TCCTA Blog

Art Section Offers Tour of Mansion

Friday, March 5th, from 2:30–5:00 p.m., the TCCTA Art Section will feature a tour of the Rienzi Mansion in Houston. Bus transportation from the Westin Galleria will be provided. The departure location will be printed in the convention program, available at registration for the annual convention.

NOTE: While the tour is open to all members and their guests, it does require a $20.00 entrance fee per person. Reservations are required no later than March 1. Please send e-mail to Karmien.Bowman@tccd.edu.

Opened to the public in 1999, Rienzi is the Center for European Decorative Arts at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Comprising a remarkable art collection, a house, and gardens, the mansion was given to the museum by arts patrons Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III.

The handsome residence is situated on 4.4 acres in Homewood Addition, surrounded by Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood. The structure was designed in 1952 by John F. Staub, the same architect who designed Bayou Bend. Rienzi served as both a family home and a center for Houston civic and philanthropic activity from its completion in 1954, through Mrs. Masterson’s death in 1994, and until Mr. Masterson’s death in 1997.

For more information on the venue, visit www.mfah.org/rienzi.

More Texans Take, and Fail, AP Exams

Advanced Placement Programs have grown rapidly in Texas, as legislators, school districts, and parents have encouraged students to take the exams as an expeditious way to earn college credit in high school. As pointed out in a recent article in the Dallas Morning News by Holly K. Hacker, "Advanced Placement programs are often seen as a seal of quality for high schools. And in its quest for excellence, Texas has seen an explosion of the classes that offer the promise and prestige of college credit."

Some media outlets such as Newsweek magazine, the article states, judge the quality of high schools by the number of students who take the exams, not the percentage of students who pass. 

Texas high school students fail more than half of the college-level exams, and their performance trails national averages, according to the latest data. Fifty-four percent of AP exams taken by Texas public high school students this year received failing scores, defined as a 1 or 2 out of 5. The national failure rate was 43 percent, the article states.

In Texas, incentive programs supported by private donors have given cash awards to students and teachers for passing scores. Many states, including Texas, subsidize the $86 exam fee for some students to encourage participation, according to the report.

School Launches New Approach

There is a lot of buzz lately about an experiment being conducted by the City University of New York, in attempting to address student retention at community colleges.

The New CUNY Community College Initiative, as the project is formally known, is entering the second of three stages of structural and curricular development for the new two-year institution, the city’s first in nearly 40 years. Its hallmarks include strict enrollment requirements and a limited curriculum.

As currently designed, all students interested in the college would have to attend a face-to-face interview with an academic counselor before admission. There, they would be told of the institution’s requirements that they attend full time for their first academic year, take a predetermined basic education curriculum, and choose from one of only 12 majors. In their second year, all students would receive internships and other on-the-job training experiences in their field of choice. Throughout their academic careers, these students would receive more direct counseling and mentoring than traditional community college students do, concerning everything from career planning to financial aid issues.

It's hard to determine the financial impact of such a program. Obviously there would be more cost per student in counseling. But would there be fewer students? 

Kay McClenney, director of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, asked a good question: “Are [they] going to serve a small portion of students who are going to succeed anyway, or are [they] either going to embrace or change the realities of those they bring in?"

The above information is taken largely from a December 2 post in Inside Higher Ed. Here's the link.

NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes Announced

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent grant-making agency of the U.S. Government. Each year the NEH’s Division of Education Programs offers teachers opportunities to study humanities topics in a variety of Summer Seminars and Institutes around the country, usually at universities. The dates and duration of each project are listed under each title, using the link below. The application deadline is March 2, 2010 (postmark).

Amount of Award

All teachers selected to participate in an NEH seminar or institute will be awarded a fixed stipend based on the length of the seminar or institute to help cover travel costs, books and other research expenses, and living expenses: $2,100 (2 weeks), $2,700 (3 weeks), $3,300 (4 weeks), $3,900 (5 weeks), or $4,500 (6 weeks).

Eligibility

These projects are designed primarily for teachers of American undergraduate students. An applicant need not have an advanced degree in order to qualify. Adjunct and part-time lecturers are eligible to apply. Qualified independent scholars and those employed by museums, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations may be eligible to compete provided they can effectively advance the teaching and research goals of the seminar or institute.

Here's the link.

Lawmakers Prepare for "Meltdown"

As reported here earlier, Speaker of the House Joe Straus has issued the interim charges to standing committees in his chamber. Journalists and commentators who have combed through the instructions have detected a clear sense of worry about the next Regular Session. The chief concern to policy makers is that the federal stimulus money was a one-shot deal and is currently funding a significant portion of the state budget for this biennium. The Dallas Morning News (registration) reports that legislators are gearing up for a "financial meltdown" after the money runs out. 

The committee charges contain abundant references to changes in taxation, with an eye to finding better ways to raise revenue. The sales tax simply isn't pumping enough money into state coffers to maintain current spending levels, much less address such items as the exploding student enrollment in community colleges. 

Here's a link to the official list of committee charges. 

Barring an emergency, there will be no Session of the Legislature until January, 2011, but state leaders are clearly concerned already. 

Considerable attention is also being devoted to the potential for using the state's "rainy day" fund to get out of trouble in 2011. However, the fund requires a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to tap into it—a tough political project as candidates in primaries talk continuously about cutting spending and tax relief. Here's a piece by Abby Rapoport in the Texas Tribune on the rainy day fund. 

Recession Boosts Selective Honors Programs

Community college honors programs vary widely in scope and approach. At some schools, honors programs are multi-disciplinary or perhaps are targeted to advanced placement students. At others, the qualifications for entry are purely elective on the part of the student. If they choose to do extra work, they can sign up for an honors class. Some schools offer scholarships as an incentive, others don't.

Those honors programs that are highly selective seem to be benefitting from the current economic recession, according to an article in the Washington Post (registration). The idea is that the rigorous curricula are now attracting students who are qualified for highly selective schools, but unable to attend because the tuition is too high. Enrollments at two-year schools are surging already, as reported here frequently, but the information on honors programs adds a new dimension to the narrative. 

"Over the past two decades," the article says, "community college honors programs have found a niche among students who were turned down by increasingly selective state universities and didn't want to pay private-college tuition. Enrollment grew steadily until the recession. Then, it exploded."

Here's a key passage:

"The influx of students with good test scores and multiple options for higher education is reshaping community colleges, a class of schools that, although open to all, have been stereotyped as a destination of last resort, sweeping up students with the least money and the weakest academic preparation. Enrollment in honors programs at community colleges seems to be growing faster than overall enrollment at the schools, which surged by about 10 percent this year in the Washington region, as students of various age groups and socioeconomic levels sought affordable higher education."

House Interim Charges Released

The Speaker's office has released the list of interim charges to the House Committee on Higher Education. These are items that the panel will consider prior to the 2011 Regular Session. The committee will undoubtedly conduct hearings with invited testimony covering these policy areas in the months ahead. 

A number of the charges are unsurprising, but at least one will likely raise eyebrows. 

The panel is charged to "Study the feasibility of offering an optional curriculum that emphasizes ethics, Western civilization, and American traditions to satisfy portions of the Texas Core Curriculum." As history teachers are likely aware, the State Board of Education is currently embroiled in controversy over the selection of history textbooks for the public schools. Many social conservatives on the board believe that Christianity and patriotism are not emphasized enough in the social studies curriculum. 

It seems likely, given the wording of the charge, that discussion over the higher education curricula will also provide a forum for these sentiments. The Core Curriculum (and state law) now require six hours each of American history and government.

Below is the list of charges:

1. Evaluate the state's continuing effort to close achievement gaps in success, participation, excellence, and research by 2015. Study how state public education institutions compare to peer institutions around the country.

2. Study current financial aid programs, tuition and fee exemption programs, loan repayment programs, and professional incentive programs. Evaluate the impact of need-based versus merit-based assistance. Recommend changes where appropriate to improve the alignment of these programs to meet state needs.

3. Review the structure and operation of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Evaluate the board's data collection systems, including costs to higher education institutions, and make recommendations for improvements.

4. Study and recommend strategies for improving community college participation and success. Examine the role of community colleges within the state higher education system. Include a review of programs, practices, and incentives to improve efficiency and productivity, such as expanding dual credit options, encouraging credit by examination, and improving student preparation in high school.

5. Study and recommend strategies for reducing the costs of instructional materials in higher education institutions, including electronic textbooks, open source materials, and other web-based resources.

6. Examine the state's higher education funding mechanisms, including approaches to funding capital improvement projects at public institutions of higher education. Evaluate modifications that would improve the institutions' national peer rankings and help the state to achieve its Closing the Gaps objectives, including improved community college transfer pathways and the impact of shifting the basis of the formula funding methodologies from attempted to completed hours. Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Appropriations

7. Monitor the progress of the capital improvement plan and use of state funds at The University of Texas at Galveston involving the renovation and upgrade of existing facilities and the construction of new facilities. Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Appropriations

8. Study the feasibility of offering an optional curriculum that emphasizes ethics, Western civilization, and American traditions to satisfy portions of the Texas Core Curriculum.

9. Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.

Technology Seminars Offered

The TCCTA Professional Development Committee will sponsor a number of the highly popular Technology Seminars in conjunction with the annual convention in Houston, March 4-6, 2010.

The seminars, which will cover many aspects of the use of new technology in the classroom, are designed to provide practical instruction on the latest teaching innovations. All seminars will be held on Friday afternoon, March 5, at the Westin Galleria Hotel. No pre-registration or fees are necessary for members who are registered for the convention, but seating may be limited. Room locations will be published in the program, which is distributed at registration. Attendees who have laptop computers may wish to bring them for any “hands on” training or software that may be available at some sessions.

Below is a preliminary list of sessions. Precise times and additional sessions will be added as they become available.

"Beyond E-Texts:  How Open Texbooks are Bringing Instructional Quality Up and Costs Down"

Presenter: Eric Frank, co-founder, Flat World Knowledge

Education is the black gold of the 21st century. Increasingly, technology enables the free flow of information and knowledge to those who need it. Old business models, however, often stand in the way. Whereas e-texts are “Act I” in the transformation of educational publishing, this session looks beyond to Act II. Specifically, this session covers what open textbooks are and how an open approach can result in higher quality textbooks that deliver (1) cost savings to students (2) enhanced choices for students to access textbook content in the format that best suits their learning style and (3) flexibility for faculty to adapt textbook content to better suit their teaching style and control timing of new editions and (4) a forward-looking compensation model for authors.

"Introduction to SoftChalk LessonBuilder"

Discover the power of SoftChalk LessonBuilderTM. That’s what you’ll do in this session. SoftChalk is an easy-to-use web lesson editor for which every public, two-year college in Texas holds a perpetual site license. Colleges that didn’t already have a license at the start of this school year were provided one by the Virtual College of Texas. With SoftChalk, you create engaging, interactive web lessons without knowing any HTML or programming. You spend your time developing content, not learning how to use complex software. And the results are impressive: polished, professional-looking online lessons that include interactive learning games, multiple types of questions, pop-up text annotations, friendly navigation, and other student-engaging features. SoftChalk personnel will demonstrate its key features, answer questions, and convince you that creating sophisticated, student-appealing, interactive eLearning lessons is within the reach of every instructor.

"Hybrid How-to: Effective Strategies for Creating and Enhancing Hybrid Courses"

Presenter: Carol Barbay, Professor of Psychology, Lamar State College–Port Arthur

Dr. Barbay will discuss recent developments in creating and enhancing hybrid courses. After a brief discussion of hybrid course model designs, the presentation will explore strategies you can take back to your teaching and learning environment and use immediately. Whether you are just getting started or you are looking for ideas to bring your hybrid course up to A+ level, this presentation will offer action ideas that you and your students can use right away.

"Millennials: Reaching and Teaching Digital Natives with Web 2.0"

Presenter: Manoucher R. Khosrowshahi, Government Professor, Tyler Junior College

The Millennials (Born after 1980) are bringing more to the colleges than tattoos, flip flops, low hanging saggy pants that expose body parts or undergarments, IPhones, and IPods. They have new ways of learning communicating, collaborating and getting things done via new technology. This presentation will explore the millennial generation and Web 2.0, identify their unique characteristics, and provide some strategies for teaching and working with these students. Furthermore, we will talk about evolution of web 2.0, related concepts and technologies, and web 2.0 applications to teach and reach millennial students.

"The Texas Network for Teaching Excellence in CTE: Everything You've Been Looking For and More!"

Presenters: Terry Mouchayleh, Director of Professional Development and Evaluation, Austin Community College, Marcos Molina, Technical Support Manager, Fund for Professional Excellence in the Community College, and Richard Moore, Executive Director, Texas Community College Teachers Association

Join this session to learn about this Perkin-funded project, The Network, which is the result of a unique partnership between community colleges, statewide professional development consortia, and TCCTA. Now in its second year, The Network provides online modules, webinars, a portfolio system, a variety of resources, and a robust search function, all at no cost to the user. The session will provide a demonstration of the site content and capabilities.

Legislative Seats May Be at Stake

It may seem like a long time until the 2010 elections, but primaries are coming up in March for all members of the Texas House of Representatives and half the senators. Since district lines are usually drawn carefully to benefit incumbents, it is rare for legislators to lose their positions by being defeated. Most turnover is of the "voluntary" variety. Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is stepping down, for instance. 

However, there are a handful of interesting races taking shape in the primaries, where turnout is low and just a few votes can make a difference. It's certainly worth noticing if you live in one of these competitive districts. 

It is important to keep in mind that a primary is in the domain of a political party—an instrument for choosing nominees to be on the ballot in the General Election. The Democrats and Republicans will conduct the March elections separately, sometimes in different locations. In some districts, the subsequent election in November is almost a formality. Hence the primary becomes the "real" election, and worthy of our attention. 

The Texas Tribune has an interesting article on some of the races that could prove competitive. Here's the link. 

Texas Teacher Named Professor of the Year

Tracey McKenzie, professor of sociology at Collin College, has been chosen one of four U.S. Professors of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

The winners of the 2009 awards each receive $5,000. They were evaluated by the organizations on their "dedication, their positive effects on students, and their ability to advance undergraduate teaching." Only one winner this year was from a community college. 

As noted in a press release, Ms. McKenzie wants the students in her classes to see connections between academic disciplines. To highlight them, she has co-taught classes with instructors from computer science, statistics, Spanish, and political science.

It makes particular sense for her to teach across disciplines, Ms. McKenzie says, because sociology is about social problems, and some solutions to those problems are studied in other parts of academe. For example, Ms. McKenzie teaches a class on the power of the media with a political science faculty member. The teachers ask students in the courses to analyze political propaganda and then create their own. Using political history to demonstrate ideas from sociology enriches students' understanding of both disciplines, she says.

For a class on sexuality, co-teaching with a political science professor means the students examine the roles of women in politics, Ms. McKenzie says.

The diversity of students in her classes mirrors the diversity of disciplines that she has worked with. Working at a community college means students come with different levels of college readiness, from different ethnic backgrounds, and at different times in life. Ms. McKenzie notes that she has had students as young as 18 and as old as 76. That means they bring a range of experience that enriches class discussions, she says. 

"Whatever I'm talking about, there's always one student who's had that experience."

More information is available here.