Digital Commons Network^™

A Biological Lens On Food Deserts [Biology], Claudette Davis

Open Educational Resources

SCB101 is a non-major biology course. In Fall 2022, the course was designated as an Experiential Learning-LaGuardia Humanitarian Initiative (LHI) course in CUNYFirst. LHI is LaGuardia's experiential learning program that helps students to critically reflect on global issues and develop sustainable solutions in partnership with local and global organizations. For the 2022-2023 academic year, LHI focused on two United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG): Goal 2 and Goal 10. UNSDG 2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. UNSDG 10 addresses reducing inequality both within and among countries. Thus, I developed an assignment to …

Understanding The Global Refugee Crisis [Paralegal Studies], Andrea R. Irias

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was designed to meet the criteria of the Global Learning competency and Written ability rubrics. Although it was created for the Paralegal Program, it was not made to fit one specific course as we are unsure where it fits best in the program. As we continue to experiment with placement, we have piloted this assignment in two different courses (BTP203 and BTP205) with similar results. It was designed for students to complete outside of the classroom as homework with minimal in-class instruction as the content of the assignment did not truly fit in the courses that held it …

My Interdisciplinary Perspective On Climate Change [Natural Sciences], Richa Gupta, Tuli Chatterji, Tao Chen, Rebecca Schwartz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment titled “My Interdisciplinary Perspective on Climate Change” was developed in Fall 2020 as the signature assignment of the STEM Learning Community LC50 for students enrolled in the Biology program of the Natural Sciences department, at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. The assignment targets Integrative Learning and Global Learning Core Competencies, and Digital/Oral Communication Abilities.

For this STEM Cluster, “Climate Change” is the shared theme that connects learning from the different disciplines and helps build students’ overall knowledge on an imperative issue that our planet currently faces. Work on this assignment entails a narrated digital student presentation on the various …

Hydrophilic Porphyrins Based Chemosensors For First Transition Series Metal Ions [Chemistry], Sunaina Singh

Open Educational Resources

General Chemistry is a two-semester course (General Chemistry I, SCC 201 and General Chemistry II, SCC 202) required for majors in Biology and Environmental Sciences.

This lab experiment, aligned to LaGuardia Community College’s Inquiry and Problem Solving Core Competency and Written Communication Ability was designed for General Chemistry I (SCC 201 Honors) course. Honors courses in LaGuardia emphasize critical thinking, analytical writing, and introduce students to research. This lab experiment provides an opportunity for students to engage in hands-on laboratory work, to develop laboratory skills, and to conduct research in the classroom by using two water soluble porphyrins to detect …

Drug And Disease Research Paper [Veterinary Technology], Tara R. Scales

Open Educational Resources

This Drug and Disease assignment has been prepared for the capstone course Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology (SCV 262). Students take the course in the last semester of the 2-year AAS degree in Veterinary Technology at LaGuardia Community College. Students completing this assignment are second year (junior), clinical phase students. In this course, students are introduced to concepts in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, providing a basis for an applied, systems-based introduction to veterinary drugs. The course also introduces concepts in pharmacy management and toxicology. As a capstone course, this course assignment provides a basis for students to apply veterinary medical knowledge and …

Cultural Diversity In Healthcare [Radiologic Technology], Lorena Maldonado, Theresa Licari

Open Educational Resources

The Cultural Diversity in Healthcare assignment is designed for the SCX 101 Patient care course. This assignment was first implemented in 2011 and has undergone significant revisions in the past few years from individual presentation to collaborative group presentation in 2013 and the connection to the Health Science First Year Seminar (HSF) assignment in 2018. The most recent revisions made were through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) workshop on Global Learning in Fall 2018. Feedback from the CTL seminar led to the inclusion of the Learning Objectives of the assignment and prompts that direct students to relate their …

Inquiry And Problem Solving In English Composition: Belonging, Exile And Migration [Composition], Phyllis E. Vanslyck

Open Educational Resources

In the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Meanings of War and its Aftermaths Seminar, offered to LaGuardia Faculty in the 2018-19 academic year, we examined numerous critical essays and literary texts, as well as photographs and documentaries, to gain a more nuanced understanding of the ways war continues to inhabit peoples’ lives. When I began participating in this Seminar, I had already planned a first-semester English Composition course based on the theme, Belonging, Exile, and Migration. Thinking about connections between our readings for the NEH Seminar and my course, I was particularly interested in the ways stories of displacement …

A Diagnostic Condition And Its Implications [Physical Therapist Assistant Program], May Tom

Open Educational Resources

SCT 101: Introduction to Physical Therapy

Assignment Description: This assignment was designed during Learning Matters 2018-2019 Digital Communication sub-seminar. The assignment was originally a written paper based on the clinical manifestations and pathogenesis of a diagnostic condition. As the profession of physical therapy is inherently a teaching profession, an oral and digital component was incorporated to facilitate the student’s ability and confidence in oral communication and use of media. The presentation of a diagnostic condition and implication in the performance of activities for an individual can be variable depending on the individual’s physical status, medical/health history, and psychosocial status. To …

Technical Report: Solving Global Problems [Composition], Lara V. Kattekola

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was developed as part of a 2018-19 Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) -sponsored Learning Matters Global Learning Mini-grant awarded to support the ENG 259 Technical Writing course. This course is required for engineering students as the second course in their composition sequence to be taken in lieu of ENG 102. The aim of the mini-grant was to integrate LaGuardia’s Global Learning Core Competency into the ENG 259 course via the development of a high stakes global learning assignment. The assignment was developed during the Fall 2018 CTL Learning Matters Mini-Grant seminar meetings led by Drs. Karen Miller …

Microwave Solventless Synthesis Of Meso-Tetrakis (Pentafluorophenyl)Poprphyrin (Tppf20) And Tris(Pentafluorophenyl))Corrole [Chemistry], Sunaina Singh

Open Educational Resources

Organic chemistry is a two-semester course (Organic Chemistry I, SCC 251 and Organic Chemistry II, SCC 252) required for majors in Biology. The SCC 251 course has been designated for the Integrative Learning Core Competency as well the Digital Communication Ability. This course emphasizes the synthesis, structure, reactivity, and mechanisms of reaction of organic compounds. Laboratory stresses various organic synthetic and analytic techniques (distillation, extraction, chromatography and spectroscopy).

This lab provided an opportunity for students to go deeper with the chemistry content by correlating to the concepts they learned in General Chemistry courses such as Valence shell electron pair repulsion …

Titration Of A Newtown Creek Environmental Water Sample To Determine The Amount Of Chloride Ions [Chemistry], Kevin Mark

Open Educational Resources

Main Course Learning Objectives:

The General Chemistry 1 (SCC 201) course has multiple course learning objectives, which articulate key introductory chemistry concepts that all STEM students should possess. In particular, the Newtown Creek titration experiment aligns with SCC 201 learning objectives of:

1. Demonstrate an appreciation of the role of chemistry in various aspects of life
2. Perform basic laboratory skills such as the proper execution of titration techniques
3. Describe and explain the fundamental chemistry concept of solution concentration
4. Analyze and represent experimental data in tables and graphs, interpret experimental results and write laboratory reports

In the SCC 201 laboratory, students are …

Case Study: An Urban Bilingual [Linguistics], Monika Ekiert, Maria Jerskey

Open Educational Resources

The assignment Interview with a Bilingual: Case Study is a midterm, high-stakes written research paper in ELN101: Introduction to Bilingualism, a course contributing one deposit into the Global Learning Core Competency and Written Communication Ability. The assignment calls for the consideration and application of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic concepts into the discussion of individual multilingualism. By completing this assignment, students gain a deeper understanding of linguistic and cultural diversity in the US society. They learn to position issues in bilingualism against a global backdrop through the consideration of an individual bilingual journey as representative of similar histories and perspectives elsewhere. …

Education For Nyc Bilinguals [Linguistics], Maria Jerskey, Monika Ekiert

Open Educational Resources

The assignment Education for NYC Bilinguals is a final, high-stakes written research paper in ELN101: Introduction to Bilingualism, a course contributing one deposit into the Global Learning Core Competency and Written Communication Ability. The assignment calls for the consideration and application of social, political, educational, and psycholinguistic concepts into the discussion of global and local multilingualism. By completing this assignment, students gain a deeper understanding of linguistic and cultural diversity in the US society and learn to position issues in bilingualism against a global backdrop. The assignment asks students to approach the challenges of education for multilingual New Yorkers …

Global Issues In Graphic Novels [Fine Arts], Jessica Boehman

Open Educational Resources

This assignment falls within Fine Arts’ Intermediate Studio Elective and is a final deposit for Global Learning Core Competency and Oral Communication Ability. The students are primarily advanced majors. Students will work on this assignment over the course of several weeks as it is scaffolded throughout the semester. It is worth 10% of the final grade. This assignment was modified during the course of the Global Learning Assignment workshop, and was built during Fine Arts’ Learning Matters! Mini Grant. During this grant process, Fine Arts revamped global assignments to better meet the rubric. We worked together in our grant team …

Historical Thinking Beyond The Classroom [History], Robin Kietlinski

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was designed to be used in global history survey courses, which are primarily taken by students with little prior experience in college-level history, and who will not go on to major in History. It has not yet been used, but it is best suited for use in in SSH 106 (World History from 1500) and/or SSH 110 (East Asian Civilizations)—courses currently not designated with any one of LaGuardia’s core competencies and communication abilities. These are both writing intensive courses, wherein LaGuardia’s Written Communication Ability can be reinforced. They employ a number of primary and secondary sources to help …

Reflection 3 – Finding Your Purpose, Josh Goldblatt

Open Educational Resources

The assignment was used in the Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities First Year Seminar (LIF 101).

The main objectives are:

1. Facilitate student self-examination and exploration of how interests, skills and values can connect to academic and professional goals
2. Build student capacity for reflective planning, including breaking out tasks and self-assessment
3. Build student knowledge of academic and career paths
4. Support students with making a decision on proper major
5. Increase engagement with college offices and staff
6. Build writing skills – including essay organization and development

Relevant student Performance Objectives for course:

1. Locate the multiple resources available at LaGuardia and use these …

Business Ethics: Perspectives On The Global Supply Chain, Andrea R. Irias

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was inspired by a group discussion by faculty who teach the First Year Seminar in Business (BTF101) during the 2018-19 Rebooting the FYS Seminar. BTF101 is a two-credit course that meets for a total of 3 hours. We were tasked with ways to improve course assignments aimed at strengthening students’ Global Learning Competency and Digital Communication Ability. The topic of sweatshops abroad is a proven way to introduce a Global Learning assignment with a business related topic. In order to deepen the students’ learning on the subject, the assignment tasks students with taking on the role of …

The Changing Face Of Food [Nutrition And Culinary Management], Nicolle Fernandes, Rosann Ippolito

Open Educational Resources

The Changing Face of Food is an assignment developed for the SCN 240 Food and Culture course tagged as a pathways course in the Urban Studies discipline and is designated Writing Intensive. The assignment also fulfills the Global Learning Core-Competency and Written Ability. It is a high stakes assignment, accounting for 20% of the final course grade and is located at the capstone level of the Nutrition and Culinary Management Program’s Core Competency program curriculum map.

The purpose of the assignment is to help students explore and understand the changing food culture in the United States (US), New York State …

Final Paper [Liberal Arts: Social Science And Humanities], Naomi J. Stubbs

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was created for LIF101 (New Student Seminar for Liberal Arts), which is a baseline course taken by students (typically in their first semester) in Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities (including the options) and Fine Arts. Students in this course have wide-ranging abilities, given that they may be in ESL or have transferred in advanced writing courses. As such, the final assignment needs to serve the goals of the course while not penalizing students for having lower abilities in writing and research. Similarly, the integrative learning rubric has several very different dimensions, and connecting them all in one …

Us-Japan Enmity – Wwii Wartime Propaganda Posters [History], Robin Kietlinski

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was developed to be used in SSH 110 (East Asian Civilizations), but can also be used in SSH 106 (World History from 1500) and SSH 114 (Modern Japanese History). All three courses are primarily for non-majors and are beginning-level (survey) courses. This assignment comes towards the end of the semester, in week 10 or 11, when we are discussing World War II. This assignment is aligned with the Global Learning core competency, and meets those specific learning objectives by giving students a chance to analyze in-depth one dimension of a global event (the widespread use of propaganda during …

(De)Constructing Identities Through Film: First Year Seminar-Liberal Arts Capstone Collaborative Assignment [Liberal Arts], Habiba Boumlik, Caron Knauer

Open Educational Resources

This high-stakes assignment was designed within the frame of Learning Matters Mini-grants Capstone-First Year Seminar Collaboration (Spring 2018). It was used in Caron Knauer’s First Year Seminar class (LIF101) and in Habiba Boumlik’s Capstone Liberal Arts—Humanism, Science, and Technology (LIB200). For this collaborative assignment, the primary Core Competency is Integrative Learning and the Communication Ability is Written.

The following dimensions of the relevant core competency and communication ability align well with this collaborative assignment:

1. Ability to draw insight from connections across relevant learning experiences, including personal, co-curricular, and academic-- what connections are there between culture, traditions and how gender is …

Digital Image Retouching – Evaluation Assignment [Photography], Thierry Gourjon

Open Educational Resources

“Digital Image Retouching: Evaluation Assignment” was developed in the context of a 2017-18 CTL sponsored mini-grant where the course HUA 231 Digital Photography II, which was formerly an elective, was redesigned as a required course in the Photography program. As part of the mini grant work, program’s curriculum map was also adjusted to reflect the changes. The students in HUA 231 are usually in their second to last semester as this is an advanced digital class. They have taken the pre-requisite HUA 131 (Digital Photography I) in earlier semesters. The assignment will be implemented for the first time in Fall …

Literary Analysis Assignment [Composition], Tuli Chatterji

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was used in English 102 Writing through Literature course and was designed to meet LaGuardia’s Inquiry and Problem Solving Core Competency and Written Communication Ability. Students were expected to critically reflect on issues-- such as water crisis, migration--addressed in Linda Sue Park’s novel A Long Walk to Water (2010) and then explore those issues in a global context, for instance, water crisis in Rajasthan, India, or migration from Central America to USA. Discussions prior to the assignment prepared students to study the literary text, both as an end in itself and as a bridge to other academic disciplines. …

Cross Cultural Presentation On Latin American Artists [Modern Languages And Literatures], Ernesto Menendez-Conde

Open Educational Resources

I have used this high-stakes assignment in the last four semesters, in the ELS103 Intermediate Spanish I class. However, it was considerably revised during two Center for Teaching and Learning sponsored seminars at LaGuardia Community College: “Bringing Global Learning Competency into Your Class” and “The Pedagogy of the Digital Ability.” These seminars allowed me to have a better understanding about how to scrutinize contexts in order to bring assignments closer to the Global Learning Core Competency and the Digital Communication Ability. The “Bringing Global Learning Competency into Your Class” seminar in particular shaped my thinking about the design and content …

Thermochemistry: Heat Of Neutralization And Hess’S Law [Chemistry], Kevin Mark, Phil Mercier, Janet Gonzalez, Burl Yearwood

Open Educational Resources

The General Chemistry 1 (SCC 201) course has been designated for the core competency of Inquiry and Problem Solving along with the Written Communication Ability. These abilities are best observed in the laboratory section of the course where SCC 201 students are asked to submit weekly written lab reports that range in chemistry topics from chemical structures to the chemical analysis of polluted environments. SCC 201 will be implementing a new experiment in the laboratory portion of the course entitled, “Thermochemistry: Heat of Neutralization and Hess’s Law.” The design of the experiment incorporates many elements of LaGCC’s Core Competencies and …

Co-Curricular Report 1: Roundtable Discussion, Robin Bromley

Open Educational Resources

This assignment is designed for First Year Seminar -- Liberal Arts: Humanities and Social Science majors.

The main course objectives addressed are that students:

• Demonstrate engagement in the life of the college and their use of key academic support services, advisement, and co-curricular organizations and activities critical to meeting those goals.
• Show growing mastery of the writing, reading, and speaking skills, as well as the study and management strategies essential for college success.

The primary purposes of this written and oral report are to encourage students to discover and use the campus resources and co-curricular opportunities critical for their success …

Inherit The Wind: Formal Essay [Liberal Arts], Luke Cardaio, Ian Alberts

Open Educational Resources

This common assignment was designed for students in an LMF 101 (First-Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Math & Science) class and those in a capstone LIB 200 (Science, Technology, and Humanism) class. The assignment is aligned to the Integrative Learning Core Competency and the Written Communication Ability. In this assignment, the students in both classes critically read the play, Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, and the LMF 101 class is also shown the film based on the play. The play is based on the connection of two of the major themes of these classes: humanism …

Air Pollution [Liberal Arts: Math And Science/Natural Science], Ian Alberts

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was designed for students in the pathways introductory chemistry class and the first year seminar and aligns with the Inquiry and Problem Solving core competency. In this context, there is a focus on “framing the issues” (identifies and/or addresses questions and problems), “evidence gathering” (assembles, reviews and synthesizes evidence from several diverse sources), “evidence” (analyze the data to address the questions posed) and “conclusions” (critical thinking, reflect on the outcomes, draw conclusions and generate new knowledge). There is also a Global Learning component based on comparing data collected locally with corresponding data from other locations or countries. The …

Photography Book [Photography], Maureen Drennan

Open Educational Resources

HUA 130 Beginning Photography consists of majors and non-majors and is the foundation course in the Photography program curriculum. This photo book assignment was revised and refined through a Learning Matters mini-grant. The guidance from the CTL mini-grant was extremely helpful in altering it to be more reflective of the Integrative Learning Core Competency and Digital Communication Ability. Rethinking and reworking these assignments have helped to enhance our skills at planning and execution of future assignments. This process has also contributed greatly to our understanding of LaGuardia’s Core Competencies and Communication Abilities.

In this assignment, students engage in integrative learning …

Literary Analysis Paper [Composition], Lauren Navarro

Open Educational Resources

This ENG 102 assignment was developed in the context of CTL sponsored Learning Matters Mini-grant awarded to the English Department. The primary purpose was to assist full-time and part-time faculty in the Department with revising ENG 102 course materials to align with the Inquiry and Problem Solving (IPS) Core Competency and Written Communication Ability. This goal was achieved through several workshops, a programmatic benchmark reading, and a two-phase departmental review process that prepared assignments to be submitted to the Learning Matters Assignment Library. The mini-grant has been invaluable in helping to bring both full-time and adjunct faculty into departmental conversations …