Education Commons^™

Opening The Conversation: An Introduction To Open Educational Resources, Stacy Katz

Publications and Research

This column explores the concept of, and issues surrounding, Open Educational Resources (OER) for librarians.

Higher Education Has Had Better Years, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

We are all familiar with the maladies that have affected higher education over the past few years: budget cuts, enroll- ment declines, bad press, etc. But was there anything that made things particularly worse in 2017? Plenty.

The bad news started with reports of increasing censorship and intimidation exercised upon college newspapers. We saw it happening on the campuses of Mt. Saint Mary’s University in Maryland, Northern Michigan University and Wesleyan University in Connecticut. The University of Kentucky’s campus newspaper was sued by the university, and at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, three staff members on “The Justice,” the student newspaper, …

The New Tax Law’S Impact On Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“The power to tax is the power to destroy,” said the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall. When one looks at the new tax code produced by the U.S. Congress, we can see how this quote rings a bell of authenticity when it comes to higher education.

Since the latest changes in the U.S. tax code were first proposed, it was clear that higher education was going to be one of the targets of Republicans in Congress. The overall objectives of these changes were to get the money needed to pay for huge tax cuts to benefit …

The War On Science Grows Deeper, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In 2005, journalist Chris Mooney pub- lished a book titled “The Republican War on Science,” which documented the persistent tendency among many conservatives to reject any science that runs contrary to their ideological principles, whether it is climate science, evolutionary biology, or health-related findings that challenge industry interests.

Since then, things have gone worse in cases that remind us of the evilest experiences from recent authoritarian regimes.

Review: Adjectives Forms;First, Second, And Third Forms, Kate Garrison

Open Educational Resources

This worksheet offers a quick, five minute review of positive, comparative, and superlative forms of adjectives and models for correct usage. Sometimes students will apply the "add er" rule to all adjectives in the superlative form, even those of three or more syllables that require only "more." Sometimes students will confuse "than" and "then" when making a comparison.

Assault On Peer Review A New Threat, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 17, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced to the Senate U.S. Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs a bill titled “BASIC Research Act.” This apparent innocent title covers the real intention of this legislation – an attempt to defund basic research and make it subject to partisan politics. This legislation would change the way grant proposals are evaluated by all federal agencies, from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These and other federal agencies are the main funders of scholarly work in higher education …

When Institutions Of Higher Ed Fail, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Some may think that the only sign of a college or university failing is when it closes. And that has certainly happened to some small, private colleges that have gone bankrupt in the last few years. Yet, failure has many faces and comes in many degrees.

We can say that colleges and universities fail when the quality of education they offer is not rigorous, regard- less of what some regulatory agencies might say. Or when they promise to prepare students for jobs that no longer exist. Luring new students based on rankings, amenities, and other forms of non-academic qualities is …

Libraries And College Readiness: The Bronx Community College Library High School Collaborative, Carl R. Andrews, Dickens Saint Hilaire

Publications and Research

In today’s information-rich global economy, City University of New York (CUNY) graduates need strong critical thinking skills. Over three quarters of the students who enroll across CUNY’s 24 campuses are drawn from schools in the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) (Strang, 2014). The NYCDOE, the largest public school system in the United States, serving over 1 million students (Strang, 2014). Unfortunately, many of the students who matriculate to CUNY’s college and universities are underprepared for college-level work. This is especially the case with students who attend high schools throughout the Bronx, one of New York City’s five boroughs. …

The History Books Tell It? Collective Bargaining In Higher Education In The 1940s, William A. Herbert

Publications and Research

This article presents a history of collective bargaining in higher education during and just after World War II, decades before the establishment of applicable statutory frameworks for labor representation. It examines the collective bargaining program adopted by the University of Illinois in 1945, along with contracts negotiated at other institutions. The article also examines the role of United Public Workers of America (UPWA) and its predecessor unions in organizing and negotiating on behalf of faculty, teachers, and instructors. The first known collective agreements applicable to faculty, teachers and instructors, were negotiated by those unions before UPWA was destroyed during the …

Translanguaging, Sara Vogel, Ofelia García

Publications and Research

Translanguaging is a theoretical lens that offers a different view of bilingualism and multilingualism. The theory posits that rather than possessing two or more autonomous language systems, as has been traditionally thought, bilinguals, multilinguals, and indeed, all users of language, select and deploy particular features from a unitary linguistic repertoire to make meaning and to negotiate particular communicative contexts. Translanguaging also represents an approach to language pedagogy that affirms and leverages students’ diverse and dynamic language practices in teaching and learning.

Testing The National Reading Panel’S Fluency Claims: A Study Examining Repeated Readings And Tracking The Nature Of Miscues, Edward Lehner, John R. Ziegler

Publications and Research

The National Reading Panel’s (NRP; 2000) claim that reading fluency is the direct result of phonemic awareness skills seemed to set a research direction for numerous literacy scholars. As a result, much of the reading fluency research examined the construct from a particular perspective seemingly informed by the NRP. The summative results of a generation of fluency research have subsequently defined reading fluency as a principal and predicative construct in children’s reading potential. The current study examined how children develop reading fluency skills and reports data gathered from a New York City elementary school. Specifically, the present work tracked the …

Paradise Lost For Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One of the most famous poems in English literature is “Paradise Lost” by the British writer John Milton. Originally published in 1667, it deals with the biblical story of the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan and their expulsion from the garden of Eden.

On November 5, the German newspaper Südeutsche Zeitung revealed a trove of leaked documents from the Bermuda- based law firm Appelby. Those documents show that a large number of individuals – from Queen Elizabeth II to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and companies from Apple to Nike – were using what is commonly called “fiscal …

Using Comment Moderation To Evaluate And Reply To Your Students, Curtis Izen

Publications and Research

This blog discusses how students create a VoiceThread video comment on how they will incorporate an excel macro into their business.

Interventions For Young Bereaved Children: A Systematic Review And Implications For School Mental Health Providers, Cliff (Yung-Chi) Chen

Publications and Research

Background: Many young children experience the death of a family member and they may be at risk for developing psychological and behavioral problems, but not much is known about how to help young children cope with such a stressful and painful experience. Objective: The purposes of this study are to identify the interventions for bereaved young children and examine the effectiveness of the interventions. Method: A systematic review of the literature was performed to investigate the effects of interventions for preschool-age children (3-5 years) who experience the death of a family member. Results: Seventeen studies that met the inclusion criteria …

Making College Presidents More Visible, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Last week I wrote in this column about the issue of the increasing gap between administrators (mainly presidents) and the faculty. This is an issue that has been going on for decades and does not seem to be resolving by itself. How many institutions of higher education can succeed when their leaders are seen as “missing in action” because they seem to be out of touch with reality?

Presidents of institutions of higher education have been the focus of numerous books, yet their roles are not well understood. That is the result of the sheer number of colleges and universities …

Mills Teaches The Current State Of Journalism, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“I don’t want to say that I was ahead of my time, but my instincts just ran that way. To its credit, City College of New York accommodated me as best it could.” That’s how Professor Joshua Mills explains the way his alma mater allowed him to take a variety of courses outside the usual track of any major. He later was awarded a bachelor’s degree in political science and another in history.

That would not be the only change in career interests for this native of the Bronx. He went on to receive a master’s degree in English from …

Awakening Mindfulness In Science Education, Olga Calderón

Publications and Research

Contemplative/mindful education focuses on practices that enable class participants to develop awareness of the events that transpires in the moment in the classroom. Breathing meditation, radical listening, awareness of own and other’s emotions, compassion for others, reflection and conversation, are practices that are used as interventions to manage and ameliorate diverse emotions that often arise in the science classroom. This study took place in a graduate History and Philosophy of Science Education class for pre-service and in-service teachers at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in the spring of 2014. The goal was to encourage participants to …

Design Fixation, Todd R. Kelley, Euisuk Sung

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Managing Race And Race-Ing Management: Teachers’ Stories Of Race And Classroom Conflict, Sherry L. Deckman

Publications and Research

Little is known about how novice teachers construct and interpret classroom management moments—instances when they perceive their ability to maintain order and promote sanctioned behavior is tested—in a way that contributes to or challenges racial bias. Using data from a hybrid, online/in-person professional development course for beginning teachers, I find two patterns of connecting race and classroom management. Teachers in this study tended to share stories either about “managing race”—narratives about deescalating racial tension or reproaching transgressors of racial colorblindness—or “race-ing management”—stories that read race into incidents in such a way as to reveal latent racial dynamics. Further, these patterns …

The Gap Between Faculty, Presidents, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Conflicts between faculty and adminis- trators are not uncommon. In some cases, they escalate to the point in which faculty cast a vote of “no confidence,” usually against the president or chancellor of the institution. This action places the boards of trustees in the difficult position of either publicly backing or firing the chief execu- tive officer of the college. But why does this happen?

To understand these conflicts, we must take a look of how the role of the president in American universities has evolved over time.

Future Goals And Actions Of Faculty Development, Catherine Haras, Margery Ginsberg, Eva Fernández, Emily Daniell Magruder

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Institutional Investment In Teaching Excellence, Steven C. Taylor, Catherine Haras, Emily Daniell Magruder, Eva Fernández, Margery Ginsberg, Jake Glover

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Tribalism Is Consuming The World, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

There is a ghost wandering countries, societies, and even the halls of academia. It is the ghost of tribalism and that ghost is as old as the dawn of the human species.

One of the defining characteristics of people around the world, is to group ourselves for our own ben- efit. Since before any civilization could be described as such, we bound together to defend ourselves from other humans, for cooperating to seek food, to build our shelters, and many more things. That is why we fought wars, conquered territories, subjugate others, and developed characteristics that define ourselves based on …

Experiential Learning Opportunity (Elo) And Utilization Of Field-And-Data- Based Information Obtained Through The Infusion Of Technology: Highlights On Nasa Stem And Earth Science Curricula, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Matthew Khargie, Shuayb Siddiqu, Sol De Leon, Katina Singh, Newrence Wills, Krishna Mahibar

Publications and Research

There is a greater emphasis on hands-on involvement and critical thinking skills in the geosciences and other STEM fields to inspire and engage K- 16 students to value scientific content and enable them to discover the well-documented nature of the fundamental scientific principles needed to explain various earth science and other STEM-related core phenomena. NASA MAA curricula are ideal for engaging K1-16 students in this context, since grade-specific lesson plans open-up a plethora of pedagogically sound and relevant earth science activities. These include earth’s materials and properties, meteorites, robotics, hot air balloon, flight simulation, star gazing, material science, crystal growth, …

The Many Faces Of Diversity, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Diversity and inclusion has been a hot topic

in academia for a long time. Yet, despite many

discussions on this issue and legal battles,

statistics show that we are far from achieving

success when it comes to recruiting and retaining

diverse faculty in institutions of higher education,

particularly when it comes to gender and race.

This panel is aimed at proposing best practices

based on the experiences of the panelists.

Sharing of other experiences by the audience

will be encouraged so we can put together a

document that can be used by ICFAD members

to improve their chances for success …

Systems-Based Training In Graduate Medical Education For Service Learning In The State Legislature In The United States: Pilot Study, Shikhar H. Shah, Maureen D. Clark, Kimberly Hu, Jalene A. Shoener, Joshua Fogel, William C. King, James Ronayne

Publications and Research

Background: There is a dearth of advocacy training in graduate medical education in the United States. To address this void,the Legislative Education and Advocacy Development (LEAD) course was developed as an interprofessional experience, partnering a cohort of pediatrics residents, fourth-year medical students, and public health students to be trained in evidence-informed health policy making.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the usefulness and acceptability of a service-based legislative advocacy course.

Methods: We conducted a pilot study using a single-arm pre-post study design with 10 participants in the LEAD course. The course’s didactic portion taught learners how …

Lawyers Have Two Approaches To Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

After decades of a culture of social isolationism, we see how colleges and universities have gradu- ally become the battlegrounds of national issues such as race, religion, sexual assault, gun control and free speech. Over the last 50 years more than 120 cases related in one way or another to higher education have been heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hundreds of other cases have been filed, only for the justices to deny hearing them.

However, most colleges and universities are not well prepared to deal with litigation. For one thing institutions of higher education have had for decades a …

Civility Needs To Return To Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

According to The Institute for Civility in Government, civility is “about more than just polite- ness, although politeness is a necessary first step. It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking com- mon ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same.”

If we go by current events in academia it seems that civility has all but been lost. We see students actively impeding or shouting out at outside speakers just because those guests do not adhere to a particular “party line,” a pure version of a particular ideology, or …

Is Teaching About Selling? Absolutely., Norman Eng

Publications and Research

In this post, Dr. Norman Eng gives his perspective on the much-debated question of whether teaching is about selling. It comes back to our understanding (or perception) of selling.

Administrative Costs Of Colleges Can Be Controlled, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Higher education is being attacked for many things from many different quarters. From the political spectrum, we hear things that colleges and univer- sities are “too liberal” or teach “useless things.” Those perceptions, paired with increasing calls for accountability, have generated a series of both fed- eral and state laws calling for more oversight of the operations of these institutions, ranging from where students sleep when going off campus on university business to how to assign textbooks to students.

This increased oversight, in turn, has created more administrative burden on colleges and universities, requiring them to spend more time, effort, …