Name/Title of Chancellor/President/CEO from Applicant Institution

   Name/Title of Chief Financial Officer

   Name/Title of Contact Person (Perkins Contact where applicable)

Amarillo College, partnering with Collin County Community College District and South Texas College, will develop and implement a state-wide critical thinking training program, Focus on the Student: Critical Thinking in the 21st Century. Designed after the National Science Foundation funded The Case Files, this new program will impact 13 Texas community colleges, train over 100 faculty, and impact hundreds of technical students.

In 2002, Nashville State Community College received NSF funding to continue building upon the foundation of the SEATEC (Sciences of the Environment and Advanced Technology Education Consortium) research. The Case Files project developed problem-based case studies that integrate real-world experience into technical education. Problem-based case studies are structured learning experiences designed to focus students’ attention on analyzing the nature of a problem set within the broader context of a real-world situation from a business or industry. This is further defined on The Case Files’ website (www.thecasefiles.org) with the explanation that problem-based case studies “begin with students clarifying the nature of the problem, rather than being given the problem.” Collin County Community College District, through its National Science Foundation Regional Center for Convergence Technology, already has experience with problem-based case studies methodology and is beginning to use it in teaching classes.

Amarillo College and partnering institutions will implement a train-the-trainer approach, selecting ten community college professional development representatives (TX-POD) from a variety of community college institutions state-wide to attend two Case Files training programs. During Year One of the project, these ten professionals as well as the three partner institution representatives will learn how to integrate problem-based case studies into classrooms. The Case Files’ trainer, Dr. Ruth Loring, will host two training sessions in conjunction with the 2006 TCCTA Fall Conference and Spring 2007 TCCTA Annual Convention.

During Year Two of the project, the three partner institutions and ten TX-POD representatives will host problem-based case study professional development training at their own institutions for 6 to 10 technical educators and/or general studies faculty who educate technical students. Between 78 and 130 technical educators and faculty will participate in the critical thinking training program. These individuals will then work with the partnering institutions and TX-POD representatives to redesign their curricula to include problem-based case studies for implementation in Year Three of the proposed project.

Student success will be the focus of the project during Year Three. Technical educators and faculty who attended the critical thinking professional development program will implement their newly revised curricula, which will include problem-based case studies. The third year of the program will determine the level of success of Focus on the Student. Students will be evaluated at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters to determine baseline data and at the conclusion of the respective semester to garner their level of critical thinking and thought processing skills. Students will take pre- and post-tests to determine baseline data and increase in knowledge and skills. In addition, students will participate in solving problem-based case studies applying their critical thinking and thought processing skills.

To ensure the sustainability of Focus on the Student, each partner institution is committed to providing the faculty professional development training program for two years beyond the grant funding period at their institution. Amarillo College will also maintain the Focus on the Student website and will be a repository of all training materials. By extending the program beyond its funding period, Focus on the Student ensures continual faculty professional development and student success using critical thinking skills and improved thought processing.

Focus on the Student: Critical Thinking in the 21st Century’s goal is to increase student success through development of critical thinking and thought processing skills. In order to achieve its overall goal, Focus on the Student will implement the following objectives:

Please clearly identify the deliverables of this project that will be used to disseminate the results statewide and provide a brief description of how that should occur:

• Year One: Train-The Trainer Focus on the Student is designed after The Case Files, an NSF-funded project that trains faculty to use problem-based case studies in their curricula to develop critical thinking and thought processing skills in students. The Case Files, led by Dr. Ruth Loring, was developed to “show the effectiveness and benefits of using open-ended, business/industry oriented learning experiences that focus on solving problems that appear in the real world of engineering and information technology.” Dr. Loring will serve as a consultant and conduct the Focus on the Student train-the-trainer program.

The partnering institutions will solicit ten (10) Texas community college institutions to participate in Focus on the Student, a critical thinking professional development training program. The ten institutions will be selected from across the state to ensure state-wide impact. The professional development (TX-POD) representatives selected from each institution will make a three-year commitment to the project.

Focus on the Student will develop criteria to select the ten TX-POD representatives. In order to ensure state-wide impact, community colleges that provide technical programs will be selected from all regions and areas of Texas. Selection criteria will be developed to ensure that colleges ranging from small to very large districts are represented. The final criteria will be to assure representation from Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSIs). The training will be available to any individual who would like to participate; however, travel expenses and stipends will only be paid to the ten selected TX-POD representatives.

The Case Files uses the Learning Cycle, developed by the NSF-funded SEATEC project, as the guiding tool in its training. The Learning Cycle actively engages students to learn through team collaboration, problem analysis, field research, validation of field research, and interpretation of research to develop a solution to the problem. The Learning Cycle is the core tool to solve all problem-based case studies. The benefits to students who participate in problem-based case studies are the development of creative thinking, critical thinking and thought processing skills; learning to communicate effectively with a team; and learning how to integrate technical skills that are relevant to real-world work experiences. Dr. Loring will conduct two training sessions, for a total of five days, during the first year of Focus on the Student. These training sessions will be specifically designed to train-the-trainer. The three partner institutions and ten TX-POD representatives will attend Dr. Loring’s training in October 2006 and February 2007. These training sessions will be held in conjunction with the TCCTA Fall Conference and TCCTA Annual Convention.

The training sessions will be based on The Case Files’ Design and Implementation Institute. The purpose of this institute is to create a learning environment in which educators can experience and examine the innovative approach to teaching problem-based case studies. The Case Files state their goals of the institute training are to “develop adaptive expertise, structure authentic performance assessments, design instructional strategies, and facilitate learning experiences.”

Amarillo College and partnering institutions will coordinate the training with Dr. Loring as well as participate in the training sessions. All training attendees will be evaluated before the training sessions to determine baseline data. They will be further evaluated following each training session to determine their level of understanding and ability to apply the Learning Cycle and solve problem-based case studies.

Evaluation will be conducted with pre- and post-tests as well as the evaluation of each participant’s ability to actively participate in the online problem-based case studies located on the Focus on the Student website. Throughout the training program, TX-POD representatives will engage in online problem-based case studies with their fellow trainees. These online exercises will allow the trainees to apply the Learning Cycle in solving problem-based case studies.

For additional information regarding Focus on the Student’s outcomes approach refer to the Evaluation Plan located in Part D of this grant application.

Focus on the Student will develop a website to house a repository of critical thinking activities, links to problem-based case studies, and chat rooms to encourage collaboration between the partners and TX-POD representatives. Amarillo College will host the website as part of its financial commitment to Focus on the Student. Amarillo College will update the website to correspond with the project’s activities as well as maintain an archival location of past correspondence. To ensure sustainability of the project, Amarillo College will host and maintain the website for two years following the completion of the grant.

Because Focus on the Student is based upon The Case Files, program that has already been evaluated and proven successful, it can be replicated across the state using the same train-the-trainer approach. By training a trainer, Focus on the Student minimizes training costs, travel costs, and overall grant expenditures. It will also maximize the ability of TX-POD representatives to train over 100 technical educators and general studies faculty at a minimal cost.

• Year Two: Faculty Professional Development Training During Year Two of Focus on the Student, the three partner institutions and ten TX-POD representatives will develop a faculty professional development training program for their respective institutions. The Focus on the Student faculty training program will mirror The Case Files’ Design and Implementation Institute. Due to time constraints and instruction load for faculty, the five training sessions will be held throughout the academic year. For instance, Amarillo College will conduct their training sessions during the months of September, October, January, February, and April. Each individual TX-POD representative will be responsible for coordinating the appropriate time frame for their institution to conduct the Focus on the Student faculty professional development training program.

Each TX-POD representative and partnering institution will be responsible for developing and conducting a faculty professional development training program at their institution for 6 to 10 technical educators and/or general studies faculty who educate technical students. The trainers will be responsible for developing their training program, based on The Case Files’ Institute they attended in year one of the project; conducting five training sessions; and, assisting the three partnering organizations in evaluating the success of the faculty professional development training. A total of 13 training programs will be developed and conducted, educating between 78 to 130 technical educators and/or faculty.

Technical educators and/or general studies faculty who educate technical students will be evaluated at the beginning of the training program to determine baseline data. Following each training session, the trainer will evaluate the training session and technical educators’ and/or faculty members’ abilities to process thoughts and think critically. Evaluation will be conducted with pre- and post-tests as well as the participant’s ability to actively participate in the online problem-based case studies that will be located on the Focus on the Student website. Throughout the training program, technical educators and faculty will engage in online problem-based case studies with their fellow trainees. These online exercises will allow the trainees to apply the Learning Cycle to solve problem-based case studies.

For additional information regarding Focus on the Student’s outcomes approach refer to the Evaluation Plan located in Part D of this grant application. Following the conclusion of the faculty professional development program, the technical educators and/or faculty who attended training will revise their curricula to include the Learning Cycle and problem-based case studies. The technical educators and faculty will receive technical assistance from the TX-POD representatives and the partner institutions. In addition, the Focus on the Student website will have pertinent information on how to revise curricula, problem-based case studies that are applicable for a variety of disciplines and businesses/industries, and chat rooms for continual dialogue with other faculty members who have participated in the training across the State.

Because each institution participating in Focus on the Student attended The Case Files’ Design and Implementation Institute, they will have the potential to develop a long-term professional development faculty training program. Each college will have the ability to continue the professional development training beyond the life of the grant. Partner institutions will continue to provide professional development on critical thinking for two years, but will not continue to fund Focus on the Student once grant funds have been expended.

• Year Three: Student Achievement During Year Three of Focus on the Student, the technical educators and/or faculty will implement their revised curricula. Technical students will engage in the Learning Cycle and actively participate in solving problem-based case studies. Students will participate in a variety of problem-based case studies. Through these case studies, students will develop critical thinking and thought processing skills.

Problem-based case studies will assist students in developing critical thinking and thought processing skills. These skills are essential to be an efficient and effective technical worker. Businesses and industries today require employees to have sound thinking abilities to analyze problems, process data, and find solutions for both short-term and long-term projects. Because problem-based case studies use real-world situations, technical students will be prepared to process, handle, and solve actual work situations.

Students will collaborate and work in teams to solve problem-based case studies. While participating in these studies, students will learn how to reason through a question, issue, or problem. They will have to learn how to analyze a problem, gather data and other research information, determine what data/research is valid, develop a solution to the problem, and submit a final proposal providing their findings and conclusions.

Technical educators and/or general studies faculty who educate technical students will evaluate, at the beginning of each semester, their students to determine baseline data. At the conclusion of both the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters, the technical educators and general studies faculty will evaluate their students to determine the effectiveness of the problem-based case studies. Evaluation will be conducted with pre- and post-tests.

For additional information regarding Focus on the Student’s outcomes approach refer to the Evaluation Plan located in Part D of this grant application.

Provide a brief budget justification (for example: be specific if funds will be shared with partnering colleges):

Amarillo College requests $74,993.00 from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop and implement the first year of Focus on the Student. Depending on availability of Perkins Leadership funds, additional funds will be requested to support expenses for projected activities during Years Two and Three.

Anticipated Year One expenses are divided between Salary/Fringe Benefits, Consultant Fees, Travel, and Supplies. A breakdown of the expenses for each category is listed below.

• Salary/Fringe Benefits Funds are requested to supplement the salary and fringe benefits for four staff members from the three partnering institutions. Patsy LeMaster, Amarillo College’s Director of Professional and Organizational Development, will be the lead coordinator of the Focus on the Student grant. Fifteen-percent of her salary/fringe benefits will be provided by grant funds. Ms. LeMaster’s assistant, Connie Dillard, will assist all three partnering institutions with developing the train-the-trainer program and making the travel arrangements for attendees. Fifteen-percent of Ms. Dillard’s salary/fringe benefits is included in the grant. Salary/fringe benefits is less than 22% of the total grant.

• Consultant Fees Grant funds will pay for Dr. Ruth Loring’s consultant fee to conduct The Case Files’ Design and Implement Institute training for the three partner institutions and ten TX-POD representatives. In addition, grant funds will pay for an instructional web designer and graphic web designer to develop the Focus on the Student website.

Grant funds will pay ten (10) TX-POD representatives $12.50 per hour – 8 hours per day for 5 days. Both Collin County Community College District and South Texas College will select a representative to assist with Focus on the Student. Barbara Taylor, Collin County, and Lee Grimes, South Texas, will assist Ms. LeMaster with developing, implementing, and evaluating Focus on the Student. Ten-percent of the salary/fringe benefits for each individual is included in the grant.

Consultant fees are 34% of the total grant.

• Travel A significant portion of grant expenditures will be spent on travel arrangements. Thirty-three percent of Focus on the Student expenses will pay for travel arrangements for the two training sessions (13 participants), presenting a report at a TACTE meeting (1 participant), attending two partner institution coordination meetings (3 participants), and attending three THECB Perkins Leadership meetings (1 participant). For each training and/or meeting, the grant will fund airline and/or mileage (based on the least expensive alternative), hotel, per diem, ground transportation, and registration for the 2006 TCCTA Fall Conference and Spring 2007 TCCTA Annual Convention.

• Supplies Less than 5% of the grant expenses are derived from the Supplies category. To fulfill grant requirements, expenditures in the Supplies category provide for office supplies; training materials; and, telephone/fax/email to conduct partnership collaboration, technical assistance, and project development.

Focus on the Student will have two evaluation components: qualitative and quantitative. Each component will determine recommended revisions to the project, ensuring success and sustainability.

The first evaluation component, the qualitative component, will determine training participants change in knowledge and skills. An external evaluator, Dr. Ruth Loring, will assess the participants’ responses to the online problem-based case studies, which will require that the participants apply the Learning Cycle and critical thinking skills to solve the case studies. Dr. Loring will use these assessments to make revisions to the second training session as well as assist each TX-POD presenter with ideas to enhance their critical thinking faculty professional development training program (projected Year Two activity.) To further enhance the qualitative evaluation component, each training participant will submit a survey providing partnering institutions with their evaluation of Focus on the Student. The survey will describe their ability to provide critical thinking professional development training at their own respective institution (projected Year Two activity) and assisting their institution’s faculty with revising curricula to include problem-based case studies (projected Year Three activity.)

The second evaluation component, the quantitative component, will be determined by pre-tests at the beginning of each training session establishing baseline data for all participants. Post-tests will be administered following each training session to determine the participant’s understanding of critical thinking and problem-solving. Post-tests from the first training session will be used to revise the second training program to include any items that need further explanation and/or training. The post-test assessments from both training sessions will be used to assist the partnering institution and TX-POD presenters with developing and implementing their respective institution’s critical thinking professional development training program.

To ensure the sustainability of Focus on the Student, each partner institution is committed to providing critical thinking professional development training for two years beyond the grant funding period at their institution. By extending the program beyond its funding period, Focus on the Student ensures continual faculty professional development and student success using critical thinking skills and improved thought processing. In addition, Amarillo College will maintain the Focus on the Student website and repository of all training materials during the same two-year period.