Spring CoP Option A

Title: Working towards ZTC (Zero Textbook Cost) with Open Educational Resources at SRJC 

Audience: Faculty 

Brief description: Join this community to learn about and find resources that reduce the burden of textbooks on students and supports are available at SRJC.  Instructors of courses in the developing ZTC Degree Pathways (https://ztc.santarosa.edu/) are encouraged to apply—as the participants will be organized into discipline cohorts.   

Facilitators(s):

·      Katrina Smith, ZTC Coordinator, ksmith@santarosa.edu (Coordinator to be paid using ZTC budget funds administered by Mary-Catherine Oxford) 

·      Jill Harrison jharrison@santarosa.edu (Health Sciences)

·      Jeniece Lusk jlusk@santarosa.edu (Sociology)

·      Sara Stallard sstallard@santarosa.edu (World Languages)   

Modality: Hybrid (in person with zoom in option) 

Meeting Dates and Times: all Fridays from Noon to 2:00 pm (except as indicated below)

·      February 27th  

·      March 6th  

·      April 3rd  

·      April 17th  

·      May 8th  

·      May 15th (Noon to  2:30 pm) 

Longer Description:  This Community of Practice will be hands-on workshop sessions to reduce the burden of textbooks on students, find discipline-specific and credible open educational resources (OER) and what resources and opportunities are available at SRJC. Instructors of courses in the developing ZTC Degree Pathways (see https://ztc.santarosa.edu/) are particularly encouraged to apply—faculty will be given opportunities for collaboration with colleagues in similar disciplines. Guest speakers will include student ambassadors, open education experts, and Zero Textbook Cost Workgroup members. No experience required; curiosity encouraged.  Participants will be asked to showcase their findings on the final session. 

Spring CoP Option B

Title: IGNITE: Preparation for Effective Teaching at the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Center  

Audience: Faculty and those in administrative and classified positions based on their involvement with the IGNITE program in support of teaching.  

Brief Description: Have you wondered what it is like to teach our students at the Juvenile Justice Center in Santa Rosa? We will explore strategies, share experiences, and hear from some of our current and formerly incarcerated students in this CoP. Help foster an understanding of what our students need at the Juvenile Hall and beyond.  

Facilitators(s): Rafael Vázquez Guzmán, Humanities Department, rvazquezguzman@santarosa.edu ; and Nick Perrone, History Department, nperrone@santarosa.edu 

Modality: Hybrid (in person with zoom in option) 

Meeting Dates and Times: all Fridays from 10am to Noon (except as noted on 05/15)

·      February 27th   

·      March 20th

·      April 10th

·      April 17th

·      May 8th

·      May 15th (10am to Noon) 

Longer Description: This CoP will feature instructors Rafael Vázquez Guzmán and Nick Perrone with information about the most effective strategies for teaching at the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Center. While we all might be experts in our own disciplines, the realities of teaching within the confines of the Juvenile Hall (JH) can be very different from classes on any other district site. While these barriers can sometimes be disruptive to teaching and learning at the JH, these classes can be very rewarding for instructors, and transformative for students. We will provide a basic overview of the logistics of teaching at the JH and provide some advice for smooth and effective teaching practices. This CoP aims to address the importance of offering classes both in-person and online for our systems-impacted student population and addressing remaining equity gaps. 

Spring CoP Option C

Title: Two-Eyed Seeing for Decolonial Education: Indigenous Science and Quantum Theories

Audience          Faculty, staff, administration

Description. Two-eyed seeing-- with Western eyes and with Indigenous eyes—provides a pivot for decolonial work. Native scientist Cajete and quantum theorist Rovelli offer departure points for a pluriversal academic environment. Sessions will consist of: theoretical information; self-reflection and storytelling; discussion of applications—with the goal of identifying intervention points for faculty, administration, and staff through two-eyed seeing. Readings: Gregory Cajete, Native Science; Carlo Rovelli, Helgoland; plus three articles.

Facilitator: Jȕrgen W. Kremer, Department of Behavioral Sciences, jkremer@santarosa.edu 

Modality: Zoom based meetings (online only)

Meeting Dates/Times: Tuesdays 5:00 to 6:30 pm (except as noted on 02/10):

·      Feb 10th (5:00 to 7:00 pm)

·      Feb 17th

·      March 3rd

·      March 24th

·      April 7th

·      April 21st

·      May 5th

·      May 19th 

Longer Description. Two-eyed seeing, the seeing with Western eyes and with Indigenous eyes, provides a constructive avenue to address our current cultural story that has resulted in all manners of socio-political and cultural dilemmas. It offers a pivot in decolonial and anti-racist work to remedy the story of the metaphysics of reductionist materialism. There always has been an alternate story, namely the diverse stories of relationality we find in native stories all over the world. This CoP offers an opportunity to step back and reflect on how our lens impacts our day-to-day work. Our work is embedded in a paradigm that has resulted in our current polycrisis (from diversity & immigration to economic inequality and more). This paradigm, whether in education or other fields, at present offers no promise to shift the underlying crisis-generating assumptions of the prevailing paradigm. A convergence of indigenous science and quantum theories, however, can facilitate the remembrance of stories and practices that can help address current crisis points by changing the deep structure of our educational practices (problematic notions of progress, universality, civilization, etc. that obstruct anti-racist, decolonial, and equity work). It provides guidance for grounded hope that can manifest in curricular work (teaching), administrative practices and goals, strategic planning, and interactions with students. The work of Cajete and Rovelli will help us with awareness of the limitations the dominant story in education. At the same time, they provide inspiring departure points for teaching and being with students in a pluriversal academic environment. Each session will consist of a combination of reflective, theoretical information; space for participant self-reflections and storytelling; and discussion of practical applications our educational environment. The goal of this CoP is to identify intervention points for faculty, administration, and staff through two-eyed seeing in our daily work.

Spring CoP Option D

Title: Active learning for in-person classes, a workshop

Audience: Faculty        

Description: Andragogical research suggests that active learning improves student retention and success and closes equity gaps in college courses, especially for students in underrepresented groups. The goal of this CoP is to empower instructors to add more active learning activities to their in-person courses.

Modality: In Person meetings at SRJC Petaluma

Meeting Dates/Times: 

Longer Description: We will develop a schedule for participants to demonstrate their existing active learning activities, share ideas, and receive feedback. Participants will also workshop each other’s lesson plans.

We will have closing discussions to share ideas about how to adapt similar activities in our own classrooms. 

Title: Language Equity and Justice in the Classroom

Facilitators: Inge Stockburger, Purnur Ozbirinci, and Sheryl Cavales Doolan, English Department

Full Description: Language (or linguistic) justice is a component of DEIAA that is relevant to all disciplines. In this CoP, participants will learn about linguistic justice (L J) theory and strategies to incorporate more equitable languaging practices into their classes. All four sessions are designed to develop concrete ideas for activities, approaches, and tools participants can implement in their classes. By the end of the CoP, participants will revise or create an artifact to use with their students that puts linguistic justice into action in the context of their discipline. Each session will have three parts:

• In the first part, we get into the L J theory. Participants will expand their thinking about language as we learn and unlearn from key theorists in the L J movement. 
• In the second part, we share ways to make it work. We will share concrete ideas and tools to put L J theory into practice with our students, from syllabus statements to rubrics to fresh prompt and assignment ideas! 
• And finally, we connect the dots. We frame L J theory as a critical component of many other frameworks for educational justice, including belongingness and inclusion, culturally relevant pedagogy, Universal Design, and authentic assessment.   

Faculty Learning Outcomes: 

1. Define linguistic justice and identify ways to apply it to your own discipline 
2. Interrogate what we mean by "academic language" 
3. Connect linguistic justice to other student-centered pedagogies and approaches
4. Create or revise an artifact (assignment, assessment tool, lesson, etc.) that puts linguistic justice into action in your class
5. Build a movement for linguistic justice throughout SRJC

Meeting Dates This CoP will meet in person in Emeritus 1628 as follows: 

• Session 1: What is Linguistic Justice (LJ) and why do we need it? on Thursday, February 20^th from 2 to 5 pm
• Session 2: Putting the "linguistic" in Linguistic Justice on Friday, March 14 from 9 am to 12:30 pm
• Session 3: Linguistic Justice & Assessment on Thursday, April 17 from 2 to 5 pm
• Session 4: Sharing your artifacts, takeaways, and next steps in building the Linguistic Justice Movement at SRJC on Thursday, May 15 from 2 to 5 pm

Expected Homework: None

Title: Book Study Group for "Breakthroughs in College Reading: The Promises and Tensions of Disciplinary Reading Apprenticeships"

Facilitator: Ann Foster, English Department

Brief Description: CoP participants will  explore ideas from specific chapters in  "Breakthroughs in College Reading: The Promises and Tensions of Disciplinary Reading Apprenticeships" (2024) and examine reading as a complex, context-specific, and problem-solving process. Participants will discuss and create instructional routines to help students become independent, flexible, and confident readers across disciplines.  Participants are also welcome to purchase their own copy of the book from the publisher via this link. For a 25% discount, use code RLFANDF25.

Full Description: This SRJC Community of Practice invites participants to read about and examine ways to support students' discipline-specific literacies in their courses. In this CoP, we will read and discuss chapters from "Breakthroughs in College Reading: The Promises and Tensions of Disciplinary Reading Apprenticeships" (2024) edited by Nelson Graff, Nika Hogan, and Rebecca Kersnar. Participants are also welcome to purchase their own copy of the book from the publisher via this link. For a 25% discount, use code RLFANDF25. 

In this collection, CSU and CA Community College educators from across disciplines share their approach to integrating the principles of the Reading Apprenticeship framework to:

• draw upon students' literacy strengths and capacities as a starting point for growth in their discipline-specific literacies;
• create collaborative spaces that normalize confusion and recognize learning as an ongoing journey of problem-solving;
• support students in becoming agents of their own intellectual development; and
• illustrate that reading is a complex, context-specific, problem-solving process that can be explicitly taught and practiced.

This cross-disciplinary community of faculty will examine and create innovative instructional routines and strategies to support students' in becoming independent, flexible, confident, and purposeful readers across disciplines. No prior knowledge or previous experience with Reading Apprenticeship is required.

The e-book version of this publication is available through SRJC's Library and can be accessed by multiple users at once. Participants are also welcome to purchase their own copy of the book from the publisher via this link. For a 25% discount, use code RLFANDF25.

Meeting Dates: This CoP will meet in a hybrid format on Fridays from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on the following dates: January 17^th; January 24^th; January 31^st; February 21^st; February 28^th; and March 7^th (note this last meeting starts slightly EARLIER at 11:00 am).

Expected Homework: Five (5) hours total with one hour of reading between each session.

Title: Supporting STEM Students in Calculus One

Facilitators: Jennifer Carlin-Goldberg and Kirby Bunas, Math Department

Full Description: Fall 2025, we anticipate that the majority of the students who are majoring or intend to major in STEM will be required to enroll in Math 1A with a 2-unit support course. This is a huge change and requires careful, thoughtful planning and implementation. This Community of Practice will focus on building a successful support program including but not limited to: strategies to onboard students in a welcoming and inclusive way, identifying what to potentially focus on (math content and soft skills), looking at just-in-time vs. teaching a planned set of topics, building sustainable, accessible, and free supporting materials, engaging the students and encouraging persistence, create intervention plans and how to guide and support students that are not succeeding, incorporate IDEAA principals into our everyday classroom, and planning on how to support each other throughout the Fall 2025 semester and beyond.

We will look at what other local Community Colleges, preferably with similar student populations, have been doing with their Calculus with Support programs, what worked, what didn't, and challenges they faced. We can take what we have learned from others to plan what we will do here. We intend to ask some faculty from those Community Colleges to come speak with us, specifically from Mendocino Community College and San Francisco City College.

We intend to also invite representatives from Counseling and DRD to one or more meetings to give their perspective and best practice advice on supporting students and supporting the DRD students.

Meeting Dates: This CoP will meet in a hybrid format as follows: on 2^nd Fridays from 10am to Noon on February 14^th; March 14^th; & April 18^th, and on Last Fridays from 1 to 3pm on January 31^st; February 28^th; and April 4^th.

Expected Homework: one (1) hour per week maximum 

Title: Teaching Critical Thinking and Argumentative Writing

Facilitator: Sarah Beth Lesson, Philosophy Department

Full Description: An opportunity for interdisciplinary conversation about teaching critical thinking and argumentative writing. Our focus will be on building community around teaching critical thinking, by sharing best practices across disciplines, identifying common obstacles to effective and meaningful instruction, and collaborate on creative solutions to overcome such obstacles. From student learning outcomes to text selection, assignment design, use of technology, and equity, the goal is for this community of practice to be a first step towards long-lasting collaboration among instructors teaching critical thinking and writing.

Meeting Dates/Modalities: This CoP will meet in a hybrid format on Fridays from 1:00 to 3:30 pm on January 31^st; February 28^th; March 28^th; April 25^th; & May 9^th.

Expected Homework: It is possible (but not certain) that some work outside of meeting times will be necessary. No more than an hour for each meeting.

Title: Finding Open Educational Resources at SRJC

Facilitators: Katrina Smith (Library), Jill Harrison (Health Sciences), Sara Stallard (World Languages)

Full Description: Finding Open Educational Resources at SRJC Community of Practice will be hands-on workshop sessions to learn about the true student costs of textbooks, how to find field-specific and credible open educational resources (OER) and what resources and opportunities are available to SRJC faculty. Guest speakers will include student ambassadors, OER experts and Zero Textbook Cost Workgroup members. Participants will be asked to showcase their findings on the final day in April. 

Meeting Dates: This CoP will meet on the following Fridays from 12:00 pm [Noon] to 2:00 pm: January 31^st, February 7^th, February 21^st, March 7^th, March 14^th, and April 11^th (please note the last meeting is Noon to 2:30 pm for final showcase). 

Expected Homework: Five (5) hours, or one [1] hour for each regular session.

Title: Teaching the "Anxious Generation"

Facilitators: Jeniece Lusk [Sociology Dept.] and Anna Brown [Math Dept.]

Full Description: The majority of faculty are years- and decades-removed from the experience of being a student and learner in an academic setting. The purpose of this CoP is to learn more about the younger learners that we serve: their anxieties, their interests, their challenges, and their hopes. We will read the new and controversial book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt (2024).The CoP will follow the themes of the book's contents, featuring prepared discussions and thought exercises on topics including mental health, technology, resilience, socialization, and expectations. 

Participants will leave this CoP with renewed understanding of the pressures and anxieties of younger learners, and enhanced confidence in delivering humanized pedagogy.

Meeting Dates:  This CoP will meet in-person, weekly, on Wednesdays from 12pm [Noon] to 1pm on the SRJC Petaluma Campus starting January 29^th and ending April 23^rd (note the last meeting on 04/23/25 is 12:00 to 12:30pm).

Expected Homework: Ten [10] hours of outside reading

Title: Backwards Design and Assessment

Facilitators: Emily Schmidt (Humanities) and Smita Avasthi (Library) 

Full Description: The Backwards Design and Assessment CoP is designed to help instructors build essential skills in lesson planning and assessment through the practice of backwards design, an evidence-based teaching approach. Backwards design focuses on aligning course objectives, learning outcomes, course activities, and assessments to ensure student learning is both meaningful and measurable. Participants will collaboratively engage in discussions and activities to refine their approach to designing effective lessons and assessments that promote student success in the college classroom. 

Throughout the CoP, instructors will work together in a supportive and collaborative community of practice, sharing insights and strategies for creating engaging and impactful learning experiences. The course will focus on building skills in developing course materials and assessments such as homework, quizzes, essays, and projects tailored to course objectives and student learning outcomes. By the end of this CoP, instructors will develop a stronger understanding of backwards design and will be able apply these principles in their own course design. The course emphasizes collaborative learning, fostering both professional growth and a sense of community among faculty as we work together to improve our teaching practices and student outcomes. This is an opportunity for educators to strengthen our teaching toolkits and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement in the classroom. 

Resources include materials from Parkes & Zimmaro's "The College Classroom Assessment Compendium" (2018), Wiggins & McTighe's "Understanding by Design" (2017), and more.

Meeting Dates: This CoP will meet in person on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus (in Santa Rosa) on first Tuesdays from 1pm to 4:30 pm on February 4^th, and from 1pm to 4pm on March 4^th, April 1^st, and May 6^th 

Expected Homework: 3 hours per session, or 12 hours total 

conversations, and/or their own reading and research. This process often results in stronger, more student-centered, and more relevant lessons and assignments. We can apply this same process to re-seeing and re-imagining our Course Outlines of Record: the COR of the Classroom. This CoP will focus on exploring course and lesson redesign ideas that have emerged from research on culturally relevant and responsive teaching along with the expertise and practice of the CoP’s participants themselves to outline ways to integrate IDEAA principles into our Course Outlines of Record (COR).

This course invites instructors to combine their teaching practices with current research on culturally responsive teaching to integrate Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Accessibility (IDEAA) principles into Course Outlines of Record (COR). Initially, participants are invited to complete assignments focused on their learning and teaching experiences to explore and examine effective learning and teaching routines they have already experienced and/or integrated into their own teaching. This initial exploration allows participants to begin the course using their knowledge and experiences to discover how they already embed culturally responsive teaching and IDEAA principles into their courses. Following this, participants will merge their reflections with information from assigned readings and course discussions to re-see and re-imagine the contents of a Course Outline of Record: the COR of the Classroom. At first, participants will analyze CORs in a general way, and then eventually focus on one COR within their specific discipline to craft a revision plan for that COR.

Audience: Faculty

Facilitator(s): Ann Foster

Modality: Remote, facilitator open to other modality for some timing of sessions

Date

conversations, and/or their own reading and research. This process often results in stronger, more student-centered, and more relevant lessons and assignments. We can apply this same process to re-seeing and re-imagining our Course Outlines of Record: the COR of the Classroom. This CoP will focus on exploring course and lesson redesign ideas that have emerged from research on culturally relevant and responsive teaching along with the expertise and practice of the CoP’s participants themselves to outline ways to integrate IDEAA principles into our Course Outlines of Record (COR).

This course invites instructors to combine their teaching practices with current research on culturally responsive teaching to integrate Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Accessibility (IDEAA) principles into Course Outlines of Record (COR). Initially, participants are invited to complete assignments focused on their learning and teaching experiences to explore and examine effective learning and teaching routines they have already experienced and/or integrated into their own teaching. This initial exploration allows participants to begin the course using their knowledge and experiences to discover how they already embed culturally responsive teaching and IDEAA principles into their courses. Following this, participants will merge their reflections with information from assigned readings and course discussions to re-see and re-imagine the contents of a Course Outline of Record: the COR of the Classroom. At first, participants will analyze CORs in a general way, and then eventually focus on one COR within their specific discipline to craft a revision plan for that COR.

Audience: Faculty

Facilitator(s): Ann Foster

Modality: Remote, facilitator open to other modality for some timing of sessions

Dates:

I would like to propose a hybrid synchronous/asynchronous Community of Practice; I would like to meet via Zoom with CoP participants on the Fridays listed below from 9:30-11:30 AM. The remaining CoP time would then be reserved for online discussions, social annotation activities, Jamboards and/or Padlet assignments. I would arrange the Canvas modules so that the remaining CoP hours would be evenly distributed throughout the three-week CoP.

March, 9:30-11:30

March 8, 9:30-11:30

Remainder of time will be asynchronous

Homework: NOs:

I would like to propose a hybrid synchronous/asynchronous Community of Practice; I would like to meet via Zoom with CoP participants on the Fridays listed below from 9:30-11:30 AM. The remaining CoP time would then be reserved for online discussions, social annotation activities, Jamboards and/or Padlet assignments. I would arrange the Canvas modules so that the remaining CoP hours would be evenly distributed throughout the three-week CoP.

March, 9:30-11:30

March 8, 9:30-11:30

Remainder of time will be asynchronous

Homework: NO

Click here for a printable PDF of the 2022-23 CoPs

Working Towards Science in Action

Facilitators: Mas Iimura and Jan Kmetko

Homework: There will be 3 hours of homework outside of meetings total

Full Description: Equity and inclusion remain to be the main priorities of SRJC STEM departments and programs. First-generation and historically underrepresented students often lack the appropriate role models to guide them toward considering a STEM major as an attractive choice. In addition, many of these students have never seen high-tech, scientific instrumentation such as an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, or the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrometer, nor have they had access to mentoring that would make these instruments available for this use and inspiration. The goal of the proposed Working Towards Science-in-Action CoP, sponsored by the Avanzando Initiative, is to provide an inclusive exploration opportunity for the interested SRJC students to gain more hands-on experience with the state-of-art scientific instruments available at SRJC. The proposed Community of Practice will bring together interested faculty, staff, and administrators to plan Weekend Workshops. The participants will brainstorm and engage in relevant discussions, research and share promising practices, and discover and design together meaningful, engaging, and enriching hands-on activities for implementing a student Science-in-Action workshop series. During the student Science-in-Action workshop series, the faculty members will share their expertise with the interested students, and the student participants will gain more knowledge, including how these instruments are employed in a real research setting. At the same time, the experience will provide opportunities to foster their sense of belonging in the STEM community.

Meeting Dates:

All meetings will be in-person.

Fri, Jan 27th 11:30AM~2:00PM
Fri, Feb 3rd 11:30AM~2:00PM
Fri, Mar 3rd 11:30AM~2:00PM
Fri, April 7th 11:30AM~2:00PM
Fri, May 5th 11:30AM~2:00PM

Universal Design for Learning

Facilitators: Laura Aspinall, Andrea Alexander, and Tara Johnson (All DRD)

Homework: There will be 3 hours of outside work assigned for this group, with none assigned for the last meeting.

Full description: This Community of Practice (CoP) will address how to utilize Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in instructional and educational spaces. UDL is a practice that seeks to make learning environments as proactively accessible for as many learners as possible, and to mitigate the need for accommodation. Although we all benefit when we embrace and implement UDL, for minoritized students who have been historically excluded from post-secondary education, it is critically important. Administrators, classified professionals, and faculty are all invited to participate as student learning takes place both in and outside the classroom. CoP participants will have opportunities to share and exchange ideas, as well as hear from colleagues who are currently incorporating UDL in their work.

Meeting Dates:

This CoP will be fully online via Zoom

March 3rd: 10:30-1:00pm
March 17th: 10:30-1:00pm
March 31st: 10:30-1:30pm
April 14th: 10:30-1:00pm

Native American Lecture and Discussion Series: Current Issues Within Indian Country

Facilitators: Lori Laiwa Thomas and Mary Churchill

Homework: There will not be outside homework for this group

Full Description: The purpose of this CoP is to provide faculty, classified staff, and administrators at Santa Rosa Junior College with foundational knowledge for understanding contemporary Native Americans and current issues in Indian Country. The series begins with key concepts then turns to important issues, topics, and methods in Indian Country today, with a special emphasis on California Indigenous Peoples. The CoP focuses on six major areas: 1) What is Indian Country, tribal sovereignty, and federal recognition? Who is an Indian? 2) The #LANDBACK movement in Indigenous communities; 3) Native language revitalization and envisioning a Native language center at SRJC; 4) Survivancy, resiliency and reconciliation; 5) Storytelling as Indigenous methodology; and 6) Native American women and activism. The information presented and discussed will help faculty wanting to incorporate or supplement content on Native Americans into their courses. In addition, the CoP will provide faculty, classified staff, and administrators with a foundation for working with Native American students, colleagues, community members, and Nations and an understanding of contemporary issues critical to Indian Country so that these professionals can make policy and practice decisions on a more informed basis. The series is led by the new tenure-track faculty member in Native American Studies, Lori Laiwa Thomas (an enrolled member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians), and the new coordinator of the Native American Center, Mary Churchill (Cherokee). This CoP will help to familiarize the campus with these new initiatives focusing on Native Americans and facilitate professional collaboration across campus units.

Meeting Dates:

Some sessions are hybrid while others are in-person events

February 3, 2023, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
February 17, 2023, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
March 3, 2023, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
March 17, 2023, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
April 7, 2023, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
April 21, 2023, 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm

STEM Enrichment Activities CoP

Facilitators: Vince Bertsch and Darci Rosales

Homework: There will not be any homework outside of meetings for this CoP

Full Description: The STEM Enrichment Activities CoP will build on the success of previous STEM CoPs to develop the student activities that bridge equity gaps and build our students' engagement with STEM. Two important recent developments are the tripling of MESA funding and the start of SRJC's Avanzando STEM-HSI grant. We'd use the meetings to bring faculty involvement into those student support structures, help organize activities such as: Job Shadow, Poster Projects, Awards Ceremony, etcetera. We'd also share about any other student services activities that are happening in STEM. We'll be using a zoom meeting format. CoP is open to both administration and classified staff as they play a pivotal role in developing student activities.

Meeting Dates:

Some meetings will be via Zoom, others will be in-person

Thurs Jan 19, 1-3 pm
Thurs Feb 2, 1-3 pm
Thurs Feb 23, 1-3 pm
Thurs Mar 16, 1-3 pm
Thurs Apr 6, 1-3 pm
Thurs May 4, 1-3:30 pm

Reimaging Identity and Rethinking Violence

Facilitators: Jurgen Werner Kremer and Rima Dasgupta

Homework: There will be 2 hours of reading per session, for a total of 10 hours of homework

Full Description: An exploration of assumptions about identity through the lens of readings by Kwame Anthony Appiah (The Lies That Bind), Gloria Anzaldua (Light in the Dark), Bayo Akomolafe (The Wilds Beyond Our Fences), and select articles and videos. Normative Western assumptions about identity are inextricably entwined with the history of colonialism and the shadow of enlightenment modernity as it manifests in racism, heteropatriarchy, economic inequality, and other ways. Understanding the origins of the persistent violence of coloniality/modernity and its role in identity formation seems critical. Tuck & Yang (2017) write in their introduction to an issue of Critical Ethnic Studies: "Identity has a chilling effect on analysis. It is a "leading idea" in the hegemonic sense, organizing under its umbrella a sweeping consensus for diverse projects and otherwise divergent politics. ... "Identity" as a term dampens clarity and conversation; it soft- pedals meaning." Decoloniality offers a framework to explore in-between spaces and to retell identities and their entanglements with reality and thus to develop clarity, meaning, and questions beyond what seems commonsense. It encourages the exploration of questions where fear often prevents inquiry and discussion. Terms like "trans-raciality" (Akomolafe) and "post-oppositional perspectives" (Keating) offer starting points to heal the Western history of violence and its impact on identity and to re-imagine not only who we are but who we can be and what we may want to educate for. The discussion of pedagogies that facilitate learning beyond the blinders of Western assumptions will be an important part of our discussions.

Meeting Dates:

All meetings will be conducted via Zoom

2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 4/3, 4/10, 4/17

Meeting time Mondays 1-3pm, 4/17 meeting 1-3:30pm

The COR of the Classroom: Integrating IDEAA Principles into the Course Outline of Record

Facilitator: Ann Foster

Homework: There will be no homework outside of meetings for this CoP

Full Description: At some point each semester, many faculty members begin to re-see or re-imagine certain lessons or assignments based on their own reflections, student feedback, collegial conversations, and/or their own reading and research. This process often results in stronger, more student-centered, and more relevant lessons and assignments. We can apply this same process to re-seeing and re-imagining our Course Outlines of Record: the COR of the Classroom. This CoP will focus on exploring course and lesson redesign ideas that have emerged from research on culturally relevant and responsive teaching along with the expertise and practice of the CoP's participants themselves to outline ways to integrate IDEAA principles into our Course Outlines of Record (COR). Additionally, the CoP participants will read and discuss the two ASCCC sources to develop ideas for revising CORs with IDEAA principles: "ASCCC's DEI in Curriculum: Model Principles and Practices" framework and "Moving the Needle: Equity, Cultural Responsiveness, and Anti-Racism in the Course Outline of Record."

Meeting Dates:

Meetings are planned to be held via Zoom, but facilitator is willing to offer dual modality for those wishing to participate in person.

Fridays
Jan 20 9:30-1:00
Jan 27-9:30-12:30
Feb 3-9:30-12:30
Feb 10-9:30-12:30

The Model Minority Myth - Asian American Stereotypes and how they hurt us

Facilitators: Albert Yu and Jerry Thao

Homework: There will be 2 hours of reading assigned for each meeting, for a total of 8 hours of homework.

Description: The term "model minority" has been used to refer to a minority group seen as being successful, especially compared to other minority groups. Asian Americans have often been designated as the model minority. This myth is based on stereotypes and supports a narrative that Asian Americans are an educated, high earning group where every kid excels academically. This generalization about a group as diverse as Asian Americans is not only inaccurate but suggests that Asian Americans as a group are monolithic. This perception of Asian Americans and their collective success has been used as a racial wedge aimed to minimize the role racism plays in the struggles of other racial minority groups, particularly black Americans. It eliminates the differences among individuals, ignores the diversity of Asian American cultures, supports the perception of Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners, erases racism against Asian Americans, and is harmful to the struggle for racial justice.

The focus and purpose of this workshop is to dismantle the Model Minority myth. Although educators can feature Asian American figures and texts in the classroom, it is important for classified and administrators to understand the varying histories and experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander students and communities. We must unlearn the biased and simplistic views we may hold about what being Asian American or Pacific Islander means so that we can attend to the needs of our fellow Asian American Pacific Islanders in our community.

Meeting Dates:

All meetings will be conducted via Zoom

Friday 02/3 12-3:15pm 
Friday 3/31 12-3:15pm 
Friday 4/7 12-3pm 
Friday 4/14 12-3pm

Math Pathway from Non-Credit to Credit

Facilitators: Lynn Erikson Rhode and Amy Flores

Homework: There will not be any homework outside of meetings for this CoP

Full Description: The CoP led by College Skills/Tutorial Faculty will focus on supporting students in the wake of AB705 to prepare for credit Math courses. Participants will review current math pathways and courses offerings at SRJC. Many students are currently struggling in credit math classes and feedback from instructors is that students need support in basic math skills and navigating college courses. The group will discuss and identify skills needed for successful completion of credit level math courses ranging from study skills to mathematical skills that students are expected to know prior to enrollment in credit math courses. If time allows, we will work on the development of lesson plans including study skills, supports on campus and math lessons. Additionally, identifying ways to provide students with the information through non-credit courses, short presentations in the Tutorial Centers, and other avenues. Throughout the discussions and development of lessons and presentations the group will take into consideration ELL, DRD and other accommodations students may need to successfully attain the necessary skills to continue to the credit math pathway.

Meeting Dates:

Modality: Meetings will be both in-person and online

February 10, 2023 - 9-11:30am
February 24, 2023 9-11:30am
March 10, 2023 9-11:30am
April 14, 9-11:30am
April 28, 9-11:30am

Creating an Anti-Racist PSYCH 1A

Facilitators: Catherine Williams and Jurgen Werner Kremer

Homework: There will be no homework outside of the meetings

Full Description: The Psychology Discipline has been meeting regularly to reimagine ourselves as an anti-racist discipline - we are moving PSYCH 1A through the curriculum review process to clean out the threads of colonization and imbue it with honoring indigenous wisdom and science traditions. For example, our new course description explicitly charts our course: "Students are invited to study behavior and mental processes by applying their life experiences. The field of psychology will be approached from transdisciplinary, decolonial, and anti-racist perspectives." However, our faculty have identified a need to be trained on how to deliver this new curriculum as we were all steeped in the tea of colonial western science traditions. Unlearning racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, indigenous extermination/invalidation, anti-Black, "one-English" takes a lifetime. Specifically, the field of Psychology is moving through its own atonement for its actions that actively contributed to systemic oppression efforts: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/10/apology-systemic-racism. The purpose of this CoP is to invite participants to bring their experience, strengths, and wisdom forward to develop a shared PSYCH 1A Canvas resource that will be available as a training resource all future instructors of PSYCH 1A at SRJC. In this way, we hope to grow our own trained anti-racist, decolonized instructors of psychology who honor indigenous ways of knowing and help students critically evaluate psychological theories, research, and practices in their socio-cultural-political contexts.

Meeting Dates:

All meetings will take place via Zoom

Meeting time: First Tuesdays of the month: 2/7, 3/7, 4/4, 5/2 - 3 hours 3:00-6:00pm, with the last meeting going until 6:30pm.

Hands-On Teaching Strategies for Equity and Success for All English 1A Students

Facilitators: Sheryl Cavales-Doolan and Marc Bojanowski

Homework: There will be 2 hours of homework for each session for a total of 8 hours of homework to occur outside of the meetings.

Full Description: In response to AB 705 and AB 1705, English Department faculty members are innovating, experimenting, and challenging themselves to teach creatively, responsively, and well. The Department's goal is for all students-from all backgrounds and with a vast diversity of prior experience with reading, writing, and critical thinking-to learn, to demonstrate knowledge and skills, and to pass English 1A in their first year at SRJC. This is important for students so that they succeed early on and persist toward their educational goals. Building on the conversation at the English Department's Fall Retreat, this CoP will provide opportunities for participants to share and see specific, concrete, and successful strategies that support strong, equitable learning. Hands-on strategies for equity and success include syllabus and course policy development, selection of texts, scaffolding strategies and assignments, writing assignments, grading strategies that emphasize teaching and learning, and building a community of learners. Successful completion of English 1A also supports the College's enrollment health: students who have confidence in their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills and pass English 1A are more likely to take classes in subsequent semesters. Finally, when students pass transfer-level English (and Math) in their first year, the College receives additional funding, which benefits all programs and students.

Meeting Dates:

All meetings will occur in person on the Santa Rosa Campus

Th, Feb. 9, 3-6:30 (3.5 hours)
Th, Mar. 9, 3-6. (3 hours)
Th, Apr. 13, 3-6 (3 hours)
Th, May 11, 3-6 (3 hours)

Exploration of best support practices for trauma-impacted students

Facilitator: Stacie Sather and Brijit Aleman

Homework: There will be no homework outside of meetings for this CoP

Full Description: Research indicates that approximately 65-85% of students walking into a college classroom will have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives. It is important as educators that we maintain accountability for our students while still supporting their learning, emotional, and mental needs. While we can't be our students' therapists, there are ways that we can support our trauma-impacted students in ways that don't call out the trauma but empower our students to take control of the things they can: their education. This CoP will focus on helping educators understand what trauma is, what trauma looks like, and how we can best support our trauma-impacted students through various teaching practices and strategies.

Meeting Dates:

All meetings will take place in person

3 Feb 10-1:30 New date! 10 Feb from 10-1 3 March 10-1 17 March 10-1

Equitable and Inclusive Course Design and Teaching Practices

Facilitators: Danielle Bruns and Luz García

Homework: No homework will be assigned.

Full Description: Associate faculty are especially encouraged to opt for this Community of Practice. Equitable and inclusive teaching strategies are key for the success of all of our students. Having trained as teachers with extensive teaching experience, we would like to share straightforward, easy to implement research-based strategies with instructors to help them better meet the learning needs of all their students. Faculty who attend will be better prepared for serve the needs of our diverse population, particularly, English language learners and first-generation students. This course would be for full-time and part-time faculty members. Topics would include:

• Student Centered Course Design - We will discuss creating a student friendly syllabus, equitable grading practices, using checklists and rubrics to ensure equity and aligning assessments and assignments with course outcomes.
• Active Learning Strategies - We will explore the active learning cycle, how to teach note-taking strategies, discuss lecture structures, and planning and facilitating discussions
• Supportive Learning Environment - We will discuss ways of welcoming students into your course, engaging underprepared learners, fostering a growth mindset and checking for student understanding
• Inclusive Teaching We will examine practices for managing bias, reducing imposter syndrome, and creating an inclusive course
• Language Acquisition in Higher Education We will look at the ways to best help English as a Second Language students succeed in their courses and understanding different levels of language acquisition

Meeting Dates:

1/ 27 12:30-3 (In-person meeting) 2/10 12:30-3 (via Zoom) 2/24 12:30-3 (via Zoom) 3/10 12:30-3 (via Zoom) 4/14 12:30-3 (In-person meeting)

—Listed in order based on the date of the first meeting.

CDCP Noncredit Instruction

Facilitators: Amy Flores and Pattie Myers

This Community of Practice aims to bring together GED/HiSET faculty and interested faculty to identify CDCP (Career Development and College Preparation) noncredit program opportunities.

F, Jan. 21, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
F, Feb. 25, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
F, Mar. 11, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
F, Apr. 22, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
F, Apr. 29, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
 

Audience: Faculty

Teaching, Assessing, and Engaging Diverse Student Populations Across Disciplines

Facilitators: Bita Bookman and April Oliver

With the shared goal of supporting students who lack college-level proficiency in academic reading and writing, instructors from different disciplines come together in this CoP to develop and practice Universal Design strategies for scaffolding content, moving toward equitable assessments, and increasing students’ engagement in online and in-person classrooms.

F, Jan. 28, 12 – 2:30 p.m.
F, Feb. 11, 12 – 2:30 p.m.
F, Feb. 25, 12 – 2:30 p.m.
F, Mar. 11, 12 – 2:30 p.m.
F, Apr. 1, 12 – 2:30 p.m.

CoP may transition to in-person meetings if District safety protocols allow.

Audience: Faculty

Dreaming an FYE into Existence: A Cross-Constituency Collaboration

Facilitators: Roam Romagnoli, Byron Reaves, and Malena Hernandez Legorreta

We propose a working community of practice that culminates in a pilot FYE program for Fall 2022 that centers equity, reflects contemporary data/research/theory, and aligns with the guided pathways framework adopted by the Academic Senate.

F, Jan. 28, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
F, Feb. 11, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
F, Feb 25, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
F, Apr. 29, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Audience: Faculty, Classified, Administrators

Decolonizing Science and Honoring Indigenous Ways of Knowing

Facilitators: Jurgen Kremer, Kent Wisniewski, Solen Sanli Vasquez, Brenda Flyswithhawks, and Catherine Williams

We will critically examine western science as a product of colonialism and its responsibility in the systematic oppressing of many peoples and honor methods that indigenous peoples have practiced for systematically studying the world and recenter the role of storytelling in learning.

M, Feb. 7, 12 – 2 p.m.
M, Mar. 7, 12 – 2 p.m.
M, Apr. 4, 12 – 2 p.m.
M, Apr. 18 12 – 2 p.m.
M, May 2, 12 – 2 p.m.
M, May 16, 12 – 2:30 p.m.

Audience: Faculty, Classified, Administrators

Equity to Action: Building relationships with students through an equity lens

Facilitators: Byron Reaves and Roberto Alvarado

Puente, APASS, and UMOJA practices help guide the process of building strong, meaningful, and substantial relationships. We will share practices to help practitioners identify barriers and challenges that prevent successful rapport building with students.

F, Mar. 11, 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
F, Apr. 8, 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
F, Apr. 15, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Audience: Faculty, Classified

RJ in the Classroom: Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Restorative Teaching and Grading Practices

Facilitators: Roam Romagnoli, Jenn Perez, and Riva Bruenn

We invite faculty from across disciplines to join an “Interdisciplinary Community of Praxis”, where we will explore Restorative and Transformative Pedagogies and work together to apply these frameworks to our course policies and/or assignments.

We will plan for Zoom and would like to use consensus with the group to determine whether we will transition to in-person meetings should district safety protocols allow.

F, Mar. 18, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
F, Apr. 8, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
F, Apr. 15, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
F, May 6, 9a.m. – 12 p.m.

Audience: Faculty

Diversifying Curricula and Developing Racial Literacy

Facilitator: Jordan Bell

Homework: There will be 2 hours of reading assigned for each meeting, for a total of 6 hours of homework in addition to the meetings.

Full Description: The CoP will focus on ways that educators can diversify their curricula and create space in classrooms to discuss race and its impacts within and a cross disciplines. Across the nation, most college classes are taught through a Western, or predominately Eurocentric, lens. This approach to post-secondary education serves as a form of epistemic ignorance (Mills, 2007) and alienates and discredits many BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ bodies, ontologies, and philosophies. One way to disrupt epistemic ignorance is through developing racial literacy. How can educators disrupt epistemic ignorance and better support their students in classroom spaces while simultaneously developing racial literacy? This CoP will present concrete methods for addressing the dearth of diverse representation in most college courses as well as provide tools for developing students’ racial literacy.

Meeting Dates:
Hybrid (either via Zoom or in person)
Thursday, November 10 (Flex non-instructional day) 11:00-3:00
Friday, December 2 from 11:00-3:00
Friday December 9 from 11:00-3:30