2004 Annual Reports for Boards and Committees
APA Committee of Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges (PT@CC)
The APA Committee of Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges (PT@CC) met in March and October 2004 and held monthly conference calls during the year. Since that time, the committee has continued to develop programs and activities for psychology teachers and students at community colleges. The new APA Community College Teacher Affiliate category has attracted 566 affiliates since January 2003. In addition, there are approximately 160 APA Members/Associates teaching at community colleges who are participating in PT@CC.
Members of the PT@CC Executive Committee include Robert Johnson, PhD (Umpqua Community College, OR), Chair; Ann Ewing, PhD (Mesa Community College, AZ); Donna Duffy, PhD (Middlesex Community College, MA); Patricia Puccio, EdD (College of DuPage, IL); Tonja Ringgold, EdD (Baltimore City Community College, MD); and Jerry Rudmann, PhD (Coastline Community College, CA).
PT@CC Priorities
PT@CC met twice in 2004 and identified the following items as priorities:
1. Increase membership by increasing the involvement of community college teachers of psychology with PT@CC through various projects at the national and regional levels. In particular, develop PT@CC affiliate groups in all regions. Currently, we have a presence at WPA, EPA, MPA, NEPA, and SEPA.
2. Strengthen the teaching of psychological science at the community college through convention programming, regional teaching conferences, and the dissemination of teaching related materials.
3. Forge partnerships with other groups, such as STP and TOPSS, to promote teaching excellence.
4. Assure the continuity of current projects, including the teaching tips and electronic presentation competitions and further surveys aimed at learning more about the quality of instruction at the community college level.
5. Minority mentoring and recruiting. We are currently in the exploration stages of a partnership project (with Psi Beta, TOPSS, and the APA Membership Committee) that would involve mentoring of minority students in psychology from high school through graduate school.
6. Increase awareness of the role of community college in the continuum of psychological science education and as a connection to the community.
Programs and Activities in 2004
Publications
An article reporting on a national survey of psychology instruction at community colleges was published in the Teaching of Psychology (Summer, 2004). The survey found that 2-year colleges in the U.S. annually enroll more than half a million psychology students, taught by some 9,000 teachers of psychology.
To increase the awareness about psychology faculty and students at community colleges, the committee suggested a number of topics to the APA Monitor. Articles highlighting the achievements of faculty and about teaching community college psychology were published. In addition, members of PT@CC partnered with TOPSS members to submit articles for the Psychology Teacher Network, a quarterly newsletter for teachers of introductory psychology.
Outreach to Community College Faculty
To provide special programming for community college faculty at regional and national meetings, PT@CC members collaborated to sponsor sessions and other special events for community college psychology teachers at EPA, MPA, WPA, SEPA, SWPA, and NEPA. In addition, TOPSS and PT@CC sponsored a workshop for Teachers of Introductory Psychology at WPA.
Each year, the APA Education Directorate distributes 1-2 mass mailings to PT@CC. In 2004, PT@CC received mailings that included announcements as well as the PT@CC Excellence in Psychology Certificates to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding students. Community college faculty also received copies of Careers in Psychology and the Activities Handbook for the Teaching of Psychology: Volume 2.
These outreach efforts are an important way of sharing the benefits and resources of APA with faculty at community colleges. Through presentations and other communications, the committee hopes to expand the network of community college teachers and undergraduate students involved in the APA.
APA Convention Programming
PT@CC sponsored five hours of convention programming and a reception during the 2004 convention in Honolulu as follows:
Innovative Community College Teaching Techniques
The Last Lecture featuring presentations by Wilbert McKeachie and Robert L. Johnson
PT@CC Invited Address: The Diane F. Halpern Lecture featuring a presentation by Bernardo J. Carducci
Surviving Outcomes Assessment
Creative Approaches to Getting Students Involved in Research
Reception for Dr. Carducci and the PT@CC Award Winners
PT@CC Electronic Project Contest
With financial support from the APA Education Directorate and Allyn & Bacon Publishing, PT@CC sponsored the second “APA Electronic Project Contest.” This competition was developed to recognize the achievement, creativity, and technical competence of outstanding community college psychology students.
PT@CC Teaching Tips Contest
PT@CC sponsored the first annual Teaching Tips Contest in 2004 with support from the APA Education Directorate and Worth Publishers. Developed as a means to recognize and encourage sharing of high quality instructional techniques, community college instructors were invited to submit an original demonstration, an individual or group class activity, an interactive teaching/learning module, or other pedagogy designed to illustrate a psychological concept or theory.
Elected New Board Members
In 2004, PT@CC held its first nationwide election. Eleven candidates were featured on the ballot to fill 2 vacant seats. LaDonna Lewis, of Glendale Community College, and Susan Pollock of Mesa Community College, were elected for three-years terms of office beginning in January 2005. Pat Puccio was elected chair, replacing outgoing chair Bob Johnson, for 2005.
Strengthening the Teaching of Psychology at the Community College
At its Fall 2004 meeting, the committee drafted a proposal for the Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) called “Strengthening the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Psychological Sciences: The Next Steps.” The document identifies a major gap between the National Standards for the Teaching of High School Psychology and the Learning Goals and Outcomes of the Undergraduate Psychology Major. The proposal recommends a working group be formed by BEA to identify the developmentally appropriate competencies for undergraduate psychology courses, along with models of “best practices” for teaching, learning and assessment. If approved and funded in 2005, the proposal calls for establishing a six-member committee to address these issues.
Professional Contributions of PT@CC Executive Committee Members
PT@CC committee members have made important contributions to the field of psychology in recent years. Specifically:
Ann Ewing served as the chair of the Council of Representatives for the Western Psychological Association—the first community college person ever to do so.
Jerry Rudmann was a member of the task force that drafted the BEA Learning Goals and Outcomes of the Undergraduate Psychology Major. He is currently leading an effort to adapt those learning outcomes to the first two years of undergraduate instruction.
Pat Puccio has, for several years, directed the MISTOP conference for students and teachers of psychology. She is also serving on the David and Carol Myers APS teaching fund steering committee and the STP long range planning committee. She also represents PT@CC as a delegate to the Interdivisional Coalition for Psychology in the Schools.
Donna Duffy has been involved in promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and AAHE and, just recently, was featured in the Monitor article on integrating civic engagement into the teaching of psychology.
Robert Johnson chaired Diane Halpern's presidential initiative on retirement and recently agreed to take the editorship of The General Psychologist, the Division 1 newsletter. He is also involved in developing a project to encourage mentoring and recruiting of minority students in psychology from high school through graduate school.
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