The MPTC Teaching Fellows program, currently running its fourth cohort, invites faculty members to study the science behind teaching and learning in order to offer the best instruction possible to their students. Faculty apply for a place in each year’s group and commit to meeting monthly with their peers to share what they know, learn from each other, and discuss research on topics like how the human brain processes knowledge, why some students don’t like school, and how making room for failure in the classroom leads to deeper learning.

Faculty observe each other’s classes and complete a research project of their own. Bobbi Mand, Basic Education Instructor and current Teaching Fellow, reflects on the value of visiting colleagues’ classrooms. “I was impressed with the level of student engagement in the class! Students were listening intently to the lecture, participating in group discussions, and collaborating to gather information to present medical conditions to the class. I learned new teaching strategies that I can implement in the Student Success Center.” This type of collaborative learning and growth among faculty is central to the year-long experience.
The research project encourages each Fellow to apply the ideas being shared in their monthly meetings in their classrooms. Each participant selects a high impact learning concept to put into practice in their classrooms and then measures the effect it has on their students. Past research projects have focused on differentiating assessments (offering a variety of ways for students to show their learning), incorporating metacognitive strategies into the curriculum, and supporting mental health in the classroom. This year’s research projects have been chosen and are already positively impacting MPTC students.

Ben McKenzie, Associate Dean of Health and Teaching Fellows facilitator, highlights the value of the program: “Faculty members get to share their experiences, both high and lows. As educators, they have found both enjoyment and success and have a desire to continually improve the experience for themselves, their students, and other educators. Teaching Fellows provides an opportunity to take your guard down, define areas of strength and explore areas where one would like to improve.”

This year’s cohort recently explored the role authenticity plays in student engagement and success by individually assembling a doorbell circuits under the direction of one of MPTC’s nursing assistant faculty. Gus Boyle-Gustavus, Electricity Instructor, Teaching Fellow, and faculty member who could have more authentically guided learners through the activity reflects on the goals of the activity, shares that, “We attempted to bring to light that if one is not educated on the subject matter they are instructing, the students will not trust, respect, or follow the instructor’s lead. When the students realized Jodie [the nursing assistant faculty] was not authentically providing clear and knowledgeable instruction, they either stopped working on the activity or took initiative to figure it out on their own. Some students were elated when they figured it out on their own, but others were frustrated that they couldn’t get their doorbells working. Teachers don’t need to have all the answers; we do need to exude competence in the subjects we are instructing.”

Teaching Fellows is just one of many efforts supported by the college to ensure that when students choose Moraine Park, they’re choosing an educational institution as outstanding and innovative as they are. As Jim Eden, Vice President of Academic Affairs explains, “Teaching Fellows is a great opportunity for faculty to share and enhance their teaching skills. We live in a very dynamic environment and it is crucial faculty continue to evolve their teaching skills and delivery methodologies to meet a very diverse student population. I am very proud of all the work Teaching Fellows are doing.”

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Moraine Park Technical College earned fourth place in Humana, Inc.’s Go365 National Step Challenge. Go365 is Humana’s health and wellness rewards program focused onimproving the fitness of employees from companies across the country. Moraine Park has been utilizing the Go365 wellness platform for three years as an employee benefits tool.

“We implemented Go365 in 2016,” Lori Schrage, benefits coordinator at Moraine Park said. “The tool not only encourages employees to be more active, it also provides rewards for doing so.”

The National Step Challenge is a competition in which employer groups with two or more Go365 members compete for the highest team average step count. All winning teams receive a donation to their local member food bank of Feeding America® in their name. 

As a result of Moraine Park’s efforts, they placed fourth earning 10,000 meals, which will benefit individuals in eastern Wisconsin and the MPTC district, through Feeding America.

The Challenge featured 2,939 competing organizations that collectively logged 10.6 B steps earning one million donated meals. 

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park Technical College students and staff will host a Christmas in a Shoebox drive, collecting items for our local troops who are serving our country overseas and away from family during the holiday season.

Donations will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 8, and can be dropped off at room K-323 on the Beaver Dam campus, or with the Student Veteran Specialist in room C-003.3 at the Fond du Lac campus Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Moraine Park’s goal is to collect enough items to fill 200 postal service large flat rate boxes and have them in the hands of our troops stationed overseas by the holidays.

The packages will be assembled on Nov. 13 on the Beaver Dam campus, and students and staff will also have the opportunity to fill out note cards to send a personal message of encouragement, or holiday wishes.

Donations should be new and no larger than shoebox-sized. Some suggested items are personal hygiene products like deodorant, eye drops, Q-tips, and baby wipes, or snacks such as beef jerky, sunflowers seeds, nuts, granola bars, and flavored drink mixes. Additionally, miscellaneous items like current magazines, batteries, paperback books, and small travel games are great ways to let the service members know they’re remembered and help to bring some joy to their holiday season.

For questions on Christmas in a Shoebox,  contact Steve Pepper, student veterans specialist,  at spepper1@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3489.

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, and Moraine Park Technical College and Marian University teamed up once again to sponsor a veteran’s suicide awareness event, dubbed 22 No More. A 2.2-mile trek to help raise awareness of the many veterans’ lives lost too soon due to suicide.

Over 125 people participated in this year’s annual event, intended to raise awareness of the alarming suicide rate among veterans and, form a strong community around those who have served or currently serving. Although 2.2 miles may not seem like a significant distance, the number was chosen to identify the 20-22 veteran suicides or, one every 80 minutes which occur every day, and, ensure everyone who attended would be able to take part in the event.

Participants received a free 22 No More water bottle or small nylon sport-pack courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs and everyone was encouraged to honor a service member by carrying a photo of them during the walk. There was also an opportunity for the community to meet with area veteran resource providers, the National Guard, and ROTC service members.

The event began promptly at 10:00 a.m. with a flag presentation by Marian University’s ROTC followed by the 2.2-mile walk around the Fond du Lac Soccer Complex. Participants also got the marathon treatment courtesy of MPTC’s Health and Wellbeing Committee who provided water and bananas along the way and, the walk ended with a free from Yummy Bones Barbeque sponsored by Moraine Park’s Student Veterans and Civil Engineering Technology Clubs.  Plans are in the works to conduct the 22 No More walk again next year, and we are always looking for new ways to raise awareness and increase participation. If you would like more information or may be interested in assisting next year, please contact Steve Pepper, Moraine Park’s Student Veteran Specialist at 920-924-3489 or spepper1@morainepark.edu .

Nikki Dahlke is the new Recruitment and Advising Specialist for the boot camps in the Economic and Workforce Development Department. In her role, she will actively recruit students interested in participating in the short term manufacturing boot camps as well as support the current students attending them.

She comes to MPTC from a collaborative program between Goodwill Industries and Fox Valley Technical College where she was a Financial Coach for the Oshkosh FVTC students doing 1-1 financial counseling as well as classroom workshops to teach money management. Prior to that she worked at Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity for 4 years as the Family Services Coordinator and is still involved there as the Chair of their Family Selection Committee.

Nikki has spent her career working in non-profit case management and is looking forward to the opportunity to use those skills to help support students’ success at MPTC.

Nikki earned her Bachelors’ degrees from UW River Falls in Communicative Disorders and in Spanish. She is fully bilingual in Spanish and taught English in Mexico for a few years following college. She enjoys traveling to places off the beaten path and spending time with her husband and son.

“I am excited to continue to make a difference in the community by helping remove barriers to employment. These boot camps provide an incredible opportunity for students to gain skills, knowledge, and connections to a workplace through the internship. I look forward to working with the MPTC family in giving a hand up to people through these manufacturing boot camps.”

Interested in learning more about our boot camp opportunities, visit
https://www.morainepark.edu/services/business-and-industry/bootcamp/ .

Moraine Park staff and faculty gathered for an end of the year celebration and cornhole tournament! Needless to say, a fun time was had by all!

Fond du Lac

Beaver Dam

West Bend

Cornhole Winners!

I’ve been working in Culinary Arts at MPTC since 2014 as an Instructional Aide. In my position I order food and supplies for the students and the department, in general. From the very beginning I have been considering our ‘single use’ containers; so many were going out the door as we sold our Culinary Creations or when Community Classes took their food home!

I kept thinking:

• Are the containers safe to microwave? We know people are going home and reheating the food in that plastic container.
• Are the containers being disposed of properly?  We actually had complaints that our labeled containers were blowing around someone’s yard! 
• Are the containers reusable, compostable, recyclable?

Since 2006, MPTC has been composting food scraps; first in the MPTC Garden and currently, an area chicken farmer picks up the scraps to feed his brood.

In 2015 MPTC earned the designation (and distinction) of becoming the first Fair Trade Technical College in America thanks, in large part, to the work and determination of Anne Lemke, MPTC Experiential Learning Coordinator.

I was inspired to work toward a Diversity Certificate by Anne’s commitment and all of the Fair Trade Principles, in particular the 10^th Fair Trade Principle of Respecting the Environment, incorporating our disposable containers.

All of these thoughts churned in my brain so finally I made the move! I said to the instructors, “We’re going to make a change in our packaging.” I started ordering paper (recyclable and compostable) take-out containers instead of the plastic, hinged containers.  I ordered paper bags to carry items home versus the plastic “Thank You” bags that are not compostable. I verified that the plastic containers that we use are microwave oven safe.

Along the way I’ve realized a willingness by staff and the public to get on board with the changes. In addition, there’s been a cost savings to the department. We have seen a 15% drop in the money spent on these items. The money saved goes toward needed supplies for our students and instructors and all because of the Fair Trade Principle of Respecting the Environment!

This past March Anne attended a Fair Trade Conference in Chicago and shared her favorite quote from the Conference. It’s important to share and the quote imparts how I feel about the changes in the Culinary Department: “…at the heart of Fair Trade is the dignity of all people. How are we living our values? How are we showing up? …Be curious. Find out. Do something.”

I hope that we all consider, share, and show up when it comes to choices as they affect our environment. We don’t have to start a movement but we can all take and learn little bits of information to participate in respecting each other and our world.

Please take a look at the websites that provide area recycling programs and Fair Trade information.

World Fair Trade Organization
One Plastic Bag, Earth Day Facts
Fond du Lac Extension Area Recycling
Waste Management Recycling Services

Come to our displays at each campus cafeteria between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Beaver Dam – April 8, West Bend – April 15 and Fond du Lac – April 22nd – EARTH DAY! Be Inspired!

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Meet Larry Clark, welding, metal fab, and fabrication technologies program instructor. He has been with the College for 18 years and worked in the welding industry prior.

“The last job I had required me to teach most new hires,” Larry said. “When their business got slow, I thought I would try to give back to my field and show other people how to do what I had learned.”

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Bruce Forciea, anatomy and physiology instructor at Moraine Park, has had a career journey that has taken him around the world.
Early on in his career, he was an international ice skating coach and a director of skating programs in both the United States and Australia. He later worked as an electrical engineering technician, and then went to college and become a Chiropractor.
“While working in my chiropractic practice, I began presenting at seminars and found that I love teaching,” Bruce said. “One of my patients was a dean at MATC and asked if I would be interested in teaching at the College.”
Bruce eventually left his practice to pursue teaching full-time. He has been with Moraine Park for 16 years, and his worldly experiences have made him the knowledgeable leader and mentor that he is today.

“I feel my life calling is to help others,” Bruce said. “It is rewarding to see students develop the ability to understand complex material, and I love discovering new ways to teach using technology.”

Bruce works to keep the Moraine Park on the forefront of teaching technology. He led the College in implementing an Anatomage Table.This comprehensive 3D tool allows students the opportunity to see all aspects of the human body on a virtual screen. It is now used college-wide by many of the health science classes. Technology like this also allows Bruce to keep his teaching methods fresh each semester.

“I really enjoy helping students learn the difficult content in my courses,” Bruce said. “I find it a real challenge to break down difficult concepts and present them in a way that is as simple as possible without lowering the rigor.”

It is this exact drive and motivation that makes Bruce a staple at Moraine Park’s West Bend Campus, and an inspirational instructor for many students.

“I think of every semester as a challenge to teach the best course I possibly can. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t, but the point is to continue to try and never give up.”

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

**Fun Fact** Bruce has also written six books, both non-fiction and fiction. You can find those here!