Celebrate Learning! Spring 2014 (Vol 5, Issue 2) | Page 20

Innovations for Completing the Dream Dr. Angela Sivadon Assistant Professor Allied Heath Completing the Dream Lead Team Faculty During the Fall 2013 semester the Completing the Dream Lead Team submitted a call for proposals for new innovations to join the program. We are very excited to announce there will be two new innovations joining Completing the Dream in Fall 2015. Tracy Ballenger and Eunice Tarver will be leading the “Career Academy Innovation,” and Lisa Gerow with Lindsey White will be leading the “Service Learning Innovation.” We welcome them both on the CTD “bus” that is on the road to student persistence and completion. Two of the current innovations, New Student Orientation and African American Males Student Success Team, will be completing their tour on CTD this Spring, and will be working towards college-wide implementation in the coming months. MathPath has big plans for the Summer and Fall 2015 semesters, and will remain as a CTD innovation as they pilot a new strategy for assisting students in successful completion of their mathematics courses. Engaging Students with TCC Student Health 101 in the Classroom Jennifer Freeman, Academic Counselor, Student Dev./Nursing Division Metro & Southeast Campus, Co-chair Wellness Committee (Note: Jennifer is in her 3rd semester of teaching Academic Strategies (ENG 1003) & uses SH101 as one of her learning activities to engage students). The importance of student engagement is nothing new, and TCC faculty lead the way in innovation, by continually looking for new methods. Errol Craig Sull writes in his article on Online Classroom Engagement, “The more students see those connections (from the course to the outside world) the more important your course will be. Include extras that add value to your course and show that you want to immerse students in a full learning experience” The Chronicle of Higher Education, January, 2013. TCC’s Student Health 101 can be one of the “extras” in your course. By incorporating SH101 into your class you are choosing an active learning strategy that may contribute to a higher level of classroom engagement. Congratulations to Tracy Ballenger, Eunice Tarver, Lisa Gerow, and Lindsey White! 20