MCC Daily Tribune
TCC Mission, Goals, and Programming
The Teaching & Creativity Center's mission is to continually work towards equitable outcomes for a diverse student body by increasing teaching effectiveness, inspiring innovation, and improving student learning. The TCC fosters a supportive environment where we improve our teaching practice throughout our careers. The TCC promotes the scholarship of teaching and learning, helps all who teach to engage in reflective dialogue, applies current research to practice, and connects teaching and learning to institutional initiatives. Our Center strives to meet the following goals:
- Goal 1: Create a culture of critical reflection, continual growth, and collaboration for faculty at all stages of professional growth
- Goal 2: Promote evidence-based, high-impact, innovative course design and teaching strategies that improve student outcomes
- Goal 3: Facilitate faculty inquiry into the study of teaching & learning with an equity lens
- Goal 4: Empower faculty and staff to connect teaching and learning to institutional initiatives
Amanda Colosimo and Terry Shamblin are honored to serve as Co-Coordinators of the Teaching and Creativity Center for the 2022-23 academic year and support the TCC's stellar programming and forward-thinking mission and goals.
The TCC is a faculty-driven center committed to teaching excellence that offers professional development opportunities for full-time and adjunct faculty as well as professional staff across all stages of their careers. The TCC could not do the great work it does without our 29 dedicated faculty and staff from all four MCC campuses who make up the advisory committee; our two campus chairs, Amy Burtner and Erin Stobl; our two adjunct chairs, Linda Carson and Mark Sample, as well as a plethora of volunteer presenters, consultants, facilitators, and organizers.
The TCC offers the following programming:
- Adjunct Faculty Workshops
- Adjunct Faculty Fall Welcome Back on 8/24 and Fall Suppers on 9/12, 10/11, and 11/9
- Last semester, 111 attendees learned about inclusive teaching and learning, identifying student misconceptions, and validation theory in action. They also heard from a student panel about what faculty can do to help them succeed.
- Spring Suppers: 1/19, 2/6, and 3/16
- This semester's topics include teachable moments, using storytelling and PowerPoint, and strategies to increase student engagement in higher education.
- RSVP for the March 16th Supper by March 10th.
- Adjunct Faculty Fall Welcome Back on 8/24 and Fall Suppers on 9/12, 10/11, and 11/9
- Consultations
- Confidential teaching consultations are available from one of our trained consultants
- Consultants can come observe your class, talk to your students without you present, or simply meet with you to discuss concerns and answer questions
- Conversations
- This year's theme is "Ditching Deficit-Based Pedagogy: Leveraging Student Assets"
- Fall conversations were held on 9/19, 10/18, and 11/16 and addressed healing centered engagement and asset-based pedagogy for in-person and online learning,
- Spring conversation dates include 2/13, 3/14, 4/19 and address using classroom research to inform strength-based pedagogy, understanding the quiet student, and a student panel.
- Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIG)
- Best Practices and Transformative Teaching in the Zoom Remote Modality. If you're interested in joining this FIG, contact Mark Ricci, Visual and Performing Arts (mricci@monroecc.edu)
- (Re-) Creating a Community of Care. If you’re interested in learning more about (Re-) Creating a Community of Care, email Amanda Colosimo (acolosimo@monroecc.edu)
- First- and Second-Year Faculty Series
- For questions or information about either series, please contact Amanda Colosimo, Chemistry and Geosciences (acolosimo@monroecc.edu)
- Kudos
- Watch for an upcoming opportunity to publicly recognize the helpers among us
- June Teaching and Learning Conference
- The annual June Teaching and Learning Conference will be held on June 9, 2023, from 9am to 1pm at the Downtown Campus
- Submit a proposal by 5pm on March 17th
- Open Classrooms Week
- Held once each semester to share and observe teaching in action
- From November 7-11, 2022, over 70 faculty members observed 24 remote, online, and face-to-face sclassrooms opened by 14 of their colleagues
- Spring's Open Classrooms Week will be held from March 20 through 25, 2023
- Consider volunteering to open your classroom by this Friday, March 3rd
- Reflective Practice Groups (RPG)
- 24 MCC RPG facilitators have participated in a 5-day intensive training institute, and many have participated in additional retreats and workshops
- The first half of this year's RPG Facilitator Training Institute was held in January for 12 more participants who will all finish their training in early June
- A Tribune announcement for a few Spring RPG sessions from 4 of our our newly trained facilitators is forthcoming
- The Leading Effective and Impactful Meetings Series consists of 4 workshops appropriate for faculty, staff, and administrators who would like to improve the meeting experience for themselves and their attendees. This month's workshops focus on Building Effective Agendas.
- Reading Groups
- Grading for Equity: What It is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms by Joe Feldman: For more information, please contact Tracey Graney, Biology (tgraney1@monroecc.edu); Ben Schermerhorn, Engineering Science and Physics (bschermerhorn@monroecc.edu); or Jim McCusker (ESOL/TRS) at jmccusker@monroecc.edu
- Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: For more information, please contact Pam Fornieri, ESOL/Transitional Studies (pfornieri@monroecc.edu); Corinne Shanahan, Career & E2E (cshanahan1@monroecc.edu); or Terry Shamblin, ESOL/Transitional Studies (tshamblin@monroecc.edu)
- Practical and Professional Ethics by Wade Robison: For more information, please contact Bob Muhlnickel, English and Philosophy (rmuhlnickel@monroecc.edu).
- Winter Teaching Institute
- Held this year on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 136 faculty and staff attended 4 separate sessions consisting of 16 unique workshops or trainings.
- Held this year on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 136 faculty and staff attended 4 separate sessions consisting of 16 unique workshops or trainings.
We look forward to working with everyone for the rest of this year and encourage you to reach out to us at any time.
Amanda Colosimo and Terry Shamblin, Co-Coordinators of the Teaching and Creativity Center
Terry Shamblin
Teaching & Creativity Center
03/01/2023