Skip to main content
Students Faculty & Staff Donate Student Portal Login

Teaching and Learning Center

The Teaching and Learning Center:
A Place to Create, Connect, and Reflect

BCC’s Teaching and Learning Center provides facilitates for high-quality training and resources that leverage the experience, knowledge, and expertise of staff and faculty to improve learning across all disciplines and for all of BCC’s students. The TLC works with all aspects of Shared Governance, particularly the Professional Development Committee and the Planning for Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) Committee and to identify action items and develop, promote, and fund programs.

The TLC regularly hosts workshops, roundtables, social hours and other events to encourage collaboration and a creative teaching community at BCC–see our calendar here.  In addition, the TLC yearly funds a number of faculty-led projects around teaching and learning.

Since March 2019 the TLC has pivoted to an online model, in the future we hope to offer both online and in-person events out of our dedicated space at 2050 Center Street.

TLC on Canvas

Berkeley City College faculty and staff can “enroll” in the Canvas TLC page.

Our Canvas TLC page includes current Zoom links for upcoming online events, a full calendar, as well as recordings of past TLC-sponsored events and faculty-led inquiries.

Contact

Room 341

Faculty Coordinator: Lisa Crallé

Email: bcctlc@peralta.edu

About the TLC

Mission

BCC’s TLC provides and facilitates high-quality training and resources that leverage the experience, knowledge, and expertise of staff and faculty to improve learning across all disciplines and for all of BCC’s students, regardless of background or educational preparedness. The TLC works with all aspects of Shared Governance, particularly the Planning for Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) Committee and the Professional Development Committee to identify action items and develop, promote, and fund programs.

Values

  • Collaborative and Inclusive: Faculty and staff work together to strengthen their teaching and service.
  • Research and inquiry-based: Our work is informed by current and relevant research.
  • Student-oriented: As instructors and staff, we should always inform our research, policies, and decisions with students in mind and as participants in our research.
  • Sustainable: Instructors and staff plan and assess work in order to evaluate long-term goals and progress.

History

BCC’s Teaching and Learning Center was first envisioned in 2008 as a project of the Basic Skills Initiative Committee. The center was designed to address the need for sustained, collaborative, faculty and staff-led professional development, in response to research demonstrating that the traditional “one-shot” workshop model is ultimately not effective in improving our practice. With the help of  BCC’s 2009-2014 Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant, the TLC developed a variety of programs, and the work has now been institutionalized as a vehicle for the academic excellence, collaboration, innovation, and transformation named in our school’s vision.

Spring Symposium

Towards the end of each Spring semester, the TLC hosts a yearly symposium bringing together faculty who have collaborated on a funded projects during the year. See our calendared events  or learn about our faculty-led collaborative projects.

Want to know more or get involved? Email bcctlc@peralta.edu if you want to schedule the TLC for a special teaching-related event, participate in a TLC project or activity, volunteer in your own unique way, or share some fresh creative ideas.

Berkeley City College Teaching and Learning Center Resources

About the TLC

Mission

BCC’s TLC provides and facilitates high-quality training and resources that leverage the experience, knowledge, and expertise of staff and faculty to improve learning across all disciplines and for all of BCC’s students, regardless of background or educational preparedness. The TLC works with all aspects of Shared Governance, particularly the Planning for Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) Committee and the Professional Development Committee to identify action items and develop, promote, and fund programs.

Values

  • Collaborative and Inclusive: Faculty and staff work together to strengthen their teaching and service.
  • Research and inquiry-based: Our work is informed by current and relevant research.
  • Student-oriented: As instructors and staff, we should always inform our research, policies, and decisions with students in mind and as participants in our research.
  • Sustainable: Instructors and staff plan and assess work in order to evaluate long-term goals and progress.

History

BCC’s Teaching and Learning Center was first envisioned in 2008 as a project of the Basic Skills Initiative Committee. The center was designed to address the need for sustained, collaborative, faculty and staff-led professional development, in response to research demonstrating that the traditional “one-shot” workshop model is ultimately not effective in improving our practice. With the help of  BCC’s 2009-2014 Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant, the TLC developed a variety of programs, and the work has now been institutionalized as a vehicle for the academic excellence, collaboration, innovation, and transformation named in our school’s vision.

Spring Symposium

Towards the end of each Spring semester, the TLC hosts a yearly symposium bringing together faculty who have collaborated on a funded projects during the year. See our calendared events  or learn about our faculty-led collaborative projects.

Want to know more or get involved? Email bcctlc@peralta.edu if you want to schedule the TLC for a special teaching-related event, participate in a TLC project or activity, volunteer in your own unique way, or share some fresh creative ideas.

About the TLC room and how to reserve it

The TLC has a dedicated space at BCC’s 2050 Center Street building. Please use the room!

All part and full-time faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to use room 341. It’s a well-lit, comfortable place to eat your lunch, use your laptop or a desktop computer, take a break in the electric massage chair, grade papers, and meet informally with colleagues.

The door is usually open, but if it’s locked, you will need the door code for access–please email the TLC for the code (bcctlc@peralta.edu).

FAQ:

  • Is there a printer in the TLC? Yes – a high-quality, automatic double-sided one.

  • Is there a copy machine in the TLC? Yes, but it’s one of those designated for 3rd-floor Student Services staff only.

  • Can I hold office hours or meet with students in the TLC? Sorry, this space is reserved for faculty and staff. Try the small conference room on the 5th floor (paper self-sign-up in the copy room), or for larger groups, try 451A/B (ask Marilyn Montague at the 4th floor reception desk), or reserve a classroom (ask Johnny Dong on the 4th floor).

  • You are welcome to hold meetings and events in the TLC, Room 341. 

To reserve the room:

1. Check availability by clicking this link:  Teaching and Learning Center Events Calendar

2. Email the TLC at bcctlc@peralta.edu to request a reservation. Please let us know the name of the event, as it will appear on the public calendar.

Reservation Policies:

To support the goals of the Teaching and Learning Center, the following reservation policies have been adopted by the Advisory Committee:

    • In order to schedule a meeting that will require the entire main room, reservations must be made in advance (see above).

    • Priority for reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Some regularly scheduled meetings may be moved for special events.

    • Only faculty and staff may reserve the room for events.

    • Only faculty, staff, and administration may use the room at any time–not students.

    • Please note that the TLC is not a good location for closed-door meetings with confidential content such as Tenure Review Committees or job interviews, as the Assessment/Curriculum specialist’s office is located inside, and there is some through traffic.

    • Some committees choose to schedule their regular meetings in the TLC space but TLC has priority for all events and those committees may be, from time to time, asked to temporarily reschedule or find another meeting space.

TLC Collaborative Projects & Funding Opportunities

About TLC Projects

The TLC regularly hosts workshops, roundtables, social hours and other events to encourage collaboration and a creative teaching community for BCC.  Each year we fund a number of faculty-led projects around teaching and learning.

Project proposal deadline is usually in September of each academic year but proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis from September to March, as funding allows. Specific deadlines can be found on the TLC’s Canvas page and via email announcements.

The TLC Coordinator and/or the TLC Advisory Committee evaluates and approves each TLC project in the order they are received. Priority will be given to new participants (full and part-time faculty members). All faculty and staff, new and seasoned, are encouraged to apply. In any given year, there are approximately 20-40 total stipends given for TLC projects. For all of the projects below, TLC project participants, no matter how big or small the project is, are asked to participate in a culminating TLC Spring Symposium, scheduled each year towards the end of the Spring term.

What does the TLC do?

The Teaching and Learning Center’s primary activity is to organize small groups of faculty and staff each semester, within and across disciplines, to learn, share, and solve problems together. The TLC has become an engine for positive change: our programs provide a flexible structure for faculty and staff to “Close the Loop” by putting assessment results into action, experiment with new pedagogical tools and curricular approaches, and reflect on the art of teaching itself. Through a variety of collaborative initiatives, our faculty from over 30 different disciplines are supported and encouraged to study, reflect, and make changes in and out of their classrooms. 

Why does the TLC work this way?

From the Basic Skills Initiative‘s Effective Practices section on Staff Development [emphasis by TLC]: According to the literature, the importance of comprehensive training and development opportunities for faculty and staff who work with developmental students cannot be overestimated…Workshops are the most common form of staff development offered by community colleges, yet they are also the most consistently rejected as ineffective by research, expert analysis, and even the faculty and administrators who participate in these activities (Murray, 1999 and 2002; Maxwell and Kazlauskas, 1992; Brawer, 1990; Grubb, 1999). There is little evidence that “one-shot” workshops produce any change in pedagogical practice; and, even when workshops do affect faculty performance, the improvements are short-lived unless they are reinforced and developed with ongoing staff development activities (Clark, Corcoran, and Lewis, 1986; Lenze, 1996; Grubb, 1999). 

What the BSI’s meta-analysis says about effective practices: How BCC’s TLC puts this principle into action:
C.2 The faculty play a primary role in needs assessment, planning, and implementation of staff development programs and activities in support of basic skills programs. Faculty and staff identify problems to solve (FIGs), action plans to implement (APPLEs), and tools to use more effectively (DARTs), and lead and participate in activities that directly affect their own areas.
C.3 Staff development programs are structured and appropriately supported to sustain them as ongoing efforts related to institutional goals for the improvement of teaching and learning. The TLC’s primary focus is to engage staff and faculty in a range of activities that go beyond the “one-shot” workshop to create real and lasting change. Expectations are clearly defined, and projects focus on BCC’s goals of improving student performance and access.
C.4 Staff development opportunities are flexible, varied, and responsive to developmental needs of individual faculty, diverse student populations, and coordinated programs/services. The TLC offers a “menu” of programs that provide a framework for staff and faculty to improve the college. The projects are both within disciplines and multidisciplinary, and address needs from student services to pedagogical strategies to course sequences, based on student needs and participant interest. Participants can choose from activities that involve different amounts of time and work. The TLC makes a special effort to make our programs accessible to adjunct faculty with complex schedules.
C.5 Faculty development is clearly connected to intrinsic and extrinsic faculty reward structures. Faculty and staff enjoy working together on projects they’ve chosen to directly impact their own work. They report greater collegiality, reduced isolation, and the satisfaction of contributing to positive change. The TLC has also been able to provide small stipends for much of the work.

The  Student Success Task Force Recommendation 6: REVITALIZE AND RE-ENVISION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT also calls explicitly for contextualized, sustained development opportunities, shared equitably among full time and part time faculty and staff.

Summary of Project Types and Funding Options

FIG (Faculty Inquiry Group) = $200 per person; $300 for group leader (10+ hours commitment, 3+ meetings, Spring Symposium)

FIGs: Focused Inquiry Groups

What is a FIG?In FIGs (Focused Inquiry Groups), small groups of staff and faculty conduct focused research in order to improve teaching, student services, and student success at BCC. They consider outside research in effective practices, gather information directly from our students or other relevant community members (surveys, focus groups, assessment of student work, etc.), and recommend actions to improve student outcomes.

What are the goals of the FIG project?

  • Create a culture of collaboration
  • Take creative risks
  • Strengthen teaching and student services through inquiry and research
  • Improve staff and faculty understanding of student learning
  • Document the findings to plan future workshops and projects

What exactly do people do in a FIG?

  • Develop a critical question, e.g.
    • How can we make initial Assessment/Orientation better fit student needs?
    • Why do students struggle so much with word problems in math, and what can we do about it?
    • How can we best use X technological advance in X discipline to improve student learning?
    • What are the necessary components of effective contextualized courses/sustainable learning communities, mentoring programs, etc.?
    • What do students in transfer class X who took the previous pre-transfer preparation class Y wish we had taught them in class Y?
    • What best practices in group work should we apply in X discipline?
    • How can writing across the curriculum improve student outcomes in STEM classes?
  • Find a few sources of existing data relevant to your topic (e.g. district data on retention/success etc., published studies, examples of how other schools or other parts of our school are addressing your issue )
  • Gather data from students or other relevant people (e.g. surveys, interviews, focus groups, student work)
  • Look at collected & published data & make recommendations/identify paths for future research
  • Present findings:
    • Brief written report with specific recommendations and supporting data to be posted on the TLC website
    • Brief presentation to other groups

What are the required activities for team members?

  • Each person submits their own time sheet and other paper work as requested by the TLC Coordinator or BCC staff
  • Meet as a group at least three times over the year:
  1. Aninitial meeting where you will refine your question, develop a research plan, and take a look at previously published research on the issue
  2. Meet at least two other times to discuss existing data, plan and conduct research, evaluate the findings, and make recommendations.
  3. Participate in the TLC Spring Symposiumwhere you will present your project to the BCC community

What else does the leader need to do?

  • Ensure that the project is moving along on schedule
  • Ensure that all team members are included in the collaboration
  • Maintain contact with TLC coordinator and ask for support when needed
  • Submit communications on time to bcctlc@peralta.edu  (all through email)

How much time will this take?

Estimated total time input is about 10+ hours for FIG project leaders and participants. While we appreciate enthusiastic participants who do thorough inquiry, FIG projects are intended to be small enough to complete in a few months with a few meetings and a few hours of outside work. They should inform and improve your teaching or other work experience, not interfere with it.

What about pay?

Stipends are available. Participants who are approved will receive a stipend: generally it is $200 per participant and $300 for the group leader but the amount may change year to year based on the funding allocation. Stipends are received usually after the end of the academic year and the final reports have been received. Priority for stipends will be determined according to these criteria:

  1. people working on projects that clearly meet the objectives of the criteria below
  2. new participants in TLC projects (part-time or full-time)

Please note that you are welcome to run a curriculum project even if we run out of stipend allocations. Also, some projects might have a small core group of 2 or 3 people doing most of the work who request stipends, but others may participate in a focus group, pass out surveys, etc. without committing much time or requesting compensation. All community members are invited to the TLC Symposium.

What are the criteria for selection?

    • The inquiry question is focused (click here for more details on how to develop a strong inquiry question)
    • The inquiry focuses on at least one of the following areas:
      • Instructional design: Supports collaborative professional development
      • Guided Pathways: Supports institutional student success
      • Student equity: Supports student completion and success
      • Basic skills students and/or instruction
      • Retention, persistence, equity, and success of all students
      • Outcomes assessment and/or “closing the loop”
      • Radical educational models or forms of inquiry that push the boundaries of learning and pedagogy
    • The proposal exhibits a sense of urgency, passion, and interest in the issue
    • The inquiry, where applicable, leads faculty and staff to gather meaningful information from students to better understand their learning and experiences
    • The inquiry should forge new ground rather than merely substantiating claims or research already documented
    • The inquiry should be completable in the time proposed
    • [If applicable] Teams should be inclusive or interdisciplinary
APPLE (Action Plan Project for Learning Excellence) = $300 per person; $400 for group leader (20+ hours commitment, 4+ meetings, Spring Symposium)

What is an APPLE (or “BIG FIG”)?An APPLE (Action Plan Project for Learning Excellence) is an opportunity for small groups of faculty/staff  to carry out action plans from previous FIGs or  assessments (SLOs, ILOs, CCSSE, etc.). Participants create or implement a concrete product or action that will lead to increased student success. In brief, FIGs and other assessments identify problems and make recommendations, and APPLEs take the next step to solve the problem.

Examples:

  • Revise a class, curriculum, program sequence, etc. to meet needs identified by the inquiry/assessment
  • Make a website of shared resources for a particular need
  • Create a collection of model and non-model student work aligned with a rubric
  • Create a shared rubric/formative assessment project
  • Design and start using a process that better meets student needs in any student services area

What are the goals of the APPLE project?

  • Improve student learning, retention, and success
  • Close the assessment loop by putting recommendations into action
  • Increase collaboration
  • Increase involvement in and understanding of assessment processes

What exactly do people do in an APPLE?

  1. Look at previous findings and recommendations from FIGs/Assessments
  2. Find a few sources of other existing data relevant to your topic to establish a context/rationale
  3. Plan and create or implement your product/action
  4. Conduct a short evaluation of the product/action, or make a plan for doing so if you need more time
  5. Document product/action as
  • Brief written report
  • Brief presentation at the TLC Symposium in the Spring

What are the required activities for team members?

  • Each person submits their own time sheet and other paper work as requested by the TLC Coordinator or BCC staff
  • Meet at least four times over the year:
  1. An initial meeting where you will refine your plan, develop a timeline, and take a look at previously published research on the issue
  2. Meet at least three other times to complete, implement, and evaluate your work.
  3. Participate in the TLC Spring Symposium where you will present your project to the BCC community

 

What else does the leader need to do?

  • Ensure that the project is moving along on schedule
  • Ensure that all team members are included in the collaboration
  • Maintain contact with TLC coordinator and ask for support when needed
  • Submit communications on time to bcctlc@peralta.edu  (all through email)

How much time will this take?

Estimated total time input is about 20+ hours for APPLE project leaders and participants. While we appreciate enthusiastic participants who do thorough inquiry, APPLE projects are intended to be small enough to complete in a few months with a few meetings and a few hours of outside work. They should inform and improve your teaching or other work experience, not interfere with it.

What about pay?

Stipends are available. Participants that are approved will receive a stipend: generally, it is $300 per participant and $400 for the group leader but the amount may change year to year based on the funding allocation and the project proposed. Stipends are usually received after the end of the academic year and the final reports have been received. Priority for stipends will be determined according to these criteria:

  1. people working on projects that clearly meet the objectives of the criteria below
  2. new participants in TLC projects (part-time or full-time)

Please note that you are welcome to run a curriculum project even if we run out of stipend allocations. Also, some projects might have a small core group of 2 or 3 people doing most of the work who request stipends, but others may participate in a focus group, pass out surveys, etc. without committing much time or requesting compensation. All community members are invited to the TLC Symposium.

What are the criteria for selection?

    • The inquiry question is focused (click here for more details on how to develop a strong inquiry question)
    • The inquiry focuses on at least one of the following areas:
      • Instructional design: Supports collaborative professional development
      • Guided Pathways: Supports institutional student success
      • Student equity: Supports student completion and success
      • Basic skills students and/or instruction
      • Retention, persistence, equity, and success of all students
      • Outcomes assessment and/or “closing the loop”
      • Radical educational models or forms of inquiry that push the boundaries of learning and pedagogy
    • The proposal exhibits a sense of urgency, passion, and interest in the issue
    • The inquiry, where applicable, leads faculty and staff to gather meaningful information from students to better understand their learning and experiences
    • The inquiry should forge new ground rather than merely substantiating claims or research already documented
    • The inquiry should be completable in the time proposed
    • [If applicable] Teams should be inclusive or interdisciplinary.
PEDAGOGY FOR EQUITY READING GROUP = $50 -200 (variable) (2-5 meetings, Spring Symposium)

People26.sized

All faculty and staff are invited to join colleagues in reading, discussing, and putting into practice ideas from current literature.

Choose a book, series of articles, or a single article to read and discuss with colleagues. Meet 2-5 times for the year to discuss the reading (meetings based on the length of the reading proposed). Possible topics include themes around equity, pedagogy, a discipline-specific topic and/or something specific to our BCC community.

Participants are asked to share briefly at the TLC Spring Symposium.

Is this a paid activity?

There are stipends available, amount is based on length of project/reading ($50-200 for participants, more for the group leader if one is proposed) and yearly funds are available.

LESSON STUDY = $100 per person; $200 for group leader (8+ hours commitment, 2+ meetings, Spring Symposium)

Lesson Study: Team Curriculum Design and Reflection

What is Lesson Study?

Lesson Study is a team of three to five faculty members within or across disciplines that gather together circa once a month to design specific lessons for a particular set of courses (e.g., gateway courses or courses within multiple sections), attend each others’ classes to test and observe these lessons from multiple points of view, measure learning outcomes, and/or regroup several times as a team to revise a particular lesson and generate further dialogue around course, program, and institutional outcomes.

The team leader produces a brief report that details exactly what lessons were created and revised/what curriculum design changes were made as a result of Lesson Study, and potentially how learning outcomes contributed to the design cycle. Ideally, this material is archived online for future instructors in the field to access.

All participate in the yearly TLC Spring Symposium to share details of their project.

Purpose

The purpose of this proposal is to encourage faculty to take what they already do in smaller, makeshift groups within their departments, and create a solid institutional structure for team curriculum design and learning outcomes. As it stands, curriculum design and learning outcomes are often left to individuals to create or measure without meaningful community support. This proposal would essentially build an institutional process of curriculum design where faculty and staff are provided the time and space to do focused, meaningful work on what they do best. Finally, it has the potential of inspiring cross-disciplinary or cross-campus conversations around learning processes on an ongoing basis.

What are the required activities for team members?

  • Each person submits their own time sheet and other paper work as requested by the TLC Coordinator or BCC staff
  • Meet at least two times over the year to complete all parts of the project together:
  1. An initial meeting where you will refine your question, develop a research plan, and take a look at previously published research on the issue
  2. Participate in the TLC Spring Symposium where you will present your project and receive feedback from other audience members
  3. Meet at least one other time whenever works for your group, to discuss existing data, plan and conduct research, evaluate the findings, and make recommendations.

What else does the leader need to do?

  • Ensure that the project is moving along on schedule
  • Ensure that all team members are included in the collaboration
  • Maintain contact with TLC coordinator and ask for support when needed
  • Submit communications on time to bcctlc@peralta.edu  (all through email)

How much time will this take?

Estimated total time input is about 8+ hours for Lesson Study participants. While we appreciate enthusiastic participants who do thorough projects, this project is intended to be small enough to complete in a few months with a few meetings and a few hours of outside work. They should inform and improve your teaching or other work experience, not interfere with it.

What about pay?

Stipends are available. Participants who are approved will receive a stipend: generally it is $100 per participant and $200 for the group leader but the amount may change year to year based on the funding allocation. Stipends are received usually after the end of the academic year and the final reports have been received.

DIY (Do-It-Yourself Experimental Project) = $200 or more (20+ hours commitment, Spring Symposium)

DIY: Do-It-Yourself Experimental Pedagogies

Create an experimental project that inspires student learning in any way or customize a TLC project (20+ hours of commitment, 3+ meetings).

If approved, you will receive a $200 or more stipend for your project.

POP (Peer Observation Pool) = $50-100 (variable) (3 in person classes or one week asynchronous, 1 meeting)

What is the POP?

The POP is an informal structure for faculty to learn from each other by spending time in colleagues’ classrooms. It is not related in any way to faculty evaluation! We have run these as both in-person and online programs.

What are the required activities for POP members?

  • Observe three other classes for at least 30 minutes each, at least one outside of your discipline.
  • Welcome other POP members into your classroom.
  • Write up your experience/thoughts on the process.
  • Participate in the TLC Spring Symposium or larger multi-discipline POP gathering, where POP members briefly reflect, share, and have the opportunity to connect for future projects.

How much time will the POP take all together?

  • 3 meetings + 3 or more observations + any amount of reflection/communication
  • 20+ total hours, flexible for your busy schedule
  • 1-page reflection

Is this a paid activity?

Stipends available, amount is based on the in-person vs. online models of POP (the online model is fully asynchronous, with fewer responsibilities)

What are the goals of the POP?

  • Share effective practices
  • Spark future inquiry and implementation within and across disciplines
  • Increase culture of collaboration within and across disciplines
  • Increase understanding of student and teacher experiences beyond our own courses

FAQ:

  • I did the POP before. Can I do it again? YES!
  • I teach a class in the evening, a lab, hybrid, or online course. Can I still do it? YES!
  • I don’t have time to pop in this semester. Can I open my door to POP members anyway? YES!
  • Email  bcctlc@peralta.edu if you have any other burning questions.

Potent Quotables

“I have met more teachers here at BCC through the POP program than I have in several years of teaching here!”

 “As a part-time, new, evening instructor it is a little hard to feel part of the school or that I have much to offer to other instructors. POP was wonderful in giving me a way to be involved in the school, meet people, see different students, and get a better sense of the mission of BCC and everything that goes on here.”

“I was able to get a sense of new things I can try in the classroom, and also a sense of some class room management strategies that seem successful for the teachers I observed.”

“The POP culture should spread at BCC and become a celebration of what it is to be part of a learning community.”