Vancouver

Education (2> VCC

Community

College

Volume 2, Issue 1

October 2007

In this Issue
It's a bit later than we'd hoped, but this is the first edition of the news¬
Welcome

1

New Dean for the CID

2

Faculty Sutvey

2

Program Review

2

Teaching Students with
Learning Disabilities

3

Notary Cheque Presentation

4

Research Intel est Gioup

4

The Canadian Language
Benchmaiks and VCC's
Applied Programs

letter for this academic year I hope we can get one out each month
until next May at least
September was very hectic for all of us Aside from the start of many
classes and the orientation of our new students, we had a couple of
major pro|ects to complete One of these was the development of an
Aboriginal Service Plan with Capilano, Native Education College and 7
Aboriginal partners It was a huge undertaking, but we got it to AVED
on the 28th with few hours to spare
We also have finished the first phase of an ITA funded project to de¬
velop a Flexible Learning Strategy in Trades m BC More to come on
these and other proposals in future editions
The first edition of the Education @ VCC newsletter last May was well

5

VCC's collaborauon with the
Maple Leaf Insdtute of Technology
In Dalian, China 6
Education Council Report

6

Strategic Planning Stiategy

7

Committee Reports

8

Events Listings

8

received, and in combination with the Education Forums and a num¬

ber of other ways to share (check out the research group on page 4, for
instance), I hope we can engage more, and more effectively, on all mat¬
ters that relate to teaching and learning, broadly defined
The Education Council report on page 6 is the last we'll get with Ted
Hougham in the chair, and after 5 years, we must thank him for his
time and his dedication to the cause If you see him in the hallways, oi
on the bus, or on the ferry to Pender, you might want to add your
thanks
As before, I welcome any comments and suggestions on the format,
scope and style of this newsletter

Alan Davis
VP, Education

Education Fomm

adavis@vcc ca

October 30, 2007
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Room 420
Downtown Campus
November 02, 2007
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Room 5025
Broadway Campus

Items for Education @ VCC can be submitted anytime, by any¬
one Our next edition will be m November, and the deadline for
that issue will be October 19,h

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

Dean, Centre for Instructional Development
Before coming to Canada m 1997 she
was Coordinator of Academic Comput¬
ing at Anahuac University in Mexico
Karen has a BSc degree in Informatics,
and an MA and a PhD in Education
Her recent doctoral thesis was tided " A

Alan Davis
VP, Education
adavis@vcc ca

I am very pleased to announce the ap¬
pointment of Dr Karen Belfer to the
position of Dean of the Centre for In¬
structional Development

model to evaluate programs that intro¬
duce technology in the teaching and
learning process"

Karen is cunently an Instructional De¬
velopment Consultant m the Learning
and Technology Services division at
BCIT Before that she had similar roles

Karen will be joining VCC on Novem¬
ber 6th More details of her start date
and office location will be forthcoming

at UBC, SFU and the former TechBC

Faculty Survey on Educational Technology

tise, and classroom design needs using Distributed

Watch for it...

Learning in youi classroom or program

Lyn Lenmg
Instructional Associate

A key element of the VCC Distributed Learning Plan

Uenmg@vcc ca

is to provide supports that will help you develop
your ET skills and knowledge Your responses to the
survey will have a direct impact on the design, deliv¬
ery and content of future ET learning opportunities

With the roll out of the new VCC Portal by year's
end, VCC will have dramatically changed the teach¬
ing and learning possibilities with educational tech¬

for you at VCC

nology (ET) at both campuses, almost overnight So
what impact will that have on your teaching and
learning at VCC5

Your input is essential, your experience and expertise
are needed

To find out, the Distributed Learning Committee has Look for the Faculty Educational Technology Survey
developed an online survey that asks you to reflect
delivered to your Groupwise email account soon'
on your professional learning needs, areas of exper¬

Program Review at YCC
Alan Davis
VP, Education
adavis@vcc ca

tional Associates, and they have
informed us in 2 ways: the first is
with respect to the planning for
each program and no doubt we'll

see budget request in 2008/2009
The last of the 3 pilot program
that reflect the actions recom¬
reviews has been completed and
mended by the reviews
the 3 repoits are being shared with
Education Council Counselling
The other is in the Program Re¬
and Substance Abuse, Drafting
view Policy, which has been re¬
Technician, and Employment and
vised and updated to clarify roles
Educational Access for Women
and to streamline processes The
revised policy will be going to
This all represents a lot of work by
Education Council this fall
many people, led by the Instruc¬

2

Another aspect of the Policy is the
requirement for each program,
through its Department Head, to
file an annual report which sum¬
marises key trends and issues In
July this last summer, over 60 of
these reports were filed, covering
almost every program and depart¬
ment, and again, this reflects a lot
of work by a lot of people, and will
piovide useful mateiial for our
annual and strategic planning

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

Teaching Students

with Learning Disabilities
Desiree Blankenberg
Disability Counselor
dblankenberg@vcc ca

A learning disability is a lifelong disorder that affects
the manner in which individuals with normal or
above average intelligence select, retain and express
information Incoming or outgoing information be¬
come scrambled as it travels between the senses and
the bram Less frequent, but no less troublesome, are
problems in organizational skill, time management
and social skills
It is pervasive in that it can affect self-esteem, educa¬

If must be noted that specialised support and accommodations
an designed to equalise oppoiiiimties, not to lower the aca¬
demic standards for these students to alter the essential natme
of the course and program nqmrements There ate instances
when students are mi able to master a particular course because
of their disability It is inrportant to note that accommodations
do not guarantee success and it is up to student to do the test
Suggested strategies for students with Learning

disabilities
• Provide a detailed course syllabus (including pa¬
pers and projects) well before classes start if possible
• Give reading assignments ahead of time and in
both written and oral format

tion, vocation, socialization, and daily living activities

® Speak distinctly and pace instruction carefully

throughout life.

® Repeat, rephrase or reword main points and
complex directions

There aie four stages of information processing
that may be affected to greater or lesser degree by an

® Write directions on board
e Verbalize what is written, sometimes using a

LD

step-by-step sequence

® Use a larger font size when it comes to using an
overhead and handouts

1) Input - the process of receiving/recording infor¬
mation that comes from the senses m the bram

« Use concrete examples when explaining compli¬
cated issues

2) Integration - the piocess of interpreting this in¬
formation including
® If possible, provide hands-on material when pre¬
•sequencing - difficulty organizing information into a senting abstract concepts
logical order
• Handouts should be clearly typed (font style
•abstraction - difficulty in inferring meaning, confus¬

should be plain and font size should be 12-14)

ing different meanings of the same word used m dif¬
ferent ways, understanding jokes or puns
•organization - difficulty taking bits of information
and integrating them into concepts

• Provide opportunities for discussion
® Use visual aids, (illustrations, graphics, charts,
videotapes diagrams, maps, pictures, etc ) when ex¬

plaining important key terms and concepts and when
presenting new vocabulary

3) Memory - mild to severe difficulties moving in¬
formation from short-term to long teim memory

® Return tests as soon as possible and, time per¬

storage for later retrieval

mitted, go through it with the student
• Copies of lecture notes would be very helpful

4) Output

• Prepare structured lecture notes

•difficulty conveying information through verbal
and/or non-verbal language
•difficulty organizing thoughts, putting ideas into
woids and communicating these thoughts verbally
•motor - fine motor disabilities (e g , poor handwrit¬

® Provide lecture outlines, review and preview

each class
These are just suggested strategies and can be used in
any way Studies show that instructional modifica¬
tions implemented for an LD student usually seem to
benefit the rest of the students in class as well

ing), as well as gross
•motor disabilities (e g , clumsiness)

3

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

ing to support VCC's Legal Ad¬

Notary Cheque Presentation

ministration students" says Donna

"We are delighted to work with a

Donna Hooker

Hooker, Interim Dean for VCC's
Centre for Business Studies
"Legal Administrative Assistants
are in high demand by notaries
public, law firms and the |ustice
system These funds will assist
students to achieve the necessary

college committed to providing
students in BC with an excellent

Interim Dean, Centre fot Business Studies

dhooker@vcc ca

At their July 11, 2007 meeting, the
Notary Foundation presented
Vancouver Community College
Foundation with
a cheque m the
amount of

education," says Wayne Braid, Ex¬

ecutive Officer of the Notary
Foundation of BC "The Founda¬
tion is pleased to assist Vancouver

Community College to educate
people to
serve the
legal needs of
British Co¬
lumbians m

$30,000 to create [*
a Scholarship and |1
Bursar}' for full :
time students m
VCC's Legal Ad¬

the offices of
Notaries and

other legal

ministration Pro¬

gram

professionals
throughout

The Notary

ince "

our prov¬

Foundation is in
its 18th year of
operation and
over the years has supported many
skills to meet this growing demand
students studying in a range of
for skilled legal assistants and also
legal programs "VCC is very
reward those who excel in this
pleased to be a recipient of fund¬
field" says Hooker

Research Interest Group

thought that we might offer each

Deanna Rexe

other encouragement, assistance,

AVP, Planning & Strategy

or moral support

drexe@vcc ca

The first get-together was held at
the Bansta at the Downtown Cam¬
pus, and Lila Heilbrunn, Director
of Libraries, kindly provided infor¬
mation and ideas for library assis¬
tance for those working on schol¬
arly projects here at VCC

An enthusiastic group of six VCC
faculty and staff gathered together
for the first time on September
13th, with the idea that we might
form an informal peer-support
network related to research, for
those pursuing graduate studies, oi
working on publications The
The group deteimined that we
idea for the coffee house came
could get together about once a
about from a number of hall-way month, on a Thursday m the late
discussions on research practices
afternoon We are also in the
and graduate education, and it was process of establishing an email

4

The Notary
Foundation
meeting was held at VCC's well
known JJ's restaurant with culinary
cuisine and service provided by
VCC students

group distribution list to facilitate
discussion and support.
We would like to extend an invita¬
tion to faculty and staff who are
involved m graduate research pro¬
jects or publications to join us -

the newly formed Research Inter¬

est Group (RIG)
The next session will be at the Li¬
brary at the Broadway Campus at
4-30 pm on Thursday October
11th -following the Employee

BBQ We will meet at the library
front desk

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

The Canadian Language
Benchmarks and VCC's

sion of applicants whose first lan¬
guage is not English

Applied Programs
Christina Stechishin

The process of 'benchmarking'

Instructor, ESL—ELSA

begins with ESL faculty receiving
training in the process Next, a
program is selected and an initial
meeting is set up with applied in¬

Chan VCC CLB Initiative
cstechishin@vcc ca

Adult immigrants are often under
great pressure to be trained or re¬

trained as quickly as possible in
order to |oin the Canadian work¬
force and support themselves and
their families In addition, adult
international students are seeking
clear, quick and cost-efficient

structors to collect materials, ex¬

plain the purpose of the pro|ect
and address questions or concerns

The benchmarkers, working in
pairs, familiarise themselves with
program materials and then, fol¬
lowing a timeline set up in con¬

junction with applied program
paths to reach their career goals
instructors, they quietly observe
Such learners have traditionally
the language tasks in classrooms
been required to complete ESL
and labs and make copious notes
training before entering skills train¬ Each observer works mdepending programs, which usually list
endy and focuses o///)» on the lan¬
the completion of English at the
guage aspect of tasks required of
secondary level as a requisite even students After the "fly-on-thethough the actual language de¬
wall" observations are completed,
mands of the skills programs may the benchmarkers also gather data
not be that high As a result, these from learners in confidential
learners often feel frustrated and
groups and from instructors
dissatisfied, because of the loss of through discussion groups or
time and money, they cannot
questionnaires
move ahead with their working
lives as quickly as they would like
Once the data has been collected,
the benchmarkers discuss and ana¬
While the CLB were primarily de¬ lyse observations as per the guide¬
signed to assess language levels for lines outlined in si TraimngKit —
placement into ESL programs and Using the Canadian language Bench¬
to develop task-based language
marks 2000 to Establish Ent/y Ijive!
curricula, it quickly became evident Requirements for Applied Piogramsf
that they could also be used to
They compare the results of their
assess language levels required for
successful completion of tasks in

importance of textbooks, and the
type and amount of instructional
support available to students For
the purpose of consistency, all the
repoits follow the same format
and structure Once the draft re¬
port is complete, two other experi¬

enced benchmarkers review it for
content and format and the revised
dtaft is then sent to the applied
Department Head for approval
and/or revision before being pre¬
sented to the department as a
whole At VCC, the benchmark¬
ing piocess has been completed on
12 of our 21 entry-level applied
programs, and we are currently
working on 2 more, with 2 addi¬
tional programs slated for observa¬
tions in October The goal is to
complete the remaining 5 pro¬
grams before the end of the 5-year
mandate of the CLB Implementa¬
tion Sttategic Initiative m the

spring of 2009 (Examples of the
VCC benchmark reports com¬
pleted to date can be found on the
college network at

J \Common \Canadian Language
Benchmarks)
One of the many benefits of
benchmarking applied piograms is
that it determines program lan¬
guage demands regardless of con¬
tent, and thus helps ESL learners
to focus their language training m
advance Since all new immigrants
to Canada must take a CLB-based

independent observations with
each other, and then with the CLB assessment to determine their eligi¬
applied programs into which many level descriptors for each skill (S,
bility for English classes, they are
of our students want to move as
L, R, W) to determine CLB levels
familiar with the CLB and what
quickly as possible Red River
needed by students to successfully these represent In addition, each
College m Manitoba developed a
complete tasks When this has
program acquires a unique, addi¬
process to accomplish this m the
been done, they write a draft re¬
tional and nationally-iecognized
late 1990s, and since that time,
port according to guidelines m the language pie-requisite for entry
many training institutions and col¬

leges, including VCC, have been
busy establishing CLB levels for
their programs as alternative lan¬
guage pre-requisites for the admis¬

aforementioned training kit, ana¬

which is often a more accurate

lysing one skill at a time and con¬
sidering the relevance of any subskills They also take into consid¬
eration the frequency of tasks, the

predictor of success

5

Continued on page 8

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

VCC's collaboration with
Maple Leaf Institute of

Technology (Dalian, China)
Donna Hooker

puter Technology^ curriculum, and
has recendy signed an agreement
to deliver the Home Support As¬
sistant program with Camosun

A media release will be prepared in
conjunction with the formal sign¬
ing of the agreement between

College VCC is pleased to be

VCC and MLES The formal sign¬

adding Hospitality training to this
dhooker@vcc ca
exciting project and is hopeful the
first cohort of students will begin
I am very pleased to announce that studies following Chinese New
VCC and the Maple Leaf Educa¬
Year m 2008
tion Systems Ltd in Dalian China
Interim Dean, Centre for Business Studies

ing is scheduled for late November
m conjunction with an education

fair in Dalian where MLES high
school students will learn more
about post secondary education in

BC

have reached an agreement in prin¬ VCC's Hospitality Operations

ciple for the delivery of VCC Hos¬

training will be delivered in Man¬

pitality Operations training at

darin and is aimed at piepanng
graduates to meet the growing de¬
mand foi hospitality workers in
China VCC will play an impor¬

MLES' Maple Leaf Institute of
Technology in Dalian China

MLES has been delivering BC

Grade 12 curriculum m China for
tant role in setting academic stan¬
10 years and has an excellent repu¬ dards and instructor hiring stan¬
tation for quality
dards, instructor training, identify¬
ing facility requirements, supplies
MLES, through its Institute of
and equipment, and in ensuring
Technology, offers BCIT Com¬
program quality control

VCC International is looking for¬
ward to working with the School
of Hospitality m the further devel¬
opment and delivery of this pro¬
ject Special thanks to Ann John¬
son and Allison Kim of Finance
for their tremendous support m
reaching the agreement stage of
this initiative

Tanis Sawtans, Department Head, ESL — PACE,
made a PowerPoint presentation on Canadian Lan¬

Report from Education Council

guage Benchmarks (CLB) to the Council
Since May, Education Council has recommended the
Tanis explained that the CLB is a tool that gives a
following new courses/programs to the Board
standardized description of an individual's ESL/EFL

- English for Health Sciences (1)

language proficiency by assessing their speatang, lis¬
tening, reading and writing skills.

- DHH Lower Advanced

- DHH Upper Advanced
- DHH Sign Language Stalls for Deafened and
Hard of Hearing Adults

Program reviews are being presented at Education
Council The Drafting Technician program review,
was presented in September Program reviews for
the Substance Abuse Counselling/Counselling Skills
Certificate Program and EEAW, will be presented in
October and November respectively

- Expanding Communication Stalls
- Music Directed Ensemble 5 & 6
- Family Literacy Program
The Bachelor of Performing Arts degree was recom¬
mended to the Board in June

Voting for Education Council elections will be held
on October 09th and October 10th and is coordi¬
nated by the Registrar's Office

6

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

Fotmulate visual identity of plan¬

Overall Approach to
Strategic Planning

-include the larger educational

Deanna Rexe

education in BC, technology, our

AVP, Planning and Stiategy

communities and the economy

September 2007

Stap-es of Planning

Launch of Planning by President
Website for planning, Piesident's Update

context, changes in post-secondary ning piocess

drexe@vcc ca

Background:
Strategic planning is a disciplined
effort to produce fundamental
decisions and actions that shape
and guide what the College is,
what it does, and why it does it,
with a focus on the future

Stage 1 Design of piocess, includ¬ Fall and Winter 2007/2008
Facilitated community engagement
ing community engagement plan
Stage 2 Research undertaken, and Public speakers to encourage dia¬
logue and employee development
facilitated dialogue
Oigamzed events for dialogue on
Stage 3 Development of draft
plan by management
Stage 4 Review, feedback from

topics — "issue tables"

Facilitated and formal external

community

consultation

Vision for the Fntme was developed

Stage 5 College approval proc¬

Research and reporting processes

m 2002, and refreshed in 2006 It

esses

supported by RSS

is time for a renewed strategic

plan that will

Final reports completed by March

15, 2008
To accomplish this, we will
—conduct research and support
dialogue from September to March April 2008
All activities completed, and all
—develop draft plans in April —

—identify and respond to the key
trends having the greatest impact
on the College over the next three
to five yeais

June

—state our mission, goals and

—solicit feedback fiom Board of

reports provided to Management
Gioup

strategic directions to achieve

Governors in June

these goals
—support annual department and
school/centre operational plans,

—solicit feedback from the college May 2008
Facilitated process foi develop¬
and community m September —
ment of draft strategic plan
October

actions

—review and submit for approval

—support effectiveness, evaluation m November

June 2008

and accountability

Presentation of draft to Board at
Board Retreat for Board input

Timelines:
The purpose of the plan is to help
the College to clarify, assess and
adjust the College's direction in

June 2007

September 2008

Develop planning timeline and

response to a changing environ¬

overview

Distribution of draft
Feedback from college community

ment

Dale to alert Management Group

Individuals (website feedback)

to expectations, timelines

Stakeholder groups
Campus forums

Planned Approach
To guide planning and renewal

RSS begin to formulate research
questions to support background
lepoits and matenals

processes, we will
-be open, inclusive and consulta¬

Summer 2007

tive

Conceptualize research agenda

-seek to build consensus in the

Inmate reseaich pro|ects as possi¬

College and a broad sense of own¬

ble

October 2008
Foimal review of draft by Educa¬
tion Council, Operations Council
for advice to Board

November 2008
Presentation of draft and advice to

ership
-use reseaich to inform decision¬

Finalize lesearch and development Boaid for approval

making and scenario planning,
both about VCC and the external

plan for Fall

community

Finalize planning piocess and
community engagement plan

7

October 2007

Volume 2, Issue 1

Upcoming Events at
Vancouver Community

Committee Reports

College

Distributed Learning Committee
DLC has been somewhat quiet over the summer, but met m Septem¬
ber for a presentation by Betty Noble on how to make on-line learn¬
ing accessible to all, and we also heard from Brenda Appleton on is¬
sues related to copyright m a digital age
Two surveys are being developed for distribution this fall one on edu¬
cational technology requirements in the classroom, and one on the
faculty development needs related to distributed learning.
The 3 year Distributed Learning Implementation Plan is being com¬

piled and should be available shortly, in time to inform the 2008/2009
budget process.

The Educattonal Administrators Group (EAG) has been discussing
Program Review/Renewal, affiliations and articulations, and new cur¬
riculum development
They have hosted guests speaking on a range of topics, including
copyright, alumni awards and the Business Intelligence system. EAG
will receive a presentation on Essential Skills in November
EAG is also discussing educational policies for Program Review, Pro¬
gram Advisory Committees, Affiliation Agreements, the Granting of
Credentials, Degree Standards and Transfer Credits These will be
making their way to Policy Committee and Education Council over
the next few months
Management Group
The VCC IT Operations Review Project Report was presented at the
September meeting of Management Group Members of the Group
have been involved in Planning/Strategic Planning Sessions, in prepa¬
ration for 2008-09 Strategic Planning An Environmental Advisory
Group has been created This group will advise both Management
Group and Executive on best practices in environmental initiatives

than a simple numerical score
from a single language test This
CLB profile of a program is very
attractive to students, who have a

much clearer understanding of the
unarticulated linguisUc expecta¬

tions that they will have to meet
On a wider scale, VCC is recog¬
nized across Canada as a leader in
this area VCC instructors were
instrumental m setting up a Na¬

Broadway Campus

Wednesday, October 10th

Info Night
Concourse

Downtown Campus
Wednesday, October 17th
Educational Forums

Education Administrators Group

Continued from page 5

Settlement Fair

4th Floor

Room 419
Downtown Campus
Tuesday, October 30th

Room 5025
Broadway Campus

Friday, November 02nd
Volunteer Fair
Concourse

Downtown Campus
Wednesday, November 14th
Awards Ceremony

Auditorium
Broadway Campus

Friday, November 16th
Employee Recognition
Staff Lounge
Broadway Campus
Thursday, December 13th

tional Working Group on Bench¬
mation sessions for governmentmarking at the TESL Canada Con¬ sponsored projects with various
ference in October 2006 and de¬
provincial ministries, and two of
veloping a database of all bench-

our most knowledgeable instruc¬

marked programs across the coun¬

tors are currently involved in a

try, including programs from Al¬
berta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and
Ontario VCC faculty are in con¬
stant demand at both provincial
and federal levels for their exper¬

project with the Centre for Cana¬
dian Language Benchmarks to de¬

tise in this area For example, we

have been requested to provide
benchmarking training for other
colleges in BC, we provide infor¬

8

velop CLB levels for 39 Red Seal
trades
fLennig, L & Sawkins, T (2005) A liamvigKitUsmg the Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000 to
Estabhih Entry Level Requv ements fo) Applied
Piogiaim, Province of British Columbia