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Each of the Maricopa Community Colleges offers a unique experience for its new faculty. Such programs provide opportunities for new faculty to learn about the college's culture, to share best practices in teaching and learning, and to develop a sense of community. Below are brief summaries of college programs designed to assist new faculty with their new roles and responsibilities.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
All Chandler-Gilbert Community College residential faculty meet monthly during their first year as a part of the New Residential Faculty Orientation Series which familiarizes them with the college's instructional philosophy, faculty evaluation processes, assessment, resources for faculty, support for instruction, resources for students, and professional development.
New residential faculty also participate in Chandler-Gilbert's Network of Excellence for Teaching and Learning that includes both a first-year and a second-year learning community. During the first year of the Network of Excellence, all new residential faculty members identify areas of interest with regard to campus initiatives and their teaching pedagogy and are paired with established instructors to see how their colleagues implement these teaching strategies in their classrooms. The participants share their insights at the monthly meeting with other Network members. During the monthly meetings participants also read articles focused on one initiative and share their perspectives on the topic in rich, interdisciplinary discussions. At the culmination of Network 1, participants identify campus leadership roles that they wish to take on during the following year.
The second year of the program, Network II, includes second and third year faculty. As a top priority, the group provides support for each other, working toward continuous improvement on implementing specific college initiatives, achieving individual teaching and learning goals, and peer classroom visits. The whole group meets one Thursday each month, and following the meeting goes out to dinner together at a local restaurant. As with Network I, each meeting begins with sharing of joys and concerns, and proceeds to discussions about articles on chosen initiatives and talking about the individual and group projects. The articles are on topics similar to those shared in Network I, but tend to be less pedagogical, focusing on larger issues related to teaching.
Kim Chuppa-Cornell, Ph.D., Darby Heath, Pam Davenport, and Chris Schnick
Estrella Mountain Community College
Through the Center of Teaching and Learning, Estrella Mountain offers a semester-long experience to new residential faculty to assist them in adjusting to their new positions, to ease anxiety, to share Estrella's mission and the two-year college mission, and simply to form a cohort of colleagues with whom new faculty can relate and rely on for support.
The experience introduces new faculty to campus leaders and provides them with information and resources that will enhance both their teaching and their scholarship. Faculty are granted three credits of reassigned time for their participation which consists of weekly meetings during the fall semester.
This program started in 2002 and has evolved over the years with input from faculty, chairs, and administrators. Unique topics to Estrella Mountain's experience that were added last year include assessment of student learning outcomes and redesigning courses for hybrid learning.
Roger Yohe, Ph.D.
GateWay Community College
GateWay Community College initiated a new faculty orientation program during fall 2004 called the Great Teacher Program. The goals of the program are to orientate new faculty to the structure and culture of the campus as well as to provide insights into teaching and learning issues. This program was coordinated by GateWay's Center for Teaching and Learning.
The program was open to residential, one-year only, and specially-funded faculty as well as FIPP faculty interns. Fourteen faculty participated in the program during the fall semester. These faculty participated in a three-and-a-half day orientation during the first week of accountability. Following the initial orientation, faculty attended in-services and workshops every month. Various experts from the college and District Office presented at the monthly meetings.
In addition, each new faculty was assigned a mentor for the first semester. The Peer Support Program (PSP) linked a new faculty to a seasoned peer. They meet every two weeks to discuss concerns, share successes, and explore classroom issues. Both the Great Teacher and Peer Support Programs will be sponsored again next year.
John Lampignano
Glendale Community College
At Glendale Community College the new faculty have discovered that things are on FYRE'that is the First Year Residential Experience. Dean Jean Ann Able, Dr. Linda Smith, Debbie Krumtinger, and Tim Sylvester form the team that provides a combination of informational and sharing meetings and a weekly online discussion forum. This year's FYRE group, consisting of 16 new faculty, meets once a month on Friday afternoons at specific locations on campus. Various administrators and support individuals have taken their time to share with the FYRE group during the Friday meetings. In December the group traveled to Glendale Community College North. Last month Dr. Phil Randolph, President, shared with the group as only he could the history of Glendale and of the college.
Additionally, there is a weekly discussion topic/case study in the FYRE
Forum. Each faculty is encouraged to share his/her thoughts and ask questions.
Discussion topics have ranged from classroom management to teacher student interactions to how to develop their Faculty Evaluation Plan. Also, the group has created an introductory picture page about themselves. One exciting benefit from this year is that many of the new faculty will continue on as mentors for next year's new faculty.
Tim Sylvester
Mesa Community College
The New Faculty Experience (NFE) program is a year-long program that focuses on meaningful and relevant topics such as working with diverse learners, teaching methods, classroom assessment, and faculty governance. Faculty are exposed to the college culture including the mission and vision statements, survival tips, and college expectations. Faculty are encouraged to reflect upon their own teaching in an effort to improve student learning. Discussions have centered around a "scholarship of teaching" and "excellent teaching." A focus is placed on investigating "...not only teacher practice but the character and depth of student learning that results (or does not) from that practice" (Hutchings and Shulman, 1999).
Faculty engage in their learning through problem-based learning activities, real-life content, and just-in-time learning. For example, during the first week of accountability, faculty are given scenarios that outline situations that have been encountered by previous faculty members. Faculty are then put into groups and asked to discuss how they would approach the situation. This allows an opportunity for faculty to become fully engaged in their learning and provides the chance for faculty to hear how other colleagues would approach the same situation. In addition, just-in-time learning opportunities allow new faculty members to present current situations they are facing in the classroom. Many times this has refocused the group to think about how they could solve the situation when confronted with similar circumstances.
Maria R. Chavira, Ph.D. and Naomi Story, Ph.D
Paradise Valley Community College
As Dennis Jaffee and Cynthia Scott note in their book, Take This Job and Love It, "often, what looks like individual performance is in fact supported by a sense of confidence derived from positive, supportive relationships'connection to the people who are close and important...Reaching out to others creates a lifeline enabling you to accomplish far more than you could alone."
The Collegial Support Partnership Program (CSPP) is designed to encourage open communication among college personnel to foster student success more effectively and efficiently through collegial support. Its general goal is the successful integration of newly hired full-time faculty into the college community.
Newly hired faculty partner with veteran faculty to support each other in achieving the mission of Paradise Valley. During the first semester of full-time employment, new full-time faculty are partnered with a full-time faculty member within their academic division, and then during the second semester of full-time employment, new full-time faculty are partnered with a full-time faculty member outside of their academic division. The faculty partners are required to meet a minimum of three times in the semester to engage in professional activities based upon the needs of the new full-time faculty member. In addition, all of the partners are required to attend at least three program sessions each semester. These meetings are informational sessions designed to orient successfully the new full-time faculty to the college community.
Marilyn Cristiano, Ph.D. (CSPP Coordinator)
Phoenix College
For more than a decade, New Faculty Orientation (NFO) has been conducted as a first year learning program for all new residential faculty. NFO is a program designed to acquaint new faculty with information about Phoenix College which will aid them in undertaking their new teaching and learning responsibilities. It enables new faculty to develop a supportive cohort, to feel a sense of campus belonging, and to identify with the Phoenix College Mission Statement. Through presentations, interactive activities, and guest speakers, NFO also provides an opportunity for new faculty to become involved with campus leaders, resources, and current campus topics of importance. For example, each NFO participant has set up an E-Portfolio, participated in sheltered language learning experiences, and has learned about the upcoming NCA/HLC Self Study for Phoenix College.
As part of Phoenix College's Faculty Development Program, NFO participants attend weekly meetings in both the fall and spring semesters'14 meetings each semester. In addition, they are encouraged to attend campus events and activities such as learning technology workshops, athletic and musical events, and classroom observations outside of their daily responsibilities. Each NFO participant is compensated for the meetings (up to 14 hours) and "NFO Adventures" (up to14 hours). Finally, new faculty are not required to serve on any campus committees during their first year of residency.
Pam Rogers
Scottsdale Community College
The first New Faculty Partnership Program during the Fall 2004 semester for new faculty was a success. The three meetings between newly-hired faculty paired with their veteran colleagues from both the same and different departments, elicited a positive reaction on both sides.
The creation of a network among different divisions and the sharing of professional and personal experiences have helped the new faculty to establish an immediate sense of inclusiveness among their peers and the awareness of various aspects of campus life.
Here are some comments from the participants to the program:
"It got me out of my own area and got me to network with people I usually would not have networked with."
"As a new faculty member, I found this partnership most helpful in terms of the ability to obtain an immediate and credible feedback pertaining to a wide variety of campus and program-related issues and procedures."
Pat Serrano
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