Alison Armstrong (left) and Sheryl Copeland (right) are filling the position of Professional Learning Officer as professional learning leads.

The Office of Academic and Student Affairs is pleased to announce that the position of Professional Learning Officer has been filled with two faculty who will serve as professional learning leads. Sheryl Copeland (Counseling) and Alison Armstrong (Engineering) will be leading efforts, as part of the Student Learning Experience Coordinating Committee (SLECC), to support faculty as well as staff in bringing high-engagement practices to their student interactions.

Sheryl will work primarily on engagement on the one-on-one level, which applies to faculty working with students as well as staff interactions in all areas. Alison (Ali) will be working with instructors to support classroom innovation using high-engagement strategies. Both Sheryl and Ali will be building from guidance provided by AVID for Higher Education (AHE) and from expert faculty and staff here at Shoreline to provide opportunities for learning and improvement to enhance our students’ learning experience.

Stay tuned for communication from Sheryl and Ali about specific opportunities and events related to high-engagement practices. Coming up most immediately will be informal Teaching and Learning Conversations, which will provide topic-specific forums for faculty and staff to share their experiences and expertise. Looking further ahead, Sheryl and Ali will be coordinating peer-to-peer learning groups (using the Teaching Squares model) in which faculty and staff discuss high-engagement innovations they are trying out, with the option of observation of these types of interactions.

Although plans have been laid for some activities, there is still flexibility for introducing new ideas, so please feel free to contact Sheryl or Ali at professionallearning@shoreline.edu with ideas and thoughts about how to support your interactions with students.

The Shoreline Office of Institutional Assessment and Data Management (IADM) will be sponsoring 3–5 faculty-led projects during the 2016-2017 academic year. The projects will focus on “closing the loop” with assessment; teams of faculty will “review, assess, reflect, and act” based on student learning outcomes for one course or series of courses.

The maximum total amount of each award will be $2,000. Applications are due Mon., Oct. 31. Please click here or contact Bayta Maring (bmaring@shoreline.edu) for more information.