Explorations from a Community of Practice:

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Middlesex Community College,

Spring 2004

CONTENTS

Introduction

	Does the Inclusion of “Soft Skill” Training in a Technical Workforce Development Program Effect Student Motivation? Robert J. Bowles Associate Professor of Computer and Engineering Technology, Middlesex Community College
	Electronic Communication in a Basic Writing Classroom: What Do Students Gain? Thomas S. Laughlin Associate Professor of English, Middlesex Community College
	Course Portfolio for Principles of Correction (CJ 1115) Lynda J. Pintrich Professor of Criminal Justice, Middlesex Community College

 

 

 

 

Introduction

    In 1998, Middlesex Community College became one of the first groups nationally to accept an invitation from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to establish a Carnegie Academy on campus. The initial Middlesex Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) group, comprised of nine interdisciplinary faculty and generously supported by the administration, enthusiastically embarked on a journey that still continues six years later. The Fall 2001 publication, Explorations from a Community of Practice: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Middlesex Community College, is a compilation of five projects completed by the first group of scholars.  Middlesex Community College has a long history of strongly encouraging and supporting professional development.  Because of this support, faculty frequently develop and implement creative teaching strategies.  While communication between practitioners regarding these innovative strategies and techniques does occur informally, prior to the inception of our CASTL group there had not been a formal process for peer review, evaluation or dissemination.

          In the intervening years, Middlesex Community College’s CASTL group has grown in size but continues to be a place for stepping away from the logistical and often isolating demands of daily teaching. We also continue to support, sustain, and foster SoTL on our campus; we continue to meet, share ideas and readings, conduct peer reviews, and produce projects that will be shared by others in public forums. In addition, Middlesex Community College has recently become a Carnegie Cluster Leader (COPPER: Communities of Practice: Pooling Educational Resources to Foster the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) whose intent is to widen our community still further.

          The collection of papers in this newest edition is both an example of the interdisciplinary nature of our group as well as an illustration of our ongoing process to develop a more systematic analysis of our teaching and our students’ learning.

Previous issue:  

Explorations from a Community of Practice: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Middlesex Community College, Fall 2001