High Impact Educational Practices – Page 3 – L4: Living Lab Learning Library

May 28, 2023

Chef Report Self Assessment

Jessie Riley

HMGT

Culinary 1

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

In Culinary 1 each week students are assigned different positions in the kitchen and complete a chef report the week after they have served as chef. This was a disposable assignment. I created as self assessment rubric and discussed the assignment with students each week. We discussed evaluating ones own work to back and forward.

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

To provide the students a safe environment to evaluate their performance over the 15 weeks of the semester.

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

It was described the first day and each week we would discuss the prior lesson and the up-coming lesson. In the class we devoted 15 minutes and outside of class it could take the students 20-40 minutes. to complete

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

I started to use open lab but had some difficulty so moved the assignment to Blackboard. It is a low stakes activity

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

I modified an assessment rubric and provided students with a hard copy and a soft copy

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?

Yes, as this was the first time I believe it can be improved and I have discussed with the chair about having other instructors incorporate the assignment. The chef report is completed by students in 3 other courses so there is an opportunity to incorporate it into the student's portfolio

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.

I will attach an excel work book and student assignments and the rubric in an email

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

May 18, 2023

The use of annotation in reviewing class readings.

Charisse Marshall DSW, LCSW

Human Services-School of Professional Studies

HUS 1101-Introduction to Human Services

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The use of annotation in reviewing class readings.

What is Annotation?
An annotation is a note or comment added to a text to provide explanation or criticism about a particular part of it (Dictionary.com-2023). In a diverse world, annotation allows students to explore their individual interpretations of classroom materials and assignments, in other words “what does this mean in my world?”. Annotation allows students to explore their perceptions while reviewing reading materials for classroom assignments.

Topic-The History of Advocacy in Human Services
Poverty in 1601 vs Poverty/Social Disparities in 2023
Chapter 3 Woodside, M. & McClam, T. (2019) 9th Ed.
An Introduction to human services. NY: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

General Education Standards explored:
Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Awareness of Diversity.

The purpose of this lesson was to expose students to the first public laws developed to aid and assist the poor and underprivileged.

-The Elizabethan Poor Laws were passed as a response to the increasing number of poor people in Great Britain in 1601.
*Making the connection between life in 1601 and modern day life in 2023. What do students think social problems were like in England in 1601 versus modern day issues (micro/macro communities)?
• Law passed as the number of poor increased.
• Compulsory taxation to raise funds to help the needy.
• Classification of dependents according to ability to work: children, the able-bodied, and the “impotent poor”.
• Responsibility for those in need was first with the family and then with the government.

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

General Education Standards explored:
Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Awareness of Diversity.

The purpose of this lesson was to expose students to the first public laws developed to aid and assist the poor and underprivileged.
Students were introduced during the lesson to the following ideas:
Modern Day Movements
Public Welfare
Private Sector/Non-Profit Support Programs
The role of advocacy in human services in a modern day context.

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 a week 4 assignment. This assignment was given after one full month of the semester in order for students to feel comfortable sharing their views. The assignment The assignment consisted of quiet reading time, completing the annotation independently and then class discussion. A total of 90 minutes. Students were very enthused, especially when cinema was incorporated such as "Bridgerton".

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 an interactive low stakes assignment which is used to introduce a high stakes assignment-discussion of the Final Term Paper on a social issue of the students choice. The instructor has to select the reading and any supplemental resources which will be used during the assignment (such as video clips).

Rubric-
Low Stakes Assignment-Level of Engagement
5 Points-Students Did Not pose any Questions
10 Points-Posed some questions but did not evoke discussion.
15 points-Posed Relevant questions during class discussions.
20 points-Posed 2 relevant questions which provoked discussion.

The assignment was well received. I think next time I will ask students to submit a video clip which illustrates their personal perceptions of modern day poverty.

Themes/Perceptions of Students during this lesson:
Students learned the word/term “pauperism”, explored the meaning of poverty.
Treatment of the Poor and Indigent (Public, Private, and Religious Based Social Services) in 1601.
Mental Health Services 1601 vs Mental Health Services 2023
What do you think poverty looked like in 1601?

Living General Education
Spring 2023
Charisse Marshall, DSW, LCSW
Human Services Department

The use of annotation in reviewing class readings.

General Education Standards explored:
Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Awareness of Diversity.

The purpose of this lesson was to expose students to the first public laws developed to aid and assist the poor and underprivileged.

Themes/Perceptions of Students:
Students learned the word/term “pauperism”, explored the meaning of poverty.
Treatment of the Poor and Indigent (Public, Private, and Religious Based Social Services) in 1601.
Mental Health Services 1601 vs Mental Health Services 2023
What do you think poverty looked like in 1601?

Making Modern Day Connections to cinema such as “The Crown”, “Meghan and Harry”, and “Bridgerton”.

Students were introduced during the lesson to the following ideas:
Modern Day Movements
Public Welfare
Private Sector/Non-Profit Support Programs
The role of advocacy in human services in a modern day context.

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

May 16, 2023

Student self-assessment that promotes learning

Patricia Childers

Communication Design (COMD)

Graphic Design Principles, Typography

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

A self-assessment activity for reflection and reinforcement.
• low stakes, high impact activity to promote deep learning through engagement
• a mechanism to help focus on specific goals
• a tool to help students track progress towards their goals
• a tool to guide educators in the effectiveness of their communication

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

Inquiry & Analysis
A pedagogical approach to student review that not only reinforces student learning, but reinforces that they have learned. The goals this student classroom experience is to support the analysis of creative and critical thinking through the use of HIEPs,

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 can be introduced at the conclusion of any student project. Classroom time in minimal, about 20 minutes based on the amount of material reviewed. There is no out-of-class time.

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 low stakes activity requires the project rubric and copies of the final project. Students self access using the rubric. Student assessment refers to specific examples, footnoted or cross-referenced directly on the copy of the final project.

The rubric development is based on the General Education inquiry of Knowledge and Skills using specific project criteria. This course in not part of a college-wide assessment. The project in itself is not graded. I find that student's responses are a true reflection of the student's understanding. "When the act of self-assessing is given a learning-oriented purpose, students' self-assessments are relatively consistent with those of external evaluators, including professors." [Lopez, R., and Kossack, S. (2007). Effects of recurring use of self-assessment in university courses. Int. J. Learn. 14, 203–216. doi: 10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v14i04/45277]

I do review the activity to insure that student's response indicates that they correctly understand the material. Any discrepancies are reviewed directly with the student to correct misconceptions. In this way, the activity reflects the impact of my communication of the material through the student's response. If student understanding of the material is low, I know that I need to change me approach.

The activity works well and I use it several times a semester. The biggest challenge is the response of a few students to "having" to grade themselves. One student reminded me that grading is my job, not theirs. I explain that periodic, external replay of learned input patterns strengthens synaptic connections—the combination of structural plasticity, synaptic plasticity and self-generated reactivation not only stabilizes synaptic turnover but enhances their connectivity and associative memory. This explanation tends to erode resistance. And generally, many students have stated that they better understand the concept after the self assessment. The assessment is altered to support each different assignment.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pchilders-portfolio/2023/05/16/student-self-assessment-that-promotes-learning/

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

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pchilders-portfolio/wp-admin/post.php?post=266&action=edit

May 5, 2023

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge

Patricia Hickey

CityTech CUNY

English 1101 and English 1112

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

The class as a groups walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. The class did some preliminary research about the Brooklyn Bridge’s history. The students paired up. One partner made voice comments while the other took photos. The pairs chose either people, scenery or bridge structure.

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

The goals are:
1. Everyone should experience walking over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge!
2. Students learn how to hone their power of observation.
3. Students put their experience into a solid coherent paragraph.
4. Students share their experiences with their classmates.
5. Everyone sees each other in a different light. This will help establish comradery.

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

In the Spring semester I did this mid semester for two reasons. Firstly, the warmer weather makes the walk easier. Secondly, a change of pace is good for the mid semester slump.
The entire lesson takes about a full class and a half time. We walked during the class time .I

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

There was no preparation for this activity, although I was concerned if someone felt they were not capable of walking the distance. All felt fine. Before walking we did some preliminary research about the Bridge.
This was a low stakes writing lesson.

The only assessment was participation

This experience was wonderful and I most certainly will repeat this. Everyone loved the activity and I had virtually no complaints. The students loved walking and chatting with their classmates and with me. They loved the views and the feeling that it was “their Bridge” and they were not tourists.

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

April 14, 2023

Interactive Video Assignment

Catherine Monchik

Dental Hygiene/ New York City College of Technology

Periodontics 1217

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This collaborative assignment from DEN 1200 will continue on- A case study will be assigned to you by Professor Marsh, please use this case study for Periodontics 1217, to create a 2–3-minute interactive video explaining to your patient their periodontal health status, periodontal stages and grades or if the patient has gingivitis, how it can progress into periodontal disease, explain treatment options and substantial response by explaining, why their chosen recommendation benefits the patient and what other recommendations might you consider to a fellow classmate.

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

Integrative learning with the application of theory to practical problems, integrating ideas or concepts, and understanding and connecting ideas from other courses. Connections to different disciplines, oral and written communication, and connections to 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?

I plan to discuss it at the beginning of the semester as they will start their written assignment for the other course. I will devote any time necessary to explain instructions and go over anything that is unclear. The time out of the classroom by practicing and having an outline set should be roughly three to four hours.

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 will be a collaborative assignment from DEN 1200- A case study will be assigned to you by Professor Marsh; please use this case study for Periodontics 1217, creating an Interactive Video Assignment. This will be a continuation of your paper. Please carefully use the Rubric below to guide your presentation. You will need to record a video from 2-3 minutes discussing and answering the questions below. You may record yourself using any mobile device or application, but please ensure the link you submit downloads and opens without issues. For example, you may upload a YouTube video link you created, an MP4 file of your video, or a video application format like Vimeo. The recording assignment file should include last name, first name, and case value (e.g., Smith, Stage I, grade B), and be submitted on OpenLab under Student Video Posts.
Please answer these questions:
1. Depending on your patient’s case, what would you say about their periodontal health status to the patient?

2. Explain to the patient the periodontal stages and grades or if the patient has gingivitis, how it can progress into periodontal disease. (Please use visual aids as we would with a patient)

3. Explain treatment options and plan of action to slow down or stop the progression of their disease (ex: root planning and scaling, any intervention methods, and homecare) to the patient.

4. Provide goal-targeted feedback in a supportive manner offering a substantial response by explaining why their chosen recommendation benefits the patient and what other recommendations you might consider. (Give goal-targeted feedback in a supportive manner) Respond to someone with a different patient case than yours, which can be a different section than ours.

It is a low stakes assigment.

Oral communication and integrative ACCU rubric assessing the organization (content is a structured presentation), language (persuasive and professional manner), delivery (effective/2-3 minutes) connection to experience (profound understanding of the field), and their reply (substantial reply to a fellow classmate). It's worth 5% of their grade.

This activity worked well with my students. They learned a lot from each other. I would repeat this assignment. It was very valuable for the students to learn and understand the concepts and periodontics. They could incorporate their new skills into the other classes, the 1200 seminar and the 1200 clinic. The feedback from the students is that they made their interactive video multiple times learning where their communication needed to be stronger with their patients. The only thing I would change is to clarify the assignment instructions. Some details were not missed. The students were creative with this assignment and used the platform to its fullest ability pretending to have a live patient and split screen. I was very impressed with how the project turned out.

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

June 23, 2022

Being Informative and Persuasive when Discussing Legal Topics

Terel Watson

Law and Paralegal Studies

Senior Legal Seminar

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

In this activity, students are required to view two videos relating to an area of Criminal Justice Reform that the students are drafting their scholarly paper analyzing. The two videos are excerpts from documentaries or journalistic pieces. The students are then required to spot the legal issues presented in the videos and use the research they have done on the topic and discussions in class to take a position on those issues orally. Students will have 5 minutes to present their position. The presentation is followed by a 5-minute student-led question-and-answer session.

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

This is an assignment for a writing-intensive capstone course. One area in my students' writing that needed improvement was their ability to articulate their position using reliable evidence. While all of my students had strong opinions on the legal topics discussed in class, they struggled to defend why they had certain positions. For their scholarly paper, my students are asked to inform on one of three areas of Criminal Justice Reform and to persuade an audience of their position relating to an aspect of the topic. The students are then required to use numerous primary and secondary sources to inform and defend their position.

This assignment assesses their ability to articulate their views orally and cogently. Once this assignment is completed, students will apply the same principles to improve their ability to inform and persuade in written form.

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 course requires that much of the semester be devoted to the 15-page significant written assignment. This oral assignment serves as part of the scaffolding process in students preparing their papers. Thus, the oral assignment would be completed during the latter third of the semester, during the drafting of the final paper. In addition, time will be devoted to the presentations over two, two-hour class sessions.

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

As students are writing their final paper, they are doing significant research into the issues presented. This assignment is designed so students aren't required to do research outside the scope of their paper. Once students understand that they are very receptive. Students are first alerted to the need to complete an oral presentation early in the course. The syllabus also provides a brief overview of the oral assignment. The syllabus also states that the oral presentation is 15% of the final overall grade. Thus, it can be "high stakes" for students.

My course is not a part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative. The Oral Communication VALUE Rubric is a great guide for me in assessing the student’s mastery of the learning goals related to this assignment. However, I do not publish a set rubric for this assignment. I will consider doing that in the future. As a general matter, below are some questions I consider determining a student's success with the assignment:
1. Did the student spot the legal issues requiring analysis?
2. Did the student properly use primary and secondary sources to inform on the issue?
3. Did the student use their sources to present the information accurately?
4. Do students properly use primary and secondary sources to persuade their audience on their position.
5. Are the students logical and coherent in their presentation of their position?
6. Can students answer questions about their position extemporaneously? Or is the student tied to excessive notes?

While I have always had an oral presentation component to my course. I have not yet implemented this video-driven prompt to my course yet. Last semester I taught Legal Ethics and not this seminar. However, in the past student used PowerPoint to present on their legal topic. However, this led to students excessively lecturing on the topic and made it difficult to incite dynamic and meaningful questions after the presentation in some cases. Thus, the use of provocative videos serves to focus the presentations a bit. These videos will also stimulate deep thought on "hot-button" issues important to students. I look forward to incorporating this into my course the next time I teach the seminar!

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

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/watsonlaw4900spring2020/course-materials/assignments/

May 26, 2022

Group Communication Summative Assignment

Misti Wills

Humanities/New York City College of Technology

COM1330 Public Speaking

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Students will be put into small groups to identify and solve a problem on campus utilizing Dewey’s Reflective -Thinking Method of 5 Steps to Solving a Problem. They will conduct research, cite evidence, and brainstorm possible solutions. They will turn in a written paper and then present their work as a persuasive speech to the class demonstrating why their preferred solution should be taken.

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

HIEP of Collaborative Projects and Assignments and SLO of Oral and Written Communication Skills. This is an on site learning activity.

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 the final one of the semester after they have studied persuasive speaking and presented persuasive speeches. I review the assignment and assign groups approximately one month before it is due. Some class time is utilized in the beginning and it is expected that students may need to get together outside of class for one or two meetings to prepare and practive final presentation.

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 know how to write an outline and know how to write a persuasive speech in order to succeed in this assignment. I begin the assignment by introducing the positive and negative roles people play in groups and by asking them how they feel when they have group project assignments and why. I ask them to strategize how best to deal with the negative roles when they encounter them and stress the importance of group work in future careers.

POSITIVE ROLES
Encourager
Harmonizer
Compromiser
Gatekeeper
Standard setter
Group Observer
Follower

NEGATIVE ROLES
Dominator
Blocker
Self-Confessor
Recognition Seeker
Special-interest pleader
Joker

I give out the grading rubric and instructions showing a separate grade for the paper from the oral presentation. I require that students brainstorm what problem they'd like to see solved on campus and state that it must be a problem they are all familiar with. I review that all students must participate in the oral presentation and deliver a part of the final speech and that they need two sources of information for research and a minimum of two visual aids. I encourage them to obtain videos and photos showing the problem whenever possible and to interview other students and faculty who may have experienced it as well to collect their evidence.
This is a low stakes activity worth 15% of the final grade.

I use the VALUE Rubrics from Oral and Written Communication which include the following;
ORGANIZATION-Cohesive Presentation
LANGUAGE-Compelling/Persuasive
DELIVERY-Effective Techniques
SUPPORTING MATERIALS-Establish Credibility and Authority
CENTRAL MESSAGE –Compelling and Memorable

The paper and oral speech are assessed separately for the total final grade for the project. Both require identifying and explaining the five steps they used to solve the problem and presenting evidence and persuading the audience to take their recommended solution.
My course is a general education requirement called Public Speaking.

This activity was recieved with some trepidation because of the nature of group work which requires relying on each other. Once the students discovered they were empowered to choose to make a change to something on campus, their imaginations took off. They identified problems such as difficulty to find car parking, long lines at elevators, lack of enough outlets to plug in devices, etc. They also came up with wonderful solutions and ideas! Their video and photographic evidence of the problems, along with video interviews with other students in them, brought much delight during the presentations and bonded the students. It felt more personal than their other speeches had been in some ways and after two years without much in-person interaction, really seemed to delight them with just being together.
I would absolutely repeat this activity and plan to do so. It would be enjoyable to invite some administrators in to see their ideas!

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

May 25, 2022

Speak the Word:Slam Poetry as a Pedagogical Tool in the World Language Classroom

Ines Corujo-Martin

Humanities

SPA 3302 Survey of Modern Spanish Literature

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Slam poetry is a type of spoken-word poetry that combines poetry and performance in front of an audience. This creative writing activity will be implemented in the course SPA 3302, which explores key themes of Spanish literature and culture from the 19th century to contemporary times through reading, analysis, and interpretation of dramatic plays, short stories, poetry, essays, and novels. Students are introduced to literary terms, literary genres, techniques of literary analysis and language construction (like simile, alliteration, personification, metaphor, etc.), as well as to the work of a wide range of authors. This course is offered every spring semester and is a designated Writing Intensive course.
The purpose of implementing a slam poetry activity is for students to read, enjoy, and interact with poetry in a meaningful and personal way, approaching the poetic genre as a living spectacle that allows us to link writing and performance. Even though this course includes essays, weekly class discussion in online forums, formal presentations, and reading assignments, there is a lack of systemic creative, engaging activities. This activity aims to help students connect the course content with their personal interests and translate what they learn in class to create their own texts based on the readings and materials.
Throughout the activity, students are expected to:
• Read, analyze, and interpret a selection of poems
• Write their own poem (1 draft + 1 final version)
• Peer-review poems written by classmates in small groups
• Attend a virtual slam poetry performance online
• Perform their own poem in class during a conclusive slam poetry session

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

With this activity I aim to achieve the learning goals described below:
• Develop students’ reading, writing, and oral communication skills in Spanish, while they put into practice all four language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) and increasing confidence in using Spanish as a tool of communication
• Exercise literary analysis and poetic techniques, in addition to exploring the relationship between text and performance
• Show new approaches to reading and writing, while promoting the use of Spanish in a creative way
• Offer an instrument of personal expression to think critically, while connecting course materials with own interests and life experiences
• Create bonds with peers in an online environment and develop a sense of community in the classroom
• Embark on a personal journey through another language and become active agents of their language acquisition

The proposed activity integrates the following General Education SLOs:
Oral Communication:
• Delivery techniques (posture, gesture, eye contact, and vocal expressiveness) make the performance compelling, and the speaker appears polished and confident
• Message is compelling and shows a high degree of originality and ownership. Uniquely conveys ideas and emotions with words and phrases
Written Communication:
• Poetic genre. Correctly incorporates and utilizes the stylistic features and format of the poetic genre (literary devices, rhyme, structure, mood, tone, etc.)
• Use of Spanish language. Very few errors in sentence structure and mechanics; exhibits good to excellent command of Spanish and professional terminology; sentences are complex, and vocabulary is sophisticated; skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency
• Writing Process. Effectively works on the different stages of the poem to achieve the best final version of it, incorporating changes from peer review activities
Reading
• Analysis/Interpretation. Correctly identifies and evaluates ideas or arguments in a poem. Able to compare or contrast information competently between different sources. Uses information from the poem to make sophisticated interpretations, while making connections to other situations

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 implemented during the second module of the course, which is divided into four modules. The second module centers around the study and analysis of poetry, and it is developed over the course of 4 weeks.
The activity timing is structured as follows:
– Week 1: Presentation of the assignment, guidelines, and evaluation rubric. Preliminary short, guided activities to read, analyze, and interpret poems. Brainstorming of topics and samples of poems from previous courses
– Week 2: Watch a slam poetry session online (15 min) and write a short reflection of 250-300 words on the OpenLab site. Write and submit the first draft by the end of Week 2
– Week 3: After submitting the first draft students receive individualized feedback from the professor a few days later on how to improve the content and use of Spanish (grammar, vocabulary, syntax). Through a peer-review session in small groups of three during class students evaluate each other’s poem using a peer review guide. In-class time is also devoted to practice the performance in small groups in class and give feedback to each other
– Week 4: Final version of the poem. Slam poetry performance session during class
In total, this activity will use 4 hours in class; and it is expected that students work 4-5 hours outside of class.

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

No previous preparation is needed for this activity. SPA 3302 is a course fully conducted in Spanish and the majority of students are native or near-native Spanish speakers, which facilitates writing, reading, and performing creative texts. The instructions of the activity are provided on the OpenLab site and explained in detail during class.
Even though this is a low-stakes activity, the final version of the poem is part of a semester high-stake final project – a writing ePortfolio created through the OpenLab that students develop throughout the semester. The ePortfolio compiles all the formal and creative writing assignments of the semester with a final reflection on the project experience, which accounts for 40% of the final grade. As a high-impact practice derived from American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), implementing an ePortfolio within the course seeks to enhance students’ learning experience, promoting active learning. Through this assignment students have the opportunity to document their learning over an extended period of time and reflect on their work. Moreover, the activity proposed connects to other high-impact practices due to its focus on collaborative learning through peer-editing, discussion groups and exchange of ideas, in addition to diversity/global learning. Since this course is fully conducted in Spanish, students are already exploring another culture, life experiences, and worldviews different from their own. As a designated Writing Intensive course, SPA 3302 also focuses on the process of writing through several formal and informal assignments to help students develop skills in academic and non-academic writing.

For this activity, I designed a rubric adapted from different AAC&U VALUE rubrics that incorporates a balanced assessment of oral communication, written communication, and reading learning outcomes. See the link to the rubric that I developed below. Interested users of this rubric are welcome to make adaptations and additions to tailor it to their specific pedagogical needs and class context. This course is not part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative.

I couldn't implement this activity this semester, and instead of it, students had an in-class poetry workshop in which they analyzed poems and wrote one creative poem. Due to the extensive course content and other assignments, I decided to simplify the slam poetry activity and design shorter, scaffolded exercises over multiple class sessions since students needed to become familiar with reading and analyzing poems in Spanish and identifying poetic techniques (e.g., rhyme scheme, poetic devices, etc.). However, I am looking forward to implementing it this coming Fall 2022 as I believe that it will help students improve their written, reading, and oral skills, while at the same time enjoying playing and creating new meanings through words.

Rubric: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12BExs6fFxYyeLicrqDsUCD3FE_B2Jago/view?usp=sharing

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

May 19, 2022

PowerPoint Presentation: Global Learning – Comparison of Alfred Schenker’s Secret War Diary, 1941-43 to a Current Event in Terms of Human Impact

Prof. Nadine Weinstein-Lavi

English/NYCCT

English 1121

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Students were asked to read my grandfather, Alfred Schenker's Secret War Diary, 1941-43, written while he was hiding in a cellar with nine other Jews in Lvov, then Poland, and to do namep-based and place-based research using the diary. Then, students were asked to compare an idea, quotes, names, and places in the diary to a comparable event, e.g. the current Russian invasion of Lvyv, now Ukraine (same city), or slavery, etc., and to conclude with how their ideas about those events changed as a result of their research, and how that has impacted them personally.

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

The Learning Goals for students are to acquire a global perspective in terms of learning about a specific historical event using an actual historical document (my grandfather's Secret War Diary) and to make a comparison to a comparable and/or modern event in terms of social, human, ethical, and cultural impact, so that they, in turn, might expand upon their perceptions of history vis a vis modern events and how they might effect change in actuality – whether via more open and embracing stances or more – in the 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?

The reading of the diary and the subsequent PowerPoint presentation assignment was done in the middle of the semester to mark it as a unique "break" and transition assignment from the previous text (a Netflix series) to the next one, and to have students engage with current events, e.g. the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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 involved a guided reading and discussion of the diary in class, homework to finish reading it on their own, answering 5 Discussion questions posted on Blackboard about the diary with 1 paragraph responses to prepare them to think about it more deeply, and suggestions as to possible topics for comparison for the PowerPoint. A slideshow demonstrating how to create a PowerPoint using the diary was shown, and specific guidance was given to each student regarding his/her topic. This was a high stakes activity given the nature of the thinking and analysis that the students were asked to do in class and on their own worth 25 points. They did very well on this particular assignment.

The rubric was as follows (given in bullet points on the board):
*Aim for 10-12 slides
*Present SLOs and what you will determine
*Use images that you have researched about the diary and additional images you find about the places and names in it
*Use images of the comparable event
*Analyze the similarities and differences
*Answer 4 questions: 1. What were your assumptions about both event prior researching them? 2. How have your assumptions changed post-research? 3. How this has affected you personally and in terms of your worldview? 4. How will you effect change in the world as a result of this new perspective?

This activity worked very well in the classroom. Students were immediately engaged in reading an actual historical document being presented by a relative (me) of the author (my grandfather) whose eye witness account of the events in Lvov, then Poland, now Ukraine, during the Holocaust made them more real and uncontestable than other information they had seen about the Holocaust, such as movies, posts, articles. Students also found trying to do place-based and name-based research about the diary interesting and like being a detective. Analyzing how it compared to a comparable event asked them to think about it more deeply from an additional perspective, and summing up the impact it all had upon them personally was a good culmination.

NYCCTEng1121ProfLaviSpring2022JoshuaIronsPowerPoint.pptx
Alfred'sWarDiary.pdf
C:\Users\nlavi\Downloads\NYCCTEng1121ProfLaviSpring2022ArielCabreraPowerPoint.pdf

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

April 29, 2022

GenEd Seminar Winter 2022 assignment

Laura Andreescu

Restorative Dentistry

Living Lab General Education Winter 2022 seminar

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

For the Living Lab General Education Seminar Winter 2022 I chose “Reading” as the main SLO. I developed and introduced a reading class activity for the laboratory section of the Dental Implant Prosthetics course, in which we read a scientific article titled “Provisional Restorations Options in Implant Dentistry” by Dr. Robert Santosa and published in the Australian Dental Journal, October 2007.
I chose this article because at that time, the lecture section of this course covered this topic and, the students were working on the laboratory project of fabricating a 3-unit provisional restoration for dental implants on teeth # 9 and # 11. After reading the article and having discussions students completed an informal assignment in which they had to answer few questions (short essay) about what they learned. This informal assignment was not graded and instructed the students to concentrate more on the concepts than the spelling and grammar. Based on the students’ responses, I concluded that most of them have a good understanding of this topic. However, this class activity sparked interesting discussions and students were able to evaluate what are some of the gaps in their knowledge.
I am planning to have at least one more similar class activity, and if the time permits to have a formal assignment, as homework, in which they will have to read and article and summarize it in an essay form. This homework will be graded, and I will provide the reading grading rubric as developed during the General Education seminar. The goal for the Student Learning Outcome is to familiarize students with reading and understanding scientific concepts and dental vocabulary presented in different forms such as peer-review journals, professional blogs, etc.

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

My goals are to develop students reading abilities, which will helped them gain knowledge and be better prepared in their careers.

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 class activity took place at the end of the laboratory session and it took approximately 15 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?

This informal assignment is not graded, but is intended to show students their level of understanding of class topic and for me to see what areas of course instructions I need to develop more.

I used the informal assignment as a feedback to evaluate the students' level of understanding of course materials.

Yes. I will use this type of class activity in the future, because it is a barometer of how well they are doing in this course

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

Category: High Impact Educational Practices

Chef Report Self Assessment

Student self-assessment that promotes learning

Interactive Video Assignment

Being Informative and Persuasive when Discussing Legal Topics

Group Communication Summative Assignment

Speak the Word:Slam Poetry as a Pedagogical Tool in the World Language Classroom

PowerPoint Presentation: Global Learning – Comparison of Alfred Schenker’s Secret War Diary, 1941-43 to a Current Event in Terms of Human Impact

GenEd Seminar Winter 2022 assignment

The OpenLab at City Tech:A place to learn, work, and share

Support

Accessibility

Copyright

Creative Commons

The OpenLab at City Tech:A place to learn, work, and share

Support

Accessibility

Copyright

Creative Commons