NSF sponsored five National Conversations on "What it Means to be Educated in the 21st Century" in 2005. Mesa Community College hosted the community college event. This is our short presentation at NSF Headquarters reporting on the event.

1. What does it mean to be
educated in the 21st century?
The Community
College Conversation
May 19-20, 2005
Mesa Community College
Mesa, AZ
Principal Investigator:
Gail Mee, VP for Academic Affairs
Co-Principal Investigator:
Liz Dorland, Chemistry Faculty
MCC: Five intended outcomes
• Generate new thinking from diverse
constituencies about “what it means to be
educated in the 21st century”
• Formulate new ideas about implications for
community colleges and STEM education
• Generate recommendations to inform future
funding priority discussions at NSF
• Prepare a document of findings for
dissemination to NSF and the community
• Be the voice for community colleges in this
series of national conversations.
1

2. Program Structure
Thursday, May 18
– Morning session: Question Set 1
• Speaker: Clara Lovett
– Afternoon session: Question Set 2
• Speaker: Debra Humphrys
– Dinner session
Friday, May 19
– Morning session: Question Set 3
• Speaker: Mel George
MCC: Three themes
for Question Sets
Moving from general to specific:
• Global and social context and issues that
will influence and impact higher education
• Characteristics and expectations of
students in the 21st century, particularly
community college students
• Future of science, technology, engineering
and mathematics education in the
community college
2

3. Round
Table
Discussions
Major Themes
That Emerged
1. Systemic Change
2. Organizational Structures
3. Integration of Content and Soft Skills
4. Assessment of Student Learning
5. Student Expectations
3

4. Recommendations to NSF
• Funding: long-term infusion and commitment
• NSF Conversations at local/regional levels
• Increase funding for integration between
research and practice
• Increase relationships between the research
and teaching communities
• Renew funding for Distinguished Teaching
Scholars (DTS) and other such programs
• Invest in proven practices
4

5. NSF: Provide funding to/for...
• Assessment tools/methods
• Integrate STEM with other disciplines and applied
STEM community
• Strengthen connections/communication between CC
faculty and NSF
• Improve STEM gateway courses
• Improve/develop teacher education and preparation
programs
• Multi/interdisciplinary curricula & approaches
• Address developmental needs and mentoring for
students and teachers
5

6. Recommendations for Action
• Communicate ideas to policymakers/leaders
• Communicate/collaborate online
• Continue conversations at local, state,
regional, and national levels
• Collaborate with K-12 and university partners
• Ask congress to support the NSF budget
• Local and individual action: support reform
efforts at home
• Disseminate report: American Association of
Community Colleges (AACC)
6

7. MCC Planning Team
• Peter Brown • David Nachman*
Biology Faculty Chemistry Faculty
• Niccole Cerveny • Ly Tran-Nguyen
Geography Faculty Psychology Faculty
• Madeleine Chowdhury* • Naomi Story*, Faculty
Math Faculty and Director, Center for
Faculty Developer Teaching and Learning
• Mangala Joshua • Carol Achs, Dean of
Physics Faculty Math, Science and
• Shereen Lerner Physical Education
Anthropology Faculty • Andrea Greene*, Dean
• Jonelle Moore of Institutional Research
and Planning
English Faculty
7