FOOTHILL 101 COURSE SYLLABI

Welcome to Foothill 101, a "course" on organizational development within Foothill College. The title of Foothill 101 is "The College as Classroom." We are using this classroom metaphor to convey our commitment to being a learning organization that is innovative, creative, and adaptable to change, While learning can take place in any form, Foothill College has adopted course outlines or syllabi for every academic year since 1995 to frame the "learning" and actions important for that year. As President, I see myself as the teacher/learner of this course. The course outlines underscore the College's annual goals and objectives and the relevant activities necessary to accomplish these goals. The "student" in the course outline is actually the employee of the college. The outline communicates to all members of the College community in a form that is familiar to them since it is the same approach we use with our students when they are enrolled in any of our regular college classes. In the "Expected Outcomes" section the notation that the "The student will (perform a number of activities)" is particularly powerful in conveying the year's agendas and what everyone needs to do to accomplish it.

The following are the course outlines we have used to date. Each outline builds on the previous one to do the following: create a culture and establish a college vision, including core values, which are the foundation for what we do; develop a series of interrelated topics which bring the "student (employee)" from being individual-centered to college-centered to college student-centered; and provide the foundation (biological, psychological, and educational) for understanding learning so that we can continue to improve student performance and learning outcomes.

Year 1 (1995-96): The College as Classroom. Focus on developing the college's vision, including understanding and inculcation of core values; establishing a collaborative culture and a decision-making model that is based on the college's mission and not constituency groups.

Year 2 (1996-97): Foothill in the Year 2000. A Matter of Honor. Focus on diversity and the individual differences of our students, emphasizing student diversity, our obligation to honor and foster diversity and provide a learning environment that meets students' diverse needs in our hiring decisions.

Year 3 (1997-98): Scholarship of Teaching, Climate for Learning. Focus on the College's purpose: "Educational Opportunity for All" through our teaching and learning opportunities for all students. Target student performance and outcomes as important measures of our effectiveness and our responsibility. Establish a Teaching Academy which allows faculty to discuss their work and develop a deeper understanding of how students learn.

Year 4 (1998-99): Neurobiology of Learning. Focus on the brain and behavior; better understand the neurobiological bases for learning and how external forces on the brain affect learning abilities. Understand the individuality of the brain and how it functions differently for individuals.

Year 5 (1999-2000): Scholarship of Teaching, Climate for Learning: Diverse Learning Styles. Focus on individual learning styles of our students; establish the Interactive Learning Model as a research/experiential basis for better understanding how learning takes place and the most effective approaches to maximize learning.

Year 6 (2000-2001): Improving Student Performance. Should there be English and math prerequisites across the curriculum? Focus on better student placement, how students learn, the uses of support services and technology to foster and reinforce learning, and the importance of pedagogy that is flexible and adaptive.

Year 7 (2001-2002): A School of Fish: Swimming Together as One - Eliminating Achievement Gaps. Focus on how can we eliminate achievement gaps between minority students and the college-wide average through a better understanding of how students learn and how we teach. Use of course portfolios and definitions and measurements of learning outcomes to help us define what constitutes a grade and the body of knowledge it represents.

Year 8 (2002-2003) Student performance and portfolios: Using the student as the measure of our success. Focus on the development and use of institutional, course, and student portfolios to document student performance and learning outcomes. Introduction of the concept of deep learning, and the changes necessary in learning environments, such as time and place, to enhance student success and reduce achievement gaps in performance.

Year 9 (2003-2004) Who is the Foothill Student? Continuing emphasis on learning outcomes and students' course portfolios requires knowing who the Foothill students are. The changing ethnic diversity among our students has already been well documented over the years. Segmentation of the student body into different populations according to the types of courses they take yields a very different picture of who the student is. Analysis of the student demographics and their academic patterns are used to identify how Foothill's curriculum and services should be restructured to better meet student needs and improve student outcomes.

Year 10 (2004-2005) Basic Skills Across the Curriculum. Metaphor for the fundamental focus on the individual, the institution, and the mission. Foothill continues to recognize the importance of individual student dignity and diversity. This year Foothill will conduct our Self Study as part of its application for institutional re-accreditation. Building on the previous year's emphasis on academic restructuring, is the development of a Freshman Experience Program which focuses on the basic skills student.

Year 11 (2005-2006) From Basic Skills to Deep Learning: Promoting Student Undertstanding. Learning is not a race but a continuous event. Once the fundamental building blocks of learning have been acquired, then learning needs to proceed through a succession of stages, from memorization, to knowledge, to application, and finally to understanding in its truest and deepest form. This is what educators call deep learning. Foothill will extend beyond its work with student learning outcomes and portfolios to assessment that emphasizes understanding rather than information; conceptual integration rather than formulaic knowledge; identifying different levels of understanding rather than superficial learning.