The problem of practice addressed in this mixed-methods research study is assessing whether participating in professional development workshops helped community college instructors improve their pedagogical practices, leading to improved student success and achievement rates. In this study, I explore the effects of an intervention I designed to…

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study of a professional development-based effort at one of the nation's 14 federally designated Historically Black Colleges and Universities community colleges. Course revisions included introductory courses in its Natural Sciences department. The goal was to improve students' critical-thinking and…

Skill and drill remediation in developmental reading courses do not prepare students for reading tasks in future college-level courses. When a skill and drill model is replaced with a model that utilizes contextualization, students engage in relevant activities with authentic texts to prepare students for college-level activities. The reading…

We did not set out in 1999 to create a national curricular reform project. We started by wanting to make a local impact on our campus, and the project grew slowly and steadily to the current national MAC3 project coordinated by AMATYC. Over recent years we've been asked how MAC3 evolved. In this article we hope to share our experience as leaders…

The Transfer Opportunities Program (TOP) at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) has focused primarily on faculty development and curriculum design as the essential elements in improving the transfer prospects of students. Extensive faculty development activities were undertaken to forge collegial agreements about standards of literacy and…

This chapter examines variables that make international education an essential component for community colleges and identifies barriers to institutionalization.

The American Association of Community Colleges' Beacon College Project (BCP) uses funds from the Kellogg Foundation to award two-year grants to "Beacon" community colleges to form consortia with at least five associate colleges, designed to improve a specific aspect of institutional life. A total of 26 projects, many involving community…

At Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) in New York, the student body is 55% Black, 29% Hispanic, 7% Asian, and 9% White and other ethnic groups. Placement testing indicates that 70% of entering freshmen require some form of remediation. As part of BMCC's efforts to improve first-year retention rates, students requiring remediation have…

In fiscal year 1989, the Illinois community colleges conducted the first review of the general education component of their baccalaureate/transfer degree programs. This review, to be performed every 5 years, involved an extensive and diverse range of activities, and many colleges had difficulty completing the first review in a year's time. As a…

As mathematics instruction in two-year colleges enters the late 1980's and 1990's, two major concerns will come to the forefront. The first is retraining faculty to ensure the provision of instruction relevant to the needs of two-year college students. Retaining this relevancy involves two aspects: faculty must acquire new knowledge in order to…

Developed as part of a project aimed at providing information about adult learners to vocational faculty and administrators to help them develop teaching methods, curricula, and programs for adults in California's community colleges, this report focuses on issues and practices related to workforce development, adult vocational students, effective…

Although general education is supported philosophically by local institutions and by the state and national governments, students in Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) systems often express doubts about the usefulness and relevance of required general education courses. Frequently, conflict between general education instructors and…

Preparing students for transfer to four-year colleges remains a significant part of the mission of most community college mathematicians. For some 30 years, calculus has been synonymous with entry-level college mathematics. Recent educational and technological changes, however, demand that the definition of college-level work in mathematics be…

This report presents the results of a study of faculty recruitment and selection strategies used by self-reported learning-centered community colleges during the 1998-1999 academic year. The study examined six key principles of a learning college: (1) creates substantive change in learners; (2) engages students as partners in learning; (3) offers…

A National Science Foundation-funded project teams instructors from five Tennessee colleges, high school teachers/counselors, and telecommunications business representatives in faculty internships and curriculum development for a work-based curriculum for the telecommunications industry. (SK)