City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME III
to student needs, what seems to be needed is more institutional support to create mechanisms that
promote broader-based dialogs about learning outcomes and assessment. Also needed are ways to
increase participation by more members of the College community. The Office of Research, Planning
and Grants generates many useful reports and data on student satisfaction, success, and achievement,
but what is lacking are more opportunities for dialog and questioning by a larger number of constituents
about what these reports and data suggest, or how they might guide institutional change. How might
more opportunities for dialog become part of the institutional culture The suggestions below are offered
for consideration.
A thread running through several institutional dialogs relates to the need for more attention to professional
development for all levels of staff. Some of the following ideas relate to professional development and
its connection to increasing the opportunities and time for faculty to engage in dialog and self-growth,
which in turn should contribute to institutional growth:
• Explore the feasibility of returning to an “open-space”/college-hour time when no classes are held,
so that discussions about research reports, data, and activities related to teaching and learning
could be attended by more participants.
• Dedicate a no-conflict time during FLEX days for workshops and dialogs on specific themes
related to improving and assessing student learning.
• Promote College-wide discourse about teaching and learning, perhaps through a Teaching
and Learning Center. This center could house professional development materials on teaching
and learning and support professional development opportunities.
• Increase the use of technology to facilitate discussion and information-sharing directed at
institutional improvement throughout the District (e.g., online communities using online
threaded discussion boards, chat, and video-conferencing or streaming video presentation
of best practices related to basic skills instruction or enriching teaching materials with
multicultural learning opportunities).
• Stimulate cross-disciplinary dialog to provide students with more integrative
learning opportunities.
For such a large and complex institution, the College has begun to develop and expand its ability to host
significant and meaningful dialogs, a process that has increasingly begun to integrate essential information
into the conversation. Through formal governance structures as well as informal structures, the College
community has collectively engaged in the generation of ideas, the development of innovations, and the
growth of collaborative relationships that often result in specific proposals to intensify teaching and learning
across the District. Still, given the academic calendar, we struggle to find the time to devote ourselves
to the task and need to continue to work at creating dedicated venues for the sharing of information and
deepening of dialogs on specific topics, such as student learning and development. This challenge begs
increased attention.
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