Innovations Library

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A Community of Practice: Supporting Low-Income Transfer in STEM Introduction
Emily Halvorson-Otts April 2024
Volume: 19 Issue: 4
Count all 10
Student access and success are foundational to the community college mission. The learning paradigm proposed by Barr and Tagg (1995) initiated the student success movement, which paved the way for the completion agenda in the 2000s. However, only approximately 26 percent of community college students transfer to a four-year institution (Sansing-Helton et al., 2021). The situation is even bleaker when we evaluate the STEM fields.
Tags: Student Services, Access, Diversity, Mentoring, Student Completion, Innovations
Improving Faculty Simulation Proficiency
Virginia Massey-Holt, Michele Marbet, Kae Fleming, and Jo Ann Hanson March 2024
Volume: 19 Issue: 3
Count all 16
Critical thinking and clinical judgement of the nursing student is essential to the preparation of a competent novice nurse. Opportunities for students to practice making high-stakes decisions independently can be limited in the live clinical setting, for obvious safety reasons. Variations among local clinical placements may further limit the ability for entire cohorts to experience equitable patient cases. In addition, multiple nursing schools are competing for a limited number of clinical sites, straining programs’ abilities to meet clinical contact hour requirements.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Learning Environments, Programs and Practices, Teaching Strategies, Innovations
Empowering Students as Agents of Change
Todd Brown, Andres Colubri, Pardis Sabeti, and Kian Sani February 2024
Volume: 19 Issue: 2
Count all 24
In a world fixated on conventional measures of success, the call to empower students as agents of change resounds with urgency. The journey begins by shifting our educational paradigm, placing intrinsic factors like competence, authenticity, and connection at the forefront. As we embark on this transformative endeavor, the following principles delve into practical steps to enhance student engagement and motivation, amplify student voices, and foster collaborative experiences.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Learning Resources, Teaching Strategies, Innovations
Delta College’s BEDI Services Division: Conceptualization, Innovation, and a Call to Action
Pamela Ross McClain and Nathaniel B. McClain January 2024
Volume: 19 Issue: 1
Count all 13
Delta College exists as a microcosm of our larger society and is, therefore, impacted by historical inequities. Many sociocultural factors prevail at Delta College which predate the current student body, faculty, staff, and administration. Nonetheless, we cannot deny that we all contribute to the current health and vitality of our learning community. Grace Lee Boggs (Harewood & Keefer, 2009) wisely asserted that “you cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it” (para. 60).
Tags: Leadership and Organization, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Organizational Culture, Innovations
Beyond One-Shot Instruction: Reimagining Library Classroom Experiences
Kyle Ceci and Denise Hill December 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 12
Count all 17
Malcom X (n.d.) once said that “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today” (para. 2). In the age of information, research has become a key part of that passport to the future. Today, Americans exist in an information-rich world where they often feel overwhelmed. The Pew Research Center found that 35 percent of American adults are interested in improving their research abilities, but express concern about their skills to do so on their own (Horrigan, 2017).
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Access, Classroom Research, Learning Resources, Innovations
The Miles Community College Opportunity Realized Program
Richard DeShields November 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 11
Count all 16
Career development programs provide students with valuable skills required in today's job market. Technical proficiency alone is no longer sufficient; employers now prioritize strong interpersonal skills, effective communication, collaboration, and meaningful connections. In response to these demands, Miles Community College (MCC) introduced the Opportunity Realized Program in fall 2022, targeting high school students across eastern Montana.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Access, Workforce Preparation, Innovations
The Sky’s the Limit at Kirkwood Community College
Justin Hoehn October 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 10
Count all 13
Kirkwood Community College kicked off a new Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) Associate of Applied Sciences (AAS) program this fall. Since its announcement, this innovative offering has garnered a lot of excitement from students as well as community and business leaders. The start of the program, which is expected to pay big dividends not only for students and the college’s seven-county service area, but also for the regional aviation industry, was a historic moment for Kirkwood.
Tags: Economic Development, Teaching and Learning, Community Relations, Learning Environments, Workforce Preparation, Innovations
Maricopa’s STEAM and Sustainability Initiative: Using the 6P Framework
Pushpa Ramakrishna, Debbie Baker, and Karen Docherty September 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 9
Count all 75
According to a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Skorton & Bear, 2018), "educational programs that mutually integrate learning experiences in the humanities and arts with science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) lead to improved educational and career outcomes” (p. 2). With a focus on such outcomes, it's time for community colleges to thoughtfully and intentionally weave the sciences, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) into students' learning experiences.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Access, Diversity, Sustainability, Workforce Preparation, Innovations
Reimagining Undergraduate Research and Labs Where the Work Happens
Mickey McCloud August 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 8
Count all 105
There’s an old saying: What a difference a day makes. But what could a forward-looking institution do with 730 of them that could make a unique, positive difference in their students’ classroom experiences? That was the challenge faced by the leadership team at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in 2020. In a meeting with newly hired President Andy Bowne, the team discussed the college’s next steps on a key initiative started by the previous president: demonstrating the college’s commitment to undergraduate research and STEM preparation for its students.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Classroom Research, Learning Environments, Undergraduate Research, Innovations
Compost Kid Project Promotes Undergraduate Research Through Experimental Design
Maggie Zimmerman July 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 7
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Environmental Science is a gateway class for environmental programs offered at Delta College. In the past, students taking this course were enrolled in the Environmental Science program. However, in fall 2022, my first semester teaching the class, students were enrolled to fulfill a general education requirement. At the end of class on day one, I began to reflect upon how to keep these students interested in a course that most of them had saved for last and dreaded taking.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Programs and Practices, Undergraduate Research, Innovations
Award-Winning Programs at League Board and Alliance Institutions Exemplify Community College Innovation
From the League June 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 6
Count all 108
Congratulations to the 2022-2023 Innovation of the Year Award winners from 32 participating League member colleges! The League initiated the Innovation of the Year Award over 35 years ago to recognize local community college programs and initiatives that reflect the spirit of innovation and experimentation on which our organization was founded.
Tags: Innovations
Research and Innovation at Lone Star College-Tomball
Lori Stephens May 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 5
Count all 216
It is no secret that opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to participate in research and innovation are more prominent in university settings than in community colleges in the United States (Arnaud, 2019; Wladis & Mesa, n.d.; Wladis & Mesa, 2019). On a recent study abroad visit to three community colleges, or technical schools as they are called in Denmark, the author discovered that there had been focused research and innovation departments in these institutions for many years. She realized then that the U.S. had some catching up to do.
Tags: Learning and Organization, Institutional Research, Learning Environments, Innovations
Evolution of the HCT-SAIT Virtual Student Exchange Using the COIL Approach
Nazia Viceer and Bharti Pandya April 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 4
Count all 251
Virtual student exchange programs have been implemented by higher education institutions across the globe. The Stevens Initiative (2021) found that 214 colleges and universities offered 3,073 virtual exchange programs from fall 2020 to summer 2021 and that 62 of the responding institutions had more than five years of experience with virtual exchanges.
Tags: Teaching and Learning, Access, Learning Environments, Partnerships, Innovations
Implementing Sustainable Innovation: Course Sharing for Community Colleges
Salma Reyes March 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 3
Count all 238
Much like online learning, the concept of course sharing is not new; for decades, college students have taken classes at nearby schools that offer seats for visiting learners. In fact, online course sharing originated in community colleges in the late 1990s (Walker, 2021). Today, given the recent transformations within higher education, alongside great strides in technology, the modes through which course sharing can occur now span across individual institutions, consortia, and online platforms and networks. Thousands of colleges and universities across the U.S.
Tags: Learning and Organization, Access, Learning Resources, Student Completion, Innovations
Will This Continuing Dilemma Ever Be Solved?
Terry O'Banion February 2023
Volume: 18 Issue: 2
Count all 302
In January of this year, Inside Higher Ed (IHE) reported on a meeting between tech executives and presidents of small private colleges in the article, “Preaching to, and Challenging, the Liberal Arts Choir” (Lederman, 2023). The meeting took place in San Francisco in a special session at the annual meeting of the Council of Independent Colleges.
Tags: Issues and Trends, Teaching and Learning, Innovations

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