Communication – Page 3 – L4: Living Lab Learning Library

May 29, 2020

Design Your Own Culture

George Larkins

Communication Design

Motion Design

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

It is for students to become aware of people of diverse cultures who are doing design work that students hope to do themselves. And to invite them to question why the creative work of people of color is not recognized for their contributions to the design world.

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

This will also give students insight into the possibility of a place to start when looking for a career.
Current research shows very few people of color are represented in the design field at all levels. And too often, their work has been obscured or taken credit for or they were asked to remove the attribution.
This assignment addresses cultural self-awareness
And knowledge of cultural worldview frameworks on the rubric.

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 will be an introduction to the class in the first two weeks. A minimum of two weeks will be devoted to this project. Students should be prepared to spend two to three hours of research out of the classroom.

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

In order for students to be successful. They must be prepared to spend at least two hours of research time before any production can be they will be able to move forward.

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?

Discover at least five people from an underrepresented cultural group in the design world and be prepared to share their work with the class. Students will be asked to choose one of the five and analyze influences on that person’s design. Students will create a design campaign in the style of that designer celebrating an aspect of their culture. The campaign will include a combination of print, web, and video spots.

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?

n/a

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

May 27, 2020

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

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

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

June 13, 2019

Image Critique

Zoya Vinokur

Radiologic Technology and Medical Imaging

RAD 1225 Radiologic Procedures

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This is an in-class activity which involves student interaction and critical skills. Students will look and analyze two films a week every other week. Then they will discuss their finding and share with class. Radiologic Technologists take and review a lot of films daily as part of our routine job performance. Acquiring an acceptable radiograph or digital image requires knowledge of the anatomy, positioning criteria, radiographic exposure, and other skills. In addition, the radiographer must know and meet specific diagnostic imaging criteria to provide the radiologists images suitable for interpretation. A knowledgeable RT assesses acquired images as a point of quality control to make sure it meets the diagnostic criteria. Students need to make critical thinking decisions and be able to evaluate images. Combining imaging skills with patient skills is truly an artful use of scientific principles and people skills. Occasionally we must be creative to present anatomy in a way that meets the diagnostic criteria. After each activity students will discuss findings and give feedback. In addition, they will be required to write reflection on their findings and post on Open Lab.

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

• Students will learn effective methods of analyzing images and communicate with other students.
• Students will be able to identify qualities of image as radiologic technologist and be able to critique it
• Students will be able to interact with patients of diverse cultural backgrounds, disabilities, sexual orientations, age groups or illness with the utmost respect and care and provide best possible images.

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 in-class portion of this activity will be in done during semester lectures every other week, where is the place-based learning must be done. Homework will be given and reflected on Open Lab.

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

This activity is low stakes .

This activity includes General Education Learning Goals:
1. Skills:
• Communication- communicate in diverse settings and groups, using written (both reading and writing), oral (both speaking and written)
• Inquiry/Analysis – Derive meaning from experience, as well as gather information from observation. Use creativity to solve problems.
2. Integration:
• Integrate Learning – Resolve difficult issues creatively by employing multiple systems and tools.
3. Values, Ethics, And Relationships:
• Global/Multicultural Orientation – Discern multiple perspectives. Use awareness of cultural differences to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers. Demonstrate proficiency and capacities in dealing with a diverse society.
This activity also includes High-Impact Educational Practices:
1. Collaborative Assignments and Projects.
2. Diversity/Global Learning
3. Service Learning/Community–Based Learning

This activity was successful in the Lectures. It will be implemented in my different courses with the addition of place-based learning. As we view images contained in this activity we will also address two important issues: what anatomy should be presented in a specific view, and how should that anatomy be presented. For example, a radiograph that is positioned correctly and demonstrates the proper anatomy must also have optimal exposure technique to yield maximum diagnostic value. My students enjoyed this activity since it is reflecting in their daily activity in Hospitals, but in more formal way.

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

June 10, 2019

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.

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.

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

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

June 7, 2019

Walking Tour in Paris

Thalia Pericles

Hospitality Management, SPS

Thomas Ahrens Int’l Work/Study Program

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Students are placed in groups and given a specific site in Paris, which will become the focal point for their walking tour while in Paris. They will be the tour guides for the rest of the cohort and Professors during the study abroad experience. The focus is the history, tourism, food and culture.

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

After conducting research on the history, food, culture and tourism components of their site, they will be able to conduct an informative walking tour of the area in Paris.

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 assignment is given about 1.5-2 months before the program begins so that students have ample time to prepare.

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

This is a high stakes project. Students conduct their research and then are asked to create a visual aid to share with the group during the tour. This can be in the form of a post card, map, brochure etc.

The grading criteria is as follows:
GRADING CRITERIA

Content (History, Culture, Food, Tourism) 30%
Depth of research 20%
Cohesiveness, Flow and Organization 20%
Equal Participation of Group Members 20%
Visual Aid 10%

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

June 4, 2019June 6, 2019

The Peopling of New York City: Neighborhood Explorations

Monica Berger

Library

LIB/ ARCH2205: Learning Places

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

How do we understand a neighborhood in terms of who lives there? Specifically, we will look at the different immigrant and ethnic groups that people a neighborhood. This four-class unit is designed for LIB/ARCH2205, Learning Places, but could be used as a module for other courses. The timing of this module in LIB/ARCH2205 would depend on whether the course focuses entirely on the intercultural theme or if the module infuses or adds intercultural learning as a secondary or tertiary aspect of neighborhood exploration. For the full intercultural focus, I envision this module in weeks 4 and 5 after students have learned about New York City and United States immigrant and ethnic history and as well as ethnic studies as it relates to identity and intersectionality. I hope to bring in faculty with expertise in sociology, anthropology and/or history to either co-teach or guest lecture.

We will focus on the Sunset Park, Brooklyn neighborhood: it has a varied and rich ethnic and immigrant history and sociology and is easy to travel to from campus. Class one is an information literacy-oriented workshop that foregrounds student understanding of the neighborhood preparing them for intercultural and place-based learning and meaningful analysis and reflection. Next, in class two, students observe the neighborhood through the intercultural lens. They will be guided in their observations with a series of prompts. Chiefly using photography and audio recordings, they will record their observations. In class three, the students will work together in teams to create a short (5 minute) presentation. They will be supplied with a PowerPoint template that guides how their incorporate their documentation. In the final class of unit, class four, the teams will share out their presentations. The unit will culminate with an in-class reflection and a related homework reflection. For homework, students will also select a signature artifact from a cultural group in their home neighborhood. In the following class, the class will play a game to deduce the artifact and, in the process, may become more aware of individual presumptions. For courses with a semester-long focus on place-based learning, this unit prepares students to continue the iterative work of synthesizing close observation and research. Students would return to the neighborhood to develop and deepen the observation and research connection, moving towards and into a substantial research question.

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

Class 1: In the Wikipedia exercise, the students will be introduced to domain knowledge about the neighborhood. The structure of the article will help students begin to see how a topic is structured and give them a frame for future research. The exercise will also incorporate many facets of information literacy including documentation, attribution and bibliographic references to published/library resources. Students will learn how to find books and other materials including newspaper articles. There will be a brief activity where they find the call number of location of the books in our library. Time will also be given to reading the Encyclopedia of New York City article on Sunset Park. The class will end with a group think-pair-share activity where students compare and contrast Wikipedia to library resources. Homework will require students to find an article in a local newspaper or magazine related to Sunset Park and write a 75-word blog post on OpenLab summarizing the article. Every article must be unique.

Class 2: The exploration: students will learn how to observe visually and aurally and record key facets of a neighborhood and its people through a series of prompts related to the intercultural knowledge and place-based learning. Students will practice utilizing non-text documentation to capture their observations.

Class 3: Preparing the presentation: Students will practice group work and learn how to incorporate their findings into a template that makes the observation coherent. Students reflect on what they observed about ethnic and immigrant culture(s) in a specific neighborhood. Did they see relationships between the culture of a specific group and the culture of their neighborhood-as-place? They will be guided by the affective aspects of the experience.

Class 4: Sharing the presentation. Students will practice oral presentation skills and reflect in class on the unit’s overall learning goal. They will journal to this prompt: How did this activity help you see relationships between a specific cultural group and place (how ethnic groups situate themselves in a neighborhood)? The homework will generate an explicit learning experience where students relate the unit back to their own neighborhood (and self). The homework incorporates metacognition since the students will be “teaching” (explaining to another person) what they learned in a new context. Homework will also involve selection of an artifact for a game for the next class. This little game will also help students to become more self-aware of their own intercultural knowledge.

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?

Between weeks 4 and 8. Provided this unit will be used in LIB/ARCH2205 which has longer class sessions, the entire class time will be used for all four sessions although the first class could be compressed into a shorter session of about 60-75 minutes. The other three classes will require the full two hours normally scheduled for this class. Time for assignments: Out of class time for class one: about 30 minutes; class four: about 30-60 minutes.

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

Class one: no preparation. Tablets are needed for student work. For the two activities the instructions will be given on the worksheet and orally (see activity as attachment). For the homework, the instructions will be on OpenLab. Low stakes.

Class two: Observation prompt instructions will be given onsite to the students as a handout that will also have instructions for the production in class three. All instructions will also be added to the course site on OpenLab. Students need to shoot at least three photos but sketches are also permissible as a substitute. Students should record an audio note about why they shot the photograph and how it addresses the supplied prompts. They will also record at least two signature sounds of the neighborhood. We probably will lead the students all together initially for the first 30-60 minutes and then break them up into teams of three to explore on their own. Whether or not we’ll subdivide the neighborhood into discrete physical units for exploration will be determined.

Students should use their phones to record their observations as much as possible since written note taking is difficult in the field. Students are also reminded to be sensitive to anyone they are photographing or recording and to avoid any situation that might be construed as invasive. The activity is the high-stakes activity for the unit. Homework incorporates parts of the Learning Places site visit template and will be emailed to the instructor to avoid plagiarism. See Class Two details for instructions.

Class three: Instructions will be given in class on the white board. Students will break into teams of three where one student each is responsible for photos, audio, and artifacts. Students will copy their images and recordings to their laptops or tablets to integrate them into the PowerPoint template supplied by the instructors. Homework requires the students to work together to finalize their presentations.

Class four: Student teams will each have five minutes to present. After the presentation, each table of students not presenting will be prompted to ask the team who presented a good question. This will take at least 1 hour. [whether or not to have students use a rubric to grade each other is a big question]. The instructor will then discuss the student homework from the fieldtrip for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes to discuss the upcoming homework. Next, students will spend 10 minutes on a journal reflection (see class description for details). Remaining class time can be spent in lecture preparing students for the next unit of the course.

Parts of the INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND COMPETENCE VALUE rubric will be used for student work in classes 2-4, particularly the student presentations. Additionally, for the student presentations, elements of the VALUE rubric for INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS and ORAL COMMUNICATION will be selected, modified and simplified. Class one’s homework is too simple to apply the VALUE rubric for information literacy. It will relate to other assignments and products in LIB/ARCH2205.

No, this course is not part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative.

I can only speak to the Wikipedia module I teach to English 1101 and 1121. Students enjoy it but I haven’t yet turned it into an active-learning experience since 50 minutes is very brief. I will move this forward over the summer as I flesh out the teaching material for class one of this unit. The site observation, using a very different theme and template, was challenging for logistical reasons because students often were late and got lost. Students generally enjoy any place-based learning but ideally it needs foregrounding, repetition, and scaffolding to be truly robust.

Teaching outlines and materials for classes one and two are attached.

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

Class One: Wikipedia for Learning Places (70-90 minutes)
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/mberger-portfolio/files/2019/06/wikipedia-for-learning-places-for-L4-deposit.pdf

CLASS 2 INTERCULTURAL PLACE-BASED LEARNING investigation / observation https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/mberger-portfolio/files/2019/06/CLASS-2-INTERCULTURAL-PLACE.pdf

June 3, 2019

Setting the Table Across Cultures: A Scaffold Approach to Intercultural Knowledge & Competence

Dolores C. Urena

Hospitality Management / School of Professional Studies

HMGT 2305 / Dining Room Operations (Lab)

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

In this three-part assignment, students identify, explain, and demonstrate the differences and similarities involved in the provision of dining experiences across different cultures in comparison to the specification of fine dining service as practiced in the dining room laboratory at City Tech.
Part I: OpenLab (Week 3 of the semester)
• Students individually post a picture of a tabletop setting different than the one learned in class.
• Students are required to post with the picture a short description of why the setting (silverware, china, glassware, table, etc) is different or similar to the one practice in dining room laboratory.
• Each student is required to comment on two other posts-more are welcome.
Part II: Collaborative Research Paper/ Self Reflection (After an in-class discussion on OpenLab postings, the instructor assigns groups on Week 4 of the semester)
• Students will be placed into groups of three to conduct research on the significance of the tabletop setting, and dining and service etiquette they have selected.
• Individually students are required to write a personal reflection paper.
• The instructor will provide prompt questions and instructions to assist students with the research and reflection papers.
Part III: Final Group Project / Presentation (Week 14 of the semester)
• Each group will submit a two-page research paper.
• Each group will explain and illustrate in class the tabletop setting they have selected.
• Individually students will submit a one-page personal reflection paper.

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

The purpose of this assignment is for students to interact and build a consensus that supports knowledge of an expanded cultural worldview. The assignment scaffold approach will help students assimilate the awareness, sensitivity, and proficiencies needed to succeed in the multicultural industry of hospitality. To do well in their chosen field, they will need the ability to interact, adapt and build relationships effectively across cultures.
Learning Goals associated with:
• Global / Multicultural Orientation
• Lifelong Learning
• Communication
• Information Literacies
• Professional / Personal Development

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 instructor distributes the three-part assignment on the first day of class.
Part I – Week 3 of the semester:
• Out of class time is expected to obtain, and post picture/comments on OpenLab.
Part II – Week 7 of the semester:
• An in-class two-hour workshop at City Tech Library.
• Additional out-of-class time is expected to conduct research before and after the workshop.
Part III – Week 14 of the semester:
• An in-class five to ten minutes presentation.
• Additional out-of-class time is expected to write assignments.

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

Part I – Knowledge of OpenLab:
• The instructor will instruct students on how to use OpenLab.
Part II – Visit to City Tech Library
• The instructor will give instructions to the students on how and what to research and reflective questions to contemplate will be provided.
Part III – Review Expectations:
• Preparation for final group presentation will be discussed in class.
• The instructor will provide students with the appropriate guidelines and rubrics to complete assignments.
The semester-length three-part assignment is medium-to-high stakes-15% of the final grade.

The assignment will be assessed using the Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Value Rubric, as well as an additional rubric evaluating the quality of the presentation and teamwork.
Written assignments will be graded using an appropriate writing intensive course rubric.

This information is not available yet. The activity has not been implemented.

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

June 2, 2019

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)

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.

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

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

June 1, 2019

Radiology Assignment

Audra Haynes

Dental Hygiene

Dental Radiology/ DEN 1218

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This semester you have learned about the production, use and safety of x-radiation. As dental professionals, you will encounter people with diverse backgrounds and ideologies. Exposing x-rays is part of overall patient assessment, yet that can be a challenge for some. Your assignment will be to explain to clinical patients what x-radiation is and why we use it. You must be able to explain the benefits versus the risks. You will have to demonstrate and articulate the understanding of x-radiation in patient care and assessment. You will do this using different case scenarios that a dental hygienist may encounter in the dental setting.

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

The learning goals that each student will aim to achieve are learning to communicate to diverse groups with both written and oral skills.
Students will apply global and multicultural orientation, by understanding the role cultural barriers play in patient care and assessment.

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?

Students will work on the assignment at the mid-semester period. The assignment will be worked on outside of class time, based on course material.

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

This activity will involve working in groups of 2. Each group will be given a case scenario involving a situation that will require the group to develop patient education, which will address the case scenario. The patient education must involve a description of x-ray production, x-ray safety, and why x-rays are used in dental patient assessment. The group must account for cultural challenges and incorporate that into their patient education. While you will be working as a group on the assignment, each member of the group will submit their own written paper. The paper should be a 2 page, doubled spaced paper that will be submitted to the instructor. You are free to use additional resources not covered in class. All resources used must be cited.
Each group will create 2 role play videos of the case scenario. Each member of the group will have the opportunity to be both the clinician and the patient. The videos will 5-7 minutes at length and will be uploaded to OpenLab for peer review. The video must include all aspects of the case scenario as well as the written patient education developed by the group. Feel free to have fun with the video and make it as entertaining as you want but stay to the 5-7 minutes and keep to the case scenario and patient education developed. This low-stakes assignment is designed to help you incorporate what you have learned in the classroom into clinical practice.

This activity will be assessed using a 2 rubrics. One rubric will assess the written portion of the assignment, evaluating the completeness, the understanding, and the writing mechanics of the assignment. The second rubric will evaluate the role play, which will address the communication style, interactive dialogue and non-verbal communication. The role play rubric will also have a peer rubric where the students will evaluate each other.
The AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence VALUE Rubric will be used to as a guide in creating the assignment.

This information is not available yet. The activity has not been implemented yet.

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

May 31, 2019

Designing the banks along the Newtown Creek

Marius Constantin

CET

Electromechanical Systems Lab

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Each group of students will design and test their concepts of river banks along the Newtown Creek in Brooklyn.
This activity, which will be concluded as a final project at the end of the semester, is a partnership with Newtown Creek Alliance (NCA), a community-based organization dedicated to restoring, revealing and revitalizing this area in Brooklyn.

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

To increase the student engagement and learning I shall use the high-impact educational practice called “Collaborative Assignments and Projects” to facilitate learning and solving problems in the company of others and to encourage students with different cultural backgrounds and life experiences find a common outcome.
Students will become aware of the high potential this area can offer to the community and in the same time accomplishing the implementation of their engineering skills into a real and meaningful application.
The activity application is finding an engineering solution to prevent further erosion of the creek’s banks.

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 will start on the third week, when a field trip to Newtown Creek is planned to take place. Starting the fourth week, students have to come up with a concept that will culminate with a real and tested design of the river banks in the last week of the 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?

This field trip is considered a low-stakes activity, where students will be introduced to the culture, vision and challenges NCA is facing.
During the first class meeting, among the usual routine, I will introduce to students the activity rollout:
– third week – field trip
– fourth week – defining the river banks structural form and determining the structural materials to be used
– in the following weeks the groups work on analyzing and testing their chosen design concept by computer simulating the forces at work, such as: gravity, river inertial load, torsional and shear stress, elasticity, strength and strain
– last week – final presentation

To assess students’ learning outcome I am going to use AACU’s rubric called “Intercultural Knowledge and Competence” to determine how effective they were in a variety of cultural contexts.
Students will be exposed to diverse cultural rules, differences and biases with the hope that they can exploit and utilize past experiences to make a better sense of the world around them. use
I will assess the students’ work posted on OpenLab throughout the semester to determine the extent they achieved the learning outcomes set for this course.
The types of assessment are:
– reflections; ask students to write reflections for each phase of the development posted on OpenLab
– formative; assess groups’ performances and against each other
– discussions; the groups will ask each other questions related to their design

This activity is planned to be implemented next semester.

Front

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

Category: Communication

Design Your Own Culture

Structure for Architects – Student Video Lessons

Image Critique

Project of Gearbox

Setting the Table Across Cultures: A Scaffold Approach to Intercultural Knowledge & Competence

Research Project: Making Connections Between Texts

Radiology Assignment

Designing the banks along the Newtown Creek

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