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.

Collaborative Meeting, Collaborative Strategies

On Friday February 22 we held our third annual combined meeting of the City Tech General Education Committee and our Living Lab Seminar Fellows. Once again it was an exciting and productive opportunity for collaboration. We focused on small group discussions of questions that face both initiatives right now, centering on the topic of dissemination. How do we promote, share, and collaborate with faculty in our own departments and across the college to disseminate the work of the Gen Ed Committee and the Living Lab project? How can we institutionalize our lessons learned, and continue to learn with and from each other as we strive to improve our students’ educational experiences?

As part of the ongoing conversation about these important issues we thought it would be useful to all to post the notes taken during the meeting here. Please feel free to peruse them, and to use them as a jumping off point for your own conversations with colleagues!

During the first part of the meeting, faculty groups discussed the attributes of 1st and 3rd year students at City Tech and relevant General Education Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). This year the Living Lab Seminar Fellows are working on strategies for their 1st and 3rd year courses.
Discussion 1 notes from all groups

During the second half of the meeting, the same faculty groups answered and discussed questions about the work of the collegewide General Education and Assessment Committees and the Living Lab Project, with a focus on strategies to further disseminate and implement these initiatives.
Discussion 2 notes from all groups

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.

Welcome to the Living Lab in Action!

Brooklyn BridgeHow can learning be more dynamic using Movement, Place, Time, Talk?

One of the largest grant-funded initiatives on campus, this project aims to redesign general education at City Tech by using our unique neighborhood as a Living Laboratory. Learn more about our current work, future opportunities, and what the project will mean to you.

Students, Faculty, and Staff are welcome.

Date: Friday, September 23, 2011
Venue: A632 / Faculty Staff Lounge
Time: 10:30am – Noon

RSVP: facultycommons@citytech.cuny.edu

Download the poster