Published by the CFCC Teaching/Learning Institute.
Contact Person: Jim Roe, Building 3,Room 117J
Ocala Campus, Extension 1782 or 1708

Vision Statement
Energetic, purposeful, creative, Central Florida Community College
promotes learning in an open, caring, inclusive environment which encourages
individual and community development inspired by shared values of
integrity, service, responsibility and diginity

From October 2008 through early March 2009, CFCC is embarking on an innovative community awareness project. The Empty Bowls project, a concept originating in North Carolina and already fifteen years old, is focusing the college’s attention on the issues related to food and hunger and has gained wide support from many CFCC stakeholders. The Learning Theme has organized a presentation on local activism, the newly formed Office of Service Learning has featured the project for instructors looking for ideas and projects to engage their students, the Office of Instruction and the CFCC Foundation has helped fund the raw materials necessary to produce the bowls, and International Education Week is featuring the concept in one of its noon hour seminars.

Jillian Ramsammy, director of the Hampton Center and the chairperson of the Council for Diversity and Global Understanding, is the impetus behind the current effort. She has organized the funding, marketing and human capital necessary to produce a program that will result in a recreated soup line in early March. Prior to the signature event in March, bowl making studio sessions at various CFCC locales are being conducted where the unfired bowls, paints and glazes will be made available to students, faculty and staff  Faculty and staff can participate either by signing up their classes for a previously scheduled studio session or by calling Teresa at 873-5881 to schedule a separate session.

In the end more than 500 bowls will be gathered, painted and fired.

On March 3, 2009, community members, for a minimum donation of $10, will gather on campus for a simple meal of soup and bread served in a food-safe empty bowl. All proceeds will be redirected to selected agencies in Marion, Citrus and Levy counties that have been distinguished by their service to the hungry of CFCC’s service area.

Service learning activities are underway in the technical writing and Career Academy courses of Sandra Cooper and Patrick Fleming respectively. Cooper’s class has created informational fact sheets and PowerPoint presentations that will help promote both the studio sessions and soup kitchen event. Steve MacKenzie and Carole Bartholomew are among the CFCC instructors who have signed up for bowl studio sessions. Ramona Kirsch and Cheryl Lonon have organized a mid-day presentation on Thursday, November 20th that will feature speakers from a local food bank, an experimental farmer and representatives from the Student/Farm worker Alliance in Immokalee, Florida. I am in the process of organizing an “alternative spring break” project for students to spend a week with the Immokalee Project following the soup kitchen event in March 2009.

In the midst of a century shaking economic collapse where food costs have risen almost 100% since 2005, the Empty Bowls Project serves as an opportunity for us to focus our attention, creativity and funds to address an increasingly local epidemic: hunger.

            I have been teaching Marriage and the Family at CFCC on and off for over six years. During that time, I discovered that many of my students romanticize about having a baby much as they do that of what it will be like when they “fall in love” and get married. They do not have realistic expectations of what it truly takes to maintain a loving relationship and/or raise a family.
            Marion County’s statistics on unwed mothers giving birth are much higher than the national average especially for young unwed women age 18 to 22. Since this the age of the majority of students in my classes I began to wonder how to give them real and practical “hands on” experience with an infant. Hence, the idea of the “Real Baby” Project was born and “delivered” in the spring of 2008 with the help of a mini-grant from the T/LI.
            Since the “babies” arrived on campus, they have thus far been a huge success. What follows is a sample of some of the responses from students to the experience of caring for the “real baby.”

            Sarah - age 18
Wow! What an experience! I have definitely realized I am nowhere near ready to have a child. The whole experience really opened not only my eyes but also the eyes of my boyfriend. Having responsibility of a child full-time is a lot more than playing with a happy giddy baby for a few minutes.

            Lauren - age 24
All I know is that just having this baby for two days put a damper on my sex life, my social life and stressed me out emotionally and physically. But I guess it’s better to learn that now rather than later. Thanks, Professor Floyd!

            Anthony - age 19
I hope that I made a good father for the few days that I had “Conor,” and this experience will stay with me and help me in the future when I become a real parent.

            Nadine - age 19
When I picked up my baby, I was excited to get it home and pretend to be a mom. Unfortunately, my happiness was short lived. Monday morning I could not wait until 9:00 A.M. when I knew the baby would shut off. If this has taught me anything it is that I am not at all ready for children.

Melody - age 24
            I learned a big lesson from this experience... do not have children until you can devote your full attention and time to them.

Ryan - age 19
            After this experience, I know that I do not want any kids rights now. I hope someday to have a family of my own but just not right now.

Emily - age 19
            I think this is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do in my entire life! It was also one of the best learning experiences too. It was also a very good form of birth control. Doing this project really made me realize how much you can’t do when you have a baby.

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Florida Art Education Association

by Verne Ayers, Fine Arts

Conferences have many purposes.

Is art an important part of an educational curriculum? To some, no; to some, yes. The same question will be discussed again next year.

Many times at conferences the speakers talk about the same problems teachers have been wrestling with for decades. Where do we get money for education? Whom should we tailor our curriculum towards? Just how important are standardized tests if critical thinking is not part of a school program? If no student is to be left behind and yet not all students are capable of the same performance skills, where do we leave the students?

At conferences we ask the same questions. We give them new titles, we discuss the solutions, but we don’t always have the answers—or, if we do, the answers are never implemented due to lack of funds, staff, time or energy. That is only part of a conference.

But, another part of a conference and maybe more valuable than answers to the same questions over and over, is the mixing with others who are teaching the same thing as you, sharing both the positives of our profession and the problems we all face in a classroom. Finding ways to motivate your students and yes, motivate yourself to do a better job reaching all the students, from the extremely talented to the student who is a novice, all in the same classroom.

The Florida Art Education conference, held October 16-18 in Orlando, offered me that opportunity. I filled my pitcher so I can pour more into the classroom. I learned about new materials that my students might want for their own artworks. I learned new ways to communicate with the student and understand the problems the students face daily depending on their environment, skills, education, economy, background and self-esteem. I talked, I listened, I discussed and I thought. I thought about the instructors who have more than I do and the instructors who have less. I discussed the expectations of the non-art student at other community colleges and of my expectations at CFCC

I returned with a more positive and professional feeling that we do all right here at CFCC. That made the conference worth it.

Cengage Learning Nursing Forum

by GN D. Niere, RN MAN

As a new faculty addition to the Health and Human Services Department, I find it important to increase my knowledge and awareness of current issues and trends in nursing education. While being a “transplant” from a different country has its own positive inputs, it also needs to be stressed that an in-depth familiarization of this country’s nursing culture and education can fully aid a foreign educator’s transition to nursing education. With these objectives, I became one of several nursing educators congregated in a Cengage Learning nursing forum in Orlando, Florida on October 3, 2008.

Along with a very timely theme of Bridging the Gap: from Theory to Practice, the forum featured several dynamic presenters from all over the country, all of whom are leaders in their own distinct specializations. Sue DeLaune, MN, RN, BC facilitated a lively workshop on sparking creativity in the classroom. One of the highlights of the forum was her ability to engage the participants in practicing creativity-enhancing strategies. The hour-long presentation and workshop was a distinct reminder for educators to continue inspiring students through humor, creativity and enthusiasm. DeLaune emphasized the differentiation of cognitive functions of right-brain versus left-brain individuals, as well as addressing the learning needs of these types of students with respect to creative thinking. The second presenter, Kain Polifko, Ph.D, RN, CNAA-BC, communicated issues and trends in nursing in anticipation of future practice environment. She elaborated on 10 significant trends in healthcare and in the nursing profession, namely: shortage, workforce, nursing faculty, new specialties, political influences, insurance, health literacy, workplace safety, and working parents. Dr. Polifko also described the impact of these issues and trends on consumers while explaining to her audience ways to teach students about these issues and trends using current information.

Janet McMahon, RN, MSN, in her presentation “At Risk for Clinical Failure,” facilitated a discussion on examining teaching methodologies for evaluating students clinically. One of the issues that significantly caught the general audience’s attention is student incivility. The relevance of her presentation could not be over-emphasized; it is alarming, from a personal perspective,

that student incivility is rampant in nursing education nationally. The presenter communicated the effect of the “culture of entitlement” among present student nurses, and how it exposes the educator to incivility. Several educators also shared experiences on student incivility, to which Ms. McMahon enumerated several recommendations to address this issue. Cora Munoz, PhD, RN, in her presentation “Teaching Cultural Competence and Transcultural Communication in Nursing,” provided a discussion on the relevance of cultural competence in teaching nursing. Using a model as a guiding framework in teaching cultural competence in nursing, she explained cultural awareness in relation to cultural desire, cultural skill, cultural encounters and cultural knowledge. Her presentation gave insight into strategies that nursing educators can use to improve teaching strategies for students from different cultural backgrounds.
Overall, as a new faculty member at Central Florida Community College, I found this forum to be very helpful in my own professional growth, as it did meet my objectives. The presentations are highly relevant and useful in the community college setting; I found that there are certain areas in my course to which I can apply my new knowledge. For example, as an instructor in both Introduction to Nursing and Nursing I courses, creativity and enthusiasm are indispensible tools when helping ease the transition of these students new to nursing school. I can certainly utilize Ms. McMahon’s teaching suggestions for accurate and consistent evaluation of these students in the clinical area. Dr. Polifko’s presentation on current issues and trends will continue to remind me of the ever-changing profession that is nursing and assist me with developing teaching strategies geared towards facing an opportunity to be open to change. Being a foreign educator, the use of Dr. Muñoz’s presented framework for cultural competency in nursing is a useful tool for guiding teaching across cultures. The practical application of knowledge gained in the nursing forum can certainly assist every nursing educator meet National League of Nursing (NLN) competencies, “transplant’ or not.

Florida Criminal Justice Educator’s Association

by Gregory Dawson, Public Service

I attended this meeting on August 2-3 in Ponte Vedra Beach, along with other criminal justice educators in the state. We discussed different issues pertaining to the criminal justice programs at community colleges, and the proposed BAS degree made possible by the new state legislation for state colleges and its acceptance by our state university system. Finally, we talked about numerous issues relevant to individual colleges and programs.

Florida Community College Early Childhood Educator’s Network

by Marybeth Kyle, Teacher Education

The FCCECE network is comprised of representatives from the 28 community colleges and colleges in the state. I attended this conference September 23-26 in St. Petersburg. The first group discussion I attended involved college name changes; Broward, Palm Beach, Miami Dade, Okaloosa, Indian River, Daytona, and Santa Fe have made the decision to change to a “college.” The benefit is providing a bachelor’s degree in early education, which will enable students to meet the state deadline for Head Start and VPK teachers to be degreed. Also, Florida Atlantic offers a bachelor’s in early childhood education which can transfer into a master’s degree.
The curriculum framework for non-teacher certification is being developed by an EC committee in the state; we will need to revamp our degrees to reflect the new framework once it is developed. Another topic of interest was the information about articulation of nine credit hours.  Most colleges are giving credit for the national CDA and the high school certificate, and a few colleges are articulating the FCCPC. Students will receive updated information on bachelor’s degrees, articulation of EC certificates, and updated changes in curriculum for the AS degree in early childhood education as curriculum frameworks are changed and improved.

by Kathy Dismuke, Health Occupations

While reflecting on my learning and educational experiences, I realized that my teaching philosophy was based on overcoming many personal and professional struggles. I was the first in my family to graduate from high school and the only one to obtain a college education. It was later that I realized I had an undiagnosed learning disorder, but that never deterred my determination to explore creative and unique ways of turning my dreams into reality.

During the 1970’s, many educators and guidance counselors encouraged the “learning challenged” students to pursue apprenticeship opportunities instead of traditional academic settings. Many, including me, chose to enter the military to take advantage of its non-traditional learning environment. During this period, I graduated from Augusta Technical School in the United States Army’s Practical Nursing Program, an accomplishment which increased my self-esteem and provided me with a strong sense of achievement. I realized what great successes can be achieved when educators also employ non-traditional teaching styles in educating students of all learning abilities. I continue to explore this teaching philosophy and incorporate it into my curriculum. My determination to provide this type of learning environment was intensified while teaching and advocating for my son who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism.

Having faced first hand many of the same challenges that many of my students faced helps me to be empathetic and compassionate regarding their hopes and dreams. I believe that understanding the frustrations of learning with a disability has prepared me to be a better instructor. In utilizing various teaching methods, including non-traditional instruction, I can reach my students and show them the importance of education. By sharing my background with them, I can help them realize that we all can overcome obstacles and achieve our dreams.

Personal and Professional Goals:

My goal at CFCC will be that of advancing my education to become a Nurse Practitioner in the next five years and continue teaching at this institution. Both education and nursing are ever growing and offer endless opportunities for those who have a calling to serve others. I will also continue to advance my knowledge about distance learning, curriculum development, test-making techniques and successful teaching methods utilizing various learning styles. I will continue to attend seminars and professional development courses which will aid in students becoming successful in the Practical Nursing Program. All students have the ability to learn; it takes a creative and caring environment and staff to bring out the best in each individual. I am very rewarded to watch the students grow in knowledge and self-esteem throughout each year. I am enlightened to observe the path that has led me here to share my experiences, compassion and love of education. During each graduation, I am very proud of the students and all we have achieved together. I am just a stepping stone on their way to their life long goals, and I am honored to be there for the first few steps.

Come and join the CFCC Book Club this school year! To date, we’ve reviewed Black Drum, Walden (this year’s Learning Theme book), and Things Fall Apart. Below is the reading list and meeting schedule for the remainder of the fiscal year:
Nov. 21 – The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby –  Peter Smith, discussion leader

Dec. 4 – Holiday Book Gift Party – 7 p.m., location to be determined

Jan. 30 – Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan – Ron Cooper, discussion leader (Crossan will be a guest speaker on campus Feb. 17-18)

March 6 – The Problem with Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler – Darrell Riley, discussion leader (Fowler is the second Vazquez speaker; she will be on campus March 5-6, and will meet with the Book Club for lunch at 11 a.m. Friday in the Patriot Dining Room).

April 3 – Teacher Man by Frank McCourt – Dennis Owen, discussion leader

May 1 – The World According to Garp by John Irving – John Retey, discussion leader

All discussions will be held at noon in the Patriot Dining room, bldg. 5

For more information, contact Darrell Riley at rileyd@cf.edu or 854-2322, ext. 1397.