CTN hosted its first workshop for its new program, NextEd, for customized campus coaching at the Cooper Center at South Texas College in McAllen on February 7th from 9-5 pm.
The workshop began with a welcome and overview of the training objectives presented by Allegra Villarreal, CTN Director of Professional Development. This was followed by two breakout session; one for disciplinary faculty, led by Villarreal and the other for developmental faculty, led by Sonia Armstrong, Associate Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program at Texas State University.
Following a break, there was a debriefing to share feedback from the morning sessions.
After lunch, participants reflected on the experiences of their students and discussed asset-based approaches in a session titled “Regarding the Whole Student.” This was followed by “Teaching Strategies for Collaborative Classrooms” in which participants explored teaching strategies that can be used to engage and retain students.
In the final session, participants “cross walked” curriculum together in pairs or teams, and the workshop ended with reflections of the day and next steps.
NextEd is a program of full-day workshops for faculty and staff facilitated by Catch the Next’s network of innovators—teachers, scholars, authors and administrators—committed to transforming higher education for the better. CTN offers customized professional development delivered on individual campuses with the understanding that each college has its own unique challenges and institutional needs. CTN’s work empowers educators by validating their current practice while also delivering experiential and intensive workshops in classroom strategies, co-curricular design and team building with an emphasis on culturally responsive practice.