Author: OCC Learning Center
two weeks until #studybreakfast!!!
The Learning Center takes #studybreakfast on the road
In an effort to share the Learning Center’s work and learn from colleagues near and far, our team sent a representative to this year’s League for Innovations in the Community College national conference, Innovations, in Boston, MA.
Here is the poster we created to represent our process of building #studybreakfast as an academic tradition that promotes student success and wellness at Oakton Community College.
Spring 2015 semester’s #studybreakfast will take place on Tuesday, May 5th from 7:30-9:30p.m.
EVERYONE’S INVITED!
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, we’re about two-thirds through the Spring semester, that means final exams and the Spring ’15 #studybreakfast are coming up.
Fall ’14 we had a great turnout with more than 140 students participating in tutoring, activities, and a late-night breakfast before finals. This grand happening was made possible by the enthusiastic participation of our 50+ student, staff, and faculty volunteers.
Please help us promote academic success and school spirit by sharing the #studybreakfast details with EVERYONE.
Thank you for rallying with the Learning Center to make #studybreakfast one of Oakton’s most memorable traditions!
Giacomo
#studybreakfast 7:30-9:30p.m., Tuesday, May 5th
Learning Center (Des Plaines Campus)
Learning Center (Des Plaines Campus)
Two hours of additional tutoring in all subjects and
helpful, fun activities to help you prepare for finals.
Plus games, goodies, and goofing around.
#studybreakfast
It’s what’s before finals.
Spring 2014 Tutoring Schedules
In the Wake of Fisher v. Texas Remand, Oakton Continues to Pursue Diversity on Campus
ALLISON CONNER, LEARNING OPERATIONS SPECIALIST, WRITES:
The U.S. Supreme court’s recent “non-decision” to remand the case of Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin (UT) leaves many unanswered questions about the legality of race-conscious undergraduate admissions policies.
Catherine Hill, president of Vassar College in upstate New York recently commented:
In a way, it was really a decision about the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 5th Circuit and not about affirmative action. It just means the discussion is going to continue… it starts the clock over again.
Abigail Fisher, a Caucasian student, was denied acceptance to University of Texas in 2008 and subsequently filed suit, claiming that UT’s use of race as a consideration in admission decisions was in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. UT argued that its use of race was “a narrowly tailored means of pursuing greater diversity.”
While Oakton’s open enrollment policy is not directly affected by this case, a group of staff and faculty participated in an American Council on Education webinar this past Wednesday that focused on how the Fisher ruling can impact the way colleges pursue diversity on campus.
As a community college, Oakton practices open enrollment, however this does not ensure we are meeting 100% of the community’s needs 100% of the time. We must remain diligent and intentional in how we learn about, and adapt to, our ever-changing student body (and surrounding community).
Two of our most recent efforts are the Diversity Council, which advises the Office of Access, Equity, and Diversity in its efforts to make the college a more inclusive, diverse, and anti-bias institution and ¡Ándale!, a comprehensive academic and college-life program, that supports Latino students and their families through mentorship, academic training, and community building.
“Inspirational” texts?
JILL SALAS, LEARNING INTERVENTIONS SPECIALIST WRITES
How about study tips instead?
Roland Fryer, an economist at Harvard University, recently joined forces with a New York marketing agency to craft and disperse “inspiring” daily text messages to 2,000 students enrolled in public schools in Oklahoma City. Designed to potentially enhance the academic success of 12-13 year old students, the study
Failed to find any improvement in the students’ academic results or attendance.
Students were given free mobile phones in exchange for receiving and responding to the daily texts (via a quiz). One such example of an inspiring text: “People don’t look down on someone for being too educated.” Although the students responded correctly to the quiz questions, as well as seemingly altered their views on education’s value, Fryer attributes the lack of academic improvement to students’ inability to alter their study habits or improve their learning. In other words, students “got the message” that academic success has value, but they could not figure out what measures or path to take to get there.
Not to throw around the D word (duh!), but, come on!
A better experiment could be to send students a daily study tip, strategy, or learning fact that they can apply to an academic task. Those daily texts could then be stored in a student’s “tool box” as a list of potential learning strategies that they can try on their own or in study groups. Then, if any particular strategies do in fact, foster a student’s academic success, the true value (lesson) of their effort can be witnessed firsthand.
Experience is the best teacher because she gives the test first and the lesson afterward (Vernon Law).
Facebook Helps First-Generation College Students
ALLISON CONNER, LEARNING OPERATIONS SPECIALIST WRITES:
“Our message to high school students is that even if they are disadvantaged in terms of financial resources or parental support, social media can help them access resources they may already have in their extended social networks,” said D. Yvette Wohn.
The researchers urge school counselors and administrators to explore new ways to help high school students decipher their next steps through social media. They are currently developing a Facebook app designed to help first-generation students identify people in their extended social networks who are knowledgeable about college and can serve as a support system throughout the college experience.
Has social media helped you navigate your way through college? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Click here to read a summary of the study.
Student Orientation Leaders Offer Tips for New Student Success
Learning Center student employee, Gundee, helps Hilma and Da In make an appointment for writing tutoring.
Student Orientation Leaders met with Learning Center staff on Wednesday to participate in a scavenger hunt and a collaborative, reflective learning exercise. We (Manager, GNA Garcia, and Learning Specialist, Jill Salas) set students on a hunt for Learning Center resources and then regrouped in the classroom to brainstorm tips, skills, and experiences that contribute to a successful college experience at Oakton. Instead of giving a presentation to these new student leaders, we had them investigate our “scene.”
Among the resources they needed to seek out: our calculator loan program, anatomical models (they had to ask to see the eye, brain, and ear…) and bones boxes, writing appointment book, and Fred–our awkwardly-wooden beloved Learning Center mascot. Check out the top tips courtesy of the Student Orientation Leaders!
Learning Specialist, Evanthia Rosati, shows Fred (that little red spec in the distance) to orientation leaders.
Top Tips for New Students at Oakton
- Take advantage of the College’s resources (advising, tutoring, counseling, student government/clubs, etc.)
- Create your class schedule with gaps between for lunch and/or studying
- Buy a planner and pencil in time for all your commitments (class, work, studying, social engagements)
- Read the syllabus for each class and ask questions if you don’t understand the professor’s policies
- Stay connected with your professors via email and visit during their office hours
Orientation Leaders brainstorm tips for new student success
You Say Good-bye, and I Say Hello
Jill Salas, Oakton College Learning Interventions Specialist writes
I think I suffer from separation anxiety. Let me explain. While I’m quite familiar with the concept of time, I still don’t quite understand that people come and go, things change, and that—generally speaking—life moves forward. When my parents announced that they were retiring and moving to Arizona, I didn’t eat for a week. They were leaving me??? I started my teaching career in fall of 2007. At the end of an exciting, trying, and surprising semester, I came to a harsh realization: I might never see these students again, or, if I did, it would solely be on their terms. Perhaps they would stop in my office to say hi.
I was in denial.
Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip once said, “Why can’t we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn’t work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.” While we all need more hellos, I guess we have to learn that a good-bye is actually a hello for someone else—someone new.
Truth about Education
On Tuesday, May 14th, Oakton Community College’s class of 2013 will graduate. During our graduates tenure at Oakton, the Learning Center had the privilege of serving many of them. We hope each student finds his or her way toward their next goal in life with increased confidence, hope, and awareness.
In his 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, American author David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) spoke of awareness. In the excerpt below, he tells us that the real value of education is our increased ability to consciously decide what has meaning and what does not.
The real value of a real education is simple awareness.
All Ways Learning 