrease, Building 1-103A, Ocala Campus, Ext. 1782 |
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"The Faculty 'Focus' on Impediments to Learning" by Kathy Kilcrease
"Interview with Amy Cantrell, Mathematics Instructor" by Joe Zimmerman, Communications
"Math Corner" try some fun math puzzles!
"What are We Reading Now?" by Sandy Pell, Teaching/Learning Center
"Fall Faculty Festival" by Kathy Kilcrease, Coordinator, Teaching/Learning Center
"Bertha Freeman - CFCC's 2002 Winner "
"Professional Deveopment Activity Reviews"
"Adjunct Junction"
"Dubliners - Enlightenment and Beyond " by John Simpson, Communications
"Teaching and Learning Mini-Grant Awards for Fall 2001" by Kathy Kilcrease
"Evolution" by Chuck Gonzales, Citrus Campus
State of Foreign Languages in Florida's Community Colleges" by Dr. Orlando Moreno, Communications
The Faculty "Focus" On Impediments to Learning
by Kathy Kilcrease, Coordinator, Teaching/Learning Center
“You've come a long way, baby!” could be the motto for CFCC as we look back over what's been
accomplished by the faculty and administration since our last Faculty Focus groups met in the Spring
of 1998. There still remain some impediments to learning, but all in all, most faculty agree that we're
moving in the right direction.
In September and October of 2001, all faculty were invited to participate in one of nine Faculty
Focus groups with Dr. Dassance, Dr. Cooper and Kathy Kilcrease, Coordinator of the Teaching/Learning Institute. The discussions centered on the following five questions/themes:
1. What impediments remain in achieving the learning goals of this college? Where do we go from here?
2. How do we implement the institutional outcomes we have developed? (Include discussion of
possible capstone annual theme to promote a holistic liberal arts experience amongst all disciplines.)
3. Proposed general education review: ask for ideas, reflection on revising the general education
program, and on applying the outcomes to general education.
4. Review the roles and responsibilities categories for discussion of service examples and expectations.
5. Look at the college vision statement for discussion of what we mean by the values expressed there (“shared values of integrity, service, responsibility and dignity”).
Plan for definition of those by entire college family.
The overall consensus was that the classroom environment continues to be an impediment to student learning. Lack of classroom and lab space, as well as poorly equipped classrooms, were some of the
concerns among faculty members. Lack of basic skills, poor career counseling and inadequate subject area preparation appear to be limiting student success in many classes.
Most agreed that an annual college wide theme was a good idea. If broad enough in scope, this could create a potent learning environment in which connections across the disciplines could be made. Suggestions for institutional outcomes assessment included longitudinal studies of student success in the workplace and at 4-year institutions, exit exams, portfolios, or possibly an interdisciplinary capstone course.
Additionally, most faculty agreed that it was time to review the General Education Core, suggesting that courses in the core should be aligned with our institutional outcomes. They also felt that students need a greater vision of the importance of having a general education background.
Most faculty are familiar with the faculty roles and responsibilities and are getting better at looking at the broad spectrum of things that they do, realizing that their focus may change each year. It was emphasized that the PDP's are basically done for self-directed improvement.
The consensus of the faculty was that we have a college-wide discussion of the values in the college's vision statement. We possibly need to define, conceptualize, or provide examples of each of the values. Some suggested that our values could be part of our college-wide yearly theme.
A complete report to the faculty was sent out at the end of the fall term. During the January 2nd Faculty Colloquium, Dr. Dassance reviewed the findings and discussed the actions that have been or will be taken.
Interview with Amy Cantrell, Mathematics Instructor
by Joe Zimmerman, CommunicationsHello Amy. And congratulations on getting your Ph.D.
Thank you.
Tell us about teaching. How long have you been at it?
I've been teaching ever since I was a master's student at Winthrop University. I taught at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte which is a big community college in that area.
You hadn't received your master's and you were teaching college level?
I don't think it was generally done. But somehow I snuck in. I was tutoring somebody who was teaching there, so they figured I must be OK.
You teach calculus and statistics-very difficult subjects. How do you do it?
I'm pretty much a lecturer. It's very boring. With math, there's not enough time to cover the material, let alone do fun stuff.
What about your statistics class?
That's different. I'm doing some stuff on CD's, video presentations. I'm getting some PowerPoint lectures together. It's more conceptual, not so much the nitty-gritty, how you calculate the formulas, like in calculus. Like I said, that's just lecture.
Yes, but your students speak highly of you, so you must be doing something right. They wouldn't want to take your classes if you were boring. Why do they like you so much?
I'm just funny. I'm laid back. Nothings gets me angry.
Nothing?
Well, I do have one peeve. People yakking in my class.
What do you do then?
Usually I just shut up until they shut up.
You don't give them the bad eye?
Yeah but that doesn't always work.
Your exams are legendary…
They're impossible. (Laughs). This last test I gave, I posted online so they had a week to look it over before they came in and did it.
How did that work out?
Pretty well, except some people in the class didn't even look at it at all. The scores, out of 20, ranged from 1.25 to 19.5.
You give fractional points?
Yeah, to be completely fair about it, I told them 'I'll give you one point if you get it all right, three quarters if you got most of it right, half if you were sort of on the right track, and a quarter if you wrote anything that
remotely made sense.' I write hard tests because I expect a lot from my students. And, well, no matter how hard it is, I'm a statistician so it's all very much scaled to the particular class. So if I write a harder test one semester than I wrote the previous
semester, that doesn't affect the grade that they get.
How do you reach the student who is trying hard but just not getting it?
I do a lot of one on one. I spend a lot of time in the math lab. I wander by there all the time. During my office hours I'll just post a note on my door and tell people they can find me in 7-105-I'm in the lab. If they're willing to come to me, I'm willing to do almost anything.
They're willing to do a lot for you, too. Somebody told me that to pass your class they had to clean your barn. Tell me about that.
What!? (Laughs) That was completely a lie! (Laughs)
Completely?
They had already passed the class.
I see…
That was a present to me because I did an independent study last summer-which we don't get paid for-for
several students who needed Cal 3 to graduate.
They did the class work, and then they cleaned your barn?
Actually, one of them even mowed my whole yard-3 acres.
And you're quite sure that was after...
Quite sure it was after I turned in their grades.
Absolutely. (Laughs)
The Math Department has an excellent website which you put together. Let's talk about yours. You post your teaching philosophy up there and make it very clear to your students what's expected of them.
I think that's a good idea. You make it very clear what your role is, and then you make it very clear what is
expected of the student
Let's take a look. (Brings it up on the screen. Reads.)
"It is your job to: Attend class; Read the material.(once before lecture, once after); work problems; ask questions; get extra help if needed and earn the grade that you earn." I stress that last one a lot-Teachers don't give grades, students earn them.
You have some interesting personal stuff up there on your "About Me" page.
My students comment about that a lot. At the beginning of the semester, I give them an assignment, that is, to check out my web pages, so I know they can maneuver through them if I post things that they have to go get. Then I ask for their comments-what they liked, what they want to see. And they always comment on the personal stuff. Maybe they like to know that their geeky teacher likes to do more than solve math problems
You have pictures of all your pets up there, don't you?
Yep. All ten. Three horses, two dogs, five cats.
It sounds like those students who cleaned your barn were busy. Seriously now. You require students in your regular classes to go online?
Yes. The good thing about the math department is that all students have access to a computer, and they don't have to pay.
Starting this semester, as a matter of fact, there is no fee to use the computers in Building 3.
Excellent. So there's no reason now not to require online material in any class.
Tell us about a teaching problem you face on a regular basis.
A lot of times with the math courses students aren't as prepared for the class as they should be when they get there. In calculus, for example, if they didn't understand pre-calculus, they come into my class at an extreme disadvantage. You know, they passed pre-calculus, but they got a 'C' in it and squeezed by. But I expect them to know pre calculus backwards and forwards…
But if they got a soft 'C' they don't…
They don't. And a lot of times, my biggest problem is, how do I convince people that they're not ready. I mean I try, but there are some who need to take a semester and work to get those skills. And they're not willing to do that. It's the same in algebra. The pre-req for that is 1033, and lots of students squeak by that and have a hard time in regular algebra. We have a much more difficult time over here than a lot of other departments.
So what do you do besides teach people math and
statistics?
I'm thinking about taking horticulture. That's the other thing I love to do, besides horses and animals, is garden.
Well you're going to love Bob DuMond's class.
I hope so. I might try to get that A.S. degree while I'm here. Not that I'm going anywhere
I think of you whenever I see your car parked on the oval. How many miles does your Volvo have on it?
Two hundred and eighty something (thousand)...
The color is unique.
Shenandoah green. It's a '76 I love that car. Soon I'll be driving the Studebaker…
I saw a picture of that truck on your site. Nice wheels.
Amy, thanks for the interview.
My pleasure.
To see Amy's web site: Click "About CFCC" on the
college Home page. Scroll down to Instructional Divisions and click "Mathematics." Then click her name under "Faculty and Staff." Her "About Me" page contains
photos of her animals, Studebaker, and her computer art.
Answer these questions-you may receive a score of 0, 1, or 2.
E-mail your answers to smiths@cfcc.cc.fl.us
You are all mathematical-Have Fun-Do Not Cheat! Win a Prize!
1. Fork in the road: A woman is walking through a town whose inhabitants either always tell the truth or
always lie. She comes to a fork in the road and does not know whether the left or right road leads to her destination. What can she ask a passerby so that she can deduce the correct choice?
2. Alphabet: A letter of the alphabet is randomly
selected. What is the probability that the letter chosen does not occur in the name of a month? Express your answer as a common fraction.
Good Luck!
What are We Reading Now?
by Sandy Pell, Teaching/Learning Center
Richard Kirk found The Broken Tower: The Life of Hart Crane an interesting read: "The life and work of the troubled poet Hart Crane is detailed in this work by Paul Mariani. An Ohio native, Crane found his muse in New York City, and was inspired to publish his masterwork The Bridge in 1930. Centered on the Brooklyn Bridge, Crane's series of poems attempted to explore the theme of a vibrant America. Crane used his work to portray a positive image of mankind, in reaction to the perceived negativity of his contemporary T.S. Eliot. Yet, in his personal life, Crane was unable to find peace from the toil of everyday existence and he took his own life at age 32. The book also provides a background for the literary and cultural life of New York City in the 1920's and early 1930's."
Ron Cooper has been a very busy bookworm-Here's what he has read in the past few months:
Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius, by Ray Monk. "Although his written work was scant (he published only one slim volume during his lifetime) Wittgenstein was, in the estimation of many, the most important philosopher of the 20th century. Born to one of the richest families in Europe, he renounced his birthright to teach in a one-room, rural primary school (while living in the school's kitchen). This bizarre character, who was tormented by feelings of worthlessness throughout his life, came to associate with and influence such Cambridge luminaries as G.E. Moore, John Maynard Keynes, and especially Bertrand Russell, who secured a spot for Wittgenstein on the Cambridge faculty (despite having no degree!). This is an excellent example of scholarly biography; Monk understands Wittgenstein's complex thought as well as his equally complex personality."
Grimus, by Salman Rushdie. "This first novel written by the renown author of Midnight's Children and The
Satanic Verses, despite some inchoate stylistic devices that would be more fully articulated in the later works, gives little indication, in my opinion, of the literary genius that would flower in subsequent novels. Read it only if you adore Rushdie and can't bear to think that he's written something that you haven't read."
The Water is Wide, by Pat Conroy. "This is the book upon which the film Conrack, an early vehicle for Jon Voight, was based. Before Conroy became famous for his fiction (e.g., The Lords of Discipline, Prince of Tides), he was a schoolteacher who volunteered to teach the local children on a tiny South Carolina sea island (not far from where I grew up). Conroy's unorthodox and at times desperate methods to make a difference in the lives of these impoverished children only drew the ire of the school administrators, who didn't want to be reminded of their neglect of this all-black community. Unfortunately, those children lost a dedicated teacher when Conroy was eventually fired; fortunately we all gained a talented writer."
Beach Music, by Pat Conroy. "This recent novel is from the same Conroy above. I read his Lords of Discipline about twenty years and although I enjoyed it, I wasn't overly impressed by his literary skill (but what did I know, a smart aleck college kid?). I very much enjoyed this novel about a travel/food writer living in Rome who returns to his dysfunctional family in South Carolina when his mother is near death."
The Pony Fish's Glow, by George C. Williams. "You can understand natural selection only by
exploding the myth that all living things are perfectly adapted to their environments. Living creatures are, by necessity, adapted to their environments but often in jury-rigged ways that any engineer would find cumbersome and inefficient. Williams shows that many of the commonly used examples of natural 'design' are actually supreme illustrations of the lack of a designer in nature, indeed a hit-and-miss crap shoot (e.g., the human eye, whose backwards photocells create a blind spot). This non-technical book is accessible to those with even no training in science (such as the creationists who need to read it most, but probably won't)."
The Iliad, by Homer. "I've read the Iliad a number of times, but this was the first time in the Robert Fagles translation. You can put this one alongside your
Lattimore and Fitzgerald-it's really that good. And in this Penguin edition, you get a magnificent foreword by the eminent classicist Bernard Knox that's practically a short course in Homeric studies."
Fall Faculty Festival
by Kathy Kilcrease, Coordinator, Teaching/Learning Center
The morning of our Fall Professional Development Day on October 10 was a "festival" of faculty fun and
sharing. Not only did we hear about the professional development opportunities available to us, but also
being allowed to sit "at the tables of our choice," we were able to reconnect with colleagues with whom we normally have little contact.
After a solemn moment as everyone stood to take part in the Pledge of Allegiance, Dr. Harold Jaye, emcee for the day, got things off to a light start with his quick wit and wonderful sense of humor. He introduced Steve MacKenzie, who enthralled us with pictures of his Alaska adventures, and John Mathews, who awed us with his insights on the Middle East. Both Steve and John are Endowed Chair recipients who have used the opportunities afforded by their Endowed Chairs to enhance their knowledge and effect greater student learning in their respective fields.
A few of the faculty who have participated in the Summer Fantasy Workshops then gave us some examples of what could be accomplished in a short, four day summer workshop. Linda Smith presented her creative "Pharmacology's Greatest Hits" and Jack Thursby and Robin Seymour found humor in their attempt to collaborate in preparing "Art in Children's Literature-A Collaborative Venture." Jean McCauley and Bob DuMond presented the web sites that they had constructed for their respective projects, Jean for her "Physical Therapy Assistant Program," and Bob for his "50 Most Popular Plants of Marion County."
The morning ended with concurrent sessions given by Deanna Stentiford on "The Adult Learner" and Jana Bernhardt and her panel on "Infusing Diversity Across the Curriculum." Both were well received by those who attended.
Some comments on the day from evaluations were "great for the faculty to be brought up to speed on wonderful things," "well presented and instructional," "need more time for dialog on subjects," "it helped me dream about possibilities," and "great sharing and learning."
Hopefully, we were all inspired to try something new and enhance student learning by developing our own talents.
Congratulations to Bertha Freeman
CFCC's 2002 winner for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Technology
Nominated and selected by her peers, Bertha will be honored at the 13th Annual International Conference on College Teaching and Learning in Jacksonville, Florida, April 9-13, 2002.
Bertha's presentation will be on "Using Multimedia Instructional Materials to Teach Human Anatomy." In part, her discussion will include the use of computer probeware and software, as well as video camcorders and digital cameras as they are employed to connect students to the materials, hands-on activities, and testing.
Summer at SCAD Came, and Still Is, Highly Recommended
by Michelle Wirt, Citrus Humanities
Among the myriad concurrent sessions offered by the Savannah College of Art and Design for its Summer Art Educators Forum, the June 2001 Product Design seemed like an appropriate choice, along with a session on Historic Savannah, for an instructor of both design and humanities courses.
The conceptualization process during the early stages of the Product Design sessions was the best part of that workshop. Instructor Bob Fee, formerly of Texas Instruments, had the six of us teacher/students write down a memorable meal, a fictional character, and a cartoon character. We traded at random and ended up with a set of parameters for designing eating utensils to suit the meal and the guests.
Some of the resulting designs were a wooden Maya Lin salad set, complete with inscriptions; a plastic "pizza grabber" for the discerning Miss Marple and her dining partner the Wizard of Id; and a metal set of faux paleo stabbing implements for James Bond (Sean, not Roger or Pierce) and the Road Runner as they dined on
Wildeswine.
The shop where we tooled out our wares, after making styro models, was where we spent the majority of the rest of the sessions, tooling it out against an approaching deadline for Friday night's exhibit at the DeSoto Hilton.
As with most historic Southern cities, Savannah is eclectic, cosmopolitan, and intimate all at once. During the Historic Savannah afternoon workshops, (although workshop is a misnomer here), we visited Forsythe Park; the Owens-Thomas house, a must-see for anyone interested in period architecture (complete with its own cistern, rare for ca. 1800); and the Mercer house, which was featured in the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, one of the nightly Savannah-based films shown at our dorm, referred to by Savannians as O'House. The town square features a bronze by D.C. French of founder John Oglethorpe, who still presides there but with tacit authority. The oldest tree in town is situated near a similarly archival hospital, complete with Confederate underground tunnel.
The stairs out at the Lighthouse on Tybee Island were a marvel of calf muscle stimulation, especially when you consider the story, told by historian and guide Marlborough Packard, of the trips up and down made by the keeper with 2 large buckets of oil each day.Colonial Park Cemetery was unique for its "oven tombs," looking for all the world like the crematories which were undoubtedly necessary for the outbreak of Yellow Fever which killed 700 in ca. 1800 Savannah; but we learned that this was not the case.
The Art Educators Forum at SCAD, compared with many chaotic and haphazard experiences at other national and international conferences, was highly organized and hospitable to a fault. It came highly recommended, and still is!
Florida Philosophical Association
by Ron Cooper, Humanities & Social Science
On November 9, 2001, I attended the Forty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, hosted by Stetson University in DeLand. This academic organization is one of the oldest and largest philosophical associations in the country. Because of recent changes in the membership policy, the FPA has rapidly grown in the past several years. This year's meeting was well attended despite travel budget cuts across the state, and more papers were read than at any FPA conference that I remember. (I have attended, with few exceptions, since 1988.)
I had added the pleasure to serve as a referee for submissions, to chair a session, and to attend the Past Presidents'/Nominating Committee Meeting.
A variety of topics were represented in the papers. There were a number of papers on the history of philosophy (especially ancient), several on epistemology (as always), and quite a few directly or indirectly on philosophy of mind (one of the hottest philosophical topics of the past couple of decades). More practical concerns were also discussed. Ellen Klein of Flagler College, who spoke on feminism at CFCC two years ago through a TLI mini-grant, discussed some disturbing legal cases threatening academic freedom. New and refreshing features (done for the first time two years ago) on the agenda were
symposia/author's panels. Two FPA members who recently published books heard and then responded to panels' remarks about their books. My favorite of the papers I heard was "A Husserlian Critique of Ibn Sina's Account of Intention" by Marina Banchetti-Robino of Florida Atlantic.
Many would agree with me that, however exciting the formal agenda of such conferences, the informal
discussions between sessions attracts us to these gatherings even more. Not only do we see old friends from past conferences, but also our attention often turns to the state of teaching, especially undergraduate. We discussed common gripes, many of which are not unique to philosophy. (Students won't read the assignments.
Plagiarism is rampant. Software for classroom use in philosophy is of poor quality. The Internet is filled with garbage. Students in ethics classes refuse to take ethical reasoning seriously-besides, when did they all turn into right-wingers?) Other discussions included on-line philosophy classes (everyone with whom I spoke
opposed them-two had tried and vowed never to do so again), the attempt to attract more minority students (a long-time concern, but things are much better lately), and, of course, how to use recent tragic events to
promote philosophical discussion in the classroom on the nature of war, the justification of religious belief,
and the responsibilities of citizenship. During one such chat, an interesting discussion followed concerning the degree to which the professor must follow the syllabus. Can I spend several class meeting pursuing philosophical issues raised by current events, or must I stick to the "contract" and complete chapter three?
Most important about such discipline-specific conferences is the intangible stimulation the participant brings home. Not all may agree, but I think that most of us (the notable exceptions are probably those with degrees in education) ended up in our academic careers because of love for the subject we now teach. I went to graduate school to study philosophy because philosophy was my passion, not because I thought I would teach someday. Somewhere along the line, thankfully, I grew to love teaching as well, but I am not sure that I love teaching per se, although I'm not sure that any of us can make a clear distinction between teaching and teaching-what-we-teach. If somehow philosophy and religion were no longer allowed to be taught (hey, this is Florida), I don't know whether I would wish simply to pick up some other subject. In any case, at such a conference I spend a day or two with others who are in love with the same thing that I am. The value of that experience is immeasurable.Florida Communication Asssociation
by Vi Asmuth, Communications
The 71st annual convention of the Florida Communication Association was held in Ft. Lauderdale on October 18-20. I have been active in this association most of my career in the communications field (one of the old warhorses). It is always rewarding to renew professional contacts with my peers around the state. The number of attendees this year was smaller than usual, but the programs were excellent.
A major theme in the speech communication field is intercultural communication. There were two programs on this theme, plus additional papers that mentioned it under different titles. In my teaching at CFCC, I have
encountered many students who have grown up in the Central Florida area and have had little exposure to
other cultures, thus lacking basic knowledge about the historical background and traditions of other people. As a result of the convention, I plan to change the symposium assignment in my Effective Speaking course
from researching and presenting a society problem to researching a country. The former topic is also important, but students will still have experience in researching society problems in their persuasive speeches.
A new problem (at least to me) was presented by a professor from Embry-Riddle. There is a lack of guidelines for standardized spoken English in the global aviation community. Many foreigners come to the U.S. to train as pilots (as we all learned on 9/11/01). Depending where the student receives aviation training, pilots may receive a license even if not proficient in English. It is even more of a problem when pilots for airports have limited English proficiency. Many documented accidents have occurred due to poor English communication skills.
The highlight of the convention was an optional tour of NBC's TV station that serves the Miami and Fort Lauderdale market. The building is only one year old and has state-of-the-art equipment. I took time to describe the station to my students and encourage those who have expert computer skills to consider TV broadcasting as a career. The weekend was a rewarding experience, and I appreciate the T/LC funds.
Adjunct Junction -- Tales and Tips for Staying on Track
written by and for our Adjunct Faculty Members
Teaching as Therapy - Who Knew?
by Jan Moose, Communications
I've never considered teaching as therapeutic-fulfilling and gratifying perhaps, and even fun, but not necessarily therapeutic. I'll get back to this idea later because right now I'd like to whine. No one is supposed to whine anymore, so this will be just a little whine about my plight.
As if the world didn't tip the wrong way on its axis and bring terror and dread enough to all of us on September 11, that little tropical storm Gabrielle on September 14 finished off whatever sense of personal security I had left. I live surrounded by water oaks and they are majestic and lovely and helpful with shade-that is until one of them turns on you. A really big old boy did just that during the storm and crashed his way into my living room. Now when I look back on the ensuing mayhem, I'm not sure if it was mass chaos or slapstick comedy. The folks who came to help really pitched in. Some ran wildly with buckets trying to keep up with rain pouring in, while others pulled rugs and furniture to safety. My favorite scene was of a great, tall policeman hustling down my hall with fragile figurines in each hand, yelling for us all to hurry before the ceilings fell on our heads. Anyway, it was by any standard a long and terrible night. However, by noon the following day a tree company had pulled the oak off my house, my son had slapped a tarp on the gaping hole in the roof, specialists in restoration had arrived, and we had quit calling each other Chicken Little.
It has now been several weeks, and I'm telling myself it is time to turn my whine into patience and gratitude. With patience my house will get fixed and with it my sense of security will return. With gratitude, I continue to reach students who give me quiet assurance because they are what they should be in these times, I.e. still hopeful, maddening, brash, endearing, idealistic and funny. This is why teaching them is therapeutic.
Dubliners -- Enlightenment and Beyond
by John Simpson, Communications
Thanks to the CFCC Foundation via an Attie Brannan Revolving Chair and with great help from the T/LC, I traveled on an August sabbatical to Dublin, Ireland to research two major areas covered in my world literature courses-The Book of Kells and Jonathan Swift- for World Literature I and II.
My contacts before the trip were Trinity College and University College libraries, respectively
departments of Early Print Books and Special Collections.
At Trinity is the Early Print Books department, where the largest original collection of Swift's works are housed. This department had plastic gloves available; foam rests for the books, and leaded string weights to hold pages down, as well as acid-free notepaper and the prohibition of any pens to take notes with-pencils only. With permission, one can order any of the books and view them as needed. The most interesting one was a poem written by Jonathan Swift and sold for one shilling to crowds at large in Dublin. It was portfolio size and was titled "The Life and Genuine Character of Doctor Swift," a recitation of his life filled with, of course, ironic humor. Other titles which are not in any of the literary anthologies are "The Beast's Confession to the Priest," in which Swift makes the point that by associating with men, beasts can
degenerate into acting just like them; and "An infallible Scheme to Pay the Public Debt of the Nation (Ireland) in Six Months," in which he hypothesizes a tax on fornication and drinking wll do the job handily.
Another interesting item of information about Swift is his long reign as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. This is where he wrote on behalf of the Irish people under the pseudonym of Mr. Drapier in the collection known as the Drapier letters. In these articles is where "A Modest Proposal" was first published. Swift is buried at this church, along with one of the two loves of his life, Stella Johnson.
Also at Trinity The Book of Kells is housed in a building to itself and is placed under very thorough protection, so that it may be seen but not touched. The reason is its rarity and age; it is the oldest hand lettered and artistically rendered monastery manuscript depicting the four
Gospels of the New Testament. Written in the 9th or 10th century,
it is also the most complete manuscript surviving of its type. One interesting fact about Kells is the monks were more interested in the artistic level of the book than the text, as there are numerous errors in the Biblical text, including one page that was copied over twice. The display of the Book is done in a studio of indirect lighting with greatly enlarged photographs of the various pages on walls which surround the actual book, lying in a glass-topped atmosphere-controlled counter where the pages are turned one at a time each week to depict different views. Studying in Dublin afforded a view of other times and eras, one a very early Christian one and one of the age of enlightenment, both hearkening back to a period when an expression of faith and dedication to others were the highest goals people could attain.
Teaching and Learning Mini-Grant Awards for Fall 2001
by Kathy Kilcrease, Coordiantor
Teaching and Learning Center
This fall 10 faculty members took advantage of the opportunity to apply for instructional mini-grants sponsored by the Teaching/Learning Institute to "foster continuous improvement in teaching and learning." Nine proposals were submitted; the Teaching/Learning Steering Committee approved eight, either wholly or in part, and one was redirected to a different funding source.
The following projects were approved for funding:
1. Funding provided for the development of interactive CD's and the purchase of cable and crimper sets for the Networking Lab. The CD's will be used for interactive learning of networking theory and the hands on labs will generate real life experiences in preparing network cabling. Submitted by Debora Towns and Lori Kielty, Business & Technology.
2. Purchase of a digital camera and related equipment to be used in developing a picture guide of skills for
the EMS students. This will allow the EMS students to review techniques in order to enhance their skill
performance and will also provide a standard model for successful skill completion. Submitted by Wayne
Ramsey, Health Occupations.
3. Funding of an Educational Workshop for Adjunct Instructors in the EMS programs. The workshop is
designed to update learning materials to reflect the latest concepts of the new Paramedic National
Curriculum. The grant will cover funding of honorariums for the participants and the cost of printed
materials. Submitted by Robert Pope, Health Occupations.
4. Purchase of CD's and development funds for the project "Fiddler's, Farmers, and Folks Back Home:
Traditional Music in Early Florida." The goal of the project is to acquaint students, faculty, and community members with a variety of different types of traditional music once popular in the area in which they now live. Submitted by Sarah Satterfield, Fine Arts.
5. Purchase of additional software to be used in the Spanish lab. The software will allow for student review and tutoring of grammatical concepts, thus reinforcing what has been taught in class. Submitted by Judy Haisten, Communications.
6. Funding of a proposal to partner with N.H. Jones Elementary to bring Meagan McDonald, noted children's author, to our campus on April 23rd. The target audience will be the Children's Literature Class LIT 2330, but the presentation will also be open to other CFCC students and the general public. Submitted by Robin Seymour, Communications
7. Funding of development and revision of modules for the Florida Waters online course. The new modules will allow students to experience updated and more content-efficient modules and will offer more online specific resources to the students. Submitted by Barbara Deisch, Science.
A total of $4928.45 was awarded by the Teaching/Learning Steering Committee, leaving a little over $10,000 available for spring term proposals. The deadline for these will be February 8th.
For more information on project submissions, call Kathy or Sandy at the TLC, ext 1782 or 1708.
Picture a butterfly in its erratic course searching for nectar, drawn by certain colors and shapes in flowers. Now, identify with that flower which has evolved to attract that butterfly to help propagate its own species in the ongoing battle for survival. Consider all the possible changes and developmental directions to this flowering plant. How does one know what will be best? What shape or nuance of color does one develop? Understanding the slow, ever-evolving processes that have brought one to the present and will carry one to the future, or to decline, would help one better comprehend the doctoral research of one of our science educators at CFCC.
Jim Millen, Citrus Campus science instructor, is looking closely at the factors affecting the implementation and the use of technology in teaching biology courses in Florida's community colleges. He knows
the influence and rapid-paced advancement of technology in the world. He wonders how to attract and teach science students. Like the butterfly and the flowering plant, the relationship of science student and
science instructor, and for that matter, the educational institution, should be mutually beneficial.
Jim notes that students are constantly immersed in Hollywood glitz, MTV music videos, and fast-paced
television commercials. The movement to make communication a multimedia presentation is upon us.
Instructional technology has been suggested as an avenue to improve science education. Recently, although not a new idea for some, it has been demonstrated that for a significant number of students, learning occurs more readily if the material is presented visually as compared to verbally. Visual presentation is what multimedia is all about.
Jim's doctoral program research involves an investigation into how multimedia and the Internet are or are not being used in the teaching of biology courses at the community college level in the state of Florida.
Jim knows that in spite of the growing number of educators using technology, no comprehensive picture is available as to the extent of its use in teaching biology in the community colleges. He will specifically discover how multimedia and the Internet are used to teach community college biology students in Florida.
In the process of his research, Jim will also determine to what extent Florida's community college biologists
are using multimedia and the Internet as part of their teaching arsenal. A secondary objective is to explore
students' perceptions of the use of technology in their learning environment. Finally, he also hopes to provide some rationale that can be used to encourage community colleges to provide support to their instructors who
want to implement technology into their classrooms and laboratories.
Jim revealed that some of Florida's community colleges have a written technology plan in place, and one of the goals of his research will be to see if the biology instructors are taking advantage of such a plan. Furthermore, his research should identify schools that do not have a plan. Jim should be able to show those instructors that are motivated enough to add technology on their own as well. He offered, "My intent is not to judge the instructors on whether they use technology or not, but to get an idea of the factors that affect their use or non-use."
It is hoped that the result of Jim's study will provide information regarding factors affecting the use of multimedia and the use of the Internet in Florida's community colleges and that their biology instructors will be able to use this information in their technological planning. Jim is optimistic that a portrait of factors which encourage or inhibit the use of technology, as well as the relationship among these factors, will provide a profile of what each instructor and college will need to do in order to provide this resource for its students.
The evolutionary processes are underway in education, and Jim Millen is taking a close look at his and other
biology instructors' parts in the scheme of things. We look forward to his results, to his snapshot of the current use of technology in the teaching of biological sciences from the time continuum of educational advancement, and we wonder what influence he will have.
State of Foreign Languages in Florida's Community Collegesby Dr. Orlando Moreno, Communications
Foreign languages in our educational system have always been a much-discussed issue. The present emphasis on multi-cultural education and the proliferation of international markets have increased the interest in multi-cultural awareness and foreign language instruction. These areas are presently an important topic of discussion on the local and state levels.
On the Florida Community College level, it appears that credit foreign language courses are available to prospective students at least on a limited basis. Perhaps this could be attributed in part to the state university system admission requirement of two years of sequential foreign language study in high school or eight to ten semester credit hours of community college/higher education foreign language instruction.
This statewide research shows that, as expected, Spanish is the foreign language most offered in the Florida
Community College System, followed by French as a distant second. Other foreign languages are offered, for the most part, on a need basis depending on the location and size of the community college. For instance, Greek is offered on a regular basis at St. Petersburg Junior College and Pensacola Junior College where there are a substantial number of individuals residing in communities with Greek ancestors and/or customs.
A disturbing finding in this study is that many community colleges are employing mostly adjunct faculty to teach foreign languages, especially when having to replace retiring full-time faculty. In fact, several community colleges rely entirely on adjunct faculty to teach all foreign language courses offered by their respective institutions. On the other hand, some community colleges are to be commended for their initiative in hiring full-time faculty who are qualified to teach in more than one foreign language or combine a foreign language and another academic area.
Although it may be cost effective for community colleges administrators to hire adjuncts instead of full-time foreign language faculty, it is hoped they realize that no matter how efficiently adjuncts perform, their institutions do not have a true foreign language program until they employ full-time faculty to teach and coordinate their foreign language
programs.
