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. Our intention is to support the stellar programming and forward-thinking mission and goals already developed by Gena Merliss and our dedicated faculty committees. 

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
  • Fall Suppers: 9/12, 10/11, and 11/9 
  • Spring Suppers: 1/19, 2/6, and 3/22
• Consultations
  • Confidential teaching consultations are available from one of our trained consultants
• Conversations
  • This year's theme is "Ditching Deficit-Based Pedagogy: Leveraging Student Assets" 
  • Fall conversations: 9/19, 10/18, 11/16
  • Spring conversations: 2/13, 3/14, 4/19
• Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIG)
  • Best Practices and Transformative Teaching in the Zoom Remote Modality will be offered in the spring. If you're interested in joining this FIG, contact Mark Ricci, Visual and Performing Arts (mricci@monroecc.edu)
  • Watch for announcements about other spring FIGs
  • If you would like to convene a FIG on a topic of your choice, reach out to Terry Shamblin, ESOL/Transitional Studies (tshamblin@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)
• Open Classrooms Week
  • November 7-11, 2022, includeds remote, online, and face-to-face courses
  • Held once each semester to share and observe teaching in action
• 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
  • Registration for this year's institute is open now
  • Tribune announcements for a variety of Spring RPGs are forthcoming
  • Be on the lookout for their upcoming workshop series: Leading Effective and Impactful Meetings
• 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
  • Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at the Downtown Campus
• June Teaching and Learning Conference
  • Friday, June 9, 2023, at the Brighton Campus
• Kudos
  • Watch for an upcoming opportunity to publicly recognize the helpers among us

We look forward to working with everyone 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 and Creativity Center
10/28/2022