Year Three ePortfolio Sample - Cheryl Stover

Teaching Philosophy

Much of my teaching philosophy revolves around empowering students to become active participants and take ownership of their education. To help them understand that I can provide lectures, notes, PowerPoint slides, worksheets, study sheets, quizzes and online materials, but in the end we need to be equal partners in the journey. To achieve my goals I believe much of the work begins with me. While learning is primarily the student’s responsibility, being an effective teacher is my responsibility. I feel my effectiveness is dependent upon multiple factors: knowledge of the content; ability to translate and communicate difficult concepts; presentation and organizational skills and ability to connect with each student as an individual. Even after 12 years I am passionate about what I teach and work very hard to keep my knowledge up to date by reading journal articles and attending seminars. This is reflected in a presentation style that tries to maximize student interest with humor and real world examples, yet constantly challenges them to evaluate and critically think about the information. I also work hard to make information understandable for a variety of learning styles by presenting concepts in multiple formats: lecture; animations; clicker sessions; hands-on laboratory activities and small peer group discussions.

While I can provide students with endless resources, part of my job is to also support students to gain the necessary skills to become better individual learners and future workers. I encourage them to move past basic memorization and regurgitation to evaluate information from different perspectives and understand how it applies to the big picture. As future employees they will also need to be able to work collaboratively with peers. The use of small group work has proven invaluable in creating an atmosphere where students can ask questions, provide input and can feel comfortable voicing their opinions, while still respecting the opinions of others. These help to actively involve students who may be too shy or intimidated to ask questions in class. Because of the diversity in my classes their discussions are also enriched with personal experience and knowledge and they push each other to a greater level of understanding.

To truly improve student success though my job has to extend outside of the classroom. Some of my best teaching comes from informal discussions, office hours and talking with students in small groups during hands on activities. Those provide me with the greatest feedback on what I can do to improve the learning experience for each individual.

In my 12 years of teaching I can definitely say my teaching style has gone through many adjustments and modifications. While I believe my teaching has been successful, being in the education field I also understand there is always more to learn from students and colleagues. While my goal is to excite and inspire others in their pursuit for knowledge, I am given just as much in return.

Responsibilities

My position encompasses many duties and responsibilities. My primary responsibilities are in-class interactions with students and the preparation it takes to make class time meaningful. In addition, activities that contribute to the running of the college and the day-to-day affairs of my department are duties that I carry out as well.

Teaching

I spend a large portion of my time planning and executing my courses. Although seemingly straightforward, planning is a complex process whose success relies heavily on researching current pedagogy and networking with professors outside of the area. It is my responsibility to find or create ways of presenting content. It is my responsibility to present content in a manner that facilitates our students acquiring a deeper understanding of and connection with the material and at the same time effectively assess the learning that occurs.

Courses that I have taught are listed below.

Renton Technical College

Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology (Bio 105) including Lab Format: hybrid and on campus.

General Biology (Biol&160) including Lab: Format: hybrid and on campus.
Human Anatomy and Physiology I (Biol&241) including Lab: Format: hybrid and on campus.
Human Anatomy and Physiology II (Biol&242) including Lab: Format: hybrid and on campus.
Pathology I (MAP 203): Format: hybrid and on campus.
Pathology II (MAP 205): Format: hybrid and on campus.
Microbiology (Biol&260) Laboratory: Format: on campus.
Medical Terminology (MAP 103): Format: online
ESL3 (BAST 019): Format: on campus.

Green River Community College

Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology (AP 103) including Lab. Format: on campus.
Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology (AP 104) including Lab. Format: on campus.

Bellevue College

Human Anatomy and Physiology I (Biol&241) including Lab: Format: hybrid and on campus.

Service

I have had the pleasure of contributing to the college community through service on Learning Council and several committees.

In-service Planning Committee 2015

The 2015 In-Service Committee planned the first in-service that incorporated a decreased session load for the specific day of in-service and instead provided yearlong professional development through topic explorations in Canvas. These explorations included: classroom management, inspired teaching, teaching new formats, OER explorations, technology in teaching and Reading Apprenticeship. This in-service model is still being utilized by the college.

Facilities Master Plan Steering Committee Meeting

This committee provided input and suggestions about how college resources should be utilized. This was a particularly interesting committee as it brought me a new understanding of not only how the college works, but on how restrictive physical space and resources can be to our work and what we can achieve for our students.

Learning Council

The purpose of the Learning Council is to assess instructional and learning support policies and procedures, and make recommendations to the College Council that are in alignment with the College’s core themes and accreditation standards. Recent discussions have included items such as academic standards at our college, how and if attendance should be graded, and what our Allied Health grading scale should look like. We have also taken on several larger tasks and have formed the committees below to address these issues.

Curriculum Committee

The program review process is currently disjointed and difficult to navigate. This group was tasked with streamlining the review process. This began with laying down the groundwork for forming a true Curriculum committee that will perform program reviews. Through this work the college has decided to purchase Curriculog and Acalog software that will not only improve faculty and administration experience with reviews, but enhance the student experience when choosing courses and finding. I have recently taken on the role of chair for this committee and we plan to begin reviews for the Summer/Fall terms.

Faculty Senate Committee

Eugene Shen, Jim Drinkwine, and I are researching various models for a Faculty Senate at RTC. We have been focused on how to effectively implement a Faculty Senate into the governance model at our institution while maximizing adjunct representation and a unique separate from the Union. Eugene and I will be holding listening sessions late Winter 17 and the plan is to present our model to the President and Cabinet Spring 17.

Faculty Senate Development Committee

This committee is a continuation of the Faculty Senate Committee and involves several new members. We are continuing the work described above.

Science Division

I take an active role in hiring process within our department. I have written the job descriptions for both adjunct and tenure track positions and participated in adjunct interviews. I am also responsible for providing new instructors a complete Canvas course that they can use as they start their career at Renton Technical College.

When I was first brought on as tenure-track I identified about $80,000 of science lab fees that had been collected but never utilized. At the time, our labs were woefully lacking in teaching materials and supplies and it was negatively impacting the learning of our students. Teaching students to identify the features of a bone is impossible when you only have one bone for 25 students. I have since utilized a portion of the science lab fees to purchase: 6 skeletons, various anatomy models, basic supplies for general biology, microbiology, and chemistry labs. I also had the purchase of BoxLight projectors approved so that our instructors can produce better lecture videos for our online students. I have maintained the role of a lab coordinator. Ordering supplies, pulling specimens, monitoring lab cleanliness and organization, and overseeing the disposal of hazardous materials.

Class schedules are also my responsibility. In the past, we have scheduled classes without being informed by data. The result was a large number of sections would have to be cancelled and students and instructors would be left in a lurch. In an attempt to rectify this, Patrick Brown provided me with historical enrollment data which I use to predict how many sections of each course are required each quarter. Although the number of classes offered has decreased, so has the number of classes cancelled. Instructors can be reasonably sure of that quarters employment and students can depend that the course they signed for will run.

Challenges and Curriculum Development

The teaching challenges I have faced have shaped both my curriculum development and growth. The major challenge that I have faced at Renton Technical College are the large numbers of under-prepared students in our classrooms. While reflecting on my experiences at Bellevue College and Green River Community College, and comparing my experiences at all three institutions, I noticed that our students were not as successful in my classes as the students at other institutions. The difference was frustrating, and disheartening for both me and my students. Beginning Fall 2016 I made a concerted effort to find ways to support our students so that, with hard work on their part and mine, we could all succeed.

Historically, my classes have been lecture heavy. Didactic science lectures are most successful when students have prepared ahead of time by reading the textbook and have a strong background in science. Although I found lecturing to be effective at other institutions and for well-prepared RTC students, as evidenced by thoughtful questions and high exam marks, the (poorly prepared bt) students were not succeeding with this teaching method. Through classes I had taken at the University of Washington I had been exposed to many different teaching methods. Consulting with my dean on my teachng options, I settled on to the flipped classroom model for my face to face courses.

While students were improving academically with the flipped classroom model, based on student feedback, they voiced that they did not feel as supported in their learning. Students expressed that they needed more direct instruction. Based on that student feedback in Spring 2017 and Fall 2017 I made course changes that I hoped would produce the success I saw in the flipped model while allowing more direct instruction to support students. To accomplish this I began employing a reading assignment that required students to take notes on the reading before I lectured on the topic.

I was happy with the results I saw with the reading assignment but, in the end, felt that it needed further refinement. The underprepared students were often overwhelmed by the amount of reading that was assigned and struggled with identifying the information they needed to pull out of the text. Beginning Winter 2018 I will be utilizing another learning strategy of providing students with a guided reading document Download guided reading document

that not only highlights the important information, but also aligns that information with the learning outcomes for that topic. I am hopeful that this modification will have a positive impact on the learning of my students.

In addition, beginning Winter 2018, I will be providing students will access to ungraded assignments. These practice materials are meant to be resources the students can use to learn, assess learning, and review the materials on a more frequent basis to enhance comprehension and and information retention. I have provided quizlets, practice worksheets, and old exams that the students can complete without negatively impacting their grade. I expect that I will need to constantly reinforce the importance of these materials in order to encourage students to utilize them. I am confident I can get students to see the benefits and payoffs of practicing using their knowledge. The practice materials that are currently developed can be viewed in the year 3 module.

The course textbooks for BIOL 241 will change Winter 2018 and BIOL 242 Spring 2018. (Many students experienced a lack of funds to purchase required materials so I chose to switch our text book to OER text from OpenStax. Links to an external site. In addition, the lab manual has been dropped and lab reference files Download lab reference files

and pre-lab assignment Download pre-lab assignment files have been prepared and made available to students for free. I am excited that all of my students will have the materials they need, from the first moment of class, in order to be successful and the lower course costs will attract a greater number of underserved students.

Achievements

I’m excited by the opportunity to contribute positive changes for the college. I possess many attributes that enable me to be a valuable contributor, including the following:

I am adaptable. Having taught countless sections at three different community colleges has shown me that no two student-populations are identical. Each comes with its own strengths, weaknesses and needs. This experience has allowed me to cultivate multiple approaches to teaching and the flexibility to serve diverse learners. I am confidant that I will be able to find effective methods to help the students of Renton Technical College reach their goals just as I have.

I meet students where they are. I am well versed in multiple modes of content delivery and adjust my methods for optimum effect. I am comfortable teaching in the face-to-face, online, and hybrid formats. Although content in each type of delivery is no different, activities that best support learning in each format are not necessarily the same. Student/student and student/instructor relationships develop organically in face-to-face and hybrid environments but not in the virtual classroom. Online students can feel very isolated and unsupported in the online classroom. I continue to develop strategies to alleviate this issue. Online discussions, virtual office hours, and group projects all facilitate a sense of community that fosters a welcoming environment conducive to learning.

I can always do better. In all of my years of teaching, I have never taught the exact same course two quarters in a row. I am always striving to improve. Recently, it came to my attention that students struggle with reading. Seeing this as a barrier to student success, I began to ask students to outline the chapters before class. I saw an increase in reading comprehension but recognized that outlining the entire chapter was a very large task for students. To improve the student experience and learning outcomes, I have changed the outlining assignment into a guided reading assignment. My pedagogy is always evolving as I will always look for areas of improvement.

I am involved. I became involved in shared governance while I was an adjunct and continue this work. I thoroughly enjoy participating in all of the committees that I sit on. I am very proud of the work that contributed to Renton Technical College adopting Curriulog and Acalog. I have recently taken on the role of chair of the committee working to develop the first curriculum committee at RTC, and I am also involved with developing the first faculty senate at our college. Shared governance gives me the opportunity to interact with members of all the populations of the college and, for me, it is a source of great satisfaction.

I have empathy and compassion. My academic journey was not a straightforward one. I faced many challenges along the way: funding, single motherhood, family tragedies. These challenges meant it took me 4 years to complete my A.A. degree and another 3 to receive my B.S. I once felt “less than” because of my slower than average progress, but now I see it as a benefit. Many of my students, will need to overcome similar obstacles to find success. My experiences during my academic and professional careers afford me the perspective to offer support and guidance without judgement.

Growth

In order to continue my growth, I have begun to consider how I define sucess in the community college classroom. When students demonstrate that they have met the course outcomes, they have achieved the most basic definition of success. This is the easiest definition to measure through quizzes, exams, projects, and lab work. However, content knowledge alone is insufficient. I want my students to leave my classroom with skills that they will need to be successful in their future academic and career paths.

I am truly successful when my students acquire the skills to be independent learners able to ask and answer meaningful questions on their own. Scaffolding class activities that allow for the development of these skills, while providing plenty of opportunities for mistakes, is the first step in cultivating and measuring this type of self-efficacy. For example, the ability to effectively use a textbook is a skill many students do not come to my class possessing, yet it is a skill that will serve them well in many aspects in most of their academic undertakings. Science courses are content-heavy and students need to be able to acquire information on their own with the use of the textbook. To that end, I employ Reading Apprenticeship Strategies to enhance literacy skills. Pre-lecture guided-reading assignments with small group “muddiest-point” discussions allow us to decode challenging text. As the quarter progresses, and the students gain skills, my interventions taper. A short bit of the reading may not have an accompanying reading guide and, in class, students share what they felt where the important points in that section. Reading quizzes ensure that students have done the reading. Grading the quizzes in class assists student understanding of how the information in the textbook should have been used to answer the questions. Finally, students demonstrate they have begun to learn how to use their textbooks when I can begin a lecture discussing how a process occurs without having to define each term.

I have found that once students master acquiring the basic information on their own, it frees them up to think about what I am communicating to them during class; it gives them room to be able to ask and form questions. This skill is demonstrated and measured with pair and share classroom activities and, one the students like the best, “stump the teacher.” Success in the community college classroom that goes beyond meeting course outcomes can be difficult to measure yet is crucial the future success of my students. I have never had a student say, “Ah! So that’s what a medullary cavity is for!” but, I commonly hear “oohs” and “ahhs” when they are first shown how to use an index or how to interpret a figure. Teaching the students to be independent learners is an important part of my job and one that, I feel, can have the longest-lasting impact.

The College can support students, and my endeavors, by putting a comprehensive advising model in place. Currently, students are often left on their own to decide which courses, and in which order, to take. When left to their own devices, without strategic planning, students often choose schedules that make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to be successful. I attempt to find out each students' schedule at the beginning of the quarter and point out any over challenging schedules that I see, knowing the rigor of our curriculum, but unfortunately, students rarely take my advice. Many are set on the fastest completion time for their preqrequisites and do not consider the effect that underperfoming in a class will have on their timeline. Effective academic advising is desperately needed so that students can sucessfully complete their program prequisites in the least amount of time.