Education Commons^™

How To Peel A Prologue: Sensory Reading In Practice In Two 90-Minute Lessons, Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

This essay provides rich examples of sensory reading in practice. It provides strategies for peeling a prologue, a methodology that engages developmental readers through active reading and writing examples. The strategies can be built on and extended to larger pieces of work. The essay is also a good example of scaffolding and using graphic organizers in a developmental writing community college classroom.

Auditing And Replacing Library Signage: Maintaining Effectiveness And Relevancy After The Project, Mark Aaron Polger

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Student Evaluations Of Instructors May Be Flawed., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

For years, one of the most standard practices in

higher education has been what’s called “student

evaluation of teaching,” also known by its acronym

SET. This is a process that is carried out in just about

every college and university course every semester or

term. They are used essentially to measure how effective

a teacher is by surveying student satisfaction.

And the results of these surveys are used to make

many important decisions, such as whether or not

faculty members should be granted tenure – or even

keep their jobs.

A new study, however, is challenging the conventional

wisdom that …

College Senate Minutes October 27, 2016, Bronx Community College Senate

BCC Governance Archives

Minutes for the meeting of the College Senate on October 27, 2016.

College Libraries Eye Tradition In Era Of Change., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One could argue that universities originated

from places like the Library of Alexandria, established

23 centuries ago in Egypt. Libraries like

the one in Alexandria attracted the most talented

intellectuals.

They contained not only a large number of

papyrus scrolls but also served as botanical gardens,

collections of art and places of residence

for scholars.

When modern universities were built, libraries

occupied a distinctive place where students and

faculty went on an almost daily basis to seek the

information they needed for their studies. But

over the last few decades their role has transformed

and lessened. One reason for this …

Forgotten Memories Of A Social Justice Education: Difficult Knowledge And The Impossibilities Of School And Research, Debbie Sonu

Publications and Research

This paper is about memory, the elusive process of remembering and of an encounter between a researcher and a participant who after five years reunited to remember. The object under study is a high school social justice curriculum with a central focus on the development of social action projects. Grounded in Pitt and Britzman’s work on difficult knowledge, this paper asks: What do 10th grade students who spent four years attending a school committed to the Freirian principles of political engagement remember about their high school experience? Past and recent interviews are woven together to surface three emergent lines of …

What Democrats Have Planned For Higher Education., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The Democrats have made a number of concrete

promises regarding higher education if they win

the presidential elections. They promise concerted

actions against sexual assaults on campuses that

include comprehensive support for survivors, fair

judicial processes that prevent the use of cultural

biases against females as “inciters,” and increased

prevention efforts through education programs.

The Clinton campaign also promises support for

net neutrality, the idea that Internet service providers

should enable access to all content and applications

regardless of the source without favoring or blocking

particular products or websites. The Democratic plan

also proposes expanding availability of fiber-optic

broadband Internet …

How Higher Ed Will Fare Under Gop President., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Last week we reported that when it comes to

higher education, the Republican platform for this

election was a single paragraph with no real details

of what they propose to do for the next four years.

Given that, the only thing we can do to discern what

their policies will be for the sector is to analyze their

speeches and past policies and stances.

For example, during their Cleveland convention

Republican leaders propose to decouple accreditation

from federal financial aid. That means that a lot

of colleges and universities will feel no pressure to

maintain a minimum of standards and …

What The Candidates Promise For Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

With the general elections just one month away it is

time to look at what the candidates for president of the

United States and their party platforms offer in terms of

higher education. Let’s start with the Republican party.

Donald Trump has not said much on the issue and his

party platform on higher education is confined to one

paragraph. “When student loan debt exceeds the nation’s

credit card debt, we must recognize that our higher education

system is on an unsustainable path. The Republican

Party supports an education system that provides families

with greater transparency and more information so …

Funeral In The Classroom: A Failed Teaching Practice?, Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

The author introduces the idea of performative annotation as a powerful teaching tool to engage students in a shared experience of reading and understanding a piece of text. Orality and performance are shared constructs that provide opportunities for students to demarcate moments in a text that resonated with them. The nature of this activity is called into question because of the deeply emotional responses students have towards the experiential learning activity of recreating a funeral in the classroom. This article assesses what went wrong with the activity and offers suggestions on how to make space for performative annotation prior to …

In Transit Vol. 7 Fall 2016, Laguardia Community College

LaGuardia Community College Publications

In Transit is the LaGuardia Journal on Teaching and Learning. It is published by the Center for Teaching and Learning at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY.

Embedded Remediation: A New Paradigm, Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Advocate, Fall 2016, Vol. 28, No. 1, Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Editorial:

- The Difficulty of Making a Voting Decision. (p. 3)

CUNY News:

- Freedom of Expression Under Threat at CUNY, Again. (p.8)

- Where is the Money Going? Janet Werther (p. 12)

- Jon-Christian Suggs Memorial. James de Jongh (p. 18)

Features:

- Stranger in my Skin: Racial (un)belonging in the U.S. Tommy Chung (p. 22)

- Amy Ashwood Garvey: A Bibliographic Essay. Rhone Fraser (p. 30)

Debate:

- Donald Trump and the Death Rattle of Liberal Civility. Asher Wycoff (p. 36)

Performance Review

- The Fetish of the Mourning Other Review of Taryn Simon’s An …

Advocate, Fall 2016, Vol. 28, No. 2, Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Features:

- Trump, Brexit, and the Abject Poverty of Liberalism. Gordon Barnes (p. 3)

Debate:

- Demonetization in India: The Political Economy of Waiting Time. Bhargav Rani (p. 26)

Book Review:

- The Dark Side of the American Revolution: A Review of Robert Parkinson’s “The Common Cause: Creating Race and Nation in the American Revolution.” Evan Turiano (p. 36)

- Writing Resistance in the Age of Survaillance: A Comparative Review of Steven Salaita’s “Uncivil Rites” and Moustafa Bayoumi’s “This Muslim American Life.” Erik Wallenberg (p. 41)

Mobile App Usage Assessment In The Academic Library, Rebecca Arzola, Stefanie Havelka

Publications and Research

This column discusses different approaches, and methods to assess app usage. In the following we exemplify mobile strategies and initiatives set up by some universities that libraries can adopt.

Cognitive And Affective Aspects Of Personality And Academic Procrastination: The Role Of Personal Agency, Flow, And Executive Function, Marc Graff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Academic procrastination is a prevalent issue that affects school-related and other experiences of many students, with some studies identifying as many as a third of college students sampled as‘severe’ procrastinators. This study investigated some of the factors previous studies have identified as potential contributors to procrastinating in the academic arena. In defining procrastination as a self-regulation issue, it is proposed that distinct executive function processes play a role in one’s efforts at academic task engagement and completion and resisting the tendency to procrastinate on these tasks. It is also proposed that the frequency with which one experiences ‘flow’, a state …

Accessing Academe, Disabling The Curriculum: Institutional Locations Of Dis/Ability In Public Higher Education, Andrew J. Lucchesi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The field of Disability Studies has long committed itself to the project of making American colleges and universities more accessible places for disabled faculty, staff, and students. Indeed, many of the field of early ideological roots of the discipline of Disability Studies (DS) emerged from campus-based activist movements. This influence has impacted the ways DS scholars continue to frame their intellectual labor as a progressive public good. In recent years, composition/rhetoric scholars have begun applying DS approaches to questions of pedagogical and professional access as well. These critiques have drawn attention the ways teaching practice, administrative policy, and other aspects …

Transnational Indigenous Migration: Racialized Geographies And Power In Southern Highland Ecuador, Victoria Stone-Cadena

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the shifting landscape of social and economic inequalities in the remittance-dominated region of southern highland Ecuador, focusing on the transformations brought about by increased international migration since the early 2000s. The broader question is whether or not transnational migration has facilitated political and social upward mobility among indigenous communities. More specifically I ask: in what ways does indigenous identity figure in contemporary international migration practices, how does transnational indigenous migration complicate bounded notions of rural indigenous life, and how might the strategies employed by indigenous migrants transform social and economic inequalities in two small towns in the …

Literacies Of Bilingual Youth: A Profile Of Bilingual Academic, Social, And Txt Literacies, Michelle A. Mcsweeney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation identifies three types of language skills that urban Spanish/English bilingual youth possess (academic, social, and texting language), and reports on their relationship while documenting and analyzing the features of text messaging among this population. The participants in this study are Spanish-dominant bilingual young adults enrolled in a high school completion program in New York City. They are in the process of developing both Spanish and English academic literacy skills, and it is well known that they tend to perform below the grade they are enrolled in. For this reason, they are often referred to as being “language-less” (DeCapua …

Perceptions Of Fidelity And Adaptation In Evidence-Informed Interventions By Women Of Color Sexuality Health Educators, Sara C. Flowers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sexuality health educators (SHEs) adapt interventions to the participants’ needs in the dissemination and implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programming. However, there is a lack of understanding of how, why and when SHEs make such adaptations. Success or failure of the transfer of prevention technology to practitioners occurs by determining community capacities and preparedness to adopt/adapt high-impact interventions to effectively manage implementation. Experts argue for evidence-informed interventions (EII), as opposed to evidence-based interventions (EBI), as the best way to incorporate research in applied settings. EBIs are solely guided by recommendations from current evidence, whereas EIIs recognize and incorporate the …

Evaluating The Validity Of Technology-Enhanced Educational Assessment Items And Tasks: An Empirical Approach To Studying Item Features And Scoring Rubrics., Ally Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With the advent of the newly developed Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards, innovative assessments, including technology-enhanced items and tasks, will be needed to meet the challenges of developing valid and reliable assessments in a world of computer-based testing. In a recent critique of the next generation assessments in math (i.e., Smarter Balanced), Rasmussen (2015) observed that many aspects of the technology “enhancements” can be expected to do more harm than good as the computer interfaces may introduce construct irrelevant variance. This paper focused on issues surrounding the design of TEIs and how cognitive load …

Critical Youth Participatory Action Research To Reimagine Environmental Education With Youth In Urban Environments, Marissa E. Bellino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work addresses ways to actively engage youth, particularly those growing up in urban contexts, in the rapidly expanding field of urban environmental education (EE). By inviting youth into the urban EE discourse, this study created opportunities to redefine what EE could look like when it is built on relevance to youth daily lives and is locally situated in urban settings. A critical urban environmental pedagogy, as conceptualized in this dissertation, brings together critical pedagogy and youth participatory action research to investigate the diversity of urban neighborhoods by youth who live there. These investigations reveal neoliberal urbanization processes and their …

Jules Verne Constructs America: From Utopia To Dystopia, Dana L. Radu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In my dissertation, I examine visions of the United States in Jules Verne’s (1828-1905) Voyages extraordinaires (1863-1905). Of the sixty-four novels that make up that series, twenty-three, over one-third, feature American characters or take place on American soil. I demonstrate that in his early novels (1863-1886), he presents the United States in an optimistic and utopian light, while in his later novels (1887-1905), his depictions of the United States take on a pessimistic and dystopian aspect. In also showing that Verne had been influenced by utopian socialists Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825), Charles Fourier (1772-1837) and Étienne Cabet (1788-1856), I provide …

Mindfulness In Learning, Anna Malyukova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In our everyday life, people feel busy, rushed, pressured to be productive and successful. There is little room for pausing, slowing down, having a moment of non-judgmental reflection on everyday activities, which include learning. One way to achieve balance and harmony in life is to become more mindful of oneself and one’s emotions. I argue that the speed and drive for productivity and achievement has disharmonized our lives, from the learning process inside and outside of the classroom to the way we interact with technology and attempt to find balance in life. Through my own personal journey of reflection on …

Bully Victimization, Depression, And The Role Of Protective Factors Among College-Age Lgbtq Students, Theresa E. Bhoopsingh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the prevalence and impact (or intensity) of four different bullying-victimization forms (physical, verbal, relational, cyber) as experienced by the LGBTQ college-age population. In addition, this study also investigated LGBTQ college students’ bully victimization experiences and their links to depressive symptomatology. The relationship between self-rated victimization and its impact and depression was also explored. Furthermore, given the potential for protective factors of various types to mitigate the negative impact of bullying, this study investigated social supports from family, friends, and campus to determine the strength of their moderating effects, individually and in combination, for each of the sexual …

The Critical Social Ecology Of Student Success In Higher Education: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study Of Undergraduates' Experiences And Outcomes At The City University Of New York (Cuny), Leigh Shebanie Mccallen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ensuring success in higher education among historically underserved students is integral to social equity and mobility in the United States today. Scholars have called for research examining the complexity of factors determining educational pathways of students encountering circumstances that hinder progress toward a college degree in the context of broad-access public four-year universities and two-year community colleges, institutions most affected by declining federal and state support for higher education. The current research proposed a multidisciplinary applied model of underserved college student success to examine factors constraining and promoting the educational outcomes and social opportunities of undergraduate low-income, first in family …

The Effects Of Health-Related Fitness On School Attendance In New York City 6th-8th Grade Youth, Emily M. D'Agostino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Only 42% of youth ages 6-11 in the United States meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation for ≥60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity. Estimates for adolescents ages 12-19 are even lower, ranging from 8-17%. Literature suggests low levels of youth health-related fitness (fitness) may negatively impact attendance, potentially due to reduced physical and psychosocial wellness. Nationally, 10-15% of (5-7.5 million) students are chronically absent, meaning that they miss ≥10% of the school year (or ≥20 days of school per year). Moreover, 20-30% of students in high-poverty, urban school districts do not attend school regularly (≥6 days …

Educational Histories Of Newcomer Immigrant Youth: From Countries Of Origin To The United States, Joanna Yip

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation details the educational histories and linguistic portraits of newcomer immigrant youth in their countries of origin, and provided accounts of their academic trajectories after arrival in the United States. The data provide evidence of poor quality instruction, particularly in literacy, and educational environments in low-income sending countries. The study shows that prior schooling experiences in the country of origin have an impact on school readiness, the degree to which immigrant youth are prepared for education in secondary classrooms in the U.S. The dissertation also provides an analysis of how pre-migration education interacts with educational performance after immigration, leading …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Character Building Initiatives At An Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound High School, Adeola A. Alexander

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses as its conceptual foundation the research on teacher beliefs to examine how teachers at an Expeditionary Learning School in Brooklyn, New York perceive the character building initiatives at their school. Using thematic case study methodology, the study found that teachers believed that character education is important and should be taught. Not only should character education be taught in schools, but the teachers believed that schools should be intentional about the teaching and development of student character. Teachers also believed that teachers are capable and should be allowed to spearhead the school initiatives intended to develop character. According …

The Consequences Of The State Implementation Of A Nationally Standardized Teacher Performance Assessment As A Certification Requirement: A Mixed Methods Study, Deborah Greenblatt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) is a nationally distributed and scored standards-based teacher performance assessment being promoted throughout the country (AACTE, n.d.-a). This mixed methods study investigated the experiences of New York City teacher candidates and teacher educators with the elementary education edTPA portfolio. It was found that teacher candidates experienced various supports and challenges based on their personal demographics, school of education, and student teaching placements. Additionally, the edTPA affected participants' personal, professional, academic and student teaching experiences. Furthermore, the study revealed ways that implementation of the edTPA affected teacher educators and the teacher education curriculum.

Based on the …