Education Commons^™

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 9.0, Robert O. Duncan, Grace L. Axler-Diperte, Joseph Bisz, Christina Boyle, Devorah Kletenik, Carolyn Stallard

Publications and Research

The CUNY Games Network is an organization dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship and teaching in the developing field of games-based learning. We connect educators from every campus and discipline at CUNY and beyond who are interested in digital and non-digital games, simulations, and other forms of interactive teaching and inquiry-based learning.

Weathering The Perfect Legal Storm: Novel Virus, Novel Instruction, Novel Course, Marissa Moran

Publications and Research

For this legal educator, in the spring and fall of 2020, three simultaneous and novel events-Corona virus, virtual synchronous instruction, and teaching a new interdisciplinary course for the first time, created an environment that could have resulted in the perfect legal storm. Instead, these events contributed to beneficial teaching and learning experiences from which arose many “first-ever” innovative faculty and student endeavors.

Rethinking Graphic Design Pedagogy For The Cuny Academic Commons: On Process, Generosity, And Creative Collaboration In Mapping A Foundation Graphic Design Course For Faculty And Instructors, Suzanne Dell'orto

Publications and Research

The creation of an Open Education Resource with the CUNY Academic Commons for a foundation course in graphic communication at Bernard M. Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY) is a natural extension of the generous visual and written communication that is at the heart of Graphic Design. Graphic designers are inherently collaborative, working through a shared visual and written language to communicate. This Open Educational Resource (OER) serves as a base template to be shared department-wide with all instructors at CUNY and beyond to provide a framework for instruction for this studio course that is taught as a …

How Do Higher Education Administrators And Leaders Perceive Academic Persistence And Achievement Of Afro Caribbean Immigrant Students?, Rory T. Richards

Publications and Research

This research looked at Higher Education Leaders’ Perceptions of Persistence and Achievement of Afro Caribbean Immigrant Students. The research was qualitative and took a phenomenological, narrative approach. Sixteen administrators, across three campuses, one private for-profit and two public nonprofits were interviewed. The participants consisted of one President, one Senior Vice President, three Vice Presidents, one Assistant Vice President, three Deans, two Assistant Deans, two Directors, one Department Chair, and one Special Assistant to the President. The participants were also multiethnic, comprising eight Black leaders, five white leaders, two Latino leaders, and one Asian leader. The research found that leaders at …

Computational Thinking And Coding For Young Children: A Hybrid Approach To Link Unplugged And Plugged Activities, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

In our increasingly technology-dependent society, the importance of promoting digital literacy (e.g., computational thinking, coding, and programming) has become a critical focus in the field of childhood education. While young children these days are routinely and extensively exposed to digital devices and tools, the efficacy of the methods for fostering digital skills in the early childhood classroom has not always been closely considered. This is particularly true in settings where early childhood educators are not digital experts. Currently, most of the efforts in standard early childhood settings, taught by teachers who are not digital experts, appear to revolve around “unplugged” …

Using A Standards Crosswalk To Adapt Resources For Teaching With Primary Sources Across K–12 And Higher Education, Jen Hoyer

Publications and Research

This article explores the work of archivists and special collections librarians in teaching with primary sources (TPS) for K–12 and higher education audiences and argues that the resources created for this work have largely targeted either audience, but not both. Building on a trend in the TPS literature toward skills-based instruction efforts, this article introduces a crosswalk between skills-based standards typically used in higher education (the SAA/RBMS Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy) and K–12 education (Common Core State Standards). This crosswalk demonstrations how resources created with one audience in mind can be adapted for use with other audiences. Examples of …

Diseño De Una Prueba De Clasificación De Español No Estandarizada, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

Resumen

El presente estudio propone una nueva prueba de clasificación en línea específicamente creada para los estudiantes de español de New York City College of Technology (NYCCT), una institución caracterizada por la elevada diversidad de su comunidad educativa. En 2017 el Departamento de Humanidades decidió crear su propia prueba de clasificación de lenguas. En el caso del idioma español, esta se creó y se pilotó en 2018 con una muestra de 144 alumnos distribuidos en 3 niveles: inicial, intermedio y avanzado alto. Los resultados de esta práctica mostraron datos relevantes que permitieron identificar factores inesperados en el análisis, como la …

Do Students’ Questions During Chemistry Lectures Predict Perceived Comprehension And Exam Performance?, Bradley W. Bergey, Jennifer G. Cromley, Avi Kaplan, James D. Bloxton Ii

Publications and Research

Question generation is theorized to support comprehension, self-regulation, and achievement, yet the empirical based for whether and how student-generated questions are associated with comprehension monitoring and whether they predict future performance remain open questions. To address these, we investigated the questions undergraduate students in an introductory chemistry course recorded in question logs across an 8-lecture unit and their relations with post-lecture self-appraisals of comprehension and exam performance. Results indicated that students who generated more questions during lectures, who were able to resolve fewer of their questions, and who generated questions indicating large exam-relevant knowledge gaps reported lower levels of comprehension …

Toward Raising The Child And The Village: Analyzing The Barriers To Implementing Community-Based Curriculum In New York City High Schools, Ife Damon

Publications and Research

As automation increases and single-skill set jobs become non-existent, employees can no longer only possess the technical knowledge of their industry but must also be well versed in a variety of essential skills that artificial intelligence cannot acquire. It is evident from the research that the United States’ traditional approach to teaching and learning has not kept up with the demands of the changing labor market because young adults are graduating from high school lacking the 21st-century skills needed for contemporary careers. High school educators can develop these skills within students by implementing community-based learning (CBL) activities into the curriculum. …

Peer-Led Team Learning In Mathematics: An Effort To Address Diversity And Inclusion Through Learning And Leadership, Janet Liou-Mark, Melanie L. Villatoro, Ariane Masuda, Malika Ikramova, Farjana Shati, Julia Rivera, Victor Lee

Publications and Research

The Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) model has shown to be an effective instructional method to support females, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The collaborative problem-solving setting, led by a peer leader, fosters learning that engages all the students. There are six critical components that are vital to the PLTL model: 1) The PLTL Workshop is integral to the course; 2) Faculty is actively involved; 3) Peer Leaders are well trained; 4) The PLTL Workshop modules are challenging; 5) PLTL workshops are allocated time and space; and 6) There is institutional support. City Tech …

Conjunctional Concepts: The Conceptual Teaching Technique In Biology Classes, Igor V. Zaitsev

Publications and Research

Conceptual teaching relies on concepts in conjunction with a bigger conceptual category (or categories). Revealing and using conceptual conjunctions in the science classroom means teaching conceptually. To make conceptual teaching more accessible to biology instructors, a three-concept model was described to be used during a lecture. This model has allowed the author to develop a relatively simple method that starts with an active concept or concepts, then introduces conjunctional and supporting concepts to relate the content to other concepts and relevant real-world applications. This method is intended to help instructors in preparing to teach biological concepts conceptually, in order to …

Covid-19 Impact On Radiology Students’ Distance Learning (Summer 2021), Mary Lee, Jason Chan, Cheryann Jackson-Holmes, Renzo Marmolejo, Zoya Vinokur

Publications and Research

The Radiological Technology students have adjusted from the urgent distance learning that was enacted in the Spring of 2020, to the hybrid distance learning that is currently in place. This hybrid distance learning is the same way the incoming class of radiological technology students were taught. Both cohorts of students were tracked over the year by online anonymous surveys. We wanted to know how students were adapting to distance learning, if their focus and motivation varied over the course of the year due to changing pandemic conditions. For the students that were working, what impact did it have on their …

Academic Literacy For Deaf Postsecondary Students Through Integrated Reading And Writing Instruction, Sue Livingston

Publications and Research

Based on theoretical findings from the literature on the integration of reading and writing pedagogies used with hearing postsecondary students to advance academic literacy, this article offers a model of instruction for achieving academic literacy in developmental and freshman composition courses composed of deaf students. Academic literacy is viewed as the product of acts of composing in reading and writing which best transpire through reciprocal rather than separate reading and writing activities. Pedagogical practices based on theoretical findings and teacher experience are presented as a model of instruction, exemplified as artifacts in online supplementary materials and juxtaposed with practices used …

Covid-19 Impact On Radiology Students’ Distance Learning (Spring 2021), Mary Lee, Jason Chan, Cherylann Jackson-Holmes, Renzo Marmolejo, Zoya Vinokur

Publications and Research

Radiologic Technology students are well into a full year of distance learning. The Juniors are utilizing a hybrid mode, where they continue to have laboratory classes on campus at half capacity and every other week. The Senior students are completely learning through distance learning and focusing their efforts on reviewing for their licensing exams. Both cohorts are in clinical rotation with COVID-19, a smaller threat to their schooling, but still a hazard that can impact their personal and educational lives. With the use of surveys that are distributed during online classes, we hope to evaluate how a full semester of …

Introducing Pre-Service Teachers To Computational Thinking At Scale, Aankit Patel, Ashleigh B. Thompson, Heidi Williams, Octavia Abell, Carolyn Sykora

Publications and Research

This paper describes a replicable partnership model developed by a graduate school of education that aims to improve elementary student performance in science and math through modifications to pre-service methods courses using computational thinking (CT) content and pedagogy. In collaboration with computational thinking subject matter experts at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a team of childhood education faculty adapted methods courses and field seminars to integrate CT instruction and activities. Pre-service teachers (PSTs) were asked to draw on methods and seminar coursework to design and facilitate CT integrated lessons for grades 1-5 students during field work and …

Exploring New Pltl Modalities, Forging New Alliances, Nadia Kennedy, Ariane Masuda

Publications and Research

This essay focuses on rethinking and reimagining elements of a PLTL program, and on the new modalities to meet challenges of online undergraduate mathematics courses and rising demands for flexible student support. It examines advantages and challenges as found in the Integrated PLTL and Virtual Peer-Led Mathematics Study Groups, including issues such as meeting protocols, and the selection and training of peer leaders. Finally, it discusses an alliance with the college’s mathematics education program, which allows the PLTL program to draw on senior prospective teachers to co-organize and facilitate virtual study groups supporting undergraduate mathematics courses.

Open Educational Resources: What Do Students Want?, Aneeza Hussain, Joyette K. Noel

Publications and Research

This project aims at identifying the needs and requests of students for Open Educational Resources (OERs) in order to develop rubrics for design, evaluation but also revisions of OERs. For this purpose literature searches on the matter were conducted to determine if information on students’ perspective on OER content and expectations existed. Simultaneously, feedback from fellow City Tech students with experience using OERs has been collected. Our results provide insight on how City Tech students perceive OERs, in comparison with traditional resources. This also pinpoints the key pedagogical features that OERs should offer in order to attract, engage and better …

Covid-19 Impact On Radiology Students’ Distance Learning (Fall 2020), Mary Lee, Zoya Vinokur, Jason Chan, Renzo Marmolejo, Cherylann Jackson-Holmes

Publications and Research

Distance learning (DL) is a teaching tool that offers education to students remotely in various locations (Ruiz, 2006). The increase in distance learning education is evident in all types of educational programs including those in Radiologic Sciences. DL education programs are expected to comply with all standards just as traditional programs are (Aaron, 2015). With traditional class settings, knowledge is taught at a given time and day and is structured in terms of course development and attendance. It does not factor in the domestic and familial responsibilities of the students outside the classroom walls or the effects of a worldwide …

Learning Places: Place-Based Learning In An Interdisciplinary Approach To Undergraduate Research, Jason Montgomery

Publications and Research

High-impact educational practices outlined by the Association of American Colleges and Universities give faculty a toolkit of specific practices that current research identifies as having particular effectiveness in student engagement and learning in the 21st century. Included in this list of effective practices is undergraduate research. While this high-impact educational practice is most often associated with the sciences, it has wider applicability to undergraduate learning where the methods of research can integrate synergistic strategies that further enhance student engagement and learning: place-based learning and interdisciplinary teaching. In this chapter, these two compelling approaches to higher education are presented as …

A Single, Narrowly Focused Create Primary Literature Module Evokes Gains In Genetics Students’ Self-Efficacy And Understanding Of The Research Process, Alison Krufka, Kristy Kenyon, Sally G. Hoskins

Publications and Research

Exposure to primary literature using CREATE tools has been shown to have a positive impact on students’ self-efficacy and beliefs when incorporated into semester-long courses taught by extensively trained faculty. However, it is unknown whether similar benefits can occur with a brief exposure to CREATE in an otherwise traditionally taught course. We hypothesized that students who experienced a short-term CREATE module taught by faculty with minimal training in this pedagogy would make gains in scientific literacy and self-efficacy while also experiencing epistemological maturation. To test this hypothesis, we compared sections of students who experienced the CREATE module with sections of …

Student Success In Psychology-English Learning Communities., Jillian Grose-Fifer, Kimberly A. Helmer

Publications and Research

Participation in a learning community has been widely recognized as a high impact educational practice. Here, we focus on a highly successful partnership between a psychology professor (JGF) and an English professor (KAH), who codesigned and cotaught a first-year cocurricular (Psychology/English Composition) learning community (LC) course for multiple semesters at a large public Minority/Hispanic Serving Institution in the Northeast. We describe how we created co-curricular links between our courses, which hinged in part on a collaborative podcast assignment based on psychology-themed books. We detail how we built a strong sense of community, designed scaffolded assignments targeting skills, such as information …

Teaching In A Flipped Classroom., Jillian Grose-Fifer

Publications and Research

In this chapter, I describe how I switched to using a flipped class model in an upper-level Sensation and Perception course, by reversing where different types of learning take place. In the flipped model, instead of introducing students to basic concepts in class, they answered guiding questions after watching videos or reading the textbook before attending class. They then spent class time working collaboratively in small groups on more challenging assignments, many of which had been homework assignments in prior (non-flipped) courses. In-class activities consisted of mini-experiments, and other student-centered hands-on learning experiences designed to foster higher-order critical thinking and …

Supporting The Changing Practices Of Teaching In Business - Baruch Summary, Ryan Lee Phillips, Louise Klusek, Charles Terng

Publications and Research

This report details the results of a study examining the teaching practices of business faculty at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, City University of New York. The contents within cover how instructional resources and services are developed and used to support business faculty and their pedagogy. This report is the local results of Baruch College and the Newman Library’s portion of a larger suite of parallel studies with several other institutions of higher education in the U.S., coordinated by Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research and consulting service. Conclusions and recommendations detail targeted library programs and potential collaborations …

Aligning The Curriculums For College Success: High School And College Library Collaborations, Carl R. Andrews, Dickens Saint Hilaire

Publications and Research

In today’s highly competitive global economy, City University of New York (CUNY) graduates need strong critical thinking skills. More New York City students than ever before are applying to college and enrolling into CUNY schools. This is especially the case with high schools throughout the Bronx, a good portion of these schools are feeder schools for Bronx Community College (BCC). Unfortunately, many of the students who matriculate into BCC come un-prepared for college level work, where information literacy skills are essential. A strong body of published scholarly literature discusses the importance of information literacy instruction at the high school level, …

Writing To Learn: Embedding A Crucial Study Skill In A Gateway Science Course, Shylaja Akkaraju

Publications and Research

Handwriting is a multisensory process known to enhance memory, focus, engagement, and cognition in the learner, thereby making it a valuable study skill. In an attempt to embed handwriting as a study skill in a gateway science course, I used a combination of scaffolding and individual student consultations. Scaffolding emphasized the use of desirable difficulties and retrieval practice through the implementation of techniques such as the flipped learning approach and take home-in class hybrid essay exams. While the former helped to increase overall student success the latter technique was aimed at enhancing written fluency in the subject, curbing procrastination, and …

Peer-Led Team Learning Bridges The Learning Gap In A First-Year Engineering Technology Course, Chen Xu, Ohbong Kwon, Juanita C. But, Benito Mendoza, Janet Liou-Mark, Robert Ostrom

Publications and Research

Electrical Circuits (EMT 1150) is a first-year engineering gateway course for Electromechanical Engineering Technology (EMT) associate degree students. It is a five-credit course with a combined lecture and laboratory components. Topics in the lecture portion introduces the physical basis and mathematical models of electrical components and circuits. The laboratory sessions of the course are performed on a breadboard using the digital multi-meter, oscilloscope, and function generator. In the past ten consecutive semesters, the average enrollment for EMT1150 was approximately 144 students per semester with an average of 73% passing with a D or better and 64% passing with a C …

A Study Of Online Assessment Tools To Practice Programming And Their Effect On Students Grades, Jose Reyes Alamo

Publications and Research

“Practice makes perfect” is an old phrase that proves truth in many aspects of the life of a computer engineer. Students in programming courses are reminded constantly by their instructors to practice in order to become better developers. Traditionally, book exercises have been used or assigned to students for practicing programming. However unless these exercises are counted for credit, some students will lack the motivation to do them. On the other hand, assigning too many problems for credit can become a time consuming activity for both students and faculty as well as a grading burden for instructors. It is also …

Designing A Summer Transition Program For Incoming And Current College Students On The Autism Spectrum: A Participatory Approach, Emily Hotez, Christina Shane-Simpson, Rita Obeid, Danielle Denigris, Michael Siller, Corinna Costikas, Jonathan Pickens, Anthony Massa, Michael Giannola, Joanne D'Onofrio, Kristen Gillespie-Lynch

Publications and Research

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique challenges transitioning from high school to college and receive insufficient support to help them navigate this transition. Through a participatory collaboration with incoming and current autistic college students, we developed, implemented, and evaluated two intensive week-long summer programs to help autistic students transition into and succeed in college. This process included: (1) developing an initial summer transition program curriculum guided by recommendations from autistic college students in our ongoing mentorship program, (2) conducting an initial feasibility assessment of the curriculum [Summer Transition Program 1 (STP1)], (3) revising our initial curriculum, guided by …

Interactive Whiteboards In Library Instruction: Facilitating Student Engagement And Active Learning, Maureen Richards, Marta Bladek, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

Determined to keep up with the ever-changing instructional trends, academic libraries have been quick to adopt emerging teaching and learning technologies. Recent literature features many examples of technologies that have found a place in libraries’ instructional programs: learning management systems, clickers, online tutorials, reference chats, and mobile devices, to mention the most popular ones. Curiously enough, despite their popularity in business and K-12 contexts, interactive whiteboards (IWBs) are rarely discussed in the context of academic libraries’ efforts to embrace innovative teaching methods. This article addresses this omission. Present-day IWBs have evolved to include features that accommodate a variety of teaching …

Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies For Adult Learners: A Review Of The Literature, Rebecca Carlson Mccall, Kristy Padron, Carl Andrews

Publications and Research

Students who are older than age 25 are increasingly becoming a higher portion of enrollments in higher education. These students, known as adult learners, have different educational needs, expectations, and interests than traditional college students because they enter college with life and work experiences as well as responsibilities. Andragogy is the main theory of adult learning that addresses ways to teach adult learners. While the construct of andragogy is subject to debate, the education field draws on its findings to create learning environments for adult learners. Academic libraries can apply andragogy in their library and information literacy instructional practices. This …