May 5, 2009 - Pacific Northwest Teaching & Learning Conference
Assessment, Teaching and Learning Contact List:

• Jack Bautsch, Assessment
• Jane Lister Reis, Coryl Celene Martel, Faculty Development Liasons
• Pam Lippert and Phebe Jewell (?), Developmental Ediucation Liasons
• Jennifer Wu, FACTC Representative

Understanding How the Brain Naturally Learns - Rita Smilkstein

"See if you can figure this out."
Environment for Learning: Respect and safety
Activity: Consider something that you do well. Then ask yourself how you got from not knowing to knowing.
Demonstrate respect by recording words exactly as the student(s) have stated them.
Stages of getting from unknowing to knowing. 1.Motivation, 2.Tried it, 3. seek out info/knowledge, 4. found others, share 5. applying what has been learned.
Aptitude - natural born talent
Convey to students your absolute belief that they are natural born learners.

"You are a natural born learner."

Learning	Teaching provide a task for students to do that inter-relates with the learning stage below.
Motivated to learn (Motivation)	Make the topic relative to the student, generate interest
Try it (Beginning Practice)
Seek out info (Advanced Practice)
found others, shared (Skillfulness)
apply (Refinement)
(Mastery)

Much of what we're now seeing talks about the need for "engaging" students.
Rita Responds: If you can get students involved with figuring things out on their own then it becomes fun and "engaging".

Pedagogy: Hands On. Do it yourself first then talk it over with another.
Literal Meaning, Inferential meaning.
Metacognition- self awareness from their own experiences

Keynote:
Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, Ph.D Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal

Who do you want to be teaching your grandchildren?
Rethink education in this country. What are our priorities? What consensus has been reached?

What % of faculty / personnel are engaged in the Mission?
We are responsible for how we draw on Diversity.
We have an infrastructure for technology we need to apply similar amount of energy toward developing an understanding of diversity.
How we address unscripted problems.
Inclusion- engagement with diversity.

Inclusiveness- one way to apply it is by creating partnerships between campus communities and neighborhood communities.

Consensus - coming together and converse, not all get what they want but they agree to support on the outcome.
CC have to critique and reassess how learning outcomes are being achieved. Including administrative practices.
Learn how people learn in order to best be able to reach all the diverse peoples.
Adjunct faculty- Do they know the institutional purposes of the courses they teach?
The Intentional Institution-Considers the impact of its decisions on learners and instructors.
http://www.AACU.org/resources/institutionalchange/index.cfm

Using Astrology to Assess your Students Literal and Metaphorical Implications

eniograms
Liz Greene Astrology for Lovers
The Alphabet and the Goddess
Daniel Pink - A Global Mind
Arrange students into grps based on their "Sun Sign". This gives the members of a group a common denominator regardless of whether students believe in the efficacy of astrology.

Learning Communities
Jane L-R, NSCC; Noreen Light, Faculty Developer at SBCTC
Noreen Light will connect us with Learning Communities at our request.

Groups of people working together solving teaching and learning issues/challenges/problems collaboratively.
Difference between Communities (invested interest) and Committees (busy work, often unproductive and frustrating).
The Lessons Study Project. (Carnegie)
Research based
Theme based. -Involve students,admin with larger issues e.g. ibest, Can effectively address systemic challenges.
Ken Baynes- What the best college faculty do
Parker Palmer - The Courage to Teach

Cultural Competence
Highline Community College

We can't teach what we don't know.
The will and skill to create authentic and effective relationships across differences.
Know Self- Reflection, Pay attention, Studey Astrology, spend time with others, strengths and areas of growth
Know Student - Listen observe, ask questions, get exposure, open door, know students' learning styles
Know Practice -

Relationship precedes learning.
Self~Students = Relationships
Self~Practice = Rigor
Students ~ Practice = Responsiveness

Nitza Hildago - Levels of Culture
Concrete (see) - Music clothes food art, money, color, age
Behavioral (act) - celebrations, gender roles, birth, death
Symbolic (think) - traditions, concepts of time, history