Professors Anne Leonard and Zoya Vinokur on the Brooklyn waterfront

Helping faculty envision using the Brooklyn waterfront as a teaching space in their classes is not easy when faculty members hail from disciplines as diverse as Architectural Technology, Nursing, and Philosophy. Professor Anne Leonard of City Tech’s Library has harnessed a creative mix of educational tools for faculty in the Place-based Learning Toolkit on the OpenLab, which provides ideas to enhance student learning and to encourage student research, including role-playing and mapping projects. Firmly committed to a pedagogy centered around place, Professor Leonard has led cohorts of Living Lab Fellows on explorations of the Brooklyn waterfront, helping faculty identify potential projects for their courses.

A strong supporter of open access, Professor Leonard’s teaches a writing-intensive course, “Research and Information of the Digital Age,” that lets students study the cultural, economic, and political context of media, including important issues such as fair use. Students work individually and in groups, and submit assignments and reflective writing pieces on the class website on the OpenLab. Professor Leonard also collaborates closely with the Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center.

Explore the place-based learning toolkit here.