GenEdge Theme Report

This year’s theme project “Knowing Brooklyn” was composed of two major components: classroom activities related to the theme, and a culminating presentation of student and faculty work.

The classroom participation was successful. We had participants from all three schools, and although we did not track participation data this year, anecdotal data from participants indicates that the theme activities were well-received by students and faculty alike. Here are some examples of student work:

The culminating presentation was not successful. Although we had students and faculty from all three schools submit work to be displayed, and that work was of high quality, many of the exhibitors failed to actually bring their work to be displayed after they had been accepted. Whether this was due to the timing of the event (right before spring break) or general participation fatigue is not clear, but it was a disappointing end to the project.

Our recommendations for the future – the theme project has the potential to be a great resource for the college. A shared intellectual experience of this kind is exactly what the gen ed committee has been trying to create for years, and was identified during the last Middle States review as an area that we needed to work on.

In order to institutionalize this project, we would like to propose that the leadership of the Gen Edge Theme working group rotate on a regular basis. We would like to ask for three volunteers (one from each school) to take on leadership of the working group for next year. John will stay on in an advisory role to help the group transition. Each year, new volunteers will take on the project while an experienced leader stays on to help them learn the ropes.