TLED Transform_Ed

Core Team

The core team was convened by recommendations and appointments in the inaugural year. The group included the following TLED team members:

• • Stephanie Bogdanich, Instructional Designer in Academic Technology
  • Daniel Chupe-Ohanlon, Curriculum Business Analyst in Curriculum Management
  • Toyya Cisneros, Head Librarian in Library Services, South Austin Campus
  • Dr. Eric Nathan, Dean of Faculty Development & Evaluation (retired)
  • Dr. Theresa Glenn, Dean of Faculty Development and Evaluation
  • Dr. Susan Warner-Sanchez, Associate Vice Chancellor for the Teaching & Learning Excellence Division (TLED)

Faculty Engagement

Faculty Baseline Survey

In February 2024 we conducted a faculty survey to collect baseline data on teaching and learning. 259 faculty responded and provided input on the tools, mediums, modes, and strategies used in Teaching and Learning at ACC. This information was used to help us determine our current status in the awareness and adoption of these elements. Respondents were offered the opportunity to share interest in being part of follow-up Focus Groups.

Focus Groups

Campus-based focus groups were hosted to help us gather more input from faculty about the approaches we will need to adopt in the future that meet the goals of our new North Star and Theory of Change framework. Forums were open to all faculty and hosted at 3 Campuses: RRC, HLC, and SAC, with a total of 26 participants representing all faculty types. The agenda for the focus groups included, 1) time to dive deeper into survey results, 2) explore future skills needed not covered on the survey; and 3) proof of concept which would include data from previous work as well. Questions were aligned with the topic areas identified in the Think Tank.

Digital Fluency Faculty Survey (OIRA)

In fall 2023, ACC’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment surveyed faculty, department chairs, and continuing education coordinators to identify the need for students’ basic digital fluency competencies to succeed in coursework leading to completion. The faculty surveyed included those teaching a credit, continuing education, or adult education course in fall 2023. 334 faculty and 18 department chairs/coordinators responded to the surveys (a 16% and 23% response rate, respectively).

College-Wide Engagement

Open Forums

TLED initiated Open Forums to provide a platform for anyone at ACC to learn more about the program, ask questions and get involved. Three Open Forums were offered in collaboration with the Academic Faculty Team, and the Student Affairs Team. We planned three unique times to meet the needs of varying stakeholders including one in-person meeting on a Saturday morning, one online meeting during the workweek and one Hy-Flex meeting in the evening. More than 200 duplicated registrations and over 100 attendees representing areas across the college engaged in dialogue and reflective practice.

Future of Work & Education Summit

Over 160 faculty and staff from across the College attended the TLED Future of Work & Education Summit on November 27-28, 2023. Attendees were treated to a diverse range of presenters to support the alignment of our work shaping educational pathways that meet the emerging needs of both our local community and the changing global landscape.

Topics included:

• • The Lion in a Changing Jungle: Changing Global Geo-Politics and Its Impact on the Community College Professional – Presented by Vidya Moorthy
  • The Future of Learning: How Technology is Transforming How and What People Learn – Presented by Tyler Johnson
  • Data For Prosperity in the AI Age – Presented by Adam Leonard
  • Austin’s Unique Equation – Presented by Bijoy Goswami
  • The AI Revolution: Redefining the Future of Work and Higher Education – Presented by Dr. Terri Horton
  • Educational Facilities and Design Considerations for the Future – Presented by Olivia Graf Doyle and Diego Barrera
  • The Central Texas Demographic Landscape – Presented by Dr. Helen You
  • Transforming Education for the Future of Work – Presented by Dr. Muhsinah Morris

TLED and Broad Engagement

TLED Think Tank

In order to support the effort, TLED knows the importance of actively hearing and listening to varying perspectives, evidence-based practices that support value in each voice, and the collective impact we can have when we work together. To that end, we initiated a Think Tank made up of stakeholders from across the college, the Austin community, and all TLED supervisors to research the context of their areas of specialization, and bring each unique perspective to our work. More than 60 participants shared expertise, insight, and perspective and conferred with colleagues on how we need to invest our resources in the future of teaching and learning. Meetings were held monthly from October 2023 to February 2024.

TLED Division Participation

To ensure the inclusion of our entire Division in the Transform_Ed efforts, we developed two protocols for participation. (1) Our entire leadership team was invited to be part of the Think Tank. This included the AVC direct reports and all supervisors totaling nearly 30 participants. (2) We also presented the Transform_Ed Think Tank efforts at our ALL-TLED meeting in May and invited all members of the Division to review the data, participate in discussion, brainstorm, and share ideas. More than 75 TLED members participated.

Data plays a crucial role in enabling organizations to adapt and innovate within a rapidly evolving environment. It facilitates the identification of new opportunities, the recognition of challenges, and a more agile response to shifts within the industry. The implementation of data-driven decision-making enhances the capacity of organizations to advocate for systemic changes, which may include the pursuit of increased funding or the modification of policies and procedures. Moreover, the utilization of robust data allows organizations to establish baseline metrics, identify benchmarks, set performance objectives, and acknowledge achievements upon their realization. A well-structured research approach can significantly contribute to enhancing the quality of life for individuals within the community.

PESTLE Analysis – One of our first research tasks in the Transform_Ed work was to conduct a PESTLE analysis to examine the broad range of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors that can impact teaching and learning at Austin Community College. Our team leveraged AI to finalize our PESTLE analysis and highlighted the importance of considering:

• • government policies/funding for higher education,
  • economic conditions influencing workforce needs and college resources,
  • societal demographics/values shaping the student body,
  • emerging technologies enhancing education,
  • legal regulations governing operations, and
  • environmental sustainability concerns.

Understanding these external forces provides a comprehensive foundation for strategizing how we can adapt its academic offerings and services to effectively navigate the evolving landscape while meeting student, community, and institutional needs.

Open Forums – TLED’s open forums adopted an inclusive approach, gathering comprehensive stakeholder feedback through a series of tailored engagement sessions spanning online, hybrid, and in-person formats. This multimodal strategy enabled the distillation of key common themes to guide our transformative journey. Prominent themes included the disruptive potential of AI in education, faculty and student experience challenges, innovative pedagogies like HyFlex, data-driven insights for course optimization and workforce alignment, digital ecosystem accessibility improvements, and the transformative power of cohort-based learning models. Collectively, these insights illuminate strategic focus areas for fostering future-ready skills, nurturing creative thinking, empowering adjunct faculty, enhancing student success, and deepening community engagement to deliver enriched educational experiences.

Future of Work & Education Summit – Experts with local and global impact shared key considerations for the broad topics included in the summit from space design, to global impact, to AI and Central Texas Demographic shifts. Some key takeaways included:

• • Everyone is coping with mental and emotional challenges in their external environment.
  • From 2020-2020, the 95% increase in Texas population growth has been due to the increase of population of color – non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian and non-Hispanic.
  • We use the space to send the message that not only do we care and that we’re investing as a community in your learning, but we are providing a space that is well-outfitted for the task at hand.

Baseline Survey – The TLED Transform_Ed Work Team developed a baseline survey to gather information about faculty use and perception on the technology tools, mediums, modes, and strategies used in Teaching and Learning at ACC. They expanded on the results by hosting faculty focus groups across the district to elucidate our faculty’s greatest challenges and specific needs. The data gathered will be used in our work to develop project and work plans.

• • There is a strong dichotomy between the Silent Generation and Gen Z on the topic of AI (chatGPT). The Silent generation reported at almost 60% that they had working knowledge to professional knowledge of AI tools. The GenZ generation reported at almost 75% that they had limited some level with interest in learning more.
  • The baseline data shows larger variances between generations when responding to methodologies. The Silent generation reported a broader range of knowledge and the GenZ mostly were bifurcated between professional and no proficiency.
  • Faculty new to the classroom have a range of knowledge levels across the broad group of technologies reported. They ranged from professional to no proficiency.

Focus Groups – Focus group findings centered around 6 key areas including comfort with technology, student technology readiness, faculty communication, classroom needs, and curriculum alignment. Participants identified a greater need for:

• • Flexibility in offerings to support varying faculty schedules and needs
  • Expanded training and readiness for students in technology use
  • Alignment and options in communication about faculty opportunities
  • Discipline-specific opportunities with unique requirements

Digital Fluency Survey (OIRA) – In fall 2023, OIRA surveyed faculty to determine their confidence in their digital fluency abilities. The faculty surveyed included those teaching a credit, continuing education, or adult education course in fall 2023. Some key takeaways included:

• • At least 40% of respondents believe all or most of the students they teach can perform six of 19 tasks. The highest percentages involve tasks using a Search Engine (77%), word processing applications (74%), and social media (66%).
  • At least 30% of respondents believe some, very few, or none of their students can perform 13 of 19 tasks. The highest percentages (43%) were for managing a project team and using systems thinking or AI problem-solving strategies.
  • For 11 of 19 tasks, at least a third of respondents did not know whether the students they teach can perform the task. Over half (56%) did not know about tasks using HTML, CSS, Google Analytics, and WordPress.

TLED Think Tank – Our cross-functional think tank was established as a collaborative incubator, bringing together diverse stakeholders from across the college ecosystem – staff, faculty, community partners, and TLED – to leverage the theory of change in identifying and addressing urgent pain points. Through a holistic analysis, we’ve identified and prioritized five key spheres to transform the student experience: seamlessly integrating innovative educational technology, fostering dynamic communication, ensuring workforce-aligned curricula, cultivating inclusive learning environments, and championing ongoing professional development. With these high-impact spheres defined, we’ve ideated innovative, scalable solutions and developed clear outcomes.

TLED Leadership Team attended the Higher Edge 2023: Leading Texas’ Future Conference, December 13, 2023 – Texas is the country’s leading changemaker when it comes to higher ed. This year the conference featured policymakers and leaders in higher education, business, and philanthropy, and hosted conversations on the role of AI, cutting-edge research efforts, and more on the dynamic movement shaking up the higher education space in Texas. In his The State of Higher Education address, Commissioner Keller highlighted the many successes of 2023 and called on everyone to accelerate the pace of change to meet Texas’ needs and ensure the state stays competitive throughout the 21st century.

Lit Review  – The literature review conducted for the Transform_ED initiative provides an in-depth analysis of the rapidly evolving academic landscape and its implications for students’ needs. It centers around external factors influencing academia and anticipated changes in higher education. The review, spanning literature from 2020 to 2024, primarily focusing on the United States, aims to offer strategic recommendations for future-proofing ACC’s programs, degrees, and services. Utilizing a blend of peer-reviewed and speculative articles, this research explores the intersection of AI, educational technology, and workforce development, thereby providing a roadmap for ACC to navigate and thrive in the changing educational environment.

Future of Lib Guides –

• • Teaching & Learning
  • ADMC
  • Business
  • DMCAT
  • Education Instruction
  • Health Sciences
  • Hospitality
  • ITSC
  • Liberal Arts
  • Science Engineering and Math

TLED focused efforts on collaboration and transparency by establishing a Think Tank that would bring together key stakeholders to provide advice and ideas from their respective disciplines. Participants from every area of the college were invited including IT, Facilities, Disability Services, Business Services, Safety and Operations to name a few. We also invited a vendor partner (Honor Education), a local business partner (Kick-Butt Coffee) and a non-profit partner (YMCA).

The Think Tank convenings throughout the year were grounded in The Aspen Institute’s “The Community Builder’s Approach to Theory of Change: A Practical Guide to Theory Development” by Andrea A. Anderson, Ph.D. This provided a solid foundation to host listening sessions, gather varying perspectives, and funnel our work to yield 5 key priorities that we will use to develop our next TLED work plan for 2025-2028. This process makes the work of Transform_Ed sustainable in future efforts.

• • Goal 1 – Re-imagine professional development to support wider adoption of innovative work practices
  • Goal 2 – Foster dynamic communication to eliminate silos and build relationships
  • Goal 3 – Create universal learning spaces that entwine access and flexibility
  • Goal 4 – Align teaching & learning practices with curriculum grounded in workforce and community needs.
  • Goal 5 – Integrate relevant technology to increase engagement and nurture creativity

The problems being addressed include issues like information overload, inability to find desired information, burnout, lack of professional development time and resources, and difficulties staying current in one’s field. The proposed solution is an online tool or app called “YES (Your Empowerment Strategy) to Success” that helps faculty create a personalized professional development plan. The “YES to Success” tool leverages AI to provide a self-assessment and skills audit where faculty choose areas of focus for discipline-specific and pedagogical development. It guides users through a self-assessment, skills audit, and reflection on pedagogical frameworks to identify areas for growth. It analyzes faculty evaluations, preferred learning methods, and interests to create a tailored learning path with targeted communications.

Targeted faculty communications, micro-credentials, data tracking, and an AI-powered mentor-matching platform support the process. Faculty can join interest groups, and successful completion is incentivized through recognition and awards.

• • Mayo Clinic – The Art of Kindness
  • Institute for Civility – What is Civility?
  • University of Minnesota – Live and Lead with Intention
  • Pollack Peacebuilding Systems – Where does creating workplace peace start?
  • Galt Foundation – Nurturing Employees: Fostering Lasting Employee Engagement and Commitment
  • James Madison University -Making Sense of Place in Our Classroom Spaces
  • Novak Education – Student Identity and UDL