Campus Digest - Merced College

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Campus Digest College Council Accomplishes Several Goals New Group Moves on Important Governance, Ethics, and Communication Issues By Dr. Benjamin T. Duran Superintendent/President as a result of the work we have been doing to respond to the recommendations of the accrediting Commission and to begin to address the Strategic Plan’s initiative on communication, we formed the “College Council,” which will serve as the College’s top-level shared governance body. The Council has been meeting regularly since it was formed last October and has proceeded to work toward several important goals, one of which, of course, is the creation of our Districtwide newsletter, the Campus Digest. It is our intent that the College Council serve as a clearinghouse and forum for dealing transparently with crucial College issues . . ..” Its fundamental purpose is to provide information, facilitate communication, and solve problems related to shared governance. The work of the Council, its agendas and action plans, and its membership roster can be found on our MC4Me portal at https://mc4me.mccd.edu/MC_Council/ default.aspx, and I strongly encourage you to visit the site often for current news. another important function of the College Council is to survey existing campus committees, examine their various roles and responsibilities, and to make recommendations for operational improvements. In the case of the Council, its primary role has required the cessation of two existing committees, the President’s advisory Council and the Board agenda review Committee. In other words, we’ve streamlined these aspects of our shared governance operations and that has allowed us to eliminate redun- Following up on a great season, Lady Devils water polo player Kailiponi “Poni” McGee was selected by the California Community College Sports Information association and California Community College athletic association as the november 2011 athlete of the Month. Page 2 dancy in decisionmaking. We recognize the need for improvedcommunications across the District. In fact, the accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (aCCJC) is requiring us to address Dr. Duran “My overriding concern, and the focus of my remaining time with the District is to move us toward proficiency and sustainability in areas of program review, student learning outcomes, and integrated planning as required by ACCJC.” the need for “dialogue that is inclusive, respectful, intentional, informed, and documented and about institutional quality and improvement.” To that end, we have begun to discuss all aspects of our communications, from top-down, bottom-up dialogue, to messaging directed to and from our students. We have also worked toward a Districtwide Code of Ethics, which was presented to the Board of Trustees for a First reading during its January 17 meeting. The Code of Ethics is meant to express our collective values, behaviors, and is a commitment we all need to make in order to work together harmoniously and the with respect and collegial spirit each of us deserves. It will serve to remind us that we are all responsible for creating the environment necessary for dialogue that is transparent, inclusive and respectful. McGee led the state in scoring with 91 goals, 46 assists and 52 steals. In november she helped lead the women’s water polo team to the Coast Conference Tournament Championship with wins over De anza, Ohlone, and Cabrillo. McGee scored 10 goals including 8 We also understand that our Strategic Plan needs to be completed, and we intend to accomplish that before the end of this semester. We will be gathering together our planning group once again to develop our objectives, action plans, and timelines, and to identify those responsible for guiding the institution toward its goals. My overriding concern, and the focus of my remaining time with the District is to move us toward proficiency and sustainability in areas of program review, student learning outcomes, and integrated planning as required by aCCJC. Improving our campus climate with better communications, better governance structures, and better decision-making processes will help us move off of warning and secure our full accreditation. Merced College is now a half-century old. as we celebrate our past during the coming year, we need to look into the future. Our future is our own responsibility. It is the result of the collective efforts of all of us. The College Council is a key component in defining that future, in creating the conditions for our success, and preparing the groundwork for plans and goals that will guide us in the next 50 years. I wish you all a wonderful and productive new year, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and concerns as we continue to build our future. Lady Devil Water Polo Player Recognized as Statewide Athlete of the Month January 2012 in the championship game, 3 assists and 2 steals. at the State Final Four she had 4 goals, 1 assist, and 3 steals in wins over Diablo Valley and Sierra College. She was named MVP of the Cost Conference, the northern California MVP and was selected as an all-american.
January 2012 Professor Uses Games to Help Students Learn Students may not consider their college education to be all fun and games, but for foreign languages instructor Dr. Caroline Kreide, college courses should incorporate games to enhance learning. “Pleasure is the best facilitator for learning to take place,” wrote the German and Spanish professor in the november edition of Connections, a journal of the Foreign Language association of northern California. “Empirically, we know that enjoyment helps us assimilate new material with practically no effort, and psychologists have corroborated this fact by considering play an essential feature in any child’s cognitive development,” Dr. Kreide wrote. Games have long been part of a child’s education, but when they enter college as adults, games all but disappear from an instructor’s bag of teaching techniques. Dr. Kreide’s experience is that games are powerful motivators. “Games have not been used in the college classroom because of two assumptions,” she said, “the first one being that they fail to transmit sufficient depth in an academic content, and the second one being that most college students are expected to be motivated and self-disciplined.” The reality, she said, is that college students struggle with their own boredom and lack of motivation, which prevents them from becoming effective learners. Dr. Kreide has had her share of unmotivated students over the years. To learn about their struggles in the classroom, she began to use questionnaires at the end of each semester to ascertain which activities worked and which ones didn’t. Games were always at the top of the list for the activity that worked the best for learning. She discovered that whenever a game was played in class, students who were tuning out and nodding off would be transformed into focused and involved participants. Game playing allows students to leave the class with a positive feeling about the subject. Dr. Kreide uses several board games in the classroom such as “Memory,” “Jeopardy,” and “Battleship.” She has been able to tweak these games to get the most out of them as teaching tools. Her rule for her foreign language students is that English is not allowed. “For a teacher, the sweetest moments of classroom games are those when students passionately feud over how to answer a question correctly,” she said. “In those instances the class explodes in spontaneous discussion about the subject matter.” Games create decentralization in the classroom and deconstruct the traditional hierarchy by spreading attention and power throughout the classroom. Students become more active agents in their own learning, she said. In foreign language classes, Dr. Kreide said, “games help to get language under a student’s skin.” Dr. Kreide’s article includes several examples of successful games that she has used in the classroom. If games are used well, she said, “the competitive spirit will sooner or later rouse even the less motivated student, resulting in pleasurable learning.” (This atrticle was first published in the Merced Sun-Star) Page 3 Campus Digest An Offer You Can’t Refuse Photo by Robin Shepard Student Alejandra Bustos wears a 50th Anniversary T-shirt. The Bookstore is selling anniversary T-shirts with a sweatshirt, both for only $20! Get yours today! Accreditation Work Progresses By Dr. Anne Newins VP of Student Services Work continued on the Follow up report over the holiday hiatus. Writing team members have created preliminary drafts and plan to have final drafts ready for editing by February 2. The most complex sections to write have been recommendations 1 and 3, which address program review and integrated planning. In related activities, College Council meetings have been scheduled for the coming semester. Significant topics will include the Strategic Plan, revisions of our planning handbooks, and ongoing discussion about the role of the Educational Master Planning Committee. Committees have been designated and members now are being chosen for participation. Training opportunities are being provided during Flex Days and within departments. a group will attend accreditation Training in anaheim sponsored by WaSC and the academic Senate.
Page 1: A Merced College News Magazine Tack
Page 5 and 6: January 2012 Student Success Contin
Page 7 and 8: January 2012 Dr. Cary Coburn is Top

Campus Digest - Merced College

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