November 08, 2023 Meeting

Taft College Faculty Professional Development Agenda

November 8, 2023

12:10pm

Cafeteria Conference Room

 

Call to Order

Public Commentary

 

Action Items

  1. Approval of Minutes from October 11, 2023 ACTION
  2. Approval to hold December 13, 2023, meeting via Zoom, if needed ACTION

 

Information/Discussion Items

  1. Current Professional Development Opportunities INFORMATION
  2. Building January In-Service Schedule (Jan. 4-12, 2024) INFORMATION
  3. Next Meeting: December 13, 2023, 12:10pm in Cafeteria Conference Room INFORMATION

Other

 

Adjournment

 

Minutes

Faculty Professional Development Committee Minutes

 

November 08, 2023

      

Members Present:

Ruby Payne, Julián Martínez, Mariza Martínez, Chris Taylor, John Eigenauer, Jennifer Altenhofel, Wendy Berry, Leslie Minor

 

Members Absent: 

Tabitha Raber

 

Guests:

Jon Farmer

 

Welcome:

Meeting started: 12:10 pm

 

Action Items:

 

  1. Approval of Minutes from October 11, 2023

Motion: Mariza Martínez

Second: Jennifer Altenhofel

Passed unanimously.

 

  1. Approval to hold December 13, 2023, meeting via Zoom, if needed

It was proposed that members approve the possibility of holding this meeting via zoom if necessary because of quarantine or other circumstances.

Motion: Chris Taylor

Second: Julián Martínez

Passed unanimously.

 

Information/Discussion Items

 

  1. Current Professional Development Opportunities

 

Jon Farmer noted that there will be a monthly skill up on Turnitin, on Nov 17 via zoom.

 

Leslie Minor indicated that she will keep forwarding items and that she is seeing a lot of AI and DEIAA opportunities. She also brought up that competency-based education is likely to start becoming a more frequent topic of discussion.

 

  1. Building January In-Service Schedule (Jan. 4-12, 2024)

 

Ruby Payne presented the schedule, highlighting the presence of a range of DEIAA topics for Thursday 1/4 and Friday 1/5, and that a half day on Friday 1/5 has been set aside for an OER event.  

 

John Eigenauer asked for confirmation that DEIAA topics could be done at other times and were not restricted to the times listed on the draft schedule. Ruby Payne confirmed that this was the case. John Eigenauer proposed that the schedule indicate a block of time consistent with normal working hours (for example 8:10 – 4pm, inclusive of a lunch break) and list the topics as being a resource that faculty could use during that time.

 

A discussion followed about the extent to which hours or event completion is tracked. Ruby Payne noted that in the past, completion of online events and/or writeups has been required for the May in-service (where they count towards advancement credit) but not during the August or January in-services. Leslie Minor indicated that it was useful to know which events faculty found useful, as feedback in the past revealed that while faculty found some to be useful, they found others to be less so. Mariza Martínez raised the possibility of running a survey to determine which events faculty found to be useful.

 

Ruby Payne asked about the number of events – if it was too many and should be more focused. Mariza Martínez asked if faculty are required to do a certain number. Ruby Payne clarified that they are not, that while those are work days, faculty have the discretion to decide what to work on for those days. John Eigenauer reiterated that these events are not required but are a useful resource for faculty. Leslie Minor agreed with this interpretation. Ruby Payne noted that this is a particularly good opportunity for faculty who are writing a self-evaluation to reflect on their engagement with DEIAA topics. 

 

Leslie Minor asked if the schedule had a specific time blocked out for a district DEIAA event. Ruby Payne noted that it does not, but that she has a meeting with the President/Superintendent to discuss the state of planning for a district event. Leslie Minor raised the point that DEIAA engagement will be an ongoing commitment rather than a single training. Ruby Payne noted that if the district does not end up scheduling a DEIAA event during this January in-service, faculty have the opportunity to be proactive and engage with these topics during the events on Thursday 1/4 and Friday 1/5. Ruby Payne also noted that the district may schedule something on Thursday 1/11 or Friday 1/12, which are typically reserved for departmental planning and review, and for faculty academic planning. Jennifer Altenhofel asked why this was being considered for planning days, and not for the Monday of in-service (1/8). Ruby Payne indicated that there was potentially more flexibility in the schedule on 1/11 and 1/12, and the details of any district DEIAA event were still unknown.

 

Jennifer Altenhofel raised the concern that this could potentially be a half day (or more) mandatory meeting set by the district, and that it would impact the ability of faculty and departments to meet their existing commitments and prepare for the academic term. Leslie Minor noted that her understanding from past minutes and bargaining was that Thursday was reserved for program review. Julián Martínez voiced agreement with the necessity of keeping planning days available for academic planning and preparation. Ruby Payne noted that this is a topic of broad agreement among the faculty. Jennifer Altenhofel added that this was an inappropriate time for administration to add large mandatory obligations to the in-service calendar. Ruby Payne agreed and noted that the committee had set Nov 1 as the deadline for college entities to add items to the January in-service calendar.

 

There was brief discussion about the cybersecurity modules that Xiaohong Li had asked to add, which is optional (but recommended) this term, and will probably be required in future terms.

 

Julián Martínez asked if it is possible to postpone the district DEIAA until the May in-service. Leslie Minor said that these events will need to be an ongoing commitment. Ruby Payne raised the possibility of doing them as Lunch and Learn events during the term. Leslie Minor agreed that this was reasonable but indicated that it was important for Taft College to be proactive about these topics (to stay ahead of the game).  John Eigenauer asked why it was important to stay ahead of the game in this case. Leslie Minor indicated that is would be useful to introduce faculty to these discussions before they become mandated.

 

Jennifer Altenhofel voiced support for postponing a district DEIAA event until it could be scheduled in the normal course of planning. Leslie Minor said that she was not in favor of postponing a DEIAA event.

 

Ruby Payne asked for motion to approve the draft schedule, with minor logistical revisions (including changing the phrasing of the events on 1/4 and 1/5, potential minor changes or clarifications for SLO day).    

 

Motion: Julián Martínez

Second: John Eigenauer

Passed unanimously.

 

Jennifer Altenhofel asked if it was correct to summarize the state of things as: The current draft has been approved with potential minor changes, but there might be a mandatory event of unknown length or day/time added to the schedule without the agreement of the Professional Development Committee. Ruby Payne clarified that this was still being decided by the district and is possible, but not certain. Jennifer Altenhofel asked how it was that changes could be made administratively without going through the Professional Development Committee. Ruby Payne noted that in the past this hasn’t been the historical practice, but when changes are made by the administration or in response to mandates from outside the college, they get put on the schedule.

 

 

  1. Next Meeting: December 13, 2023, 12:10pm in Cafeteria Conference Room

 

Wendy Berry asked if having a meeting during finals week (December 13) made it likely that the committee would be unable to meet quorum. Ruby Payne noted that, since the committee had approved a January in-service calendar, we could cancel the December meeting if no urgent business came up in the meantime.

 

Other

 

Jennifer Altenhofel brought up a concern that the DEIAA Committee is planning to ask for an AP (administrative policy) that reserves a day of in-service for DEIAA events. In particular, she was concerned that this was something that concerned professional development and a potentially significant time commitment during in-service, but that it wasn’t clear that the Professional Development Committee would be consulted or that there would be an opportunity to balance it with the other in-service obligations. Ruby Payne noted that ideally, a new commitment during in-service would replace an existing commitment rather than be added to an already crowded schedule. Wendy Berry asked if and when this would come through academic senate, and Leslie Minor noted that she is unsure how far along the DEIAA Committee is in planning this. There was additional discussion about the potential logistical and precedent concerns.

                                      

Meeting Adjourned:

Motion: Mariza Martínez

Second: Wendy Berry

Adjourned by consensus at 12:47