Two Leeward Community College faculty co-authored articles published in an issue of New Directions for Community Colleges, an online resource that is designed to assist community colleges in fulfilling their educational mission.
As part of the SAGE 2YC (supporting and advancing geoscience education in two-year colleges) program, focusing on quality teaching at the community college level, Associate Professor of Biology Alyssa MacDonald and Oceanography Instructor Donn Viviani were part of a multi-year online cohort with faculty from around the United States. The goal of SAGE 2YC, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, is to help faculty implement high-impact, evidence-based instructional and co-curricular practices at their own institutions that will lead to improved STEM learning, broadened participation and a more robust STEM workforce.
Their writing workshop began during summer 2021, and their papers were published in June 2022.
What they learned and experienced during the program—best practices for online teaching, the transition to an online environment during the pandemic and leadership at the community college level—inspired their writing. MacDonald is the co-author of “Leadership journeys: Impacts of faculty professional development” and “Effective online teaching: Voices of experience.” Viviani co-authored “Roadmap to emergency remote teaching.”
“During the pandemic, we were taught how to effectively use Zoom to connect with our colleagues. The best part of the program was the interaction with colleagues from around the country. It was amazing to hear about the work they were doing on their campuses and determine how to bring these lessons, strategies and programs to Leeward CC,” MacDonald said. “I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this group and I am continuing the collaborations outside of the SAGE 2YC program.”
