2007 Building Bridges Retreat

Date
Fri March 9, 2007

Time
8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Where
The Four Points Sheraton
5101 California Avenue
Bakersfield, California 93309

Cost
Free

Description
Building Bridges 2007 promises more breakout sessions on topics relevant to the teaching of English. Building Bridges is committed to serving as a major vehicle of professional development among the English and ESL faculty.

Participants include faculty from Antelope Valley College, California State University, Bakersfield, Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso Community College, College of the Canyons, College of the Sequoias, Porterville College, and Taft College.

If you are at a California college not listed here but would like to participate, please contact the retreat planning coordinators.

Publishers
Longman ESL
Bedford/St. Martin's
Thomson and Thomson ESL
Houghton Mifflin
McGraw-Hill
Prentice Hall

A Sample of the Breakout Sessions
An Approach to Teaching Poetry
Basic Writers and Audience Awareness/Critical Thinking
Craft-Oriented Composition Assignments
Grading ESL students’ Final Essay Exams fairly while maintaining standards
Handling the English Instructor Paper Load
Humor as an Effective Teaching Tool in the Classroom

Send breakout session proposals to the retreat contact listed in the right column.

Building Bridges History

The retreat originates from a grant provided by the CSU-Chancellor's office to improve communication and articulation of English classes offered at Bakersfield College and CSUB. In 1990, Kate Pluta of BC and Kim Flachmann's grant work created the first retreat that brought the campuses together to share ideas, to talk about good writing, and most importantly, to agree upon what we, as two academic communities, could do to support and encourage the writing success of our students.

Over the years, the retreat has continued to grow and to serve as a major vehicle of professional development among the English and ESL faculty, especially part-time lecturers. In addition to CSUB and BC, we have many campuses participating this year: Antelope Valley College, Cerro Coso, College of the Canyons, and College of the Sequoias, Porterville, Taft, and the Intensive English Language Center/CSUB.

This year’s program is extended to include at least 12 breakout sessions. Participants will have a wide variety of topics to choose from, including repeat sessions for the most popular sessions. Presenters are faculty and student support services personnel.