Reading Program
Taft College’s dedication to literacy is clearly reflected in the offering of three reading courses.    Corrective Reading 805, developed and first offered Spring 2006, begins the series of reading courses.  This foundational course prepares students for Developmental Reading 905 and Practical Reading 1005.  Through extended practice students develop reading strategies, expand vocabulary knowledge, and strengthen study skills which are all essential for college success.  These courses provide the groundwork underprepared students need to strengthen their reading skills and enable them to have a higher level of success in collegiate courses. 

New Library Building
Taft College’s dedication to literacy is demonstrated by putting money where their mouth is.  The construction of the new library building with its award-winning design makes the library a Mecca for the life of the college.  Students have numerous study areas, access to computers, tutoring, and testing.  It is an ideal study environment with many cozy corners, meeting rooms, and a room for adjunct faculty.

Librarians Come To Class
The dedicated librarians of Taft College will come to professor’s classes to demonstrate the ease with which students can access the library website from their own home.  This gives students a cornucopia of exciting research opportunities whenever they need it.  Librarians come to class and map out the logistics of navigating the website, and they demonstrate how to use the wide variety of search engines and databases available to students.

Taft College Book Club
The TC Book Club was started fall 2008 by one of our newest faculty members, Jessica Grimes, from the Humanities Division.  The Book Club is open to all campus students, faculty, and staff, and to the general Taft community.   Thus far, the group has read The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym by Edgar Allan Poe, Diane Setterfield’s novel, The Thirteenth Tale, and The God of Small Things written by Arundhati Roy.  The pick for this semester’s read will soon be put to a vote.    The Book Club welcomes your participation.  Join them in the Cougar room on the third Wednesday of every month from 5:00-6:30.   Find out more on the club’s blog at http://tcbookclub.wordpress.com/.

Tutoring
The Learning Resource Center is incorporated into the library program.  Research shows that students who use libraries and students who receive tutoring earn better grades.  The Taft College library staff encourages faculty to sign-up for personalized class tours to see firsthand how tutoring services can help students succeed academically.  From proofreading an essay to personalized one-on-one assistance in a variety of disciplines, the tutoring center’s open door policy is ready to help students excel.  

Information Competency
Taft College has a graduation requirement of a 1-unit transfer course in information competency.  The course assists students with basic information literacy skills, such as effective research procedures and proper citing of research sources. 

Reading Institute for Academic Preparation (RIAP)
The Reading Institute is sponsored jointly by the California State University, the Kern High School District, and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.  Teams are made up ideally of faculty from the English, social studies, and science departments. The participants receive a set of outstanding resources, hear nationally renowned speakers in the fields of reading and writing, meet with subject-matter colleagues from different schools, and finally consult with their own school teams.  Additionally, participants collaborate to plan and implement effective teaching strategies to match the academic learning strengths and needs of college-eligible students.  

Textbook Reading Level Analyses
The purpose of this cross-curricular, on-going textbook analysis project is to determine a reading level for selected textbooks.  Establishing a proper recommended reading level for each textbook ultimately works toward better student placement, resulting in increased student persistence, and retention rates.  Presently, math and science textbooks have been evaluated.  

Reading Apprenticeship Workshops
The “Reading Apprenticeship” staff development workshop, open to all faculty, was presented in January 2008.  Faculty from a diversity of disciplines attended.   The premise of the workshop was to engage students in becoming active textbook readers.  The description for the workshop follows:  “Do you wonder: Do my students read my textbook?  Do they know how to read my textbook?  How can I get them to read it without taking time away from content instruction?  The Reading Apprenticeship program, a Basic Skills Initiative effective practice, provides reading and discipline area faculty with strategies for developing reading skills in students without taking time away from content instruction. “   Presenters: Kamala Carlson from Taft College, Emily Hurlbert and Bonnie Suderman from Bakersfield College. 

Building Bridges Conference
Building Bridges was established in 1990 by CSUB and Bakersfield College from a grant funded by the CSU-Chancellor’s office to improve communication and articulation between English classes offered at both institutions.  Soon Building Bridges expanded to include faculty from many other local community colleges.  This conference, held every year in Bakersfield, is a major vehicle for Professional Development among English and ESL faculty.  Building Bridges provides opportunities for college English and ESL to connect with publishers and colleagues, to attend breakout sessions on a wide range of topics, to learn and explore up-to-date pedagogical innovations, and to share teaching successes with each other for the benefit of student improvement in reading and writing. 

Cross-curricular writing rubric
Taft College adopted California State University, Bakersfield’s comprehensive writing rubric.   Due to the nature of the rubric, it can be easily modified and adapted to most disciplines.  

Supplemental Instructors (SIs)
Developed because of the success of students in Project Gold, Supplemental Instruction is designed to assist students enrolled at Taft College by providing academic support through Supplemental Instructional Assistants.  Unlike tutors, SIs attend classes with students, model successful student behavior, and facilitate effective communication between instructors and students.  The SIs are also available on a drop-in basis at the Clubhouse. The Clubhouse is an informal, relaxed setting where students are encouraged to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable asking in class.  During SI sessions, students have the opportunity to enhance their understanding of course material in a collaborative learning environment.  The goal of Supplemental Instruction is to increase student performance and matriculation.
Author Presentations
One of Taft College’s favorite yearly author visitors is Lu Chi Fa.  His inspiring life story is told in Double Luck: Memoirs of a Chinese Orphan.  Students enrolled in Developmental Reading 905 read his book of tragedy to triumph and thoroughly enjoy his presentation.  Reyna Grande, is another author who has graced our campus.  Renya’s parents left her in Mexico until she was ten to live with her grandma while they came to work in America.  Across a Hundred Mountains was written to share her experiences with others who have gone through similar situations.
 
TALEs
“TALEs” stands for Taft Area Library Employees.  The group was formed by Dr. Mimi Collins, Director of Library/Learning Center at Taft College, 9 years ago.  This organization brings together library staff from the elementary and high school districts, Taft College, and the county branch library.  They network and share ideas on ways in which the library and literacy services in the community can be improved. 

Friends of Taft College Library
This newly organized group of campus and community people is anxious to begin a Community Literacy Outreach program.  The President, Michael Long (Taft Crude Coffee House), found an old bookmobile the group hopes to salvage and use for school visits, and one of the new members, Connie Redfield (All in the Sandwich), has offered to chair the Community Literacy Outreach committee.  They blog at http://taftcollege.wordpress.com/.

Children’s Library
Taft College has a room dedicated to our “campus kids” where Early Childhood Education (ECE) students will work with kids from our campus Child Care Center.  This exciting new component to the Taft College campus is currently under construction.

Webmaster: Brooke Hughes

Last updated: July 2009