As part of Professional Development/Flex Day on Wednesday, November 25, the Center for Transformative Teaching & Learning organized a day of professional development activities for faculty, staff, and administrators. In addition to the special event featuring Lee Mun Wah’s seminar, “What We Do Not See: Exploring What We Leave at the Door,” the PRIE office and Skyline College’s Public Safety Office facilitated two concurrent workshops after a delicious lunch event catered by Pacific Dining.
Dean of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness, Aaron McVean, and Zahra Mojtahedi, Planning & Research Analyst, co-facilitated an excellent and thought-provoking presentation titled, “The Missing First Semester Student: What Can We Do?” The presenters posited that every Fall semester approximately 2,500 students, representing one quarter of all students, experience Skyline College for the first time, but by the following semester, only a little over half of those students return. The presenting team led a discussion around that claim, and presented data to help attendees begin the discussion about who those students are and what some of the critical factors are that impact their success and retention.
The second workshop that day featured Skyline College’s Public Safety Chief Jim Vangele, and Consultant Tom Maloney. During the “Campus Crisis Training” workshop, the facilitators focused on what to do when a crisis occurs in the classroom or on campus. When an emergency occurs, it is critical that employees take immediate steps to protect themselves, their students, co-workers, and other people on campus. Some takeaways of this workshop encompassed Immediate Action Responses so that staff can follow specific directions without having to learn extensive protocols for each of several dozen different emergency situations.
Do you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to see offered, or would you like to facilitate one? Contact the CTTL at skylinecttl@smccd.edu.
Article by Ricardo Flores
