Tag Archives: nvcc

AL Campus Weekly Announcements

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Michelle Gaston

DR. MICHELLE GASTON

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY

SCIENCE, BUSINESS, AND TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS

Growing Up With The Groundhog

Phil“Have you heard of Groundhog Day?”

     ‘Oh yeah…Punxsutawney Phil.’

“Yes, Punxsutawney…that’s where I’m from.”

At home or abroad, that’s the typical start to my conversation with anyone asking about my origins.  Some might get bored having the same conversation repeatedly, but I don’t.  It’s nice chatting with someone who’s immediately familiar with my little hometown in Western Pennsylvania.  And it’s also nice to know that many of them will remember me every February 2nd—Groundhog Day!

“Groundhog Day” began 127 years ago with Germans that immigrated to Pennsylvania.  Accustomed to hedgehogs predicting winter’s length, they soon found a suitable replacement rodent in America—the groundhog.  To this day, if our beloved rodent Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow at dawn, six more weeks of winter await.  If there’s no shadow, then spring is just around the corner.

GobblersKnobThe big event occurs in a wooded area atop a hill known as “Gobbler’s Knob”—a fitting name since the early settlers used to eat groundhogs there.  Fortunately, that’s no longer part of the tradition!

Although Phil spends most of his days in his cozy burrow at the local library, he does make appearances at special events.  Years ago, my mom’s family raised groundhogs as pets, and often their animals would travel as emissaries for Phil.

Punxsutawney is a quiet little town filled with friendly people—I would not have wanted to spend my childhood anywhere else.  On Groundhog Day, thousands of people from all over the world travel to my hometown just to see Phil.  Will you join them next year??  If you aren’t into celebrating on a cold winter day, consider a trip for the Groundhog Festival in June.  Two yearly celebrations in two different seasons—an appropriate tribute to our furry little weather prognosticator in the “Weather Capital of the World.”

LTR, Student Services

Post Election Conference

POST ELECTION CONFERENCE  | 2013 Virginia Elections

VA Elections VA Elections Schedule

The conference will include discussions on:

  • National Implications of the Virginia Election
  • Implications of the Election for the future of Virginia – State and Local Panels
  • Economic Implications of the Virginia Election

Morning Program (09:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) | AA-196 (Bisdorf Building)

Evening Program (07:30 p.m. – 09:00 p.m.) | AA-158 (Bisdorf Building)

CONTACT:

For more information please contact Linda Rodriguez | lirodriguez@nvcc.edu

Faculty and Staff Only, LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

SAVE THE DATE! An exciting event about using our campuses as learning labs. You won’t want to miss it.

CETL

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and the NOVA Sustainability Office are very proud to announce an event in which we see pedagogical practices in the context of civic issues & environmental sustainability.

You won’t want to miss it!

How We Learn on Campus Tells us about Life Issues in our Larger World

A case study in using the campus as a living, learning Laboratory.   

 

Dr. Catherine  Middlecamp

Professor, Environmental Studies in the Nelson Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Thursday, November 21st 

Annandale Campus, CE Forum

Talk 10:30  to 11:45 AM
Workshop 1:15 to 3:15 pm  (limited to 30 participants) 

Register  for the talk using this link.

Register for the workshop using this link.

 

Dr. MiddlecampDr. Middlecamp also holds a joint appointment in the Integrated Liberal Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an affiliate faculty member of the Chemistry Department.  Her work lies at the intersection of science, people, and the planet.

 

As one example, Middlecamp is the editor-in-chief for Chemistry in Context, a 25-year national curriculum project of the American Chemical Society.

 

She has been nationally recognized for her work in many ways, including being elected a fellow of the Association for Women in Science (2003), of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2004), and of the American Chemical Society (2009). She also is a member of the National Fellowship Board of SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Responsibilities and Engagements) and in 2011 was awarded the William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science.

 

Dr. Middlecamp will present a morning seminar that is open to all faculty and staff,  in which she describes a course that she teaches that will show us how to expand our teaching practices into the real world of our campus and college as we learn how to use our campus as a living, learning laboratory.

This will be followed by an afternoon workshop that can accommodate thirty people.  Dr. Middlecamp will provide the how-to of engaging students in learning about the quality of their own lives on the planet.

 

From Dr. Middlecamp:

When it comes to learning how energy, food, water, and waste are handled on a college campus, the answers are not in the back of the book. In fact, there is no book! Even so, every campus offers its instructors an amazing number of stories about buildings, grounds, transportation, water, and the energy infrastructure. This talk tells some of these stories with an eye to how they can be used to engage students in learning about science (generally), about sustainability (more specifically) and about improving the quality of life on our planet both today and tomorrow.

AL Campus Weekly Announcements, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

Topics in Online Teaching and Learning Workshops

VCCS

Faculty who teach (or want to teach) blended and online courses are invited to participate in any of ELI’s November TOTAL workshops:

 

  • Developing Collaborative Activities  (November 11 – November 24)
  • Designing Rubrics and Providing Feedback  (November 11 – December 15; no activities Thanksgiving week)
  • Writing Directions  (November 11 – November 24)

 

The workshops are facilitated online in Blackboard and involve reading/viewing assignments, application assignments, and interaction with colleagues.    See the TOTAL project website (https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/vccs-total-project/home-1/workshops) for specific workshop descriptions.  Each workshop requires 5 – 8 hours of work per week.  Consider the workload carefully before registering for multiple workshops at the same time.  Most TOTAL workshops are repeated each semester.

 

Registration for the November workshops is open now and closes at noon on November 8.  To register for a workshop:

  1. Log into NOVA Academy (https://covkc.virginia.gov/nvcc).  See HR’s professional development page (NOVA web site > Faculty & Staff >Human Resources > Professional Development) for NOVA Academy login directions and a user guide.
  2. Select Course Catalog in the Learning Center menu at the top of the page.
  3. Search on VCCS total to see the TOTAL workshops listed.  (Ignore the “classroom” description; NOVA Academy does not recognize Blackboard as a delivery method.)
  4. Click on a workshop to see the section(s) available.
  5. Click on a section to enroll or manage your enrollment.   All those enrolled will receive an email announcement with workshop directions on or before the first day of the workshop.

 

Questions?  Contact Bob Loser (rloser@nvcc.edu).

AL Campus Weekly Announcements, Student Services

PARKING INFORMATION ON NOVEMBER 5th for Voting Day!

PARKING ON NOVEMBER 5th  | Voting Day

VOTE

Parking Lot A-8 will be used for voter parking, due to the construction of the Beauregard Parking Deck.

 

We are asking that Tyler Building Faculty and Staff park in the BACK of the Tyler Building on Tuesday, 05 November 2013.

 

This will allow available parking for our voters in the front of the Tyler Building on that day.

CONTACT:

For more information please contact Mike Delchamp | mdelchamp@nvcc.edu or Marc Henderson | mhenderson@nvcc.edu

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

CALL ME CRAZY Movie Screening and Panel Discussion

Slide1“CALL ME CRAZY” | Screening and Panel Discussion

 

The Alexandria Psychology Department and Women’s Center present the film “Call Me Crazy!”

 

We will follow the screening with a panel discussion. The movie examines emotional health and support for psychological conditions.

 

The event is FREE and open to the public.

 

Please consider giving students extra credit for attending.

 

Thursday, 07 November 2013

4:30 – 7:00 p.m.

AA-196.

 

CONTACTS:

For more information please contact Dr. Elizabeth C. Lanthier | Professor of Psychology | elanthier@nvcc.edu

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

President’s Sabbatical: APPLY SOON (Dec. 1 Deadline; only for Full-Time Faculty Members)

Skull

Feeling a little stressed?

Need a break?

Been here five years or more?

APPLY FOR THE PRESIDENT’S SABBATICAL!

(in two easy steps)

The deadline is December 1, 2013.

Only Full-Time Faculty Members can apply

To apply, complete the following:

  • Form 105-100
    • with the provost’s signature
  • A 1,000-word statement
    • describing how you would use your sabbatical for your professional development or to serve the college and/or our students

That’s all!

The members of the Personnel Services Committee will review all proposals and offer recommendations to Dr. Templin.

Dr. Templin will choose the winners in the spring.

Upon your return from sabbatical, you will present your work, findings, whatever to the faculty at the College Convocation.

Send your application to Assoc. Dean Jami Yazdani (jyazdani@nvcc.edu), head of the Personnel Services Committee, by December 1st!

Have questions? Need help putting your idea on paper? – Contact Steph Sareeram, AL’s faculty representative on Personnel Services, at (703) 845-6015 or ssareeram@nvcc.edu.

Science Technology & Business, Student Services

A CETL Event: A Presentation by Dr. Elise Labbé

 CETL

The Mindfulness in Teaching Faculty Learning Community (FLC) of

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Invites you to a special open meeting of the FLC

 

A Presentation by Dr. Elise Labbé

Author of Psychology, Moment by Moment

 

Wednesday, November 6th  

12 pm to 1:30 PM

Annandale Campus CS 238

Please Register for this event here. 

 

Dr. Elise Labbé, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL and clinic director of the USA Psychological Clinic.  She has published numerous research papers in clinical and health psychology and presents at national and international conferences.  Labbé,  has earned several awards including the Phi Kapppa Phi Scholar of the Year Award, the Orurobors Award, Who’s Who in Biobehavioral Sciences, and university excellence in teaching and service awards.  She is the editor in chief of Journal of Sport Behavior and is on the editorial of Journal of Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, and has been invited to review a number of clinical and health psychology journals.

 

Labbé teaches and researches mindfulness and has practiced meditation for over thirty years.

 

She is currently co-authoring a book chapter on mindfulness, You Tube, and the brain with Dr. Andrée E. C. Betancourt,  Adjunct Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Theater and Film at Northern Virginia Community College.

LTR, Science Technology & Business, Student Services

2014 Power Up your Pedagogy Conference Registration Continues

Colleagues – – Registration Continues!

Power Up Your Pedagogy
(PUP)

The Ninth Annual Power UP your Pedagogy (PUP) Conference is OPEN FOR REGISTRATION!  All Faculty and Professional Staff are cordially invited.

It is an online registration—Just click on this link.
http://www.nvcc.edu/faculty-and-staff/teaching-support/cetl/conference.html
And then on the Registration Tab.

(Faculty relaxing in the 2013 conference lounge)

Faculty

PUP is an exciting, award-winning, professional development conference that brings all NOVA faculty together.  PUP is YOUR conference presented by YOUR colleagues. You will leave with amazing new insights about the best teaching practices, the best teaching tips and tricks and the very best ideas about teaching and especially about teaching at NOVA! Cluster Meetings are also part of the conference.

The 2014 PUP 21st Century Teaching & Learning

January 8th and 9th on the Annandale Campus

Register Now!

We have reviewed some wonderful proposals and have exciting speakers for the conference. You will see the following:

  • Interactive peer presentations are at the heart of the conference.  You may choose to attend a variety of sessions such as:
    • Many interactive 45-minute breakout sessions
    • Dynamic two-hour workshops
    • Topical Interest Groups
    • Three important conference addresses highlight the conference. Learn from our leaders:
      • Dr. Robert Templin will give a welcoming address to open the conference
      • Robert Bausch, the 2013 NOVA SCHEV Award winner will give us his insights on teaching.
      • And,  continuing last year’s amazing success with a Second Day Plenary Speaker: Dr. Bryan Alexander, an educational futurist.
  • Also featured  this year:
    •  an Active Backchannel to make it your own conference:  A backchannel conversation is one that occurs concurrently with the main conference and gives voice to attendees.  Each can add content to the conference, comment on it as it progresses, and share inspirations from it.  Here are the PUP backchannels:
  • PUP twitter feed #PUP14.
  • A PUP blog page on which to enter comments as replies.
  • Whiteboards for your written and drawn comments
  • Face to face conversations in the PUP lounge area.
  • A Project Poster Presentation hosted by adjunct and fulltime faculty in the Gym
  • An exhibition of Learning Spaces of the Future
  • A Vendor Fair that lets you visit with representatives of companies dedicated to supporting education in the CE Forum
  • PUP has an important commitment to sustainability.   When you register you’ll be able to choose how you want to receive your program – in a printed format, or electronically.  You’ll also be able to print your individual conference schedule through the Conference Event Planner, just as soon as the program is finalized.  We’ll let you know.  (Printed programs will only be available to those who indicated they want one during the registration process.  They won’t be available at the conference.)

Every attempt is being made to be sure that everyone, even those who only attend Cluster Meetings, receives a lunch.   The lunches are the single largest expense for PUP.  In these tight economic times, it is imperative that we have an accurate count of those who wish lunch.   The only way to count YOU is by your registration.  You must register even if you only plan to attend the Cluster meetings.

 NOVA Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

AL Campus Weekly Announcements

Student Spotlight: Eugene Malts

Eugene Malts

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE STUDENT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

photo 1Where do I start? I remember how I was debating with myself concerning my future. It was summer in Russia. Meanwhile, I was sitting on the corner of the street in my hometown in Siberia. The debate was concerning my future life, to be exact, should I move to the USA or to stay where I belong, in Siberia? In this particular case, I believe my major experience is the immigration to the USA.

It is August of 2012, and I’m taking a placement test to measure my English language skills. The test placed me in an ESL class, where I belong.

During my ESL experience for almost 1.5 year, I’ve struggled and didn’t get any useful advice from surrounding me people due to limited English.

In my last level of the ESL, I realized something that will change my views, and an attitude towards the education.

My friends and I decided to open an interest group to gather those shy, inexperienced, and, you know, brilliant students all over the campus to help them adjust to American college system and, of course, improve their English. Obviously, our advisors made a crucial impact on our club. The most important thing is to believe that we can make it. Imagine the amateur group of students with noble spirits evolved into the established club. As the president, I’m learning how to lead and how to be a good role model for those, like me in the past, who is struggling.

I would never imagine that the idea was so successful and we built up a team, which is working hard to make sure our moral to help brilliant students’ works.

After a year and a half of hard work, I’m sitting in a college composition class debating on George Orwell’s works in my head. Did I mention that I finished struggling? No, I’m still struggling, learning more and believe that impossible could be possible. And there is a tip to a Good Samaritan: hard work always pays off.