Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)

Candidate’s name:

Albert Groccia

Dean's name:

Tim Grogan

I.  Candidate’s Workload Context:

Number of credit hours/contact hours per week	21 hours per week
Number of preparations	Four Per Semester  Year 1: Fall and Spring- Business Calculus, Precalculus Algebra, Statistics, Statistics Honors, Beginning Algebra  Year 2: Fall and Spring- Business Calculus, Statistics, Statistics Honors, Beginning Algebra  Year 3: Fall and Spring- Business Calculus, Statistics, Statistics Honors, Beginning Algebra
Other professional commitments	TLA seminars & follow-up roundtables, Supplemental Learning Osceola Coordinator, LinC Instructor, Phi Theta Kappa Advisor, Soccer Intramurals, Presenting at conferences (FDEA, others), Scenarios Facilitator, WebCT for prep math Osceola, mathematics curriculum committee, contact for adjunct math instructors

II. Candidate’s Strengths Assessment:

My strengths include a deep desire to make students successful in mathematics.  I try many different methods to gain the students' attention and increase their interest for mathematics, such as humor, technology, active learning, study notes, establishing connections with students, community, and material, among others.  I have been teaching at Valencia College for five years and have taught mathematics courses from Pre Algebra to Business Calculus.  I understand the path the students go through in mathematics.  In those five years, I have become very active at Valencia, working with adjunct professors, participating in Achieving the Dream initiatives, serving on the mathematics curriculum committee, implementing WebCT6 for all prep math instructors, presenting at Faculty to Faculty seminars and other Valencia functions, and participating in intramural sports.  Outside of Valencia, I have presented best practices and our prep math program at various conferences, including FDEA (Florida Developmental Education Association), NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development), and NADE (National Association for Developmental Education).  I feel that the classroom is where I can really make a difference in students’ lives, but I'm also commiteed to developing myself fully as a professional educator.

                  I intend to work on helping students become successful at learning mathematics, especially at the developmental level during my pre-tenure period.  Intend to learn strategies to help students become successful in mathematics.  These strategies will help students care about the material and see real life applications, critically think about the material, develop habits that will help the students in future mathematics courses, and most of all, embrace the opportunity to truly be successful in mathematics courses - especially the students who have struggled through mathematics their entire lives.

III. Candidate’s Philosophy of Teaching:

            The first day of classes is always the most exciting to me.  I stand in front of students who have no idea what to expect.  I am given an opportunity to truly make a difference in their lives.  I have a responsibility to educate them, and at the end of the course, leave them better off than when they started.  What I hope to leave with them is a love for learning.  My teaching philosophy is to inspire students to learn.  I want my students to ask questions, wonder why, care about the material, care about each other, and think critically.  I want my students to know that I care about them and want them to be successful.  I try my best to present the material in a fun and entertaining way so the students don’t just have to listen to it, but actually want to hear about it.  I can illustrate my teaching methods for sharing a lesson my mother taught me.  As a child, I hated vegetables, and every meal, my mother would struggle to have me eat my vegetables.  One day, she made me a steak and cheese sandwich, which is one of my favorites, but to my surprise, she had put peas in the sandwich.  I knew I could not take the peas out of the sandwich, so I ate it and actually enjoyed the peas.  She later explained that I needed to eat vegetables to be healthy, and there was a reason she wanted me to eat them.  I am not saying that all students in mathematics classes do not enjoy or appreciate mathematics; what I am saying is I try to present the material in a fun and interesting way so the students will enjoy the course.  I know that mathematics and things they learn in my course will help them, but if the students are not interested, often, they are not learning.  I try various means to present the material, such as humor, technology, lecture, classroom discussion, and at times, standing on desks.  I try to enjoy the course myself; then, the students will enjoy it.  In conclusion, I do not just want to teach my students about mathematics, but inspire them to want to learn and think.  Mathematics is a way to teach people how to think. In mathematics you are given information and asked to solve problems. To solve those problems you must use the given information, previous knowledge, and think creatively to solve the problem. Those skills are essential in life. I always tell my students that one thing I can guarantee they will do in my class is to think. I only have my students for a short amount of time, and as their lives progress, they may not remember the specific parts of the quadratic formula, but I hope they will remember that a teacher cared about them and showed them how to think and be successful. Perhaps this will lead to them attempting to "pay it forward." That is, then will go on to positively impact others' lives.

IV. Learning Outcomes     

Learning Outcome 1

Needs Assessment: 

I would like to improve the passing rates and learning of students in MAT0024C Beginning Algebra.  The success rate of Beginning Algebra on Osceola campus and college wide is low and is a major concern.  Beginning Algebra is a gateway course, and the students’ success in this course has a major impact on their success in college.  To help the students learn and understand the material and be successful, I would like to focus on four key areas: organizational skills (taking notes), relating to the material, study skills, and forming learning communities.

Learning Outcome: 

I would like to learn about proven strategies and research to improve learning for students in developmental mathematics courses.   I will examine research on the way the brain learns material, effective assessment techniques, collaborative learning, and other methods that help learning.  The research and proven strategies that I learn encounter will be the driving force in creating the active study notes.  I will justify aspects of my active learning notes with the research I have done.  The active study notes will guide the students through the material, give the students a good notebook to study from and learn the material, and provide the students with a clear organization of the course.   There will be additional formative and summative assessments in the WebCT6 component to help supplement the active study notes. 

Essential Competencies addressed:

Assessment- the active study notes will assess students’ learning through formative and summative assessments: documented problem solving, pair’s check, real life application questions/projects, quizzes, and exams

TCA- the component of the active study notes will include the following: 

THINK- through the active study notes the students will analyze data, utilize facts and formulas, create informed conclusions, and be able to interpret the conclusions in the context of the problem.

ACT- there will be a project in the active study notes where the students will relate the material learned in the course to something in real life, such as determining which cell phone plan to purchase, which loan option is better to purchase a car, ...

COMMUNICATE- through the active study notes’ assessment components and group activities, the students will communicate their strengths and weaknesses.

Learning Centered Teaching Strategies- the active study notes will be created around learning.  The design of the active study notes and the WebCT component will be to help students learn and measure how much is learned through formative and summative assessment.  Each lesson will begin by posing a question related to the new material for students to critically think about.  For example, the introduction to graphing will be an application scenario that involves two variables in a linear relationship.  The students’ goal will be to learn the material with real understanding of the concepts.

Life Map- there will be an assessment where the students must use Life Map to plan out their mathematics courses for their individual goals.  For example, if the student’s goal is to earn a degree from the University of Central Florida, the student will determine all the mathematics courses required for that goal.  Another example would be if the student’s goal is to receive an A.S. degree from Valencia College, the student will determine the mathematics courses required for that goal.

Inclusion and Diversity- there will be an assessment in the active study notes for students to determine which learning style they learn best with.  In the courses there will be various opportunities for students to learn in different ways.  For example, there will be group activities using documented problem solving and pair’s check, which will address students’ unique strengths and needs as well as develop cooperation among students.  Another example will be completing assessment activities independently on WebCT6.  The goal here is to provide an opportunity to learn in different ways.  All activities will be developed with the understanding that students learn differently and may or may not learn best working in groups, independently, on the computer, or on paper, and that they should use their stregths whenever possible, but aquire a degree of competence in less comfortable learning forums as well. 

Conditions:

Time Line:

Fall 2006/Spring 2007:  I will create and refine the active study notes and WebCT6 component.

Summer 2007:  I will incorporate the study notes into my Beginning Algebra course and collect data.  I will revise study notes and WebCT component if necessary.

Fall 2007 to Summer 2008:  I will be working on Learning Outcome 2, which includes an Action Research Project.

Summer 2008:  I will create the results report.

Fall 2008:  I will share the results with the deans and mathematics faculty.  I will also prepare a presentation for various programs within Valencia College and conferences outside of Valencia College.

Products of Learning Outcome:

Active study notes for MAT0024C Beginning Algebra

Learning centered WebCT6 component

Learning Outcome 2

Needs Assessment: 

I would like to improve the passing rates and learning of students in MAT0024C Beginning Algebra on Osceola campus and college wide by implementing the MAT0024C active study notes withWebCT6 component in MAT0024C courses.  Based on data collected on passing rates in MAT0024C Beginning Algebra, comparing the number of students who pass the course and the number of student who enrolled in the course college wide, there is a major problem with students learning the material in MAT0024C.

Learning Outcome: 

I would like to know if the active study notes that I created in LO 1 will improve the passing rates and learning in MAT0024C Beginning Algebra.  I will implement the MAT0024C Beginning Algebra active study notes with WebCT6 component into various sections of MAT0024C Beginning Algebra.  This Learning Outcome will involve an Action Research Project (ARP) to determine if the active study notes with WebCT6 component are beneficial to student learning and improvement compared to traditional courses.  I will be examining three areas in my action research project to determine if the active study notes are effective:

1)  Compare factoring questions on the MAT0024C State Exam (#19-#25) with the active study notes and traditional courses 

2)  Compare the retention in courses with the active study notes and the retention in traditional courses

3)  Assess students' course satisfaction through a survey of courses with the active study notes versus traditional courses.

Essential Competencies addressed:

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning- Action Research Project on the results from implementing the active study notes with the WebCT6 component into MAT0024C Beginning Algebra courses and comparing the results to traditional MAT0024C Beginning Algebra courses on Osceola Campus and college wide. 

Professional Commitment- the active study notes with the WebCT6 component will be used in MAT0024C Beginning Algebra courses participating in my Action Research Project.  The active notes will be available for use by all instructors of MAT0024C Beginning Algebra college wide and can be used as a manual for new instructors.  I will also present the active notes and research project at various workshops.

Conditions:

Time Line:

Fall 2006/Spring 2007/Summer 2007:  create and refine the active study notes with a WebCT6 component.

Fall 2007:  incorporate the study notes into my Beginning Algebra course and collect data and make any changes.

Fall 2007:  implement the active study notes with WebCT6 component into MAT0024C Beginning Algebra courses taught by other instructors and collect data on success rates, retention, and course satisfaction and compare to Osceola campus and college wide data.

Summer 2008:  I will create the results report and Action Research paper.

Fall 2008:  I will share the results will the deans and mathematics faculty.  I will also prepare a presentation for various conferences within Valencia College and outside of Valencia College.

Products of Learning Outcome:                  

Action Research Project results

Learning Outcome 3

Needs Assessment: 

In developing a document such as the active study notes that I am creating in this Individualized Learning Plan at Valencia College, various copyright issues may arise, and I need to be fully aware of all legal issues that may arise as I am piloting and hopefully, in the future, producing this document on a larger scale.

Learning Outcome: 

As I create the active study notes for MAT0024C Beginning Algebra, I would like to know the copyright issues involved with the document that I produce at Valencia College.  I will research Valencia College's policies on copyright and discuss the issues with Valencia College’s attorney.

Essential Competencies addressed:

Professional Commitment- to be aware and understand college policies and legal issues regarding copy right issues at Valencia College.

Conditions:

Time Line:

Spring 2007 to Fall 2007:  Research the college policies on copy rights and meet with Valencia College’s attorney during Spring 2007.  Consult with Valencia College’s attorney if issues or questions in the future.

Spring 2008:  Write a paper reflecting what I have learned about copy right issues at Valencia College and share my personal experiences with the process.

Products of Learning Outcome:                  

Create a paper reflecting what I have learned about copy rights at Valencia College and my personal experiences with the policy.

V. In the chart below, check off the seminars that you plan to attend or complete. After you have attended or completion, you can put the date in the box next to the activity.

2006-2007 TLA Seminars

Registration Prefix & Number	Seminar Name	Description	Check ILP Choices	Date Completed
Year-1 Seminars:  2100 Seminars are best taken during the first year of tenure, but are also offered Y-2 and Y-3 for your convenience.
LCTS 2111	Understanding Learning-centered Teaching Strategies	This Essential Competency seminar examines diverse teaching and learning strategies that accommodate the learning styles of students and that promote acquisition through meaningful and practical applications of knowledge.	x	Completed
ASMT 2121	Understanding of Assessment as a Tool for Learning	This Essential Competency seminar examines strategies that promote student growth through consistent, timely, formative measures, and promote students’ ability to self-assess. Also examined will be assessment practices that invite student feedback on the teaching and learning process, as well as on student achievement.	x	Completed
TVCA 2131	Understanding Valencia’s Student Core Competencies:  TVCA	This Essential Competency seminar examines strategies that facilitate student growth in thinking critically; communicating effectively; articulating and applying personal values and those of the various disciplines and appreciating the values of others; and applying learning and understanding effectively and responsibly.	x	Completed
LFMP 2141	Understanding LifeMap	This Essential Competency seminar examines learning opportunities that promote student life skills development while enhancing discipline learning.	x	Completed
INDV 2151	Understanding of Inclusion & Diversity	This Essential Competency seminar examines learning opportunities that acknowledge, draw upon and are enriched by student diversity and create atmospheres of inclusion and understanding.	x	Completed
PRFC 2161	Creating an Individualized Learning Plan	This online mini-course provides TLA participants with an overview of the Essential Competencies of a Valencia Educator.  Participants also learn how to create an effective Individualized Learning Plan.  The face-to-face Kickoff introduces the TLA participants to the Scenarios online system and to the ILP concept.  The face-to-face Wrap-up Meeting provides a collegial, supportive environment of peers to assess each candidate’s ILP development.	x	Completed
SOTL 2171	Understanding Scholarship of Teaching & Learning	This Essential Competency seminar examines strategies, particularly Action Research, that enables educators to continuously examine the effectiveness of their teaching, counseling, & librarianship.	x	Completed
Year-2 Seminars:  2200 Seminars are best taken during the first year of tenure, but also offered Y-1 and Y-3 for your convenience.
LCTS 2212	Engaging Lectures	This workshop explores effective lecture techniques. Participants will leave with practical applications for engaging student learning though the lecture format. Participants should bring a set of lecture notes to this hands-on workshop.	x	Completed
LCTS 2213	Active Learning:  Techniques for Engaging Students in the Learning Process	In this hands-on workshop, participants learn a variety of ways to actively engage students in learning. Faculty members from all disciplines will find this session useful.	x	Completed
LCTS 2214	Problem-based Learning	This workshop explores the learning of subject matter and skill acquisition through collaborative problem-solving.  Emphasis is placed on using this method in community college courses.	x	Completed
INDV 2253	Personality & Learning Styles for Richer Classrooms	Understanding one’s own style can lead to deeper meta-cognition and an appreciation for diverse learning styles. This seminar offers information on available online personality, learning and thinking styles inventories. Participants are provided examples of discipline-specific classroom assignments that facilitate this understanding.	x	Completed
PRFC 2263	Creating an Evidence-based Portfolio	This online mini-course provides TLA participants with an overview and examination of the elements of a Valencia Faculty Portfolio.  Participants also learn how to demonstrate learning through artifacts.  The face-to-face orientation reviews the Scenarios online system and to the faculty portfolio concept and the rubric used to evaluate the portfolio.  The Wrap-Up provides a face-to-face workshop where participants can review each others’ portfolio artifacts.	x	Completed
ASMT 2224	Course Design:  From Learning Outcomes to Assessment	Course design can be one of the most interesting and challenging areas of a faculty member’s work.  Drawing from research in the field, this session focuses on understanding the characteristics of learning-centered course construction from learning outcomes to assessment.	x	Completed
PRFC 2265	Preparing a Successful Valencia Portfolio	In this hands-on workshop, participants will examine the elements and evaluation of a mock Valencia Faculty Portfolio.	x	Completed
INDV 2254	Brain-based Learning Meets Learning Styles	In this seminar, participants will examine the relationship between the ways people learn and the biology of the brain.	x	Completed
PRFC 2266	Legal Issues	In this seminar, faculty members will have the opportunity to discuss legal issues with Valencia’s General Counsel.
ASMT 2226	Classroom Assessment Techniques	In this seminar, faculty will learn simple assessment devices to help them gauge ongoing  student learning	x	Completed
ASMT 2228	Authentic Assessment	Concepts from current literature about learning-centered testing and grading are presented and discussed. Participants can expect specific suggestions and strategies to make their assessing more learning-centered.	x	Completed

Other Professional Development

Leadership Valencia/ HR	New Employee Orientation I and II	New employee orientation	x	Completed
NISOD	Professional Conference	Various topics	x	Completed
NADE	Professional Conference	Various topics	x	Completed

VI. Reading/Technology List:

Advanced WebCT6 manual

VII. Demonstration of ILP & Essential Professional Competencies:

Please check one of these. If it is a combination you may wish to explain.

Paper Portfolio

Digital Portfolio xxx

Other Mode