What is the No. 1 soft skill sought by employers? Answer: Creativity, according to a 2019 survey on LinkedIn. I realize the entirety of 2020 has felt like one, big exercise in creative problem solving. But how might Virginia Western teach creativity? Is that even possible? Yes, teaching for creativity is not only possible … it’s essential for 21st-century learners, according to Dr. Keith Sawyer, a professor of educational innovations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sawyer is one of the world’s leading scientific experts on creative learning; I was introduced to his work in a January 2020 special report about creativity by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Sawyer believes all teachers can learn how to teach creative knowledge in their subject area by using a technique he calls “guided improvisation.” He explains this research-backed approach in his 2019 book, “The Creative Classroom: Innovative Teaching for 21st-Century Learners”: I call this pedagogy ‘guided improvisation’ because the students engage in open-ended activities, where they have the freedom to improvise their own path through the material. But their actions aren’t completely free and unconstrained. Student action is guided by structures, called scaffolds, that guide student knowledge construction toward curricular… Continue Reading Want to be more creative? Join our Improv session during in-serviceRead More
I have been struggling with this question for months now, ever since Virginia Western was awarded what Dr. Sandel calls the “holy grail” of community college grants: A Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. *Woot woot!* This is a 5-year grant in the amount of $1.8 million, with the power to impact the *entire* college (hence the program name: Strengthening Institutions). Catch up on the news release here. The name of our project is Get REAL (Refocus Education on Adult Learners), and Virginia Western is hiring an Activity Coordinator now. Get REAL’s main goals are to: (1) Improve College Access (enrollment) for all, especially adult and underrepresented learners. (2) Improve Academic Success (student outcomes), especially for underrepresented adult learners; and (3) Begin to track and improve Economic Success (labor market outcomes) for Career and Technical Education (CTE) program graduates (courses intended to lead to immediate employment). In order to meet these goals, the college will be working with Achieving the Dream (ATD) and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), which will provide data coaching, professional development, and expertise in the adult-learner space. We are supposed to hear more about both… Continue Reading What does a successful adult-focused college look like?Read More
Sometime in late summer — when I must have been in an especially energetic mood — I decided to sign up for an introductory class offered by the Cincinnati Montessori Secondary Teacher Education Program (CMStep), one of the only MACTE-accredited programs in the country that focuses on Montessori education for ages 12-18. The course provides an overview of the guiding principles and characteristics of American Montessori Society (AMS) Secondary programs; it’s designed for current Montessori educators, administrators, parents, and anyone who may be considering a career as a secondary Montessori teacher. The 6-week class was virtual, of course, and it was scheduled to begin the first week of October and conclude before Thanksgiving. I signed up for a couple of reasons: (1) My 7-year-old daughter attends a Montessori school that ends its formal instruction at 8th grade. I wanted to explore the principles of a secondary program as a curious parent who embraces the Montessori focus on peace and social justice. (2) To help be a better team player in my professional life. I find myself joking about how leaders should guide their teams more like Montessori school teachers. I hoped that whatever I learned in this class would also… Continue Reading 5 takeaways from my adult learner experienceRead More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- Why Try An LOI? May 10, 2024
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023
- Time to Innovate October 4, 2023
- How to tackle grant season? August 14, 2023