Philosophy of Education for the Community College

The student is at the center of everything I do. I have strived for most of my life to help students succeed. I am constantly trying new ways to help today’s student. I hate faculty who teach and leave, who do not care about their students. Every student who does not succeed I take personally. I take pride in the fact that I have participated in every graduation Hillsborough Community College has ever had, number 36 coming this May. I have a hard time understanding my peer faculty who do not get enthusiastic about finally seeing their students graduate and move on to their higher education pursuits.

The community college is the second chance for adults who now understand the value of the education that they may have wasted in K-12 many years ago. It’s the perfect place to teach. Advanced classes like organic and analytical chemistry are easier to teach because the students have been “weeded out”. These classes have two semesters of general chemistry to filter unsuccessful students. I worry about those “weeded out” students. These students are at the center of my mission. They are the 29 year old adult manual labor worker or the ‘30 something’ house mother whose children are now in school who comes to you and want a second chance to now achieve an education where as they wasted their first opportunity as teenagers in secondary schools. These students present the real challenge to teach and are often labeled non-traditional students. They probably do not have the skills to succeed, but they possess the characteristic most necessary to get started. They are motivated just by coming in our door.  It is our job to take him or her from where they are to the ability to succeed at their transfer university in what ever major they want to pursue.

Developmental reading, writing, math and even introductory chemistry (CHM 1025C) takes greater skill and patience and motivation to teach with the adult learner at the community college today. When I was Dean of the Open College in 1995, I introduced SLS 1501 College Success into the curricula to implement at HCC Dave Ellis’ Master Student Program. During the first week of class I have all my students complete several online activities so that in addition to personal data/schedules collected, I can spot potential problems with Time Management, Learning Styles, and Self Discovery from the Student Success Program. I have a method that helps disarm exams and promotes daily study of chemistry through online interactive homework, daily short pretest quizzes, and post testing specific problem areas. From CHM 1025C there is a lot of ‘hand holding’, CHM 1045C weans them from these methods during the course, and by the time they are in CHM 1046C they hopefully have developed the daily study habits to succeed in a more traditional chemistry lecture/test environment. I employ collaborative team study/performance of comprehensive departmental final exams using past examinations put online, utilizing closed book, open study partner to complete the exercise prior to the final.

When I see a learning problem, I try to find an alternative solution to give the student a better chance at success. Trying to keep up with technology in computer science is a daily problem, while innovations in chemistry instruction occur at a much slower pace. I have conducted a lot of research in the last decade on misconceptions in science teaching, especially chemistry to improve my instruction. One of the first tasks of a faculty member is being the Motivator before being the Expert, or then the Coach, or finally the Evaluator. I have a mastery learning method of Pre/Post testing and using the quiz/exam as a feedback loop for the students to succeed. Active learning strategies and online experiences help bridge the gap to success for the chemistry student.

A more detailed philosophy document me be found at:

http://www.hccbrandon.net/aboutme/educatio.htm