Structure for Architects – Student Video Lessons

Structure for Architects – Student Video Lessons

Ramsey Dabby

Architectural Technology Dept / City Tech

Structures 1

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Activity Description
The overriding mission of the college experience is to help City Tech students succeed in the classroom and beyond, by imparting an enthusiasm for lifelong learning. This enthusiasm can be dampened for City Tech’s multicultural population by the cultural obstacles many students face. The concept for this proposal is to enhance the student experience for a course titled “Structures” in the Architectural Technology Department, by stimulating an enthusiasm for this particular area of their studies. The idea encompasses a visual and intuitive approach within the classroom, combined with place-based learning outside the classroom. Aside from conveying technical knowledge, the intent is to create student awareness of cultural barriers that will help them navigate the complexities of today’s world.

Barriers
In a multicultural setting such as NYC in general and City Tech in particular, cultural divides abound. They can be obvious like nationality and religion, or more subtle like age and personality. They can also occur within the profession between its white collar “architectural” and blue color “construction” sides. Caught up in day-to-day problems, we (both students and instructors) tend to overlook these divides that create tensions and stresses in relationships.

Background
Structures is a branch of architectural study dealing with the engineering side of how buildings stand up. Architectural students, as conceptual thinkers, tend to be intimidated by the technical aspects of engineering and tend to “turn off” to their engineering courses. Added to this inherent aversion are the cultural barriers many City Tech students face such as language, family responsibilities, and deficient social support systems. For many, this also includes having to learn a new system of engineering units used in the US – the imperial system in place of their more familiar metric system. In short, the challenge is to address and overcome these cultural obstacles and create an enthusiasm for a course that holds the potential for dread in many architectural students.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Goals
The goal is to engage students and create enthusiasm for a course in Structures that will serve to further their undergraduate technical knowledge and professional lives upon graduation. This will be done through strategies for both classroom and place-based learning.

Classroom Learning
Conventional structural textbooks tend to be wordy and lacking an intuitive approach to the subject matter. These textbooks present a challenge to City Tech’s multicultural architectural students. Course material will be communicated across cultural and linguistic barriers by conveying structural principles in a visual, intuitive manner through discussion, dialog, and physical “props”, rather than formal “lectures”.

A key component of classroom sessions will be a series of short, five-minute student videos highlighting the essentials of structural principles. Students will be teamed to prepare these videos in discussion format, among themselves and their instructor, supported by physical props. The precedence for these videos is an experimental one I had prepared, without rehearsal and just for fun, to which students enthusiastically responded, overwhelmingly endorsing the concept and asking for more like it.

Place-Based Learning
The classroom experience will be complemented by visits to architectural offices and construction sites, where students will not only will see the professions in action, but also observe the general cultural distinctions and personalities of the two sides of the profession. A goal of these visits to create an awareness that technical knowledge does not work in a vacuum, and that an understanding the interrelationships of personalities, influenced by culture, is an essential part of a successful professional experience.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The strategy is intended to be used throughout the semester. Classroom time will be approximately 10 minutes per session. Two place-based learning field trips will be conducted for a total of approximately 8 hours per semester.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

See above.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

Assessment will be conducted by student essays reflecting on questions such as “why do I like this?” and “what is it that helps me learn?”

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Lead discussion on ways to learn without cultural coding; record outcomes of discussions.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

The experimental video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4d3eDq_7pw

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Project of Gearbox

Project of Gearbox

Zhou Zhang

Mechanical Engineering Tech.

Machine Design

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Students in the class are required to work on their projects of gearboxes which are supposed to use in different applications in practice. The project includes four parts: (1) proposal. Students will find out their favorite topic and discuss their project plan with respect to the problems existed in current products, the advantages of their design, the implementation of the plan and future applications. (2) modeling and simulation. The gearbox should be simulated firstly in order to get rid of the possible bugs related to manufacturing. (3) Mid-term report. The students are required to submit a midterm report in order to guarantee that they are working in the correct direction. (4) The project presentation and the final project report.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Through this design, the students will have the knowledge of the concept of product design and manufacturing, familiarize themselves with the design procedures, learn how to respect the multicultural traditions, learn how to work in a team, learn how to prepare for their professional career, and study how to integrate the fundamental theories into practice.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This activity is semester based. So, the students will be required to submit their proposal at the 3rd week. Then, the need to finish their modeling and simulation task at the 8th week. At the 9th week, the first project report is required. At the 12th week, they should prepare all the parts used in the project and be ready to assemble. At the 15th week, the presentation and gala are hosted.
This project is supposed to work in class, and the students are not necessary to take extra out-of-class time. The students will be given 1 hour per week to work on their projects.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

For the project, there are some things to prepare. During the proceeding of the project, fundamental knowledge is given. Following that, the students need to do a survey and find out their favorite project. The project report template is distributed in order to facilitate them to work on the report. In addition, the students are provided tooling machines and 3D printers to manufacturing all the necessary parts.

The project is, in fact, an in-class project. So, it is a low-stakes activity.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

I used a rubric to evaluate the project. This work is also one part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative regarding teamwork this year.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

This is a semester-based activity. As a critical course in my department, this course will be repeated.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

The project in machine design is very important. The students will have the knowledge of the concept of product design and manufacturing, familiarize themselves with the design procedures, learn how to respect the multicultural traditions, learn how to work in a team, learn how to prepare for their professional career, and study how to integrate the fundamental theories into practice.
As a critic course, the project, in fact, enriches the contents of the course, makes the students prepared and improves the students' skills with respect to CAD, manufacturing, mechanics, structure, industrial design and simulation.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Research Project: Making Connections Between Texts

Research Project: Making Connections Between Texts

Amy Sawford

English Department / City Tech

ENG1121 – English Composition II

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This activity is a research project that asks students to make connections between texts. Students will work on a “long-term” end-of-semester project that requires six components. Students will submit a research proposal of intended work (based on the following prompt), participate in library instruction, submit an annotated bibliography, participate in two peer review workshops, complete a 5-to-6-page essay assignment, and finish their experience with a short in-class writing reflection. All these components will focus around this prompt: students will choose any one story, poem, or play on the syllabus (their choice) and two scholarly journal articles that they’ll find through research from the school’s library database. The purpose of this assignment will ask students to think about and investigate how one text shapes, or impacts their reading, of another text. Students will take this skill further and deepen this by bringing in outside research of their own. For this essay I’d like students to locate two scholarly journal articles that will serve as the “lens” through which they analyze your chosen work of literature. Students will explain how the articles shape their interpretation of the work of literature. For example, how do the articles help to understand the issues that the literature raises? Or, do the articles show that these issues are more complex than the literature would lead us to believe? Or, do the articles challenge the argument made in the piece of literature? Or, do the articles support that argument? The Targeted Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) that this project will engage with are: Knowledge (engage in inquiry-based learning), Skills (communication and inquiry), Integration (gathers, interpret, and evaluate literature and sources), and Values, Ethics, and Relationships (personal development and ethics).

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Students must show that they understand how literature connects to research, or vice versa, but particularly how literature and research can be used as a “lens.” Furthermore, students will integrate the reading, analysis, and discussion of literature into the writing process. Students will demonstrate how research can shape their interpretation of the work of literature. Overall, students will:
•Produce a well-defined thesis on a literary topic pertinent to the course and develop it into an effective and well-organized essay.
•Demonstrate in writing the standards of grammar and style in a discipline-specific context.
•Integrate the reading, analysis, and discussion of literature into writing processes. (Employ active reading strategies to interpret and evaluate complicated texts.)
•Complete research that distinguishes among a variety of resources based on a standard criterion.
•Produce a research paper that demonstrates competency in ethical thinking and information literacy.
•Overall, for this assignment specifically, students will demonstrate skills in college-level writing, reading, and critical thinking and investigate the ethical dimensions or cultural issues through thoughtful writing (considering and implementing Aristotle’s Mode of Argument).

In addition, the Targeted Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are:
•Knowledge (engage in inquiry-based learning)
•Skills (communication and inquiry)
•Integration (gathers, interpret, and evaluate literature and sources)
•Values, Ethics, and Relationships (personal development and ethics)

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This project is intended for English Composition II and is to be assigned toward the end of the semester (but early enough for students to be able to plan the work ahead). Students will have worked on a series of scaffolding assignments to develop this project (researching scholarly articles and providing an annotated bibliography, for example). Students will be asked to take a previously selected reading from the semester and consider how research can be used as a “lens” to their chosen work. By the end of this project, students will have completed at least 7-8 pages of college-level writing using MLA format between the various assignments with targeted due dates (for example, research proposal, annotated bibliography, peer workshop, library instruction reflection writing). Students will work together to discuss their research plan and two peer workshops (two rough drafts of progress). Students will do research and library instruction, visiting the library at least twice during this project. Students will engage with topics concerning local and global issues. Ideally, the timeframe for this assignment would be at least six weeks before the end of the semester. There should be dedicated class time for this project, as well as at least 3 hours a week outside of the class for research, drafting, and revising.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Students must use the library and its databases to conduct research. By the end, this activity will be considered high-stakes, especially since it takes multiple smaller projects to complete and takes time to complete. I think this assignment is appropriately weighted to be at least 25%-30% of the student’s final grade. This assignment includes six components to complete:

1. Research Proposal
2. Library Instruction
3. Annotated Bibliography
4. Peer Review
5. Essay Assignment
6. Reflection

Research Proposal (Working Thesis): Students should select a research topic that impacts their understanding of humanity in some way. For example, if a student decides to further investigate Aylmer and Georgiana’s decision about ethics and beauty in Nathanial Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” and bring that back to research about plastic surgery (or even the impact of social media filters or body image, for example), then potentially students could connect literature devices to everyday life, culture, tradition, and beliefs. Furthermore, setting is just as important. For example, students could investigate place and how humans are manipulated by spaces (think Edward Soja and his argument regarding lonely spaces in big cities), so another idea could allow students to consider how setting determines empathy. For example, the idea of mental illness in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-Paper.”

Library Instruction: Part of this assignment requires students to visit the CityTech Library (and hopefully inspire a trip their local public library). Students will respond to an assignment in which students will be asked to:
•Tour the CityTech Library (and participate in Library Instruction presented by a librarian if they have not done so already)
•Register/activate their library card (if they have not done so already)
•Check out a book (preferably one related to their intended research)
•Logon to a computer on campus and print out a scholarly article (preferably one related to their intended research)
•Take a selfie in the library (this could be used later to upload this project in an eportfolio)
•Reflect on their experience in the library (sounds, smells, space, feelings)

Annotated Bibliography: Students must show that they understand how literature connects to research, or vice versa, but particularly how literature and research and be used as a “lens.” Furthermore, students will integrate the reading, analysis, and discussion of literature into writing processes. (Employ active reading strategies to interpret and evaluate complicated texts.) Complete research that distinguishes among a variety of resources based on a standard criterion.

Peer Review: Students will collaborate and work with their peers and discuss their ideas and research as well as review their drafts and provide feedback. There will be a preliminary peer review and a more detailed peer review.

Essay Assignment: The purpose of this assignment asks students to think about how one text shapes their reading of another text. This essay assignment will continue to investigate how one reading impacts another. Students will take this skill further and deepen this by bringing in outside research of their own. For this essay I’d like students to locate two scholarly journal articles that will serve as the “lens” through which they analyze their chosen work of literature. Explain how the articles shape their interpretation of the work of literature. For example, do the articles help students understand the issues that the literature raises? Or, do they show that these issues are more complex than the literature would lead us to believe? Or, do they challenge the argument made in the piece of literature? Or, do they support that argument?

Students will choose:
•Any ONE story, poem, or play on the syllabus (your choice)
•TWO scholarly journal articles that you’ll find through research

Final draft:
•5 full pages (not including the Works Cited page), double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font. Students must also hand in all component activities, including rough draft, peer review sheets, and copies of scholarly sources along with the final draft.

Overall, this project is meant for students to develop ‘Intercultural Knowledge and Competence’ by evaluating research and a text and considering:
•Cultural Self-Awareness (how students relate themes in literature to their own values and beliefs as well as to characters and their development)
•Empathy (Students must consider Aristotle’s Mode of Argument)
•Verbal and Nonverbal Communication (rhetoric)
•Curiosity (questioning literature for research and how literature impacts how we view current issues)
•Openness (comparing their own culture and beliefs and approaching critical thinking and analytical writing working with an open mind)

Targeted Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):
•Knowledge (engage in inquiry-based learning)
•Skills (communication and inquiry)
•Integration (gathers, interpret, and evaluate literature and sources)
•Values, Ethics, and Relationships (personal development and ethics)

Targeted High-Impact Education Practices (HIEPs):
•Writing-Intensive Courses (7+ pages of written work over time)
•Collaborative Assignments and Projects (peer workshop and collaborative reflections)
•Undergraduate Research (search for scholarly articles)
•Place-Based Learning (library instruction and interaction)

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

In addition to using the VALUE rubric, as discussed above, I will also use my own rubric for each assignment. Students will have these rubrics up front to use a checklist to organize and keep track of their work as they move along. For the essay itself, I will assess the final essay’s introduction, organization of ideas, support, style, formatting, citation, etc.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Although I am refining an existing research project, this particular activity has not been assigned yet.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Cultural Background and Thermal Comfort

Cultural Background and Thermal Comfort

Jihun Kim

Architectural Technology

Site Planning & Environmental Systems

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Reflecting on students cultural background on the thermal environment, microclimate data will be collected and analyzed to find the common range of comfort zone. The process includes the following. 1) Write a short essay on personal thermal environment in the childhood [temperature, humidity, solar exposure, clothing level], 2) Collect microclimate data as individual and illustrate the characteristics of the environment and the clothing types, 3) Visualize the collected data on psychrometric chart and assess for thermal comfort and satisfaction , 4) Analyze the result for the differences and similarities with other students and with ASHRAE standard, while reflecting on the essay on personal history on thermal environment.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The goal of the assignment is to provide an understanding of how a cultural background would influence thermal comfort of an individual while enhancing student’s capacity 1) to analyze and
2) visualize numerical data, 3) to communicate effectively, and 4) to work collaboratively.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The activity can be deployed in the first class or any class early in a semester. After a relevant background is introduced as a lecture format, students as individual spend 1 hour to measure microclimate data and 1 hour to analyze during the class. Each student writes a short essay outside the class for 1 hour and adds microclimate measurement for 1 hour. Visualizing the data on a psychrometric chart would take 1 hour. Totaling 5 hours in and out of the class, students present their outcome as individuals in the following week.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Handheld device to measure microclimate are required. ASHRAE standards for thermal comfort shall be prepared. Critical writing is associated with the analysis of numerical data.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

A rubric shall be developed for the assessment. The criteria shall include Data Literacy (GenEd), Intercultural Knowledge (GenEd), Intercultural Knowledge and Competence (Gen), and Climate Analysis (Subject Matter from NAAB Accreditation).

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Creating a Brand : Transitioning from Student Identity to Professional Identity

Creating a Brand : Transitioning from Student Identity to Professional Identity

Ruth Marsiliani, RDH, FBPI

Department of Dental Hygiene

DEN2300L Principles of Dental Hygiene

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

During the semester students are asked to build the e-portfolio page and post: resume, cases, bio, and extracurricular activities. I propose to add a part to this project and have the answer questions that will lead to answer “ What image do they have of themselves as professionals?”

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

To incorporate; clinical practice, classroom theory, and personal experience, and help the student build their professional brand

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

: It can start during the second semester in the DH program, after their research project. Classroom time is NOT necessary. 3hrs of work is the maximum time necessary, per semester.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

There is no special preparation needed. The instructions for how long the answers should be and the format, will be posted on the Dental Hygiene Open Lab. This assignment is considered a HIEP. General SLOs: Open educational Pedagogy/ Learning communities/ writing – Intensive project/ assignments

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The Value Rubric would be given to students as a guide. They would be graded by their ability to stay within 50 words and the amount of grammatical errors within this statement. One of the questions will require them to find 2 references to support their argument/ point of view.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Not Applied yet

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

DEN 2300/ DEN 2400
RUTH MARSILIANI RDH, FBPI

CREATING A BRAND: TRANSITIONING FROM STUDENT T0 PROFESSIONAL
Handout

Part 1: There will be a total of 5 questions that will be posted on the Dental Hygiene Open Lab forum during the semester. You will also be expected to comment on at least 1 more person’s post. One of the questions will ask you to submit 2 references to support your argument.
Format: answer each question with a maximum of 50 words, which should be posted within 5 days. The Value Rubric serves as a guide on how to answer the questions.

Part 2: Review your semester’s work; analyze and focus on Dental Hygiene ethics and how it affects you as an oncoming Professional. Also, review other people’s work and think about how their views also coincide or differ from yours. Create your Bio/ about me page that will be part of your e-portfolio, which will reflect your professional identity or e-brand. The length should stay within 300 words and grammatically proofed.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Ultimatum Game & Dictator Game

Ultimatum Game & Dictator Game

Ahmed Elkhouly

Social Science/CityTech

MAcroeconomics

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The activity is based on game theory and social psychology research, and is designed to focus players on how they think about issues involving fairness and trust and how they predict the behaviors of others. the activity has two phases. in the first phase, Dictator, some players simply make a decision about how much of a sum of money they wish to share with another. Here, the primary focus is on the Sharer who makes the decision—and holds all of the power. in the second phase, Ultimatum, some power shifts to the person on the receiving end. Here, the Sharer makes an offer; if the Receiver refuses the offer, neither player gets any money at all.

Each phase can be played in just a few minutes, with minimal materials and little setup time. it can work with groups of nearly any size.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

“Reasoning about right and wrong human conduct”

Ethical self
– How much would you offer?
– What is the minimum would you accept?

Ethical issue recognition
– What ethical issue is this activity about?
– Where do your ideas of what is or isn’t fair come from?
Awareness
– Suppose the reward was bigger, how this will change your decision?
– Do you think fairness comes from our genes or is it something we learn?

Understanding different ethical perspectives
– Would you expect the kinds of offers made in the Ultimatum phase to be different from those in the Dictator phase?
– Do different groups or cultures have different definitions of “fairness”? can you give some examples to support your view?

Application of Ethical principles
– What exactly does it mean to be “fair” to others? Does it mean that you have to split the reward equally, or could an uneven split still be “fair”? is there some rule that determines what a “fair” offer is?

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

In the beginning of the semester

Two lectures will be devoted to this activity and the resulting discssions

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

1- Class will be divided in two groups

2- Random coin flip will determine which group will be proposers and which will be responders.

3- Instruction about the game: Proposers shall make an offer of any value the wish from the reward they have. If responders accept the offer, the split will happen. However, if responders rejected the offer, the reward will be withdrawn from the proposers and none of it will be given to anybody (neither the prosper nor the responder).

3- Each prospers receive a reward (say $10) to split. The offer shall be written on a blank paper (with a code number on the back) without names. Proposers shall write the code number in their notebook.

4- Responders receive the offers and make decisions. Reward shall be distributed according to instructions.

6- The game is repeated again using all the previous procedures except that proposers can be dictators. They can make any offer they want (abut splitting the reward), and responders have no choice.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

Using Ethical reasoning VALUE rubric

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab