Moving Your Research Forward to New Settings: 2-Year Colleges

1. Moving Your Research Forward to New Settings: 2-Year Colleges by Al Trujillo Palomar Community College

2. Palomar College: A Typical 2-Year (Community) College • Mission Statement (2001): “Palomar College is an educational leader committed to quality learning. We provide our community the knowledge, information, skills, and aesthetic appreciation necessary to live responsibly, effectively, and creatively in an interdependent and changing world.” • Logo: “Learning for Success”

3. Research at Community Colleges? With all the emphasis on learning and teaching, what research opportunities exist? Is there a requirement to do research? How does authoring a textbook fit into this?

4. First, the Bad News (Challenges)… Lack of financial support (institutional) Lack of dedicated research space Lack of time (teaching load of 5-6 classes per semester) Lack of help Difficulty in establishing a research program at a 2-year college is due to:

5. Strategy: Partner with a College or University Collaborative relationship: you provide local coordination & expertise; they provide equipment, field assistance, and financial/ grant support Many universities partner with community colleges (pipeline for students) Satisfies NSF grant “broader impacts” by partnering with community colleges: Underrepresented groups Outreach activities + Good!

6. Strategy: Propose Projects with Strong Educational Components Ensure your research has a strong educational focus to garner administrative support Involve students in your research (e.g. lab topics, extra credit, honors projects, or a special topics/summer course) Studies show that students gain much more from doing science than they do from just hearingabout it in the classroom

7. Strategy:Work on Research That Benefits the Local Community 2-year schools are community focused, so a local project or a project with a local emphasis is usually more enticing Projects that include students are favored because of the education focus typical of two-year schools +

8. Strategy:Communicate How Your Research Supports the Institution’s Mission Let administration (including the Governing Board) know how your research benefits student learning and the local community Promote your research through your Public Information Office/local media Local promotion often results in additional opportunities when local people want to become involved or local leaders request additional work

9. Strategy:Reduce Your Teaching Load Some 2-year colleges will approve release time to do grant writing or grant-funded research Sabbatical leaves--once every 6½ years--are ideal for doing research (must get approval) Other ways to get release from teaching duties to do research: Summer = 14 weeks Leave of absence (full or partial) Load bank

10. Do 2-Year Colleges Require Faculty to Do Research? No …but a college loves having faculty who do research!

11. Typical Job Description for a 2-Year College Teaching Position Duties and responsibilities include: Teaching various courses within the department* Developing appropriate curriculum Participating fully in departmental activities and college governance Holding regular office hours * Teaching assignments may include day, evening, and/or weekend classes at the main campus and/or off-campus locations; may also include distance education classes

12. Differences in Expectations Teaching Teaching Research Research Service Service 2-year college 4-year college/university

13. How Is Writing a College-level Textbook Viewed by Palomar College? When Hal Thurman first offered me the opportunity to co-author his textbook Essential of Oceanography, I asked the dean what kind of collegial support I could expect… Her response: “Absolutely none.”

14. How Is Writing a College-level Textbook Viewed by Palomar College? More recently, my publisher agreed to pay for 1 class of release time during the semester I am working to revise the book into a new edition. First I had to get approval by the union. The administration’s response: “You can’t take time off.”

15. Concerns About Release Time for Authoring How is this fair to other faculty who don’t publish? Can’t you do this work during sabbatical leaves? You are already getting paid royalties …and now you want time off? Isn’t this a violation of your contract? How does this benefit Palomar College?

16. General Benefits of College Textbook Authoring to Academic Institutions “The production of text materials lies at the center of the academic enterprise simultaneously embodying elements of all three traditional rubrics: research, teaching, and service.” Text and Academic Author’s Association position statement: The Academic Value of Textbooks (1994; revised 2007) • Research: Research involved in authoring a college-level textbook keeps authors on the cutting edge of current developments in their field of expertise • Teaching: Textbook authors are required to really examine content pedagogy to be able to communicate effective ways for students to learn the subject matter • Service:The published work informs and educates a wide audience of college students and professors

17. Specific Benefits of College Textbook Authoring to Palomar College • Many students choose me as their instructor because they view me as an expert in the field • The fact that I am a textbook author establishes me as a leader in geoscience education • The wide use of the textbook brings recognition to Palomar College throughout the educational community • Having a published author of a textbook amongst its faculty is obviously prestigious for Palomar College although authoring textbooks is not required of faculty

18. Where Does a Textbook Fit in? Teaching Teaching Research Research Service Service 2-year college 4-year college/university

19. How Does Palomar College Recognize Research Faculty? Recognition of research by Palomar College: • Annual Faculty Tea • Research Award (I was the recipient of this award — a wall plaque — in 2005)

20. Should You Do Research at a 2-Year College? It’s up to you, but here are some points to consider: • You need to be able to operate with little administrative support or funding • You need to do a good job of promoting your research • It’s not part of your contract • It can, however, enhance student learning and produce life-changing experiences for students • It keeps you on the cutting edge of the subject matter you teach

21. Other Options for Scholarly Activities (Professional Development) at 2-Year Colleges • Become a reviewer for textbooks/journal articles • Serve as an officer for a local or national organization • Chair a regional meeting for GSA, NAGT, or AGU • Do curriculum enrichment (Active Earth display, seismograph, weather station, etc.) • Make your department more visible (National Earth Science Week, outreach, community service, talks) • Work as a consultant

22. For More Information • Moving Your Research to a Two-Year College (2YC) athttp://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep/research/2yc.html by Mike Phillips (Illinois Valley Community College) • Scholarly Activity for 2-Year College Faculty athttp://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/research/Blodgett_professional_activities_list.doc by Robert H. Blodgett (Austin Community College)

23. Moving Your Research Forward to New Settings: 2-Year Colleges by Al Trujillo Palomar Community College END