What’s Cooking at CityTech? Associate Fellows Present a Living Lab Smorgasbord

Associate Fellow Professor Lenore  Hildebrand, Human Services Dept, presents her Living Lab activity

Associate Fellow Professor Lenore Hildebrand, Human Services Dept, presents her Living Lab activity

Faculty from a wide range of disciplines gathered for the “Real World Problem Solving” meeting to hear final presentations by Associate Fellows and their Living Lab facilitators. After a series of workshops, the latest cohort of Associate Fellows presented creative examples of pedagogical activities to their peers, Living Lab facilitators, and the greater CityTech community.

The gathering began with reflections from Third Year Fellows Aida Egues, Jill Bouratoglou, and Robert Leston, who spoke of their Living Lab involvement and its impact on their teaching and professional development. The Associate Fellows showcased their works-in-progress by adapting an unusual structure for academic presentations. Taking a cue from speed dating, each Associate Fellow took 2 minute-turns to present an activity to small groups that rotated around the workspace from one presenter to the next. Faculty ranging from Construction Management and Civil Engineering to Dental Hygiene and Human Services presented and listened to mini presentations from their colleagues across the college. Gathering in small, intimate groups, each participant had ample opportunity to listen, learn, and ask questions of their peers.

Choosing Your Best Practices

Choosing Your Best Practices

All attendees were given the opportunity to vote for what they thought were the best engagements with issues of Assessment, Place-Based Learning, High Impact Educational Practices, and General Education but in reality all presenters were winners for every professor revealed their passion for teaching and strong commitment to student learning. The gathering culminated in a graffiti activity in which all attendees had a chance to visually express their interests, frustrations, and aspirations. Participants left with an arsenal of new ideas and new strategies to use in their own classes and much to reflect on.

Call for Associate Fellows

A Living Laboratory: Revitalizing General Education for a 21st-Century College of Technology

GENERAL EDUCATION SEMINAR — ASSOCIATE FELLOWS PROGRAM – Spring 2014

About The Living Lab
“A Living Laboratory: Revitalizing General Education for a 21st-Century College of Technology” is a five-year initiative (2010-2015) funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V) program. Its mission is to re-envision General Education at City Tech as a “living laboratory,” using City Tech’s signature strengths: hands-on experiential models of learning and our vibrant Brooklyn Waterfront location.

The “Living Lab” grant has four interrelated activities:

1) The General Education Seminar: brings together diverse groups of Faculty Fellows to revitalize General Education through place-based learning and high-impact educational practices;

2) The OpenLab (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu): creates an innovative digital platform to support open teaching and learning at City Tech, and enhance the intellectual and social fabric of the college community;

3) A Culture of Assessment: integrates comprehensive outcomes assessment into the Gen Ed curriculum;

4) The Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center: builds an endowment to support student and faculty research at this newly-created City Tech institution.

Join the “Living Lab” General Education Seminar

We are currently seeking full-time and part-time faculty members to join the General Education Seminar Associate Fellows Program in Spring 2014. As an Associate Fellow you will become part of the growing interdisciplinary community at City Tech that is enthusiastically engaged in this transformational effort.

Fellows in the General Education Seminar commit to exploring innovative pedagogical approaches and incorporating what they have learned into their courses. Among the questions seminar participants consider are these:

– What changes can we make to the student experience that will not just prepare our students to succeed at City Tech, but also support creative, original, and critical thinking through the use of high-impact educational practices?

– How can we use one of City Tech’s greatest assets — its location within the “living laboratory” of the downtown Brooklyn waterfront — to create hands-on, place-based learning opportunities with our students?

– How can we use the City Tech OpenLab, an open-source digital platform, to customize learning experiences for our students that will engage them in the intellectual fabric of our College and make their achievements visible to our own community and to the wider public?

The Associate Fellows Program
Associate Fellows – who may be part-time or full-time faculty members – will participate in five workshops during the Spring 2014 semester that focus on General Education and the following: High-Impact Educational Practices, Place-Based Learning, Assessment, and working with the City Tech OpenLab, our new open digital platform for teaching and learning.

Associate Fellows will be mentored by full-time Gen Ed Seminar Fellows, who are responsible for sharing what they’ve learned, with the goal of disseminating the Seminar findings to the entire faculty community.

Eligibility
– both full-time and part-time faculty are eligible;
– available on Friday mornings in Spring 2014 semester to participate in five workshops (dates TBD);
– willing to work in a highly collaborative environment;
– willing to use the OpenLab (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu) for seminar-related activities and teaching (training and support will be provided);
– willing to implement what you have learned in your classroom and on the OpenLab in Fall 2014.

Compensation
Work done as part of this project is vital service to the College. Active participation by full-time faculty is recognized as service to the College; part-time faculty will receive a stipend of $600 ($120 per workshop attended) and an additional $240 for completion of a final project. For this final project, each Associate Fellow will create and document an exemplary activity that incorporates Living Lab best practices into their classwork (a standard template will be provided).

Application
The application form is available here: http://tinyurl.com/genedseminarassociatefellows

Application Deadline
9am, Monday, December 9th, 2013

Further Information
Please contact Living Lab General Education Seminar Co-Directors Karen Goodlad at kgoodlad@citytech.cuny.edu or Alexander Aptekar at aaptekar@citytech.cuny.edu if you have questions or need additional information.

Call for First-Year Associate Fellows

A Living Laboratory: Redesigning General Education for a 21st-Century College of Technology

Title V Grant supported by the United States Department of Education

FIRST-YEAR ASSOCIATE FELLOWS — Spring 2012

We invite both adjunct and full-time faculty who teach first year courses to join the “Living Lab” General Education Seminar as Associate Fellows, participating in four workshops during the Spring 2012 semester. The workshops will focus on the following: General Education, High-Impact Educational Practices, Assessment, and working with City Tech’s OpenLab, a new open digital platform for teaching and learning.

Eligibility
– full-time and adjunct faculty are eligible
– teaching a first-year course
– attend four workshops (January 26, February 24, March 2, OpenLab options – TBD)
– work in a highly collaborative environment
– participate fully on an open digital platform (OpenLab)

Compensation
Work done as part of this project is vital service to the College as it reshapes its curriculum.
– Full time faculty participation is recognized as service to the college and to their department.
– Adjunct faculty will receive a small stipend of $480.

Application
To apply, please complete the application form.

By doing so you agree to the terms and conditions listed above.

Application Deadline: 12pm, November 21, 2011

Further Information
Please contact Julia Jordan, Acting Director of the Faculty Commons, at jjordan@citytech.cuny.edu or x5637 if you have questions or need additional information.