BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF COMMUNITY-TECHNICAL COLLEGES CONGRESS BARGAINING UNIT APPLICATION FOR PROMOTION TEACHING FACULTY Academic Year 2003-200

This application must be submitted to the President no later than !a"#ar$ %& All responses should refer to activities and developments since your previous promotion or original appointment to the college, whichever is more recent. Please do not attach evaluations or other evaluative documents which are a part of your professional file. The review process involves a consideration of these evaluative materials. Please type or print. Name Present #an$% Date &nstructor October 3 , !""3 . .

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&n general, how have you demonstrated growth and competence in teaching and other responsibilities related to instruction'

In the past two years, I have demonstrated growth and competence in teaching and other responsibilities related to instruction in a number of ways. I have continued to develop my teaching skills by exchanging ideas with other faculty members and experimenting with various textbooks, teaching techniques and assignments to stimulate student interest in the material. I have sought out and found resources within the community for my EN 1 ! students to attend poetry readings and plays. I have sought out and found ways to incorporate material students need "e.g. additional instruction in grammar# but for which there is little time during the semester. $sing a new approach to grading papers, I have improved my relationships with struggling students. I have attended the %arnes &eminar as well as several other professional conferences at which many ideas concerning teaching and learning were exchanged, and I have applied many of these ideas in my teaching. In addition, I have increased my understanding of college programs, procedures and systems, and have thereby improved my ability to address the needs of students and advisees. 'ikewise, I have become more involved and familiar with the resources that the college has to offer through its services, committees, faculty and staff. I have worked collaboratively with faculty members in other departments. I have (oined a number of committees for which I have done fairly extensive work. )nd, I have developed a better understanding of how to expand and improve the *onors +rogram.

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(ist accomplishments, special pro)ects, or unusual wor$ in regard to the items indicated in Article *, +ection of the ,ollective -argaining Agreement.

,hrough my work here at ---, I have been able to participate in pro(ects and unusual work which have allowed me to accomplish much more than my minimum duties. .or example, I have collaborated with faculty members in other departments. I have guest lectured on writing skills in xxxxxx/s class, and I have spoken with her on several occasions concerning the writing skills and needs of particular students. )lso, when I substitute taught for her recently, I brainstormed with her students ideas for a one0day or periodic writing workshop especially for 1,) students. I hope to work with xxxxxx and with other writing instructors to make this workshop a reality. In my capacity as 2oordinator of the *onors +rogram, I regularly touch base with other instructors who are

considering recommending a student to the *onors +rogram and who have volunteered to work with *onors +rogram students on In02lass *onors +ro(ects and Independent &tudies. In so doing, I have developed closer relationships with my colleagues and helped to oversee some impressive *onors +rogram work. I also encourage collaboration between the instructor of the *onors &eminar "currently xxxxxx# and other faculty members in other departments. In addition, I often volunteer for tasks in and out of my department such as developing the new course outline for the 3omen in 'iterature course "necessitated by common course numbering#, teaching during afternoons and evenings, which are unpopular hours among the faculty members in my department, and teaching EN1 4 occasionally even though doing so constitutes an additional preparation and occasional contact with instructors not in my department. I have collaborated with xxxxxx and xxxxxx concerning students with special needs, and, through the 5epartment of &ocial &ervices in %ridgeport, I have sought out a counselor for a student who was experiencing some difficult family problems but did not want to discuss them with a counselor here on campus. I have also provided extensive tutoring and advice to many students, my own students, honors program students, my advisees, and students who simply walk in to my office randomly. .or example, during the time that I have been working on this section of the application, two E&' students came into my office out of an impulse to be friendly, and I ended up speaking to them for thirty minutes about their future educational plans. Each of these students had different educational experiences in his native country, and I advised each accordingly. 1n another occasion, I was asked by xxxxxx to advise an acquaintance of hers whose daughter was thinking about attending ---. I met with the mother and daughter, and then took them down to the admissions office as well as to the academic support center. I have also written a number of letters of recommendation for students who have transferred to four0year institutions, and on one occasion I nominated one student for a scholarship to N6$. I was instrumental in supporting this student through the admission process and the scholarship application process, both of which were successful. )lso, I recently attended a luncheon, arranged by xxxxxx, with representatives from &mith 2ollege and 7t. *olyoke 2ollege who spoke about scholarship opportunities for community college students to transfer to one of these institutions. I recommended one student for this event, and asked the current instructor of the *onors &eminar to recommend several of the &eminar students. I have volunteered to accompany a number of students to 7assachusetts to visit the two campuses next month, and I hope to develop a relationship with these institutions so that I can facilitate the transfer of students to these colleges, which will offer them a life0changing academic experience as well as the logistical and financial assistance necessary to make the opportunity a reality. 3. .hat activities have you underta$en to maintain contact with your discipline or to develop $nowledge in your field or specialty'

In order to maintain contact with my discipline and develop knowledge in my field, I subscribe to several professional (ournals and have attended a number of conferences during the past two years. .or example, I attended a workshop conducted at 6ale $niversity by 8ivian 9amel in which alternate techniques of correcting student essays were examined, and I have used these techniques in my classes. %y using fewer, more detailed comments, I model the type of writing I want from students "e.g. complete sentences#, provide them with guidance they can understand and apply, discourage them less "thereby minimi:ing their temptation to plagiari:e#, and motivate them to improve their own work. I have also attended other professional workshops, poetry readings and lectures such as the %arnes &eminar, poetry readings

sponsored by 2olumbia $niversity/s )lumni &ervices and other institutions, and ;acqueline ;ordan Irvine/s <ildersleeve 'ecture ",he %arnard 2ollege Education +rogram#. 'ast spring break, I attended a week0long conference, the 2222 ",he 2onference on 2ollege 2omposition and 2ommunication#, and this month I attended a three0day conference sponsored by ,62) ",wo06ear 2ollege English )ssociation, a division of the National 2ouncil of ,eachers of English#. Each of these conferences has provided me with a wealth of information and practical ideas for the classroom. .or instance, I came back from the 2222 conference with ideas about how to guide students toward a wider variety of interesting and fruitful research topics, and I returned from the ,62) conference with some ideas about how to restructure my EN1 ! class as well as some activities which will make studying &hakespeare more fun and, hopefully, a little easier. In addition, I maintain contact with former colleagues in E&' and I continue to develop my E&' teaching skills by teaching three summer courses for the 6ale $niversity English 'anguage Institute each summer.

B& O*'er A++i("me"*+

(ist the college committees on which you have served and briefly describe your wor$ on them.

'ast year, I was elected to and served on the +rofessional 5evelopment 2ommittee. 1n this committee, I participated in the process of deciding how to spend the remaining +rofessional 5evelopment funds and how to revise a pamphlet on +rofessional 5evelopment. I also served on the )ssessment &ub02ommittee, for which I did a number of pro(ects. I researched assessment tools used at other institutions, I surveyed the --- community concerning use of the --- )rt 7useum, and I surveyed the --- community concerning the effectiveness of the &earch 2ommittee process. )s a result of this research, I have amassed a fair amount of data concerning assessment tools, I wrote a report on the use of the --- museum by the --community, and I wrote an extensive report outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the --- search committee process, according to the results of the survey. I also served on a search committee last year. .or that committee, I kept the minutes, and I participated in the development of the criteria and interview questions, the screening of applications, the interviewing of applicants, and the establishment of a list of the top three candidates. .or the last two years, I have served on the +eer 2ommittee, and thereby participated in the development of priorities for additional responsibilities. I have recently become a member of the .aculty0&taff 5evelopment 2ommittee, for which I have as yet performed only a few small tasks. In addition, I am currently serving on another search committee.

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(ist any student club or organi/ation advisor0ships and describe your wor$ in this role.

I am the 2oordinator of the *onors +rogram. In this capacity, I am able to foster relationships between excellent students and thereby provide them with an intellectual community that they might not develop on their own here at ---. ,hrough this community and through their relationships with the various instructors who agree to oversee their honors work, these students exchange ideas and receive encouragement to continue to succeed at a high level. I act as a sort of =home base> where students can coordinate with each other, devise plans for their honors work and get guidance and encouragement as well as help with procedures. ,he *onors +rogram reflects ---/s sensitivity to, as described in the --- mission statement, the =diverse?needs and goals> of our students. It serves the needs of outstanding students, and in so doing helps to =empower all individuals to develop to their full potential.> ,he independent pro(ects and seminar create a =learner0centered, supportive,?stimulating?@andA intellectually active?environment> designed especially for these students. +articipation in the program makes students more competitive candidates for =transfer to baccalaureate institutions.> ,he program helps to foster =@aActive partnerships with?other educational institutions> interested in recruiting --- &cholars. It increases the =personal

enrichment> outstanding students derive from study at ---, and it contributes to the =broad variety of? program options> offered by the college. ,hrough recruitment, advising and record keeping, I ensure that the program accomplishes its mission. )s *onors +rogram 2oordinator, I provide instrumental guidance for an impressive body of student work. In the &pring ! B semester, twenty0two In02lass *onors +ro(ects and two Independent &tudies were completed, and twenty0one different instructors worked with students on these pro(ects. )ll of the Independent &tudies conducted during the / !0/ B academic year involved cooperative work within the school or within the community. 1ne student created and produced the page layout for the school newspaper, *ori:ons, including page layout, creating illustrations, working collaboratively with design and publication staff and maintaining a very rigid deadline schedule for both the fall and spring semesters. )nother student produced a 5o0It06ourself 7anual for volunteer0based high school theater and developed a theater pro(ect at the 2hristian *eritage &chool in ,rumbull, 2,. &he presented this manual as a gift for future use at the 2hristian *eritage &chool. ) third student designed and conducted a primary school training pro(ect that addresses grade school children/s pre(udices, and sensiti:es them to issues of diversity. &he researched existing diversity programs, and she designed, executed and evaluated an original diversity curriculum appropriate for the age group with which she worked. In the .all of ! !, eight students took the *onors &eminar, and each of them learned a great deal about interdisciplinary studies, cooperative work, independent work, and what it means to be an academic as well as about the sub(ect matter itself. 2urrently the *onors &eminar is running with another small group of excellent students working on the same goals, though different sub(ect matter, as did the students last fall. In addition, a number of interesting in0class honors pro(ects are underway, and so far, one very exciting Independent *onors +ro(ect, a multimedia performance presentation on the history of ;amaican theater, has been proposed for next semester.

3.

1ave you developed any new instructional techni2ues, course offerings, or programs'

In the last two years, I have developed a number of new instructional techniques. .or example, I have experimented with various ways to monitor and aid the process of writing a research paper by adding multiple summary assignments from the start of the term to teach students how to process reading material more effectively and to prepare them for note0taking while researching and avoiding plagiarism when writing the research paper. +art of this process was the introduction of a series of related group activitiesC a group activity "based on an excerpt from a mock research paper and mock research note cards# to help students put the correct information into a parenthetical reference a group activity "based on an excerpt from a mock research paper and mock research note cards# to help students build a paragraph by adding supporting material to a topic sentence and integrating the introduction of a quote, the quote itself, a parenthetical reference, and follow0up discussion of the quote a group activity "based on an excerpt from a mock research paper as well as actual research materialsC books from the library, articles taken from one of the library/s data bases, and websites# to give students hands0on experience creating a works cited list a group activity designed to help students recogni:e and avoid plagiarism I have also created new tests and integrated the use of group qui::es with the testing of individuals, and I have changed my method of grading papers. I now use fewer, more detailed comments written in complete sentences, a very time consuming but valuable change. ,hese examples constitute some of the new instructional techniques I have developed in the past two years. I have developed a new course, overseen the development of another course, and revised existing course materials. I developed and taught *N! , the *onors &eminar for the fall of ! !. ,he seminar is an interdisciplinary class offered in the fall only with a different topic each time it is offered. 'ast fall, we studied, among other things, some history and politics of the 2ongo, biography, 2ongolese music, 2ongolese art,

+ost ,raumatic &tress 5isorder, disease, nutrition, missionary work, the film industry, literature and literary criticism. In developing and teaching this course, I drew on and integrated the expertise of other professionals from the community, and I worked closely with students to hone academic skills necessary for independent work as well as transfer to four0year institutions and graduate study. I also recruited xxxxxx to develop and teach the *onors &eminar for the fall of ! B, and I provided her with guidance especially concerning the interdisciplinary nature of the course she developed. ,his fall, I am teaching EN!1D, a course I have not taught in a number of years and thus had to develop new course content. In the spring, I will teach EN!11, a course I have never before taught. In addition, I reworked my EN1 ! syllabus to convey a better sense of the development of literature over time "in poetry an oral tradition is comparedEcontrasted with modernEcontemporary poetryF in drama, ancient, renaissance and modern drama are all represented as well as comedy and tragedyF the increased realism of some modern drama is linked to fiction with the discussion of the short story as a development stemming from the invention of the printing press as well as a group of related cultural changesC increased literacy, the growth of the middle class, and the resulting increased interest in realism#. I changed my EN1 1 texts to simplify the process of essay writing and revising, a process that students could realistically use on their own when writing papers for future classes.

3.

&n what community service activities of the college have you participated as part of your regular assignment 4not for additional pay5'

5uring my first year full time at the college "! 10!#, xxxxxx and I wrote and distributed to the --- writing faculty, including ad(uncts, Writing About Art, a handbook of writing assignments involving art here at the college. ,o do so, xxxxxx and I collaborated not only with each other but with xxxxxx as well. I undertook the pro(ect because of my belief that students with diverse needs and interests can respond to art if given encouragement and guidance, and because I am concerned with students/ ability to respond in writing to topics about which they learn in class. ,he assignments I wrote are designed to help students make the leap from writing about themselves to writing about something outside of themselves, something to which they may have had little or no exposure. ,he handbook is designed in such a way that instructors can use it to quickly come up with pro(ects "small or large# which involve the museumEcollection displayed in the halls. )ssignments are designed to fit in with assignments teachers typically give in writing classes "e.g. a descriptive paragraph, a comparison0contrast essay# so that using the artwork would help to stimulate writing that teachers typically expect without adding any new material to an already packed syllabus. $sing these assignments has drawn students into active participation in intellectual consideration and appreciation of art by giving them some hands0on experience with our art collection. )lso, the booklet was used by the )cademic 5ean to show NE)&G2 that the museum is a resource which is linked to academic services. In addition, this handbook has helped foster greater academic use of the college art collection by the faculty. 1ut of 1H writing instructors surveyed during the I !E/ B academic year, 1B had used the handbook, were planning to integrate its use into their syllabi, or had requested a copy and were excited about using it. In addition, I became aware of three instructors of sub(ects other than writing who had adapted and used an assignment or were planning to do so in the future. xxxxxx and I hope to revise this handbook and distribute an updated edition within the next two years. In addition, I have displayed student essays in the art museum. 5uring the time that xxxxxx and I were distributing the Writing About Art booklet, we displayed a number of student essays and paragraphs in the art museum during the student art exhibition. ,he exhibition of student writing, all results of assignments included in the booklet, fostered a sense of accomplishment in the student writers and generated interest among the faculty in use of the writing assignments in the booklet. .urthermore, I have served as a ;udge on the --- Essay 2ontest, 2oordinated by xxxxxx, sponsored by the Connecticut Post. ,his contest was designed to challenge and encourage student writers in all writing classes at the college. In so doing, it empowered individual students to develop to their full potential. In the spirit of friendly competition, the contest added to the college/s =?learner0centered, supportive, and stimulating environment,> a goal stated in the 2ommunity 2ollege &ystem 7ission &tatement. ,he contest

contributed yet another element to the college/s =?intellectually active and culturally rich environment,> and it embellished the college/s =?vital liberal arts foundation @designedA to help students to develop creativity, critical thinking and problem0solving skills> when perfecting their essays for submission. ,he contest also constitutes an =@aActive partnership with the community @andA businesses?> by working together with the Connecticut Post which both sponsored the contest and published the winning essays. In accepting xxxxxx/s invitation to serve as a (udge on this contest, I both worked cooperatively with a colleague and helped to perpetuate these aspects of the --- mission. ,wenty0three essays adhering to contest guidelines were submitted, and three outstanding essays, among a number of excellent essays, were selected to receive pri:es. ,he awards ceremony was well attended, a booklet containing all entries was distributed, and the whole undertaking stimulated participation among both students and faculty. I plan to serve as (udge again at this year/s contest.

6.

&ndicate any other college service not covered above which you wish to have considered by those reviewing this application.

+lease see my letter to xxxxxx dated 1ctober B , ! B.

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