Co-Authored by Brenda Mauldin, Part-time English Faculty and CTL Faculty Developer, and LaNita Kirby, English Faculty and CTL Director
By all accounts, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s first annual Summer Institute was a huge success. Offering five weeks of immersive faculty professional development—covering topics on grading and assessment, active learning and technology, Paideia Seminar and NTA Tutor Certification training, plus active learning and stress management for students and faculty–the new Center for Teaching and Learning indeed made “a big splash,” according to LaNita Kirby, Director for the CTL.
What was the recipe for such a successful beginning? It was a combination of great teamwork and loads of determination: “We embraced the challenge of the unprecedented, and we simply worked hard to deliver it. We were committed to the project, all the way. Staff support combined with faculty enthusiasm and administrative backing allowed us to follow this recipe to make the CTL’s first professional development summer institute come together.”
To corral such a superb lineup of noteworthy presenters from all over the state and nation and to provide just-in-time, high-quality professional development sessions to attendees, Ms. Kirby realized early on that someone incredibly inspiring had to start the show. So she chose someone special, a gentleman who had a great reputation for captivating teaching and learning audiences nationwide: Dr. Todd Zakrajsek (“Dr. Z”). Bringing contagious energy and intellectual prowess to the room, Dr. Todd Zakrajsek created an open, approachable, fun atmosphere with his keynote address “Adult Development and Student Success.” And so began the RCCC faculty’s summer journey to become better teachers by learning from the some of the state and nation’s best practitioners.
All totaled, over 50 sessions focusing on nearly every imaginable topic related to teaching and learning strategies were offered, and each session was designed to assist every RCCC faculty member to help every student be successful.
All totaled, over 50 sessions focusing on nearly every imaginable topic related to teaching and learning strategies were offered, and each session was designed to assist every RCCC faculty member to help every student be successful. It was no accident then that “Keys to Student Success” became the theme of the 2011 Summer Institute. Creating better learning environments for student success, designing more effective online and seated courses, considering ADA compliance matters, and building greater assessments and learning outcomes, these “keys to student success” reminded the summer institute’s attendees that RCCC is in the business of building people. Through that repeated motif, and from post-institute survey data, we believe we’re off to a great beginning. But again, we have Dr. Z to thank for giving us such a terrific head start to our own great new beginning.
By his example of encouragement and enthusiasm, RCCC teachers learned what it means to model curiosity about learning in front of their students. By his intrigue with statistics and how the brain works, Dr. Z shared his passion for teaching. For all who saw him in action, Dr. Z’s passion was contagious. Frequently, CTL staff observed instructors sharing best practices amongst themselves, learning from one another’s anecdotes and teaching tips, and relishing delightfully when a new top-secret success tool was picked up in overheard dialogues occurring during one of many cookies and coffee breaks. While we saw no one but Todd Z performing actual magic tricks, we have reason to believe that today there’s a great deal of magic going on in RCCC’s classrooms.
Our hope is that our students will feel as engaged in our classes as we were in Todd’s. Making our learning environments warm, approachable, personable, and memorable, we aim to fulfill the promise of Dr. Z’s second presentation by “Overcoming Apathy in the Classroom.” Doing whatever it takes to engage and retain our students, and to make them hungry for more, we will continue to be mindful of these critical keys to our students’ success. “We are on board at the CTL and across the college to make it happen, “ Kirby believes. She’s not alone in her beliefs, though. Judging from the reactions of the Summer Institute’s attendees, Dr. Todd Zakrajsek was quite possibly “the ideal speaker for the opening keynote address,” according to Debra NeeSmith, Dean of Educational Resources. From him and our other speakers, we re-learned fundamental truths about the art of teaching: high expectations for academic rigor, devotion to personal responsibility and professional development, and keeping an audience engaged. Most important of all, we learned again what it means to be a great teacher whose love for learning is inspiring, contagious, and definitely worth coming back [to class] for. According to several attendees’ comments, Dr. Z’s enthusiasm was “contagious and invigorating, … his techniques … engaging.” He was also described as a “dynamic and energetic” speaker who brought “practical and useful information to our faculty in his short time with us.”
Yes, Dr. Z is definitely someone we would love to have with us again—either right away, or next summer, when we aim even higher by hosting the second annual RCCC Center for Teaching and Learning Summer Institute. So clear your calendars, RCCC faculty, for the return of the one and only, Dr. Z!*
*Dr. Todd Zakrajsek teaches Psychology and serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at UNC Chapel Hill. Additional information about the content of his presentations is available at www.ideacenter.org, where he is a regular contributor and participant in making teaching excellence a reality all teachers can achieve.
Rowan-Cabarrus 
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