Category: High Stakes

Posted on

Creating and Journalizing Accounting Transactions

Creating and Journalizing Accounting Transactions

Professor Ionie Pierce

Business

Principles of Accounting 1

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Create a service company and integrate what you have learned in class:
Create transactions for your company, include different types of transactions
Journalize your transactions
Post the accounts to the ledger
Prepare unadjusted trial balance
Create and journalize adjustments
Prepare adjusted trial balance
Prepare financial statements
Prepare closing entries
Prepare post-closing trial balance.
You will be asked to present your work to the class

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

– Develop a clear understanding of the accounting cycle, from initial journal entry to the preparation of financial statements.
– Build skills to prepare accurate and complete financial records, ensuring compliance with accounting principles.
– Understand how accounting entries affect the overall financial health of an organization and the preparation of financial reports.

– Gain the ability to communicate financial data effectively, using proper accounting terminology and methods.

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 done towards the end of the semester. Seeing that the goal of the activity is to test students' knowledge of their understanding of what they learn, not much in-class activity is done unless students have questions. Students are expected to devote as much out-of-class time as required to complete the project. After completion, students will do a 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?

To effectively perform the activities of journalizing, posting, adjusting entries, and closing entries in accounting, adequate preparation is crucial. The preparation needed for each task are:
1. In preparation for writing journal entries, students must understand the transaction. They must analyze each business transaction thoroughly to determine which accounts are affected and whether they should be debited or credited. And whether the transaction involves an asset, liability, equity, revenue, or expense account, as each has different rules for debiting and crediting.
2. In preparation for journalizing entries, the general ledger must be set up and it must be organized with individual accounts for each asset, liability, equity, revenue, and expense category. The debit and credit amounts for each journal entry, as well as the accounts involved must be double-check, to make sure that everything balances correctly.
3. In preparation for posting entries you have to make sure you know how to transfer amounts from the journal to the ledger while maintaining the correct debit/credit balance. And all journal entries must be posted to the ledger in a timely manner to ensure that the trial balance is accurate and up to date.
4. In preparation for adjusting entries you must look at the current trial balance to identify accounts that may require adjustments for example, accounts like prepaid expenses, unearned revenue, accrued expenses. And make sure you can differentiate between accruals, which are revenues and expenses that have been earned/incurred but not yet recorded and deferrals which are transactions where money was received or paid in advance of actual recognition.
5. In preparation for closing entries, temporary accounts need to be identified, because temporary accounts need to be closed at the end of the accounting period. These typically include revenues, expenses, and drawings/dividends accounts. Revenue accounts such as sales, service revenue, etc., and expense accounts such as salaries, utilities, etc. need to be transferred to an income summary account. And understand how the net income or loss from the income summary will affect the retained earnings account. Then transfer dividends/drawings, if applicable to retained earnings/Owner's Equity. After performing closing entries, you must confirm that the temporary accounts which are revenues, expenses, dividends/drawings have been reduced to zero, and the balances have been transferred to retained earnings/owner's equity.
The activity is high-stakes because it is used as a major component of the final grade, in which students' performance is critically evaluated.

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

The VALUE Rubric helps to assess general education outcomes. It is structured to assess student work on a range of criteria using levels of performance. The VALUE Rubric can be adapted to evaluate accounting tasks, especially in areas like critical thinking, problem-solving, and quantitative literacy. The VALUE rubrics in accounting activities include
Criteria for Assessment and Levels of Performance. The criteria for assessment includes Knowledge of Accounting Concepts, Problem Solving, Application of Skills, and Accuracy of Work. The Levels of Performance includes Capstone/Excellent, Milestones /Proficient, Benchmark/Basic and Beginning/Needs Improvement.
I am not aware that the course is part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative.

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 works well in my class. Students were able to do the work and present it with knowledge that they have grasp the concepts taught in class. Yes, I will repeat this in my class next semester because it helps to reinforce the concepts taught. I did not encounter any challenge. What students need clarification on, I explained it to them. Students did well, therefore, I would not make any changes. Students were able to prepare their work and present it so they were glad they understand the concepts not only to put it on paper, but also to present it.

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.

Have example of a rubric but do not know how to attach it or create a link.

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

Posted on

Designing Reflections + Final Portfolio Project

Designing Reflections + Final Portfolio Project

Sean M. Landers

Entertainment Technology / Emerging Media Technology at New York City College of Technology (CityTech)

Design Foundations I

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This activity is a capstone portfolio, the culminating synthesis for a foundation course built on iterative design, thinking through media, and developing a reflective practice. Throughout the semester, as students engaged across rapid prototyping across media, they were tasked to complete preliminary freewrites and post-activity response writing.

This final activity gathers and makes use of those scattered pieces, making a final argument for the use and necessity of such reflective writing, even (especially!) in an age of AI.

Students document what they've made and design the presentation of that work, using their previous fragments of writing as a structure and support. This encourages to students to make sense of what they've made, to design the presentation of that work, and to draw meaning from the sequence and structure of the semester itself. The project is an archive and an interface, a user-centered reflection of their own design identity. The portfolio becomes a creative product and a reflective narrative: students explain their decisions, apply visual composition principles, and reflect on their identity and development as designers.

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

Students will:

synthesize work from across multiple project types and media;

understand and apply the principles of design thinking;

communicate ideas through formal and informal writing;

apply core visual composition & interaction design principles to create a cohesive user experience;

reflect on learning, growth, and process;

demonstrate an understanding of interaction design and design fundamentals;

engage with tools (Notion, Trello, Figma) introduced during earlier modules in a real-world, self-directed project;

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 culminating assignment that comes it at the conclusion of the semester, but is most effective when the groundwork for it has been laid over the course of the semester in previous units, allowing students to accumulate a substantial body of writing to feed the process of reflection.

Assigned: Week 14
In-Class Support: Week 14–15 (Portfolio Inspiration, Artist Statement, Draft Workshop)
Final Due: Week 16
In-Class Time: ~3 sessions
Out-of-Class Time: ~5–8 hours over two weeks

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: Students must have previously completed core projects (in the case of this course, three course projects, but it could be more or less), all of which include instructions that request brief (250-750 word), structured reflections on their process and product.

Instructor provides a structure, examples, and a sequence of scaffolded mini-activities (portfolio inspirations, artist statement, reflection prompt) both in previous activities and in this activity.

Instructions to Students:

Collect and describe each of the three projects completed during the term, which you have previously submitted in the form of project folders

Compose a 500–700 word reflective essay on design identity and learning

Apply principles of visual composition and interaction design to structure and present your work

Use any platform of your choice (PDF, website, slide deck, Figma file); justify that choice

Final portfolios must feel designed, not just assembled

This is the final assignment and represents 20–25% of the course grade; the other assignments represented in it previously accounted for ~50% of their course grade.

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 began with

Clarity and Structure (30%)
Is the portfolio organized, legible, and navigable? Are sections clear?
Application of Design Principles (30%)
Are visual composition principles and interaction design principles applied thoughtfully across the whole portfolio? Does it reflect design thinking in its structure and layout?
Process Reflection (20%)
Is there thoughtful reflection on what you’ve learned and how your process evolved?
Representation of Design Identity (20%)
Does the portfolio communicate something meaningful about you as a designer?

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 emerged from a desire to ensure that low-stakes reflections (e.g., freewrites), which had yielded thoughtful and interesting results in previous iterations of the course, were not merely disposable assignments. I hoped that incorporating them into high-stakes creative production as a precursor and an opportunity of reflection could yield a final expression of iterative design thinking; moreover, that it could take the format of the 'portfolio assignment', which sometimes feels stapled on and hastily presented and elevate it into a suitable capstone (which can model the skills and process necessary to succeed in subsequent high stakes capstones that they may be required to produce in subsequent course work).

The success of the activity lies in the clarity with which students articulated their growth, when given structured space to reflect. They learned to consider their audience in new ways, even when the audience was themselves, or potential employers, investors, or collaborators.

Challenges included time management — things get hectic at the conclusion of the semester. This is where it is helpful that so much of the material had already been produced; that this was, in large part, an exercise in structure and curation, and an opportunity to revisit and reflect on writing previously written. There was also the issue of tool friction — many of the authoring tools on offer had only previously been explored in project 3, and this assignment not only came on the heels of it, but had a substantial overlap between completion of project 3 and introduction of project 4 — that means there was a great deal of conceptual fuzziness as students tried to conceive of what their portfolio was and what it could look like. It also took a great deal of time to create the understanding of how this was more than just a cluster of previously completed assignments, and how it could be a designed experience; this was addressed most effectively through in-class checkpoints and exemplars.

Flexible submission formats were useful, but sometimes too much flexibility can be as frustrating as too little flexibility; next time around, I'll provide clearer tracks that I'll ask students to commit to early in the process, as well as a modification of the overall assignment write-up tailored to each track. This will also give the students communities of practice operating in the same mode of production; peer groups can perform reviews, share insights, and have informal working groups to share questions, concerns and frustrations with.

Next time, I plan to incorporate an early-semester preview of what a “design reflection” looks like to give students more scaffolding throughout the term; I also intend to introduce the formal writing component of overall reflection earlier in the process and request that students take their drafts to the writing center, in order to provide a more structured and comprehensive instruction in writing than I was capable of fitting into the semester.

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'm sharing links to the course OpenLab, as well as a page of the course assignments (Activities, low-stakes activities which structure their work overall, and Projects, which are the high stakes activities that demonstrate mastery) as well as the assignment for Project 04, the portfolio project.

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

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/mtec1101-hd03-sp2025/

Posted on

Finding and Feeding Curiosity: When Students Drive Their Own Learning

Finding and Feeding Curiosity: When Students Drive Their Own Learning

Sergio Belich

Computer Systems Technology / NYC College of Technology

Web Programming I

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

In this collaborative research activity, students work in small groups (3-5 students per row) during the laboratory portion of class to research and define key concepts introduced in the preceding lecture. Each group is assigned a major topic from the chapter and tasked with finding comprehensive yet accessible definitions using internet sources. Groups contribute their findings to a shared Google document, creating a collaborative chapter resource that serves as a student-generated textbook supplement. Additionally, separate groups are formed to create and present websites based on the material learned throughout the semester, with these projects due at the end of the semester as a culminating demonstration of web programming concepts. This activity transforms passive note-taking into active knowledge construction, particularly engaging for working adult students who prefer hands-on learning over independent reading assignments. The collaborative approach also supports multilingual learners by allowing peer assistance with language and technical terminology comprehension.

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

Primary goals include: 1) Transforming students from passive recipients to active knowledge creators, 2) Developing research and digital literacy skills essential for web programming careers, 3) Fostering collaborative learning that mirrors real-world development team dynamics, 4) Creating student ownership of learning materials that enhances retention and engagement, 5) Addressing the learning preferences of working adult students who benefit from focused, in-class activities over outside reading, 6) Supporting multilingual learners through peer collaboration and shared vocabulary building, and 7) Building technical English proficiency alongside programming concepts, 8) Applying semester-long learning through final website creation and presentation projects, and 9) Building a comprehensive, student-generated resource that serves both present and absent students for exam preparation.

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 was implemented most extensively during the first third of the semester, building toward the first exam when foundational concepts were being established. During this initial phase, the 2-hour laboratory session dedicated approximately 90 minutes to collaborative research and document creation. As the semester progressed and more advanced topics were introduced following the first exam, the activity required modification—less time was devoted to pure research and more time to streamlining and building upon established foundations. The pacing also accommodated the time needed for multilingual learners to process technical vocabulary and collaborate on language comprehension.

After the first exam, "cheat sheets" containing high-level main topic concepts were introduced at the beginning of each 2-hour lecture and used through the end of the semester. These provided quick, easily absorbed foundations before advancing to complex topics. These cheat sheets particularly benefit students for whom English is not their first language, providing key terminology and concepts in a condensed, reference-friendly format. The laboratory portion evolved to include both definition creation and hands-on coding exercises for web page development, with approximately 60 minutes for collaborative research and 30 minutes for practical application as advanced topics were introduced. Website creation and presentation projects are assigned as end-of-semester culminating activities that demonstrate the integration of all concepts learned throughout the course.

Students are expected to read assigned chapters (maximum 50 pages per chapter) prior to each class discussion, with homework assignments from the required reading due prior to following class, though many working adult students prefer to learn during class time rather than complete pre-class reading. The collaborative laboratory activity serves as both reinforcement of chapter material and active learning for students who may not have completed the pre-reading due to work and family obligations. No additional out-of-class time beyond the chapter reading and homework assignments is expected, which accommodates both the scheduling constraints of working adult students who attend Saturday classes due to weekday work obligations and recognizes that additional language processing time for multilingual learners is better supported through in-class collaboration rather than independent home study.

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

Initial preparation involves creating shared Google document templates for each chapter and identifying major topics from the lecture to assign to each group. After the first exam, preparation expanded to include developing "cheat sheets" containing foundational concepts that are distributed at the beginning of each lecture session. As the semester progresses, preparation shifts toward streamlining research processes and integrating hands-on coding exercises that apply researched concepts to web page development. Additional preparation includes organizing website project groups and establishing end-of-semester presentation schedules.

Instructions are given both verbally and in writing to support students with varying English proficiency levels. Early-semester instructions focus on: 1) Research assigned topics using credible internet sources, 2) Provide definitions that are comprehensive yet easily absorbed (avoiding both overly technical and overly brief explanations), 3) Include source links for reference, and 4) contribute to the shared document. Groups are encouraged to help each other with language clarification and technical terminology. Later instructions expand to include coding exercises that demonstrate practical application of researched concepts. Website project groups receive specific guidelines for incorporating semester concepts into functional web pages and end-of-semester presentation requirements.

Key logistical considerations include managing simultaneous Google Docs editing issues where students' visual locations shift as others type, and addressing inconsistent formatting across contributions. Future implementations will require individual drafting before collaborative merging and standardized formatting guidelines.

The activity is medium-stakes—it contributes to participation grades and creates essential study materials, but individual mistakes don't severely impact overall course performance. However, the collaborative nature means that group dynamics significantly affect individual success. Website projects carry higher stakes as end-of-semester demonstrations of cumulative learning and practical application skills. Future iterations will include designated group leaders for coordination, bonus point incentives for quality contributions, and structured peer support systems to ensure all students, regardless of English proficiency level, can participate meaningfully.

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

Assessment focuses on participation, collaboration quality, and contribution accuracy rather than formal VALUE rubrics. I evaluate: 1) Active participation in group research and discussion, 2) Quality and appropriateness of definitions (comprehensive but accessible), 3) Proper source citation and link inclusion, 4) Collaborative behavior during the activity, and 5) peer support provided to group members, particularly important given the multilingual classroom environment. End-of-semester website projects are assessed on functionality, design, incorporation of semester concepts, and presentation quality.

The informal rubric developed through observation emphasizes engagement and effort over perfection, recognizing that students are learning while contributing. Assessment criteria accommodate varying English proficiency levels, focusing on content understanding and collaborative contribution rather than language perfection. Post-activity follow-up quizzes in subsequent classes assess knowledge retention and understanding of both researched concepts and practical coding applications as the semester progresses.

While this collaborative activity allows for flexible, innovative assessment approaches tailored to this specific student population's needs, all assessments ultimately filter back into a traditional grading system based on exams. To accommodate students who cannot take exams due to work or other obligations, makeup exams with different questions are offered to be taken either prior to or after the scheduled exam date. Assessment evolved after the first exam when it became apparent that despite increased engagement and improved materials, some students still didn't utilize resources effectively for exam preparation due to work obligations or last-minute study habits. This led to implementing more frequent, lower-stakes check-ins and bonus point opportunities to encourage consistent engagement with the collaborative materials.

Future assessments will include: peer evaluation of group leaders, bonus points for exceptional contributions, structured peer mentoring recognition for students who effectively support multilingual classmates, and more frequent formative assessments to bridge the gap between collaborative learning and individual accountability. The ultimate challenge remains translating collaborative learning gains into improved individual exam performance, recognizing that working adult students may prioritize work and family obligations over education.

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?

The activity succeeded dramatically in engaging students who typically show low motivation for independent assignments, particularly during the first third of the semester when foundational concepts were being established. Students demonstrated high enthusiasm for collaborative work, preferring this active approach over traditional note-taking. The collaborative environment particularly benefited multilingual learners who could support each other with language barriers and technical vocabulary. Average class grades increased compared to previous semesters, and student motivation was notably higher.

I would definitely repeat this activity with modifications. The increased engagement and improved learning outcomes, particularly for working adult students and multilingual learners, demonstrate its effectiveness despite the challenges encountered.

Several challenges emerged during implementation. Initially, inconsistent definition quality ranged from overly verbose to excessively brief explanations, which may partly reflect varying English proficiency levels and cultural approaches to explanation. Google Docs simultaneous editing caused visual displacement issues as students' work locations shifted while others typed. Formatting inconsistencies required significant instructor cleanup time. Most significantly, despite increased engagement and improved collaborative materials, some students still didn't utilize resources effectively for exam preparation due to work obligations (missing weekend classes) or last-minute study habits, reflecting the reality that Work-Family-Education priority hierarchy persists even with enhanced learning activities. After the first exam, I addressed these challenges by introducing foundational "cheat sheets" at the beginning of each lecture, which continued through the semester's end. The activity evolved from pure research to integrated research-and-coding exercises as topics became more advanced.

Future iterations will implement: designated group leaders for coordination, intentional pairing of students with complementary language strengths, individual drafting before collaborative merging, bonus point incentives, standardized formatting requirements, and more frequent formative assessments to better bridge the gap between collaborative learning gains and individual exam performance. The core challenge remains helping working adult students translate enhanced engagement into consistent academic preparation despite competing life priorities.

Students particularly enjoyed the interactions during the laboratory section, which helped reinforce what they learned from the lecture portion. They especially appreciated the coding exercises, which gave them confidence not only that they were learning but that they could be prepared for real-world applications. The end-of-semester website creation projects were particularly popular, as students could see tangible results of their semester-long learning and felt prepared for professional web development work.This hands-on practice with immediate application of lecture concepts seemed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills they would need professionally. The collaborative aspect and peer support for language comprehension also contributed significantly to their positive experience.

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.

This approach was specifically designed for a unique classroom context: working adult students attending intensive Saturday sessions (split into 2-hour lecture + 2-hour laboratory) who typically prioritize work and family obligations over education. The student population is predominantly multilingual, with English often not being their first language, which significantly influenced both the collaborative structure and assessment approach.

Key contextual factors that make this activity particularly effective: 1) Students prefer PDF materials over purchasing textbooks and rarely complete pre-class reading. 2)The no-electronics policy during lecture creates anticipation for the hands-on laboratory portion. 3) Small group sizes (3-5 students per row) facilitate peer language support, and 4) Saturday scheduling accommodates work obligations but limits study time availability

Technical considerations for implementation: 1) Google Docs simultaneous editing creates visual displacement issues requiring workflow modification, 2) Formatting consistency becomes crucial when serving multilingual learners who need clear, accessible reference materials, 3) Evolution from pure research to integrated research-and-coding reflects advancing curriculum complexity, and 4) Cheat sheets introduced after first exam proved essential for supporting both advanced topic progression and language comprehension

Materials available for adaptation: 1) Google Docs templates structured by chapter topics, 2) Sample "cheat sheet" formats containing high-level concepts in accessible language, 3) Group assignment rotation systems for equitable topic distribution, 4) Peer support frameworks for multilingual collaboration, 5) End-of-semester website project guidelines and presentation rubrics, and 6) Integration models for transitioning from research activities to hands-on coding exercises.

Future documentation will include: 1) Detailed group leader role descriptions and rotation schedules, 2) Multilingual learner support strategies and peer mentoring structures, 3) Bonus point rubrics tied to collaborative contribution quality, 4) Standardized formatting guidelines to reduce instructor cleanup time, 5) Follow-up quiz examples that assess both individual understanding and collaborative learning transfer , 6) Makeup exam scheduling and question differentiation protocols, and 7) Strategies for bridging engagement gains with exam performance in working adult populations.

This activity demonstrates how pedagogical innovation can address specific population needs while maintaining academic rigor, particularly valuable for instructors serving diverse, working adult, and multilingual student communities. The flexibility to accommodate scheduling conflicts through makeup exams and the integration of end-of-semester website projects further support student success in real-world applicable skills.

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

Posted on

From Pitch to Proposal

From Pitch to Proposal

Elana Effrat

Hospitality Management, City Tech

Event Management

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This is a culminating assignment that tasks students with assuming the role of an event planner and creating a comprehensive client pitch for a hypothetical food and beverage event of their choosing. The project includes both written deliverables (pitch deck, budget, intake sheet, BEO, run of show) and a live oral presentation simulating a professional client pitch.

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

The final project is designed to reinforce the core competencies of event planning while building presentation skills, client communication, and real-world professionalism. The students had to wear multiple hats to better understand the perspectives of a business owner, venue, caterer, client, and guest. The goals include:
* Applying cumulative knowledge of venue sourcing, budgeting, vendor coordination and event design.
* Encouraging students to take ownership of their personal event style and brand identity.
* Practicing communication skills that lead to cultivating and maintaining lasting client relationships.
* Simulating professional expectations in the hospitality industry.
* Learning new platforms specific to the event industry (Prismm) and Canva.

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 final project is introduced in week three along with the first written deliverable, the client intake sheet. During each 2.5 hour lecture, at least 30 – 45 minutes of in-class time was dedicated to the individual component. This allowed for questions and demonstrations. Other in-class time included:

* The week before the final presentations, the class was dedicated to reviewing the oral communication rubrics and workshopping the final proposals.
* Two classes for final presentations.

Students were expected to spend 8 – 12 hours outside of class finalizing their deck, visuals, and written deliverables.
**I dedicated a great deal of time for review and revisions.

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 was an all-semester project with scaffolded assignments throughout. Each assignment had their own set of instructions with markers for each one. The written part of the project was an accumulation of all the components.
* Client Intake Sheet
* Pitch Deck (their event company)/Proposal Deck (the hypothetical event)
* Venue Selection
* Budget
* BEO
* Run of Show

The high-level instructions for the students were as follows:
* Create an event business persona
* Develop a client and event concept
* Complete branded, client-facing materials
* Organize internal documents needed to facilitate an event
* Present a confident, organized oral pitch to the class as if pitching a real client.

This is high-stakes assignment representing 30% of their overall grade; 10% for the written deliverables and 20% for the oral presentation.

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?

Written Work:
I did not use a VALUE rubric as they were graded individually. I provided the students with a checklist of what was expected in this section that included the scaffolded assignments and requested presentation slides.

Oral Presentation:
The VALUE Oral Communication Rubric was used to assess the presentation as a whole. I provided the students with examples of what each portion of the rubric represented in their project:
Central Message- Present a clear and compelling event concept and convince the "client" why they're the right person/company to plan this event.
Delivery Technique- Make regular eye contact, use a confident posture, don't read off the slides, minimize filler words, and speak clearly with energy.
Language- Use clear, professional, and client-appropriate language. (avoid slang, filler phrases, or overused generalities)
Organization- A structured presentation with a client-friendly narrative arc: intro > vision > strategy> visuals > conclusion. Use transitional language between each section to keep the conversation moving.
Supporting Material- Visuals that match the spoken points, quotes from clients, or justification of choices using client needs, budgets, or industry trends.

Peer feedback forms are used to promote active listening and observations during the presentations.

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?

The students appreciated the real-world application and having the opportunity to flex their creativity. Even those that learned they did not want to become an event planner, walked away with an understanding of the field. They had to use Canva instead of PowerPoint during this course and the students who hadn't used it before, are now confident in the platform.

Challenges:
The students were overwhelmed by the scope of the work.
*Breaking it into scaffolded parts helped, but if they didn't have a concept early on, it was harder to catch up.
*Working with students to utilize Generative AI to aid in organizing their thoughts, event concepts, and business personas.
Bringing students out of their comfort zone when it came to work that wasn't right or wrong.
*Provided a feedback loop with constant revisions. No assignment had a final grade on it until the entire project was submitted.
Design tool support.
*Offering workshops to learn Canva and sharing tutorials.
Presentation anxiety was common.
*Calling on all students to talk during class time and having them present their findings throughout the semester.

What students enjoyed the most:
* Applying everything they learned in a real-world format
* The chance to build a foundation they can use to start a business or work portfolio.
* Seeing their peers' creativity.
* Receiving feedback and the opportunity to make changes on an individual and conceptual level.

What would I change:
There was a great deal of confusion surrounding the pitch to the proposal part of the project. In the future, I suggest putting more emphasis on the proposal and event planning portion. I would also set better guidelines for providing feedback as it became incredibly demanding of my time and energy.

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.

Here is a link to the presentation I created for the workshop before final presentations: It breaks down all the assignments for the class, the rubrics and how they will be applied to their project.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGmsKmc_wA/ejeWiNLRNPip2WcSnOjuAw/view?utm_content=DAGmsKmc_wA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h512a85553d

Here are some examples of the work the students presented. I am extremely proud of what they accomplished!
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGe2-VkHHw/trLgHv-H2caC4KOQDp88-g/edit

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGhu4oKgX8/C-wm1I_C4b_ryqki0Y0crA/view?utm_content=DAGhu4oKgX8&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h651ac170c0

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGgIbm8xTU/VKmBsJqtDy7N7PC2_KoP7Q/view?utm_content=DAGgIbm8xTU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hab1d01f2d3#13

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGiHEGHVDs/X7qttptr2I1kPSwKBDbKnA/view?utm_content=DAGiHEGHVDs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hd4f0671ac6

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

Posted on

Cultivate a Classroom with a Sense of Belonging Using “Oral Communication”

Cultivate a Classroom with a Sense of Belonging Using “Oral Communication”

Diana Zhu

Mathematics

College Algebra and Trigonometry (Fall 2025)

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

During the semester, I will be using collaborative quizzes in class and weekly extra credit assignments on Bright Space to enhance students' learning.

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

The purpose of this assignment is to help students create a safe, welcoming learning community where each student is willing to openly express their ideas without thinking about right or wrong, asking questions, and seeking help from individuals outside of the classroom to foster understanding of the course content and increase knowledge.

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

I will give students 15-20 minutes for the collaborative quizzes each week. If I am tight with schedule, then I will give students simpler questions and give them 10-15 minutes for discussions and submitting the answers as groups. I expect students to have at least 2-3 hours per week to study aside from completing their homework assignments. The extra credit assignments are encouraged but not required.

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 need to work on their homework assignments in order to be prepared for the quizzes. Since we will have collaborative quizzes, it doesn't mean that we can simply reply on others to do the work. As a team, each member needs to do their work and hold each other accountable. I would say this can be "low-stakes" because they can work on it together, and it can be "high-stakes" because they will be counted as their grades.

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?

It will depend on what questions I gave to my students each week, and each member from the same group will receive the same grade. I hope this will encourage students to study more when they see that effort is needed for all to receive a good grade. I will use "Oral Communication" to assess students. Hopefully, students will make changes when they are not getting the grades they aimed for. I will assign students at random for the collaborative quizzes. After one month, I will ask them if they want to switch for groups and why.

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?

I didn't get a class to teach to implement it, so it will be my first time doing it in the Fall. I might have two classes to teach in the Fall, and I am thinking if I should do that for both classes to compare the results. For this semester, I was supporting an instructor that I noticed students struggled with attendance. I hope this new way of quizzes will motivate students to come to class on time and be prepared for themselves and for their peers. I would like to cultivate a classroom environment where each student is willing to try, to learn, and to achieve their academic goals.

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

Posted on

NUR 1130 Clinical Assignment case study

NUR 1130 Clinical Assignment case study

Kalliopi Parginos

Nursing/New York City Tech College

NUR1130

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Interactive Case study on Type 1 Diabetes with short answers

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

Top 5 Ways Nurses Can Improve Critical Thinking Skills
Case based approach
Practice self-reflection
Developing a questioning mind
Practice self-awareness in the moment
Use a 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 Importance of Enhancing Critical Thinking Behavior
Independence of thought
Impartiality
Perspicacity into Personal and Social Factors
Humble Cerebration and Deferral Crisis

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

review the case study
answer the 4 questions
Choose the correct answer for two multiple choice questions

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?

Grade the questions
Plan to include it future clinical sessions either on the pre or post conference with the students

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?

6/6 students completed the questionnaire
The case study will be repeated on the fall semester 2024
Plan to incorporate it different interactive case studies
Students work as a team

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.

Rubric: Critical Thinking Value Rubric was utilized

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

Posted on

NUR1130 Clinical Assignmemt

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

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?

Case study and Multiple choice questions

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?

No challenges were identified

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.

N/A

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

Posted on

Family Life History Paper

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.

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 use the critical thinking value rubric.

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

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!

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.

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

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

The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.

Support

Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Credits

Accessibility

Our goal is to make the OpenLab accessible for all users.

Learn more about accessibility on the OpenLab

Copyright

Creative Commons

  • - Attribution
  • - NonCommercial
  • - ShareAlike
Creative Commons

top