Plan for a Successful Sabbatical or Fellowship

1. Plan for a Successful Sabbatical or Fellowship Professional Development Travel Field Study Formal Study Creative Project Research

2. Which Type of Support Do You Need? • Sabbatical Leave • Paid one-semester leave to pursue professional development relevant to your SMC responsibilities • Applications due in Fall semester for sabbaticals in the following academic year • Academic Senate has approved a second round of proposals in Spring 2014 for Spring 2015 sabbaticals • District funds at least 8 sabbaticals per year • Fellowship • $1500 to support a relevant one-semester professional development project • Proposals due in Spring 2014 for next academic year • District funds up to 7 fellowships per year

3. Apply for a Sabbatical if • You are a full time Faculty Member • You have at least 6 years of full time service prior to submitting your application • You wish to pursue a relevant project that will constitute one semester’s worth of work • Your project involves any of the following: • Professional Development • Formal Study • Independent Research/Creative Project /Field Study • Professionally Beneficial Travel

4. Sabbatical Leaves Typology • Professional Development: • Study or experience designed to improve teaching effectiveness--not possible through normal workload assignment. • Formal Study: • A course of study leading to increased mastery in subject field; development of an additional area of specialization. • Independent Research, Creative Project, or Field Study: • To carry project of a scope or nature not permitted by a normal workload assignment. • Professionally Beneficial Travel: • To enable acquisition of knowledge, skills, expertise, or an area of specialization within a discipline.

5. Components of the Sabbatical Application • Description of the project • Objectives of the project • Relationship of the project to SMCs Mission, Vision and Goals • Specific Activities or Procedures to be performed • Timeline for Completing Sabbatical Activities • Specific Outcomes, Skills or Competencies Achieved • Documentation of Outcomes

6. Criteria for Evaluating Sabbatical Proposals

7. What the Sabbatical is not! Examples • A vacation • Travel unrelated to student learning and/or your professional development • Updating your syllabus or course packet • Time to do work that is part of your regular assignment • Time to engage in curriculum development that is part of your regular assignment

8. Key Points to Consider • Developing a successful sabbatical proposal necessitates: • Careful planning • Writing • Is your plan sufficiently comprehensive yet achievable? • Does your plan include contingencies for unanticipated events? What will you do if things don’t go as planned?

9. Application Process:PLANNING • Reflect upon your personal motivation for proposing a project. • Define what you intend to accomplish. • How does your “project” relate to sabbatical leaves and to college goals, strategic initiatives and learning outcomes? • Note how your sabbatical will benefit: you, colleagues, department, college, students. • Outline a realistic plan for achieving your goals. • Identify specific objectives and activities you will undertake, and the timeline you will follow. • Identify your anticipated results. • Ask yourself and others if your plan is realistic.

10. Application Process:WRITING • Above all, adhere to sabbatical instructions and address all question thoughtfully, yet concisely. • Write your proposal after you have thought out all details of your sabbatical. • Consider reviewing the Sabbatical Proposal Evaluation Matrix to get an idea of how your proposal will be evaluated. • Introduce yourself and your discipline. • Describe the main focus of your sabbatical with sufficient detail so that readers will understand the importance of pursuing the project.

11. Application Process:WRITING • Describe how you will document your activities (examples): • Curriculum Outline/Syllabus • Diaries • Slides, films, and other multimedia tools • Travel receipts • Manuscript • Production of creative work • What methods will you use to disseminate your results? • A Sabbatical Report is required, but you may also develop/produce: • Web Pages • Presentations and workshops • Papers The methods for documenting and disseminating results will be different for every proposal depending on the type of sabbatical activity—choose the most appropriate format for your project.

12. General Tips • Figure out what “worked” in the past • Review past proposals, both successful and unsuccessful • Abstracts of some successful sabbaticals are available on our website. • Meet with past sabbatical recipients • Ask your colleagues to critique your application • Your project should NOT rely heavily on others to conduct key aspects of your sabbatical work. • The sabbatical project should constitute one semester’s work.

13. General Tips • Be “reader friendly” • Write for the tired, impatient reader who is reading your application last: • Ensure that your proposal stands out from the rest of the applications • Be professional, but personal • Don’t make the reader hunt for or guess at the answer to a question • Use headers, bullets, bold/italics, and “white space” to help guide the reader through the various sections • Use 12-point, easy to read font • Don’t use jargon specific to your discipline that readers may not understand • Don’t forget to proof read and use spell check

14. Timeline—Spring 2015 Sabbaticals

15. Sabbatical Examples • Diana Engelmann, English, for a Spring 2015 Sabbatical proposes “to complete, edit, and submit for publication a manuscript of my selected poetry from 1998 to the present” and“to review most recent works on eco-critical approach to literature, with particular emphasis on poetry.” • Oriana Kim-Rajab, Life Sciences, for a Fall 2014 Sabbatical proposes“to increase my understanding of Authentic Learning practices in the sciences and to develop new laboratory exercises that follow the Authentic Learning model. Authentic Learning is a pedagogical approach that describes learning by applying knowledge in real-life contexts.”

16. Sabbatical Examples • Makoto Nishikawa, Modern Languages and Cultures, for a Fall 2014 Sabbatical proposes “to gather authentic and up-to-date materials in Japan through audio/video recordings and digital photos which are related to the teaching topics of our Japanese program as well as related to the students’ interests in contemporary and traditional Japanese culture. I plan to create my own teaching materials based on the real-life recordings I collect in Japan.” • Lisette Rabinow-Palley, Counseling, for a Spring 2015 Sabbatical proposes “to explore other college, university, and transition programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) around the state and create updated training materials on best practices for serving ASD students that will be shared with SMC faculty.”

17. Apply for a Fellowship if • You are a full time or adjunct Faculty Member • You wish to pursue a relevant project that can be accomplished in one semester • Your project is related to • New Course Development • Course Materials Development • Research related to teaching or student services within your area of discipline expertise • $1500 in funding will be helpful for accomplishing the project

18. Components of the Fellowship Application The proposal will describe • the project, with proposed objectives and activities • how the outcomes of the project will benefit students and the college • how the benefits of the project will be shared with the SMC community • how the outcomes of the project will be documented

19. Timeline—2014-2015 Fellowships

20. Fellowship Examples • Garen Baghdasarian, Life Sciences, for Spring 2014 proposes: “to study the mechanism of recovery of corals from bleaching events and consider genetic selection of Symbiodinium species during this recovery. This study would address unknown variable that currently cannot be considered in prediction models that look at the effect of global warming in tropical regions.” The study is to be conducted at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.” • Simon P. Balm, Earth Science, for Fall 2013 proposes: “to completely update the web site for the Planetarium and tansfer the pages onto the new web server.” He will train an individual in the use of the new CMS so that the new site can be kept updated.

21. Fellowship Examples • Lisa Farwell, Psychology, for Fall 2013 proposes: “to obtain advanced training on the issue of workplace incivility and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) by attending a 3-day intensive professional training program provided at the Workplace Bullying Institute in Washington State, to provide presentations and a resource band for students and faculty at SMC and to share this information with students and faculty.” • Thomas Folland, Art, for Fall 2013 proposes: “to use the fellowship to perform research at the Robert Rauschenberg archives in New York in preparation for completing his book manuscript on Rauschenberg’s 1950’s Combines.” The applicant previously had been unable to gain access to these archives but has recently been invited to view them.

22. Fellowship Examples • Yuria Hashimoto, Modern Languages and Cultures, for Spring 2014 proposes: “to develop computer-/web-based learning materials for the students of Japanese 1 and 2, also to assess the effectiveness of these (computer, web-based tools) for student learning. Assessments will be given both during and at the end of semester(s) through the analys of exam results and student surveys.” • Catherine Haradon, Earth Science/Anthropology, for Spring 2014 proposes: “to create a reference catalog of photographic images that show examples of how animal bones are damaged by stone tools, by carnivores and by natural processes. These images will be used for an electronic reference catalog that will be shared with other anthropology professors.”

23. Fellowship Examples • Carlson Hatton, Art, for Fall 2013 proposes: “as a participant in the Da Wang’s Art residency program in Shenzhen China to produce a series of works on paper and learn about techniques and materials that are distinct to that region.” The applicant has been invited to work in a studio setting with access to materials and studio technicians.

24. For More Information • Visit the Committee Website for submission dates and guidelines • http://www.smc.edu/ACG/AcademicSenate/AScommittees/Pages/Sabbaticals.aspx • Contact • Mary Colavito, Chair • Mona Martin, Co-Chair • Sherri Lee-Lewis, Human Resources, also a Committee Member