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Over the past four years, Learning Grants have been an integral part of the success and innovation within the classrooms of the Maricopa Community Colleges. Learning Grants have supported projects designed to improve, advance, and enrich student learning. Since 1999,
- 264 grant applications have been submitted
- 164 grants have been funded
- $735,000 has been awarded to all ten colleges to improve student learning
- Approximately 300 faculty/ administrators have been impacted by funded grants.
Supporting a Variety of Disciplines
Learning Grants continue to support innovation throughout all ten colleges, and they continue to support a wide array of academic disciplines. A sampling of projects from various disciplines completed last year is provided below:
- 32nd Street Fine Arts Festival: A Dialogue of the Senses - Paradise Valley Community College
The 32nd Street Arts Festival project was created to not only increase the amount of fine and performing arts programs presented by Paradise Valley, but to also demonstrate to students and community members the role of the creative process and how it applies to each artistic discipline. The main focus of this project was to provide students and community members with access to professional artists in the Phoenix area as a resource for their own development as artists. A secondary goal of the project was that through performances, lectures, presentation and demonstrations, both students and community members gained valuable insight into the arts as a profession.
- Intercultural Competence Applications in Distance Learning - Rio Salado College
Five Rio Salado faculty chairs and five adjunct faculty, in the disciplines of Communication, Sociology, Counseling, Science, and Web Technology, followed up on the work of Drs. Janet and Milton Bennett in attempting to understand and adapt intercultural communication competence to see how this might lead to increased effectiveness in communication and learning.
- 20th Century Speakers: The Powers of Openings and Closings - Phoenix College
Some of the most effective learning in the field of public speaking is derived from watching the examples of others. By listening to the content and presentational methods of a speaker, a student can learn to evaluate those elements which make a presentation more, or less, powerful. Of special use are the openings and closings, which are key areas at which an audience's attention and ultimate influence can be irrevocably lost or gained. This grant funded the creation of a video sampler of relevant 20th century speakers for classroom use as well as a handbook to act as a guide to aid students in the analysis of the openings and closings of speeches.
- Image-ining Arizona in Introductory Geology - Glendale Community College
This project produced a virtual field trip exercise that allows the user, at the click of a mouse button, to visit local locations that illustrate well the types of rocks and processes covered in an introductory-level physical geology course.
For a listing of Learning Grants completed in 2002- 2003 and a listing of Learning Grants currently in progress, visit the Learning Grants Gallery.
Sharing Our Successes
A main element of the Learning Grants program is the internal sharing that occurs with the successes of each completed project. Upon completion of a project, each applicant is required to complete a final report of the project detailing the ways in which the project enhanced student learning. These final reports are then automatically uploaded to the Maricopa Learning Exchange (MLX) where they are electronically available for the benefit of the entire Maricopa community. Furthermore, some applicants find additional ways of sharing their successes through national conference presentations, internal college showcases, or simply through department meetings.
Planting the Seed and Watching It
Grow - GateWay to the Arts
The overall goal of the Learning Grants program is to provide initial funds, seed money, to allow a program, idea, or event to grow into an independent project supported from within the college. An excellent example of this is the GateWay to the Arts program that was first started in academic year 2000-2001 at GateWay Community College.
In 1999, Don Hall, Humanities Faculty, and Dean Stover, English Faculty, wanted to change the perception and culture of GateWay by bringing cultural events on campus. These events would provide diverse arts experiences for students who may not have the financial means to attend cultural events. To bring about this change, they sought the assistance of the mcli and the Learning Grants program.
So, Don and Dean planted the seed, wrote their first application and received approximately $7,300 for the first year of the program. With these funds, they were able to hold two silent film nights in conjunction with the Orpheum Theater Foundation, one dance/lecture demonstration by the Desert Dance Company, an evening of storytelling, a Childsplay production, and a Phoenix Symphony Quartet. All of these performances were open to all students, their families, faculty, staff, and the general public.
GateWay to the Arts experienced great success in the first year, so a second grant was written for the next year. More performances were added, including four silent film nights. At these silent film nights, Mr. Ron Rhode, a nationally renowned organ player who has won numerous national awards from the National Theater Organ Society, accompanied the silent films with his lively and energetic organ music. The auditorium where these performances were held seats 100 individuals; attendance for each event exceeded this number, topping out at an astounding 225 attendees for one of the performances.
This program was obviously experiencing great success; however, the Learning Grants program is not intended to continue to fund programs throughout multiple years. Therefore, it was now time for the college to embrace and adopt this program as it has greatly impacted student learning and the community. As fate would have it, this funding from the college was soon to come. During one of the events, the first opera presented on GateWay's campus, a standing room-only crowd filled the auditorium. Students, families, members of the community and college administration were all packed in the auditorium for the event. Seeing the huge success and the support from students and the community, GateWay's President, Dr. Eugene Giovannini, and the Deans notified the Liberal Arts Division Chair, Geri Rasmussen, five days after this event that complete funding and support from the college was on its way. GateWay to the Arts, with the initial support of the mcli and the Learning Grants, is now an annual and highly anticipated event supported by the college. Yvette Garcia and Don Hall now administer the program, but Don still recalls the important role the mcli and Learning Grants have played in the program's success. As Don states, "MCLI was a place to goŠit provided the fuel to make the program grow."
GateWay to the Arts has had a great impact on GateWay Community College and its students. The Humanities program is growing in leaps and bounds, with a record 190 students enrolled in Cinema classes. GateWay is even offering its first Theater Acting Class. Current and former students continue to attend these wonderful programs. Generations of families are being introduced to the arts, and being introduced to GateWay and its community. Alliances with the Phoenix arts community have developed, as GateWay is now a Season Sponsor at the Orpheum Theater. GateWay is even exploring the development of a new performing arts/conference center that would allow this program to have a larger venue to benefit even more students. Most importantly, GateWay's students are benefiting from having cultural events on campus. They are engaged in their learning. They are able to experience dance, opera, silent films and art for the first time in a non-threatening manner. They have the opportunity to interact with nationally renowned performers on a one-to-one basis. And, they have an opportunity to share these experiences with their families to promote life-long learning. All of this from one idea, and the support of the mcli and Learning Grants.
 Lynn Jennings and Eric Leshinskie, mcli
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