Common Intellectual Experiences – L4: Living Lab Learning Library

May 30, 2026

Mystery Pastry Reading Project

Brigitte Malivert

Hospitality Management

HMGT 1204

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The Mystery Pastry Reading Project is a two-part reading comprehension and critical thinking activity that replaces one of three unit quizzes in the HMGT 1204. Part I is an in-class, closed-note quiz in which students receive five anonymized pastry passages, each describing a product from a curated list (eg. Napoleon, Eclair, Cream Puff, Palmier, Croissant), and must identify each product through close reading and textual evidence. Part II is an out-of-class assignment in which each student creates a single PPT slide for their individually assigned final presentation product, embedding clues through a narrative passage, ingredient list, tools list, and production timeline without naming the product. Part II connects directly to the final presentation: students are already researching their assigned product, and the slide requires them to translate that research into precise descriptive writing. The activity culminates in a class reveal event during the last session before presentations, in which slides are displayed in randomized order, the class guesses together, and the sequence of correct identifications sets the presentation order.

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

This activity is designed to develop and assess the following competencies:
• Students will demonstrate close reading skills by identifying key details, drawing evidence-based conclusions, and distinguishing relevant information from supporting context in professional culinary texts.
• Students will apply discipline-specific vocabulary and product knowledge to decode and produce written descriptions of pastry items.
• Students will compare and contrast technical characteristics of multiple pastry products, including ingredient composition, equipment requirements, and production logic.
• Students will practice professional writing by composing a structured, technically accurate mystery passage that integrates culinary terminology, process description, and sensory language.
• Students will connect reading comprehension skills to their ongoing product research, reinforcing the relationship between reading, writing, and practical knowledge in a professional culinary context.
• Students will engage in peer learning through a structured class activity that rewards precise writing and attentive reading.

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 best placed near the end of the semester, after students have had sufficient exposure to foundational pastry products and techniques and have received their final presentation product assignments. Ideal placement is Week 12 or 13, when students have some familiarity with the products on the mystery list but may not yet have made all of them.

Part I in-class time: One class session of 45 minutes. Students receive the five passages and the sample passage for orientation, complete their written responses individually, and submit before leaving. No outside research is permitted. A brief debrief discussion of the sample passage can open the session before timed work begins.

Part II out-of-class time: Students should plan for two to three hours outside of class. This includes reviewing their existing product research, drafting the narrative passage, assembling the ingredient list and tools list, building the production timeline, and laying out the slide. Because Part II draws on research already underway for the final presentation, the additional research burden is minimal.

Presentation: Class session post final exam, dedicated to displaying and guessing slides as a group. The instructor randomizes the slide order before class. Each slide is displayed for approximately five to eight minutes of reading and discussion before the class commits to an identification. The sequence of correct identifications determines presentation order for the following session, which creates genuine engagement with each slide.

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

Preparation for Part I requires the instructor to compose five mystery passages in advance, one for each product on the list. Passages should be written so that no single passage is significantly easier or harder to decode than the others. Each passage should contain at least three strong, product-specific clues distributed across the narrative, ingredient list, and tools list. The sample croissant passage included in this document is provided to orient students to the format and should not be used as one of the five graded passages.

Part I is administered as a closed-note, in-class quiz. Students will have to review the semester's production thus allowing them to also prepare for the final exam. Students receive the passage packet and a separate response sheet. Annotating the passages is encouraged. Response sheets are collected at the end of the session. Since students must write their own evidence-based responses citing specific language from the passages, the analysis requirement substantially limits the value of guessing or sharing answers.

For Part II, each student's assigned product is the same product they are researching for their final presentation, so no new product assignment is needed. Students submit their slide to Brightspace before the reveal session. The instructor collects all submissions, removes any accidentally included product names from file names, randomizes the order, and prepares a single display deck for the reveal session. Keeping the product names out of file names is important for maintaining the game format.

For the reveal event, the instructor tracks guesses on the board. A simple point tally (one point per correct class identification) can be kept as a group score, or individual students whose slides are correctly guessed can receive a small bonus point as recognition for clear writing. The presentation order for the final session is announced at the end of the reveal event.

This is a medium-to-high-stakes assignment. It replaces a unit quiz and therefore carries real grade weight. Part II is also preparation for the final presentation, making it doubly consequential.

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?

This activity is assessed using the modified AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Reading included in this document, which evaluates four dimensions: Comprehension, Context, Analysis, and Interpretation. The rubric applies to both the Part I written responses and the Part II slide narrative. A point-based grading breakdown is provided in the document. Part I accounts for 50 points total: 20 for correct identification across all five passages and 30 for the quality of textual evidence and explanation. Part II accounts for 50 points distributed across narrative quality and clue integration (20), ingredient and tools accuracy (15), timeline realism (10), and slide readability with all four components present (5).

The rubric was adapted from the Association of American Colleges and Universities VALUE rubric framework to reflect the discipline-specific reading demands of a culinary and hospitality program. The original rubric was modified to address the inferential and comparative reading required when working with professional culinary texts, including ingredient lists, process descriptions, and production timelines.

This course participates in the college-wide general education assessment initiative. The reading rubric used here is aligned with the college's information literacy and communication general education outcomes and may be submitted as part of departmental assessment reporting.

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 activity was designed in response to two related observations: students in the pastry sequence often had difficulty extracting and applying information from professional culinary texts, and the standard unit quiz format did not give students a meaningful way to connect reading skills to the hands-on and research work they were already doing. Replacing the quiz with this two-part activity addressed both issues by making the reading task concrete, discipline-specific, and consequential in more than one direction. This will be officially implemented in the course in Fall of 2026.

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 29, 2026

The Community Impact Campaign

Amera-Rime Lulu

Tech and Design

COMD 2400 Communication Design 2

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Project Goal:
Students work in groups of three to identify a local community problem or partner with a non-profit to advocate for change.

The Process:
Students visit a specific location in their community to document a community problem via photography and fill out a creative brief on how they will advocate for this problem

Creative Execution:
Students develop a cohesive campaign including posters, billboards, and sustainable merchandise (ex. T-shirts) to advocate for the issue.

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

Core Competency: Integrative Learning—bridging field research (social reality) with design execution (creative skill sets).

Course Objective: To introduce creative strategy and divergent thinking to solve complex social and business problems.

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 served as the final project for the course and occupied the final month of the semester. It kicks off right after Spring Break on Tuesday, April 14th, and culminates in the final presentations on Tuesday, May 26th.
Placing it at the end of the term ensured that students have already mastered core design principles, software basics, and conceptual thinking before they are asked to execute a full, multi-touchpoint campaign.

Over this 6-week period, a substantial portion of each class session is dedicated to the project.
* Total Class Sessions: ~12 sessions (assuming a twice-a-week schedule).
* In-Class Structure: Class time is split between brief lectures on campaign strategy/sustainable design, peer critiques, and structured workshop time.
* Instructor Milestones: Specific studio days are locked in for creative brief reviews, initial layout crits, and pre-flight checks for the merchandise and poster mockups.

Because this project involved fieldwork and high-fidelity asset creation, the out-of-class expectations where rigorous, averaging 4–6 hours per week per student. This time is divided into distinct phases:

Phase 1: Research & Briefing (Week 1-2) Group coordination, visiting the local community site to document the issue via photography, and collaborating on the creative brief.

Phase 2: Execution & Asset Creation (Weeks 3-5)Individual asset design (typesetting posters, building billboard layouts, and sourcing sustainable merchandise templates).

Phase 3: Production & Pitch Prep (Week 6) Finalizing the cohesive campaign presentation deck and rehearsing the group pitch for the final presentation on May 26th.

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

To prepare for the April 14th launch, my backend prep focuses on establishing the core infrastructure: setting up shared Dropbox folders, publishing our custom presentation outline template on OpenLab, and curating a solid bank of clean design templates (billboards, tote bags, and apparel) so students can focus on visual strategy rather than hunting for assets. Because this project is multi-layered, I intentionally build strict interim milestones into our schedule—forcing early deadlines for site photography and creative briefs—to keep our design trios moving smoothly toward our May 26th deadline.

When I pitch this to the class, I frame it as a professional creative agency challenge rather than a typical classroom assignment. My instructions are explicit: "Form your groups of three, instantly delegate roles based on your strengths, and get out into the community to document a real problem." I push them to look beyond making "pretty things" and to map out a clear community user journey—ensuring that their social assets, OOH posters, and sustainable merchandise function as a single, cohesive visual identity system that drives measurable advocacy. I remind them that their final delivery is a high-fidelity, live team pitch accompanied by a beautifully formatted PDF presentation deck uploaded to Dropbox, where every member has an equal voice.

Because this project serves as the definitive final project for the class that synthesizes everything we’ve covered all semester—from complex visual hierarchy to target audience strategy—it is a high-stakes assessment. It accounts for a major portion of their final grade because it assesses their readiness for the industry and requires them to produce a comprehensive, integrated portfolio piece. To respect those high stakes, my assessment criteria don't just look at execution in a vacuum; the rubric explicitly grades them on creative innovation, strategic alignment, seamless visual cohesion across all channels, and the vital professional soft skills of collaboration and presentation delivery.

I developed our project rubric by adapting those exact institutional standards—specifically drawing from the Teamwork, Creative Thinking, and Oral Communication VALUE Rubrics—and blending them with industry-standard design agency expectations.

Because this is a multi-channel advocacy campaign, I grade the project across five core pillars, balancing technical execution, strategy, and professional soft skills:

* Strategic Alignment: How well does the campaign strategy align with the core community problem and the target audience identified in the Phase 1 Creative Brief?

* Creativity and Innovation: The originality, visual impact, and conceptual strength of the overall integrated campaign concept.

* Integration and Cohesion: The seamless continuity of the visual identity system. The social media posts, large-scale OOH billboards/posters, and sustainable merchandise must feel like they belong to the exact same brand experience.

* Collaboration and Teamwork: Peer and instructor evaluations of how effectively the trio collaborated, communicated, and equitably shared the out-of-class production workload.

* Presentation Skills: The clarity, persuasiveness, and professionalism displayed during the live team pitch, ensuring all members contribute equally.

Looking back at how this final month played out, this final campaign was an incredibly rewarding experience. Seeing my students realize that design isn’t just about making commercial assets, but a powerful tool for civic engagement and social good, was the absolute highlight of the semester.

I would absolutely repeat this project. It worked exceptionally well because it gave students a profound sense of purpose. By stepping out of the classroom and onto the streets of New York to document real-world issues firsthand, they weren’t just working for a grade—they were working for their communities.

Students genuinely loved the ownership and creative freedom this project offered. They thrived on building a cohesive visual identity across multiple touchpoints, and they were incredibly proud to showcase how their creative thinking could spark measurable change. Watching them work together to deliver their final pitches / Presentation with genuine passion proved that connecting design theory to local advocacy completely shifts their investment in the work.

Since City Tech is a commuter campus, coordinating 5 to 7 hours of weekly out-of-class collaboration in trios was tough. Some groups struggled to schedule site visits or distribute the production workload equitably.

I addressed it by requiring an explicit role-delegation sheet during the Phase 1 Creative Brief phase. We also utilized our OpenLab digital space and dedicated significant portions of our weekly class sessions to internal group workshops, minimizing the scheduling friction.

Link to Students' final project work https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/vasp2oeo8c9noyyacxh8m/AOYkkjozMmIRcMcspqWdtDE?rlkey=x7gl3csayingxkn20jkor8fcx&st=yivsdeh0&dl=0

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April 9, 2026

Living Lab Seminar Activity (Final) Topic: • Intercultural Knowledge and Competence

Professor Meagan A. Sylvester

English & African American Studies

Living Lab Winter Project

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Living Lab Seminar Activity (Final)

The featured course is AFR 1311 – African American Music/Caribbean Music

The aim of this activity to encourage students to use the Think-Pair-Share model together with fieldwork to foster the group work approach to examine and analyze the impact of Africa and African retentive cultures on the music of the diaspora, namely The Caribbean, The United States and Latin America.

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

The specific learning objective that the activity will speak to is:
Analyze how African cultures have influenced and shaped African American and Caribbean music

Learning Goals are as follows:

Content-Based Learning Outcomes
– Analyze how African culture(s) have influenced and shaped
– African American and Caribbean music;
– Discuss the creative contributions of African American and Caribbean music;
– Analyze African American and Caribbean music in
terms of their rhythmic and stylistic variations;
-Identify some of the major musicians who have made significant and notable contributions to African American and Caribbean music.

General Education Learning Outcomes
– Students will develop critical thinking and writing skills.
– Student will develop an appreciation of music from the Africana world.

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?

– At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? See details below
– How much classroom time do you devote to it? First 8 weeks of the semester
– How much out-of-class time is expected? 2 weeks

Step 1. Lecture and Introduction to Africa, its colonial past, slavery , transatlantic slave trade history and settlement in The Americas and the Caribbean and the transference of music culture
Step 2. Think – Pair – Share (Part 1 – in the classroom)
Step 3. Visit to: (i) music lab at Brooklyn Academy of Music ( BAM) ; (ii) Visit to the Brooklyn Museum for First Saturdays for Brooklyn Pop Up Market and African Music Performance in Beaux-Arts Court (iii) music studio session at Crystal Sounds Studio, Brooklyn known for producing some of the major stars of Caribbean music.
Step 4. Return to the classroom Think – (Pair – Share (Part 2)
Step 5. Class presentations on learnings

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

Preparation for activity:
– Attend lectures
– Read assigned texts
– Complete assignments
– Participate in class discussions
– Watching films and videos on African Music, Caribbean Music and African American Music

– Instructions given to students:
Outline is praepared withcues to note and document durig field visits

– Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?
This is a high stakes assignment

– How do you assess this activity? and What assessment measures do you use?
Step 4. Return to the classroom Think – Pair – Share (Part 2)
Step 5. Class presentations on learnings

– How did you develop your rubric?

Group Presentation of the Musical Genres listed below:

Hip Hop and Rap

Reggae and DanceHall

Calypso and Soca

Reggaeton

Afro Beat

Students are divided into groups of three or four. Each group has been assigned differing musical genres for which they will prepare a critical assessment of lyrics and sound and comment on the genre’s positives and negatives to the African diaspora musical landscape.

Format: Make a brief ten (10) slide PowerPoint presentation on assigned genre to be followed by analysis and discussion lead off which will include:

Characteristics of the Genre

History

Influence on the world stage

Popularity

Success Factors

Regional Influences and Social Movements

Fusion and Cross-Genre Collaborations

Technology

Ideology and Expression

Commercialization

– Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?
Yes

– How well did this activity work in your classroom?
This activity worked really well in the classroom. Students were open and engaged in learning about new cultures and musical traditions of the African diaspora.

– Would you repeat it?
Yes

-Why or why not?
Because it was hugely successful

-What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them?
Scheduling of students to attend all three activities. Solved by providing transport oiptions to alleviate challenges to get to the location.

-What, if anything, would you change?
Nothing to change

-What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?
Students were open and engaged in learning about new cultures and musical traditions of the African diaspora.

This activity will ensure that the General Education rubric of Intercultural Knowledge and Competence is achieved along the lines indicated below:

The intercultural knowledge and competence rubric suggests a systematic way to measure our capacity to identify our own cultural patterns, compare and contrast them with others, and adapt empathically and flexibly to unfamiliar ways of being.

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

https://www.canva.com/design/DAG4U7gAlHs/ui8Mz9uz9tfZJoNduDLCZw/edit?utm_content=DAG4U7gAlHs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

May 26, 2025

Reading To Support Architectural Design

Elizabeth Parks

Architectural Technology

ARCH2412 Design IV

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The reading activity is part of the Lecture portion of the Design IV studio (Lab) class. Students are formed into groups of three or four to analyze and share a selected reading with the class. The activity has three parts: reading with annotation, completion of a Frayer Method Template to clarify a particular concept or vocabulary word, and presentation to the class with discussion. All students in the class are expected to read all of the readings to facilitate discussion.

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

The goad of the activity is to engage students with reading about architecture, architects, and the concepts that underlay the design process.

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 is completed over four class sessions throughout the semester.
Session 1 in Week 2: Introduction to the activity, selecting or assigning readings to the groups. This is timed to coincide with the research and concept development work the students are doing in the Lab portion of the course.
Session 2 in Week 5: Presentations and class discussion for half the student groups
Session 3 in Week 6: Presentations and class discussion for half the student groups
Session 4 in Week 11: General class discussion of all the readings and their impact on student design projects.
Students are expected to meet with their group members outside of class to prepare the Frayer Method Template for their selected reading. They are also expected to read all the other readings for discussion. The total time required outside of class is expected to be at least 4-8 hours, depending on the number and difficulty of the readings.

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 Spring 2025 Semester, ten (10) readings were selected from "Imagining the Future Museum: 21 Dialogues with Architects", edited by Andras Szanto, published in 2022. Each reading is a dialogue between the editor and a currently practicing architect, specifically about that architect's approach to museum design. This material was chosen because the students are each designing their own version of a museum in the Studio portion of the class, but the focus of the readings could be adapted to suit other courses.
Students were given access to a shared Miro board with blank Frayer Method Templates, a list of concepts and vocabulary words pulled from the readings by the instructor, as well as space for the students to write a summary of the reading.
Part of the introduction to the activity was a discussion of how to read for comprehension and how to take notes while reading. The instructor's annotated readings were shared with the class as examples.
The following is a link to the completed templates from one of the Lecture sessions for Spring 2025:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j4opnnl1snk3pyzrj0440/ARCH2412-Lecture-Reading-Session-1.pdf?rlkey=p3k2lplksc2p5dfu95pobd67d&st=8vmuzxb1&dl=0
In the fourth and final session, students were asked to write a brief statement describing how the activity impacted their design process and the design of their project.
The groups present a summary of the reading and a more detailed explanation of the concept or vocabulary word they chose and then lead a class discussion on the reading, ideas and how the information is applicable to the studio activities.

The activity was not formally graded, but the results were shared with all instructors. The lecture classes are shared between four instructors, each also teaching a discrete section of the studio. A mixed set of students attend one of two lecture sessions. All instructors were given access to the Miro boards and to scans of the written reflections.
The Studio environment is inherently a High Impact Impact Educational Practice, incorporating Common Intellectual Experiences and Collaborative Assignments and Project. This reading activity was designed to broaden and deepen the students' understanding of the design process by familiarizing them with the words and work of a broad range of current practitioners.

We will repeat the activity and are considering adding a graded rubric to formalize assessment. The degree of engagement with the readings varied between groups and it was clear that very few students had read any of the readings other than the one they were assigned, limiting their ability to contribute in a meaningful way to class discussions. Formally grading the activity may improve attendance and encourage them to read more.
The students were allowed to form their own groups, so generally felt comfortable working and sharing with one another.
It was clear from some of the students' written reflections that the readings did have an influence on their thinking. Students always struggle with the leap from their initial ideas to a building proposal that manifests those concepts, but the more comfortable they become with abstract ideas, the clearer their conceptual work is. And that leap to a "real" building becomes more possible and the ideas more legible.

Some written reflections from students, written in class in Week 11 of the semester (edited for clarity):
"The readings provided different ideas and perspective in regards to museum design…they made me think about my design choices more thoroughly." Adrianna Dilillo
"These readings helped me with my design process by understanding 'elevation by context'. Understanding the importance, meaning or status based on its surroundings/context." Daria Tourkova
"One of the ideas [from] the reading was for the museum to be a place for people to escape reality." Bryan Zamora
"Our reading helped me create a narrative for my project." Kelvin Jarama
"The reading helped me get a better understanding of what a museum is and how the museum is an extension of what is being shown in the exhibition. It taught me that circulation plays an important part in the story the building is trying to tell. Lastly the chapter I read defines a museum as a bridge that connects people with art. It is a response to a certain conflict and/or community." Diccia Castro
"The readings have influenced my design by integrating the site with my building by including a plaza that is embedded underground." Marti Tapia
"The readings helped with my design process by demonstrating ways to include everyone. … blending public space and exhibition areas [together makes the museum] engaging for visitors. This idea encouraged me to design my my museum with space for visitors to create something of their own" Thais Garcia

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

May 22, 2025

Menu Ingredient Pricing & Unit Conversions

Alejandro Cantagallo

Hospitality Management, Professional Studies

Food and Beverage Cost Control

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Groups will be responsible for researching and documenting the pricing of all identified ingredients required for the term project menu, categorized by type. They will create a complete and organized list that accurately reflects purchasing specifications and applicable unit conversions.

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

Students will work in groups to research and collect pricing information for a set list of ingredients across various categories in the requisition sheet. The data gathered will be used as the standard pricing for the entire class’s term project. Additionally, students will convert the ingredient costs into consistent units of measurement for inclusion in a collective Excel worksheet.
Broadly speaking students will learn about group work, current pricing for food and beverage items and how to calculate costs related to food and beverage operations.

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 is assigned on the 5th week of the semester with a week to complete and with half of the subsequent class time to complete the work in class with guidance anc coaching from the instructor.

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 will be divided into groups. Each group will be assigned specific categories from the requisition sheet (e.g., Dairy, Produce, Proteins, Dry Goods).

Each group will designate members to the following roles:
Ingredient Collector: Confers with all students in the class to ensure the requisition sheet includes all ingredients needed for their term project recipes. Ensures no required ingredient is missing from the sheet.
Verifier: Confirms the accuracy of the ingredients listed. Checks the pricing data collected for consistency and reliability.
Scribe: Ensures all collected information, including pricing and unit conversions, is recorded accurately in the shared Excel worksheet.
Review the assigned category in the requisition sheet. Identify all specific ingredients you are responsible for pricing. Research current pricing for each ingredient. Use reliable sources such as: Local grocery stores (in-person or online platforms like Instacart or FreshDirect), Wholesale suppliers (e.g., Restaurant Depot, Sysco, or local distributors), CLT price list
Then document the price per unit (e.g., per pound, gallon, dozen) and ensure consistency across items.
This is a low stakes assignement that is not graded, but required because the resulting price list will be the source of truth for pricing that all students will need in order to complete their term project.

I will use the Quantative Literacy Value Rubric
Interpretation: The ability to explain information presented in mathematical representations.
Calculation: The ability to convert relevant information into various mathematical forms, including standardized costs.
Application and Analysis: The ability to make judgments and draw appropriate conclusions based on quantitative data.
Communication: The ability to express quantitative evidence effectively to support the purpose of the project.

I decided to keep this assignment ungraded partly because it was my first time running it and partly because we’re still considering whether to integrate it into the department’s standard curriculum. The assignment was introduced in one class session, and in the following session, we spent half the class troubleshooting, refining, and finalizing the pricing together. This structure allowed students to get started independently, recognize potential challenges, and then work collaboratively—both in small groups and as a class—to resolve any issues. This felt like an almost magical moment, because the students took a lead in correcting their own work and encouraging each other to get the work done well.
A key takeaway from this assignment was that it also served as an introduction to using formulas in Excel. Interestingly, a few students realized they actually enjoy working with numbers, which was exciting and reaffirmed the value of incorporating this type of work into the curriculum.
Moving forward, I’d love to deepen the integration of this process into my future classes and, ideally, see it become a standard part of how this course is taught. Beyond the core learning objectives—such as group collaboration and real-world research—the ability to work with Excel is an essential skill that will benefit students in their careers.

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

January 30, 2025

In the Pursuit of Knowledge: Focusing on ‘Lifelong Learning’

Sergio Belich

Computer Systems Technology / NYC College of Technology

Web Programming I (Lecture) & (Laboratory)

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The activity centers on teaching CST2309 (Introduction to Web Programming) through a structured split format, dividing the 3.5-hour class into equal parts of lecture (1¾ hours) and lab (1¾ hours). During lectures, the instructor presents course topics using overhead projectors and whiteboards, works through practical examples, and actively solicits student feedback to ensure comprehension.

The lab portion focuses on collaborative learning, where students work in groups using a shared Google document to compile course-related resources, including linked definitions and training videos. Students contribute their thoughts and questions while also creating potential exam questions. This dual approach combines traditional instruction with hands-on collaborative work to enhance the Student Learning Outcome of "Reading," specifically targeting students' abilities to interpret, evaluate, gather, and apply information from online sources.

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

My goal is to create an engaging learning environment that promotes "Lifelong Learning" through a balanced approach of structured instruction and collaborative work. The primary goal is to enhance students' ability to interpret, evaluate, gather, and apply information from various online sources while fostering an interactive atmosphere that encourages students to actively participate in their learning process. This is designed to not only help students master the current course material but also develop skills and learning templates they can apply to their future academic pursuits.

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 from the second class till the end of the semester. The first day includes discussing the this new class outline to students, and setting expectations. ] It represents the core structure of the entire semester for CST2309 (Introduction to Web Programming). Each original class session (from last semesters' 3.5 hour length) is now being divided into:
Lecture portion: 1¾ hours
Lab portion: 1¾ hours
Total in-class time per session: 3½ hours

Students will spend some time outside of class reviewing and contributing to the shared resources, including adding definitions and training videos, though the specific time requirement has not been specified, the results of participation will be graded.

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

The preparation needed for this activity is as follows:
Setting up shared Google documents for class readings and topics
Preparing lecture materials and practical examples
Creating overhead projector/whiteboard content
Organizing students into working groups for labs

The student instructions is as follows:
During lecture: Students are expected to engage with the material and provide feedback
During lab: Students work in groups to:
Access and contribute to shared Google documents
Add linked definitions and training videos
Share thoughts, ideas, and questions
Create potential exam questions
Collaborate with group members

This activity is relatively low-stakes, focusing on collaborative learning and continuous engagement rather than high-pressure assessment. The approach emphasizes building an "enjoyable environment to learn" where students can:
Get constant feedback
Receive multiple explanations if needed
Build on existing knowledge
Create study materials collaboratively
Develop templates for future learning

The structure is an ongoing evaluation while also leading to assessments via exams and a class project. Students' contributions will factor into their overall course performance.

Assessment Components:
Use VALUE rubric specifically focused on reading
Student contributions to Google documents (20% of final grade) measured by:
1. Number of definition links added
2. Number of video links contributed
3. Number of potential exam questions provided

Implementation Details:
Continuous feedback during lectures ensures ongoing formative assessment
Google document contributions provide measurable evidence of students' ability to "interpret, evaluate, gather and apply information from various online sources"
VALUE rubric on reading provides standardized assessment criteria
The activity supports the "Lifelong Learning" student learning outcome

Integration with Broader Assessment:
Course is part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative
Will be evaluated by AIRE in Fall 2025
Uses standardized VALUE rubric for reading to align with institutional assessment frameworks

This structured assessment approach combines quantitative measures (contribution counts) with standardized evaluation criteria (VALUE rubric) while supporting broader institutional assessment goals.

This activity is structured to work well in a classroom environment because:
It divides class time equally between lecture and hands-on lab work
It incorporates both traditional teaching methods and modern collaborative tools
It creates an "enjoyable environment to learn" through constant feedback and group interaction

Here is the organizational structure:

Initial Structure:
Each of the 5 groups is assigned specific sections of lecture material
Groups have primary responsibility for their assigned sections
Groups can still contribute to other sections they find important

This approach:
Ensures comprehensive coverage of all lecture material
Creates clear group responsibilities
Prevents excessive overlap in initial research
Allows for cross-section insights and contributions
Maintains flexibility for additional perspectives

For each lab session, groups would:
1. Focus primarily on their assigned sections to provide:
5 definition links
5 topic training video links
5 potential exam questions
2. Have freedom to add insights to other sections
3. Monitor and build upon other groups' contributions

This balanced structure combines focused responsibility with collaborative flexibility, helping create a comprehensive learning resource while encouraging broader engagement with all course material.

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August 2, 2024

A Museum of Culture/ Assignment 1A: Museum Research

Jieun Yang

Architectural Technology

ARCH 2412/ Architectural Design IV

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Part A: Understanding “What is a Museum”

Each student will read articles and/or watch videos focused on Museum design. Additionally, each student will visit a Museum in New York City, document it through photography and sketching, and answer a series of questions to catalog their observations.

A. Learn:

– Read Chapter 01: The History and Theory of the Museum Building from the book Museum Buildings: Construction and Design Manual By Christian Schittich. (see Blackboard)
– Choose one short article (see Blackboard)
– Choose one video or podcast from the below list:
– John Oliver's Last Week Tonight episode on Museums
– Freakonomics Podcast "Stealing Art is Easy. Giving It Back is Hard."

– Deliverables: For each, write a short summary and outline a series of five bullet points identifying the most meaningful takeaways. Be prepared to discuss this in class.

B. Experience:

– Visit a museum in New York from the list provided in class.
– Document your visit through photography, sketching, and diagramming.
– Consider the following questions during your visit:
a. Who are museum users? Consider both visitors and staff. How do they use and move through the museum differently?
b. How does the entry sequence work? How visible is the museum entrance from the street? What is the first thing you see and do when you enter the museum? How do you orient yourself?
c. How are the entry and exhibition spaces arranged? In a linear sequence, clustered, or arranged around a central space? Does the visitor travel from space to space directly or are there areas devoted to circulation?
d. What is displayed in the museum? How is the art/information displayed? How many different types of exhibition areas are there and how are they the same or different?
e. How many people were in the exhibition area while you were there? Was the space crowded? Approximately, what is the area of the exhibition space? What were its proportions? How tall are the ceilings? How far away did the visitors need to stand to view or interact with the works?
f. What were the lighting conditions like? Were there windows or skylights in exhibition rooms? If yes, how were they considered in the placement of the works?
g. Were the exhibition spaces ornate or simple? How does the architecture relate to the content, is there a consistency or a contrast between the two?

Deliverables: One 11×17 sheet, beautifully and thoughtfully layout of document your museum visit and observations, to Include:
– Name and location of the Museum you visited.
– Photographs, Diagrams, and sketches
– Question responses

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

The assignment focuses on how to think critically about Museum Design and develop an understanding of this building typology.

The assignment prepares students for Part B: Topic Research and Concept Development, where each student selects a research topic, reads articles, and documents important information related to that topic to develop an overall theme for their proposed museum and develop their concept.

The assignment asks the students to meet the following objectives:
– Ability to research, gather, and study information to gain an understanding of a building typology.
– Ability to research, gather, and study information to derive an informed project concept.
– Communicate ideas and information both verbally, graphically, and through writing. (Gen Ed)

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 is the first assignment in the semester. During the first class, we watch a museum scene clip from Black Panther, discuss the topic of repatriation through current news articles, read one of the assigned readings together, and share student reflections in class.
The students are then asked to complete the rest of the homework assignments outside class time. They present their completed assignments in the second class for peer discussion and feedback.

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 the note under Timing for the preparation and instructions on this assignment.
This is a low-stakes assignment designed to be used as an icebreaker and to prepare students for the critical thinking, analysis, and documentation required for the upcoming assignments.

The assignment is assessed on the following rubric, incorporating some of the gen-ed assessment categories.

1. Ability to research, gather, and study information to derive an informed project concept (35%)
2. Ability to translate concepts into graphic visual and physical representations (40%)
3. Communicate ideas and information both verbally and through writing (10%)
4. Assignment requirements and deliverables were met (10%)
5. On-time completion (5%)

The assignment helped students think deeply about the role of a museum, its historical conception, and how it may have led to problematic pasts (such as stolen cultural objects). It also set up a discussion on how we can reimagine a museum. Students engaged in lively debates with a wide range of viewpoints. We plan to repeat this assignment/ activity in the upcoming semester.
Students enjoyed different media forms (videos and podcasts) and did not rely solely on reading. Most readings are short articles, which makes the materials accessible to the students.
I want to try the missing links method by assigning specific readings to students, having different article readers come together to teach others through summarizing their lesson, and reporting their summaries to the whole class as a group.

Student Examples on Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/n9xxp95mpi9gmzct7y1oy/ARCH2412_Assignment-1_Examples.pdf?rlkey=yikae381871d7dwmk7vy7qjkd&dl=0

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June 26, 2024

NUR1130 Clinical Assignmemt

Kalliopi Parginos

NURSING DEPARTMENT/City Tech

Living lab

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Clinical assignment for students

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

Improve the understanding in Diabetes and the administration off different insulins

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?

Close to the end 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?

Study of Diabetes pathophysiology
Difference between Type 1 and Type 2
Administration of different insulins

Case study and Multiple choice questions

No challenges were identified

N/A

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May 31, 2024

The Process Letter

JHON SINGLETON

English Department/New York City College of Technology

ENG 1101- E093

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The Process Letter is a formal exploration of the student's personal writing process journal within a semester. Think of it as a "love letter" to self and future composition level 2 instructor.

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

1. Students will be able to reflect and highlight thoughts and perceptions about the course content.
2. Students will express in writing their understanding of, reflections on, response to, or analysis of difficult writing academic concepts.
3. Students will express in writing their understanding of, reflections on, response to, or analysis of difficult writing moments.
4. Students will express a writing paragraph sample completed during the semester, showing editing and revising prowess that adheres to MLA format.
5. To further their academic writing journey, students have the opportunity to contribute to their future professor's itinerary/discussions for future lessons. This continues with Paulo Freire's "non-banking" system.

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?

I introduce The Process Letter activity once the research project has been talked about. It occurred during the 10th week of the semester. We went through the 6-paragraph process step by step using a student sample/ example. this takes about a class session. However, students are encouraged and welcome to discuss the parts of the letter during a 15-minute open forum with the remaining class session. Students are entitled to complete two rough drafts before I grade the final draft. 2 hours is expected over 5 weeks is expected. It is due along with the research project.

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

The preparation that is required is completing at least 70% of the course material to the student an opportunity to express a full reflection.
As mentioned above, I go through through the 6-paragraph process step by step using a student sample/ example. this takes about a class session.
I will consider this a "middle stakes" assignment because it is worth 10% of their final course grade, Most of the assignment is personalized and only ONE paragraph requires MLA format.

There is a rubric for this assignment. It is based on a 10pt analysis of the student's presentation. Because of college-wide general education assessment initiatives, I believe a rubric is mandatory.

My students love this activity. It allows them to have a pow-wow with their classmates about their triumphs and difficulties during the semester. I even learn how to improve the course for the following semester. The challenges were few but there were about 4 students who kept putting the project off until the last minute even with positive encouragement. They thought the letter was an easy A and completed it late.

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May 31, 2024

Family Life History Paper

Judith Sedaitis

Social Science

SOC 1104 Race & Ethnicity

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This activity is the capstone of research work in-class and as homework on the 2 main sociological theories and on the role Western imperialism. plays in history of student's cultural heritage. Students describe one of their ancestors home, usually their mother's or father's and analyze the trajectory of their family history from the lens of both individual accountability (cultural theory) and from the primacy of economic and other external forces (conflict theory)

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

The over-arching goal is to teach self awareness through critical analysis. This means several aims are involved. 1) To learn how to critically consider the two competing sociological theories and the historical/ economic role of imperialism in their ancestral country. 2) To use enough interpretation/ evaluation to develop a comprehensive analysis . 3) To successfully argument drawing on their preferred approach. And finally, 4) To acknowledge the other point of view and the complexities of the debate.

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?

We build the skills necessary for a successful paper from weeks 5- 10 in the semester. Since this is a social science class, most the lectures in this period teach material that students will use in their papers, and is reinforced and expanded in smaller, weekly homework assignments. This assignment weaves together weeks of classroom learning and homework. The actual writing period is about 2 weeks, but the students usually take only a day to write it, using the knowledge they gleaned the 5 weeks prior.

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

The paper is 20% of their final grade. The preparation is 5 weeks of lecture and homework assignments.

I use the critical thinking value rubric.

I thought it worked really well. It was clearly a challenging piece of writing that students became personally invested in because they were interviewing and writing about their own family's history.
And they couldn't use AI to do it instead!

Rubric on how to write the paper: https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-83761766-dt-content-rid-676728781_1/xid-676728781_1

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

https://bbhosted.cuny.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-83761766-dt-content-rid-676728781_1/xid-676728781_1

Category: Common Intellectual Experiences

Mystery Pastry Reading Project

The Community Impact Campaign

Living Lab Seminar Activity (Final) Topic: • Intercultural Knowledge and Competence

Reading To Support Architectural Design

Menu Ingredient Pricing & Unit Conversions

In the Pursuit of Knowledge: Focusing on ‘Lifelong Learning’

A Museum of Culture/ Assignment 1A: Museum Research

NUR1130 Clinical Assignmemt

The Process Letter

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