Programs and Activities

May 29 2024

Faculty & Staff Summer Conference 2024

May 29 - 31, 2024

Location: College of Business Administration

8:30am - 4:00pm

Jan 17 2024

Winter Institute

January 17-19, 2024

Location: College of Business Administration

8:30am - 4:00pm

Goal 1

First Year Experience (FYE)

This Learning Community (LC) is for staff and faculty who teach or may be interested in teaching a First Year Experience (FYE) class. We recruit 10-12 faculty and staff in the Fall and Spring terms. Register to be part of the LC!

First Year Experience Learning Community

Fall STEM Learning Community on First Year Experience

Coming Soon

Application deadline: August 1st for Fall Term

Who Should Apply?

This Learning Community (LC) is for STEM staff and faculty (tenure track faculty and adjunct faculty) who teach or may be interested in teaching a First Year experience (FYE) class. Must be able to devote the time to participate in meetings, and to generate the main deliverables. If you participated in previous FYE LC you are still eligible to apply.

Benefits:

An opportunity to challenge and support one another, while developing FYE syllabus or activities.

Criteria:

The main criteria to participate in this LC are to be willing to engage fully in the learning community and to be able to devote the necessary time to develop FYE course syllabus or course activities. This LC has funding to support up to 10 faculty members. Faculty will receive $500 for attending the training and completing their syllabus. The final selection will include considerations of diversity in discipline, and other perspectives.

Goal:

The goal of the LC is to provide a collegial community for FYE instructors, offer a more uniform experience to students across FYE sections, and learn from each other in terms of what works and what doesn't work for our student. The LC will be facilitated by Dr. Dora Lee (Director of Academic Support & Learning Services) and Dr. Nina Abramzon (FYE Faculty Chair and Professor, Physics & Astronomy).

Objectives:

Understanding first-year students and trends
Considering pedagogy for first-year students, and curriculum design
Developing FYE syllabus and/or activities emphasizing PolyX activities

Meeting Schedule and Topics:

During Fall, we will have seven (7), 1-hr in person meetings (Location: TBA) on Thursdays from 12:00 PM -1:00 PM.

*Please make sure you are able to be present at all the meetings.

For each LC meeting, an agenda, specific meeting outcomes, preparatory activities, and deliverables will be communicated in a timely fashion. We plan the following topics, but depending upon the interests of the group, details may change: FYE efforts across campus, Grounding work around the practice of FYE, pedagogy for first-year students, and curriculum design for FYE student learning outcomes.

For more information, contact Dr. Nina Abramzon at nabramzon@cpp.edu or Dr. Dora Lee at doralee@cpp.edu

Spring Learning Community on First Year Experience

Apply Now

Application deadline: December 15th for Spring Term

Who Should Apply?

This LC is for staff and faculty (Tenure track faculty and adjunct faculty) from any discipline who is WORKING WITH FIRST year students, teaching or may be interested in teaching a FYE class. Must be able to devote the time to participate in meetings, and to generate the main deliverables. If you participated in the FYE FLC last year you are still eligible to apply.

Benefits:

The opportunity to learn and create a FYE module and course materials in the company of other faculty and staff. An opportunity to challenge and support one another, with guidance and feedback from the CAFE team.

Criteria:

The main criteria to participate in this LC are to be willing to engage fully in the learning community and to be able to devote the necessary time to develop the module. This FLC has funding to support up to 12 members. Will receive $500 for attending the training and completing their module (this is not available for staff). The final selection will include considerations of diversity in discipline, and other perspectives.

Goal:

The goal of the LC is to provide a collegial community for FYE instructors, offer a more uniform experience to students across FYE sections, and learn from each other in terms of what works and what doesn't work for our student. The LC will be facilitated by Dr. Nina Abramzon (FYE Faculty Chair and Professor, Physics & Astronomy) and Dr. Dora Lee (FYE Chair and Director, Academic Support and Learning Services) in partnership with April Dawn, Lead Senior Instructional Designer & Faculty Development Consultant, CAFE.

Objectives:

Training for faculty/staff interested in creating FYE teaching modules
Create FYE learning modules centered around the FYE student learning outcomes

Meeting Schedule and Topics:

During Spring, we will have seven (7), 1-hr in person meetings (Location: TBA) on Thursdays from 12:00 PM -1:00 PM.

*Please make sure you are able to be present at all the meetings.

For each LC meeting, an agenda, specific meeting outcomes, preparatory activities, and deliverables will be communicated in a timely fashion. We plan the following topics, but depending upon the interests of the group, details may change: FYE efforts across campus, creating a repository of FYE resources, how to transfer your course content into modules, how to create modules that include activities and assessment that support students through multiple means of representation and engagement.

For more information, contact Dr. Nina Abramzon at nabramzon@cpp.edu or Dr. Dora Lee at doralee@cpp.edu

Project Learning Assistant (PLA) and PolyX Showcase

CPP INVESTS is currently recruiting sophomore and junior STEM students who want to give back to the educational community by becoming Project Learning Assistants (PLAs). PLAs serve as student mentors and assist faculty in project based learning in the First Year Experience (FYE) courses. We recruit 20 PLA students every Spring.

Project Learning Assistant (PLA) and PolyX Showcase

Project Learning Assistants Opportunities

We recruit 20 project learning assistants (PLAs) every Fall for the Spring term to embed PLAs into First Year Experience (FYE) courses to support Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Project INVESTS Project Learning Assistant program is designed to help early career STEM students in project-based learning, research readiness, mentorship, and academic success through the help of dedicated students like you!

As a Project Learning Assistant, you will develop leadership skills, manage group dynamics, and learn research skills in Spring to work under a faculty member during the Fall term. Sophomores, Juniors, and continuing Seniors students are welcomed and will be trained in the Spring term. Students will receive a $200 stipend for training. In the Fall term, students will have the opportunity to be hired and be paid hourly!

Why join Project INVESTS?

Learn about paid opportunities in both research and major-specific internships
Gain a foundation in project-based learning and research through the CPU 4990 Peer Mentoring course
Grow your network through faculty and peer mentors
Expand your resume for graduate school or industry careers
Opportunities for letter of support/recommendation
Receive recognition and engage with the campus community

Personal Benefits

Receive professional development and leadership training
Build your resume
Be more competitive for graduate school and careers
Learn about equity and social justice issues in higher education
Make an impact to peers
$200 stipend for training during the Spring term
Receive early registration

Apply Now

If you are interested in becoming a PLA, please contact Ever Barraza at edbarraza@cpp.edu.

About PolyX Showcase

This event is a partnership between the Learn Through Discovery (LTD) initiative and the First Year Experience (FYE) program. Formerly known as LTD FYE Showcase, first year students engage in a Signature Polytechnic Experience (PolyX) in their FYE classes, presenting their PolyX at the PolyX FYE Showcase, held at the end of each Fall term. By participating in the PolyX and presenting at the Showcase, these first-time students will be immersed in Cal Poly Pomona's learn-by-doing philosophy and polytechnic advantage their very first semester at the institution.

PolyX FYE Showcase Website

Guest Registration Link

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs)

Embed CUREs in second year STEM gateway courses.

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs)

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) / Authentic Learning Experiences (ALEs) Learning Community

Please contact Mai Tran at maintran@cpp.edu for more information and how to participate.

Micro-Internships

i) Scale the number of students participating in internships by embedding six-week “micro” internship experiences in junior gateway and senior capstone courses; and ii) Embed CUREs into capstone and upper-division GE courses.

Upper-Division Micro-Internships and CUREs

What are Micro-Internships?

Micro-Internships are short-term, paid, professional assignments that are similar to those given to new hires or interns. These projects enable Career Launchers to demonstrate skills, explore career paths, and build their networks as they seek the right full-time role. Unlike traditional internships, Micro-Internships can take place year-round, typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work, and are due between one week and one month after kick-off. Micro-Internships are used by companies ranging from those in the Fortune 100 to emerging start-ups, and go across departments including sales, marketing, technology, HR, and finance.

For more information, visit these websites:

Micro-Internships Website
https://info.parkerdewey.com/cpp
https://info.parkerdewey.com/cppinvests

Apply

Goal 2

Alternative Learning Records (ALRs)

Implement four alternative learning records (ALRs) to enhance the transition of STEM students into the STEM workforce:

Leadership career development pathway – teamwork and communication ALRs.
Research career development pathway – information literacy and problem solving ALRs.

Alternative Learning Records (ALRs)

Develop and implement alternative learning records (ALRs) to enhance the transition of STEM students into the workforce. ALRs “offer institutions a way to validate a range of knowledge, skills, and abilities students have developed, deepening the level of information otherwise provided through student transcripts or resumes... help students to articulate their skills and academic accomplishments and make visible, through digital badging or other means, the specific learning outcomes students have achieved, what artifacts students produced to demonstrate their learning, and how those outcomes were assessed”2. INVESTS proposes creating two professional development pathways: a) Leadership career development pathwaywith teamwork and communication learning records. b) Research career development pathway with information literacy and problem solving learning records.

For more information, please visit the website.

Goal 3

Professional Development (PD)

Provide STEM faculty professional development opportunities anchored in inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility through:

Identifying and coaching STEM department champions to support efforts in adopting culturally relevant pedagogies and developing more effective equity work initiatives.
Offering Faculty Institutes

Professional Development

Equity Institute Peer-to-Peer Reciprocal Coaching Faculty Learning Community

Deadline: August 1st for Fall Term and December 1st for Spring Term

Introduction

Faculty have tremendous influence to make a difference in the lives of students for whom higher education has historically been the least successful in welcoming and supporting. We can embed racial equity in teaching practices and create classroom cultures that are genuinely inclusive of students from minoritized racial/ethnic groups. Designing and adopting pedagogy, curriculum, language, roles, routines, and symbols that foster racial equity as the norm is equity-minded teaching.

Being racially aware and teaching in an equity-minded way requires much knowledge and attention. First, it calls upon our deepest disciplinary knowledge, attention, planning, purposefulness, and experimentation. Second, it requires ways of seeing our classrooms that are new and uncomfortable for many of us. For this reason, faculty find that working together to implement the strategies is more effective than working in isolation. Peer-to-peer reciprocal coaching is a systematic method for faculty to work in partnership to use new teaching skills and/or hone basic skills into sophisticated praxis.

The Equity Institute Peer Coaching Faculty Learning Community

Prerequisite: Participants must have participated in USC’s Equity Institute in Spring 2021, Fall 2022, or Spring 2023.

In general, faculty peer-to-peer coaching involves semester-long or yearlong, structured partnerships between two or sometimes three faculty who offer collegial support, ideas, and constructive critique in the implementation of selected teaching strategies (Rainville et al., 2023). Faculty engage in training to provide effective peer-to-peer coaching and to select teaching strategies they want to apply. They then visit and observe class meetings or otherwise review course materials two to three times per semester, offering mutual feedback based on agreed-upon questions of practice. Pre-visit and post-visit conversations are included. Peer coaching is completely formative, i.e., non-evaluative. Class visits, materials review, and conversations are not included in faculty evaluation (RTP or lecturer evaluation) in any way. Confidentiality is of utmost importance, with the sole exception being the event that sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or sex- and gender-based discrimination is observed and must be disclosed to the Office of Compliance and Equity, i.e. Title IX.

Peer coaching for participants of the USC Equity Institutes at Cal Poly Pomona will focus specifically on race-aware equity-minded observation.

Example Activities

Fall Term

Activity	Date/time	Requirement
Active learning, equity-minded classroom observation, & peer coaching workshop	Third week of August, with lunch	Required in person
Fall semester 2-visit cycle (i.e. Person A visits Person B two times; Person B visits Person A two times. Pre-visit and post-visit conversations required.)	Arranged at mutually convenience times; must be completed by Thanksgiving Visit cycles estimated 3 hr	Required. Format to be determined by mutual agreement and class format
October Zoom group check in	Second week of October	Recommended. Via Zoom.
December wrap-up and assessment	Second week of December	Required in person

Approximate total time in Fall for all activities: 15-17 hours

Spring Term

Activity	Date/time	Requirement
Active learning, equity-minded classroom observation, & peer coaching workshop 2.0	Third week of January	Required in person
Fall semester 2-visit cycle (i.e. Person A visits Person B two times; Person B visits Person A two times. Pre-visit and post-visit conversations required.)	Arranged at mutually convenience times; must be completed by late April	Required
March Zoom group check in	Third week of April	Recommended. Via Zoom
May wrap-up and assessment	Second week of May with lunch	Required in person

Approximate total time in Spring for all activities: 15-17 hours

Compensation & Benefits

Faculty will be paid an overload (stipend) of $250 per semester for completing activities in the semester. Partial stipends are available for partial completion, but engaging in training, one visit cycle, and providing feedback for program assessment is required. Peer coaching represents a significant investment of time and energy. Participants will receive all books and materials. The most important benefit to faculty will be the peer-to-peer coaching relationships.

Who should apply

Any faculty who have participated in the USC Race & Equity Center “Equity Teaching Institutes” in Spring 2021, Fall 2022, or Spring 2023 are eligible.

Lecturers and tenure-line faculty are invited. Lecturers should have reasonable expectation of teaching in Spring but do not need a spring contract at this time. FERPing faculty must be teaching in both semesters. Graduate teaching assistants are not eligible.

Faculty who are successful in peer-to-peer coaching tend to have the following characteristics:

Growth mindset toward their own teaching skills and toward their students
High interest in effective teaching and responsiveness to evidence regarding effective practices
Ability to manage time and calendar activities such that commitments are met
Willingness to experiment in the classroom
Willingness to accept and provide constructive, respectful feedback
Commitment to confidentiality

Application

Deadline: August 1st for Fall Term and December 1st for Spring Term

Questions?

Contact Victoria Bhavsar, Director of CAFE, at vbhavsar@cpp.edu.

Literature

Burkholder, E., et al. 2021. An equitable and effective approach to introductory mechanics. Cornell University. https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.12504.

Freeman, S., et al. 2014. Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. PNAS 111(23): 8410-8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111.

Rainville, K.N., D.G. Title, and C.G. Desrochers. 2023. Peer coaching in higher education: Faculty coaching partnerships to support rigorous and engaging classrooms. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Theobald, E.J., et al. 2020. Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. PNAS 117(12):6476-6483. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117.

Wieman, C., and S. Gilbert. 2014. The Teaching Practices Inventory: A new tool for characterizing college and university teaching in mathematics and science. CBE Life Sciences Education 13(3): 552–569. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.14-02-0023.

Wieman, C., and S. Gilbert. 2018. The Teaching Practices Inventory updated for social sciences. https://cwsei.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/cwsei/resources/tools/CWSEI_TeachingPracticesInventory.pdf, verified 31 August 2022.