Self Appraisal
This page follows the five questions of the district's Form A1, the Faculty Self-Appraisal Report. The period covered is November 2025 to October 2026. Each item names the page that describes it.
1. Professional growth and accomplishments
- CHEM V101 experiment video library. Recorded all twelve experiments on the regular semester schedule between January and April 2026: 67 videos, 20 photographs and 13 Canvas pages, published on the Ventura College Chemistry YouTube channel and in the online lab manual. CHEM V101 Experiment Video Reference Library
- CHEM V101 lab manual. Revised the manual a second time in Summer 2026 and sent printed review copies to colleagues on August 7, 2026. In October 2026 the manual was selected for a ZEN Pathway B stipend to publish it as openly licensed material. CHEM V101 Lab Manual Renewal Project
- Interactive simulations for CHEM V101. Built thirty-five simulations that open from the course's Canvas modules and run in a browser. CHEM V101 Interactive Simulations
- Math Readiness Initiative. Developed a scoring scheme for where students' calculations break down, applied it on my own to existing course records, and submitted a manuscript to the Journal of Chemical Education in June 2026. The journal declined it in August, and the next round of data collection adds an independent co-rater to address the single-rater limitation. This fall's CHEM V101 is organized around the four patterns the study described. Math Readiness Initiative
- Canvas courses for colleagues. Reorganized the chemistry department's shared Canvas course in July 2026, and proposed and built the Canvas course that holds the Distance Education Advisory Group's materials. AI Integration · Distance Education Advisory Group
- First term teaching CHEM V104. Taught the lecture for two sections in Fall 2025, each linked to a lab taught by a colleague. Linked Lecture–Lab Coordination
- Training and coursework. WebAIM Accessible Documents (July 2026); Protecting Human Research Participants (July 2026); HHS OHRP Foundational Training and FERPA 101 (September 2026); Global Accessibility Awareness Day Workshop (May 2026); AI Community of Practice #1 (Spring 2026). Professional Development
2. Goals from the last self-appraisal
Last year's report listed five goals.
| Goal in the 2025 report | What happened | Described on |
|---|---|---|
| Stabilize the linked lecture–lab model | Lecture and lab have run under one CRN since Fall 2025. I set up the shared Canvas shell and the grade structure with the lab instructors for CHEM V101 and CHEM V104, and the format has continued each term. | Linked Lecture–Lab Coordination |
| Expand the lab video library to all CHEM V101 experiments, with captions | All twelve experiments on the regular semester schedule are recorded. The videos are silent, so captions are still to be added. | CHEM V101 Experiment Video Reference Library |
| Support department-wide ZTC adoption | Opened a workspace in the department's Canvas course where each CHEM V101 experiment links to its LibreTexts draft, and announced it to the department's instructors on September 20, 2026. Selected for the Fall 2026 ZTC-OER Brain Trust. | CHEM V101 Lab Manual Renewal Project · ZTC Initiative |
| Integrate AI-supported Canvas tools | Used the Canvas API with an AI agent to build and maintain courses, post class summaries, and publish the simulations. In September 2026 I began sending automatic comments matched to the wrong answer each student chose on CHEM V101 lab quizzes, and have kept doing so since. The method applies when a quiz is entirely multiple choice, and free-response work is still graded by hand, so I use it when a quiz fits. I did not build adaptive study modules. | AI Integration |
| Continue committee and professional development engagement | Continued on the Distance Education Advisory Group and built its Canvas course. Training is listed under question 1. | Distance Education Advisory Group · Professional Development |
3. Goals for the next three years
- Add closed captions to the CHEM V101 videos. A caption describing each step lets every student follow a clip, including students who rely on text.
- Build a video library and a revised lab manual for CHEM V120B. The timing is not set. Students in CHEM V120B would be able to see each experiment before they come to lab, as CHEM V101 and CHEM V104 students can now.
- Keep trying colleagues' suggestions for student participation in lecture, and note after each class how the ones I tried went. Those notes show which to keep and how to adjust them. In place of showing an individual student's work, I point out the mistakes I know are common.
- Collect data for the Math Readiness study in Spring 2027 and Fall 2027, after the college's research approval. The results would show which of the fall's interventions reach the students they were designed for.
4. College service
| Activity | This period |
|---|---|
| Continuing professional development | The training and coursework listed under question 1. OER Basics and Accessibility Basics (ASCCC) were both completed in September 2026. |
| Sponsorship and support of student activities | Co-advisor, with Kai Liang, of the Esports and Gaming Club, which students formed in Fall 2026. |
| College, district and state committees | Distance Education Advisory Group. Fall 2026 ZTC-OER Brain Trust. |
| Department and division meetings | Chemistry department meetings, including the laboratory safety meeting of September 18, 2026. |
| Curriculum development or review | CHEM V101 lab manual revision and the redesigned lab quizzes. |
| Program development, review and coordination | ZTC course conversion; the chemistry department's shared Canvas course. |
| State and federally mandated trainings | Completed eight district-assigned courses in February 2026 and the twelve assigned for 2026–27 in October 2026. The courses cover Title IX: Roles of Employees, Mandated Reporter, sexual harassment prevention (SB 1343), workplace violence prevention, the Clery Act overview, information security, and the three AB 2821 courses (Ensuring Access – Legal Responsibilities for Serving Disabled Students in California Community Colleges, Identifying and Mitigating Ableism, and Universal Design – Fixtures and Practices). |
5. What the college can do
The support I have received for instruction and professional development has been sufficient for my teaching and departmental work, and I have no additional requests at this time.