STCC’s technical mission propels liberal arts programs

By LAURIE LOISEL

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – From social work to fine arts and business, the wide range of liberal arts programs at Springfield Technical Community College helps to define its technical mission.

As Richard Greco, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, explains, a technical education is about putting into practice what you’re learning.

“When I think of ‘technical,’ I think of taking something that’s learned in theory and then actually making it happen,” he said. “It’s taking what’s learned in the classroom and actually demonstrating it. It’s doing. It’s action.”

As they prepare to enter a competitive workforce or transfer to four-year colleges and universities, it’s critical that students in STCC’s liberal arts programs “learn by doing” and acquire technical skills, Greco said. He cited several examples of liberal arts classes at STCC that incorporate the concept.

Students in the Introduction to Social Work course taught by Sarah McIntyre will learn about theories that guide social workers in the field. Equally important, they’ll practice bringing those theories to life.

During the fall 2020 semester, McIntyre’s students worked in pairs using therapeutic case studies in which they took turns playing the roles of therapist and client. The student playing the therapist would determine the best therapeutic approach for the issues presented by the student playing the client. Teams filmed these sessions and posted them in an online class forum for their classmates to ask questions and share input.

That collaboration and feedback loop is in keeping with what happens in practice for social workers in many settings.

In another assignment, McIntyre asked students to search for social work positions on the employment website Indeed, prepare cover letters for the jobs and conduct research about the agencies making the posts. She says that exercise helps students expand their ideas of what social workers actually do, the variety of settings they might work in and the diverse range of jobs they hold. It also requires them to practice using a search engine, consider why they might want a particular job and think critically about a potential place of employment.

Art is technical at STCC

Francie Riddle, STCC professor of Fine Arts since 2007, puts her students to work demonstrating and doing from day one in her classes.

“There is nothing in art that’s not technical. I'd argue that art involves technical skills in any class you take anywhere, but people don’t talk about it as much. We’re quite explicit about it,” said Riddle.

“Art blends technique with theory and concept, so it’s always about learning how to do something and that is, in art, just as important as figuring out why we do something.”

Riddle said students in her classes come from fine arts as well as the science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at STCC. That diversity, she said, creates a richness that enhances the subjects she teaches. For example, she observes the approach by students in the Architecture and Building Technology in her drawing classes: “There’s an understanding of objects in space that architecture students just get,” she said.

Professor Jennifer DeForge, curriculum coordinator for the Architecture and Building Technology program, echoed Riddle’s comments.

“Fine Art courses enhance the way our students in the Architectural & Building Technology program look at design and build through a different lens,” DeForge said. “The understanding of fine arts in design and building can open up more doors for our students as they come away with skills the ABT does not provide. From Intro to Photography to the Creative Art of Structures, History or Art, these all contribute to the base learning of an architect, interior designer or even our building construction managers to look further then the structure itself.

Citing another discipline, Riddle said nursing students in an art history class bring a practical view to the study when they make connections about what was going on in the field of medicine that might have inspired the drawings the class is studying. “They could really look at these images from a critical place,” she said.

Riddle said the interplay between students from many disciplines and majors is enlivening in classes.

“We love that connection and we amplify that,” she said.

Business is technical at STCC

In the Business Department, Professor Eileen Cusick incorporates hands-on, real-life activities in all of her classes because anyone working in any business or office capacity is expected to be as skilled with computers as they would using a telephone. Of course, it’s a given that most people in college today feel confident making their way around a computer, but Cusick makes the case that many are less adept at the ways computers fit into a business workplace.

“Just because they are digital natives doesn’t mean they can be productive in a business world,” she said.

Cusick puts her students to work on projects in teams in much the same way people collaborate in a workplace, forcing them to get down to brass tacks using those tools.

“If you’re going to work in marketing, you’re going to need to work with desktop publishing tools.  If you’re going to work in business, you’re going to need business intelligence tools or survey tools,” she said. “We want to see reports, we want to see dashboards.”

These are all essential tools for making information presentable and understandable in ways that are accessible, that make sense and are attractive to view.

While much of Cusick’s instruction involves computer technology, some of what she teaches is decidedly old-school – and that’s a good thing, too. Cusick spends time with students on the topic of “netiquette,” which is the proper way to communicate via technology and engage with the Internet in a business or workplace context. She leads students in discussions about why that’s important.

“You can’t use ‘LOL’ or cutesy acronyms. You can’t do that in a business environment because it could become offensive,” she said. “Just the idea that you have to know your audience, the idea of who you are doing this for and is it going to make sense.”

These are what she calls “soft skills,” also known as "essential skills." She contends that “companies out there are begging for” students who hold those skills.

Essential skills or hard skills, old school or new, STCC’s liberal arts classes aim to prepare students for all possibilities.

“This myth exists that in order to thrive in the liberal arts, you need to go on and get multiple graduate degrees before you can obtain a career. I simply don’t agree with that,” Greco said. “Students can pull skills from the liberal arts that are employable and provide skills for living.”

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

About Springfield Technical Community College

STCC, the Commonwealth's only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC's highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequalled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts. Founded in 1967, the college – a designated Hispanic Serving Institution – seeks to close achievement gaps among students who traditionally face societal barriers. STCC supports students as they transform their lives through intellectual, cultural, and economic engagement while becoming thoughtful, committed and socially responsible graduates.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim Danko, (413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu

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