SASI Innovation Grants to Enable Pasadena City College to Achieve Set Goals

The Pasadena City College Board of Trustees recently provided Student Access and Success Initiative (SASI) innovation grants to select faculty and staff. The grants will provide a structure and process for individuals, cross-­disciplinary groups, and campus departments or divisions to develop and implement new and innovative educational projects that will help the college achieve the Project 90 goals set forth in the Educational Master Plan (EMP).

            Monika Hogan, PCC English Division associate professor, was awarded $10,000 to support the creation of a guest speaker series, campus-wide First Year Experience (FYE) task force, and the “One Book, One Campus” program.

            “The FYE speaker series and the “One Book, One Campus” initiative will contribute to and inform our ongoing conversations about who our students are and how we can best serve them, as well as what kind of campus we want to be,” Hogan said. “The FYE Task Force and “One Campus, One Book” committees will serve in a crucial advisory role as we begin to offer the FYE course for pathways students.”

            Russell Di Fiori, PCC Natural Sciences Division instructor, was awarded $48,000 to develop interdisciplinary, contextualized learning modules that will enhance the mastery of course content and attract more students to successful completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) degrees.

            “In each module, student teams from more than one discipline will work together to solve a real scientific problem linked to a professional environment,” Di Fiori said. “The contextual learning projects will be employed at both the general education and major level so that students recruited into the STEM majors will have higher success rates in subsequent courses.”

            Salomon Davila and Deborah Bird, PCC Engineering and Technology Division instructors, were awarded $100,000 to fund a model Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway, a professional learning community for students with an interest in design careers. The pathway curriculum will apply contextualized basic skills in math and English. Using multidisciplinary design problem-solving, students will work in teams applying design technology, math, and English to develop solutions. Curricular development from pathway faculty will focus on success in certificate and transfer possibilities.
            Katie Rodriguez and Paul Jarrell, PCC Natural Sciences Division instructors, were awarded $100,000 to develop structured block programs with accelerated options for highly prepared “pre-health science” students. Students in these pathways will be guaranteed placement in courses and will receive supplemental instruction as needed. To increase access to advisement and resources, faculty within the Natural Sciences Division will develop an online portal for the pre-health sciences, and many courses will be prepared for online delivery. Faculty will work with PCC Distance Education to be trained in online teaching and learning before delivering courses online.
            Lastly, Leslie Tirapelle, interim director of PCC Distance Education, was awarded $93,500 to purchase and to train in Lecture Capture technology for online, hybrid, and on-campus courses.

            “Echo360 Lecture Capture combines the instruction, visuals, video, and instructor into a seamless environment that can be viewed any time, anywhere by students,” Tirapelle explained. “Learning outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction are improved when students can access and review lectures and course content as needed. The ability to easily capture high-quality instructional media increases distance learning opportunities and expands access to impacted courses and reducing strain on facilities.”
            For more information, please contact Robert B. Miller, interim dean of Educational Services, at (626) 585-7171.