Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Exploring The Uses Of The Liberal Arts Through Beyoncé’S “Formation”, Christine Marks

Open Educational Resources

I first shared this assignment in LaGuardia’s Spring 2017 mini-seminar Introducing Your Discipline in the First Year Seminar. I developed the assignment drawing on both Beyoncé’s 2016 Super Bowl halftime show and her music video “Formation” to initiate a discussion about how the Liberal Arts may inform our readings of popular culture images and performances. Through an analysis of content and form of Beyoncé’s musical performance and the video, students are invited to reflect on the ways in which a Liberal Arts education can contribute to a deeper understanding of the social issues addressed in the work. In our …

Developing Habits Of Mind For Academic Success, Ellen Quish

Open Educational Resources

The low-stakes assignment Habits of Mind for Academic Success was designed to support First Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities students in developing habits of mind essential for success in college. Using Costa and Kallick’s 16 Habits of Mind (HOMs) as reference, the assignment is staged and starts by prompting students to assess their current use of Habits of Mind and to identify what HOMs would be of value to them as college students. Upon completion of the individual assessment, students are introduced to examples of Habits of Mind in action through a video created for the …

Language Awareness And About Me, David Sibbitt

Open Educational Resources

Objectives of the Assignment:

Showcase students’ skills or interests in languages other than Standard English as part of the About Me statement in the ePortfolio. The assignment addresses many students in a typical FYS classroom at LaGuardia Community College. It encourages:

• Students with a native ability in another language to see it not as a stumbling block to learning but as a resource to develop academically and professionally

• Native English speakers to explore other world languages and cultures, and to consider using their interest professionally

• All students to consider whether they have experience with a dialect or slang, texting language …

Library Treasure Hunt, David Sibbitt

Open Educational Resources

FYS Discipline: Liberal Arts: Social Sciences and Humanities

Objectives of the Assignment:

Introduce students to the Library’s catalog and some of the more useful subscription databases in a practical, hands-on exercise. Included are an introduction to translating database articles, instructions on accessing The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times free of charge, and how to access the databases from home.

Amount of Time to Complete the Assignment:

The assignment is most effective when it follows several previous Library assignments:

• An introduction to the Library’s website in a computer classroom that guides students in exploring the Library’s resources
• A …

Language Awareness And The Library, David Sibbitt

Open Educational Resources

FYS Discipline: Liberal Arts: Social Sciences and Humanities

Objectives of the Assignment:

Introduce students to the Library’s collection of books in languages other than English, to Queens Library and the public library system, and to the Library of Congress call number system for books in the stacks.

Amount of Time to Complete the Assignment:

The assignment is most effective when it follows several previous Library assignments:

• An introduction to the Library’s website in a computer classroom that guides students in exploring the Library’s resources
• A Library Orientation conducted by a librarian
• A Library Treasure Hunt for sources in the card …

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 …

(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 …