Illinois, like 47 other states in the United States, has no formal preparation or certification requirements for community college faculty. Instructors are frequently hired on the basis of their content knowledge and with the assumption that individuals who hold master’s or doctoral degrees know how to teach effectively. In recent years, however, a number of studies have called into question the veracity of this assumption, providing evidence that many newly-hired community college faculty know little about how to use a variety of teaching, learning, and assessment strategies to meet the varied needs of learners in what are arguably the nation’s most diverse postsecondary classrooms. Furthermore, these faculty members often have limited knowledge of the unique mission of the community college or the role of the community college faculty member. When confronted with these realities, it is not altogether surprising that there is widespread dissatisfaction and turnover among new community college instructors.

In light of these realities, this project focused on piloting and disseminating a model nine-credit certificate graduate program in community college learning and teaching(CCLT) to prepare knowledgeable, skilled, and learning-centered faculty who understood and appreciated their role as community college instructors and who could ably teach a diverse array of students. Two groups of participants were involved in the pilot: 1) graduate students from Loyola University-Chicago, a research-extensive urban institution; and 2) newly-hired, tenure-track faculty at the City Colleges of Chicago, the nation’s second largest community college system.

Participants in this project completed a nine-credit graduate certificate program over a two-year period by taking: 1) a three-credit seminar in community college teaching and learning; 2) six one-credit workshops (Students as Learners, Designing an Effective Course & Syllabus, Methods of Assessing Student Learning, Technology to Enhance Teaching & Student Learning, Who Are Today’s Community College Students?, and The Community College Faculty Member); and 3) an optional, three-credit, semester-long teaching internship at a participating City College campus. Program innovations included the unique focus placed on preparing faculty for community college teaching positions; an emphasis on experiential and problem-based learning; portfolio assessment to document student learning and teaching performance over time; master community college teachers and recent CCLT graduates serving as mentors; and the creation of a learning community of participants, mentors, and instructors that stressed teaching as a collective, rather than individual, activity.

The project was guided by four goals: 1) to develop a model faculty preparation program focused on coaching participants in the knowledge and skills essential to successful community college teaching; 2) to demonstrate and evaluate a model curriculum designed to improve graduates’ knowledge of and skills in classroom teaching, enrich their awareness of and appreciation for teaching as a collective activity, and increase students’ engagement in learning; 3) to create a cost-effective and mutually beneficial university-community college partnership that builds upon existing resources to support current and future faculty development; and 4) to disseminate program products and learning to jumpstart the development of similar community college faculty preparation programs nationally.

Over the course of the four-year project, 41 participants enrolled in the CCLT program and 28 earned graduate certificates.

ONLINE REFERENCES: 

CCLT Web-Based Curricular Guides
   http://luc.edu/cclt/redesign/index.shtml  

Community College Learning and Teaching Web site
   http://www.luc.edu/cclt  

Meeting the Challenge Conference
   http://www.luc.edu/cclt/ConferenceScheduleUpdated.html  

Jennifer Haworth
Project Director

Loyola University Chicago
Division of Mission and
  MInistry
Mundelein Center, Suite 101
6525 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60625
Tel: 773-508-8016
Fax: 773-508-3375

Charlotte Briggs
Project Co-Director

Loyola University Chicago
School of Education
820 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: 312-915-7401
Fax: 312-915-6660