Higher Education Commons^™

Proceedings Of The Cuny Research Summit: Creativity In Stem, Malgorzata Marciniak, Bronislaw Czarnocha

Publications and Research

The Research Summit “Creativity is STEM” was organized by the Mathematics Teaching Research Journal (MTRJ) and the CUNY Research Foundation. The event gathered over 70 participants from across CUNY and beyond. We spent time discussing various aspects and approaches to creativity and shared our observations about facilitating creativity in the classroom, during research projects, and in our daily life.

Edited by Malgorzata Marciniak and Bronislaw Czarnocha, the proceedings contain six presentations by professors of Mathematics, Sciences and Engineering from across CUNY and beyond, and five presentations by students reporting their research conducted in the context of student-faculty research.

Humanities And The Pursuit Of Happiness, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One question that is commonly asked of people who pursue a career in the humanities (like philosophy, literature, history and the like) is, “But what are you going to do for a living?” Even former President Barack Obama once ridiculed those following an art history career. These concerns are even more amplified in the case of first generation college students whose parents often- times expect them to follow more conventional careers, such as medicine, law or engineering.

Also, in the last few years there has been great hype about the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines as the only …

Academia Is Running For Congress, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Midterm elections usually reflect strong opposition to the party in the White House, and the 2018 elections do not seem to be any different. Women, many who see themselves as targets of the current political environment, have achieved great success in special elections since 2016, and they seem to be heading to even greater success in this year’s elections.

According to Emily’s List, the largest national organization devoted to electing female candidates, in the 10 months before the election in 2016 about 1,000 women contacted that organization about running for office or getting involved in other ways.

Since the election, …

Cultivating Critical Reading: Using Creative Assignments To Promote Agency, Persistence, And Enjoyment, Nate Mickelson

Publications and Research

Skillful and attentive critical reading is crucial for success in college. Research has shown that pedagogies that foreground the transactional nature of reading are more effective than those that frame reading as a process of decoding meanings transmitted in the text. Despite this, existing approaches to reading instruction often reinforce a transmission model of reading that prioritizes the decoding of textual meaning over more active engagement. Assignments that explicitly or implicitly define reading as a process of identifying correct interpretations in this way risk reinforcing the shame and frustration students experience as they struggle to interpret texts. As an alternative, …

Meddling Goes On In Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

On February 16, the Justice Department issued a detailed indictment of 13 Russians and three Russian companies that worked since 2014 in subverting the 2016 U.S. elections. According to the indictment filed by the office of special counsel Robert S. Muller III, these foreign agents developed a sophisticated network aimed at supporting the Trump campaign, especially in battleground states.

These agents, who worked from an office in St. Petersburg, Russia, stole the identities of American citizens, posed as political activists, and stirred debate on politically sensitive issues such as immigration, religion, and race, all in an attempt to favor the …

Opening Up To Oers: Electronic Original Sourcebook Vs. Traditional Textbook In The Introduction To American Government Course, Shawna M. Brandle

Publications and Research

Traditional American Government textbooks are expensive and often unpopular with students. New technologies and Open Educational Resources (OERs) open up the potential for change, but questions of quality are ever present: can OERs really help students learn better, or are they just cheaper? I developed an OER based on original sources and compared student learning outcomes with the OER section to those in a free digital textbook section. While the OER I created did not work as well as I had hoped, I nonetheless developed a redesign of my course and my approach to teaching, which is the true benefit …

The New Federal Budget And Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The Roman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful regimes in human history, despite its many faults. Most historians will agree that the causes of why that empire fell were a combination of factors including, but not limited to, the invasion by the Barbarians from the north, the loss of traditional values, and military overspending.

Last week I reported in this column on how a fiscal shutdown of the federal government would affect higher education. Now that a two-year budget has passed, allowing the government to run until late March, we have a better idea of what is …

The Disruption And Diversification Of Higher Education Funding: Cryptocurrency For Higher Education Wealth Generation, Edward Lehner, John R. Ziegler

Publications and Research

This work conceptualizes a process for cryptocurrency to diversify traditional methods of higher education funding in the United States. Higher education funding has seemingly reached an impasse, and opinions remain divided over both which societal parties should bear the educational costs for the vast majority of Americans and how to remedy the student debt crisis. Cryptocurrency funding augments traditional revenue streams, and shifts the discussion of education costs from expenses to a more robust conversation about innovative avenues to wealth generation as a potential solution to fund the mission of American higher education. Historically, higher education has been rooted in …

A Shutdown’S Effect On Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

When we read or hear about the federal shutdown in the media, we learn that it is due to the inability of our politicians to compromise, that all federal employees who are not considered essential are subject to a furlough, and that national parks and museums usually close. Yet, one may ask, how such shutdowns affect higher education. After all, most of higher education – including student aid – is supported directly or indirectly by the federal government.

To begin with, we need to remember that although no new federal dollars can be spent during a shutdown, money that has …

Logemann Studies, Practices Corporate Communication In Today’S World, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“It’s a good thing for the communication degree to be combined with business knowledge. Business acumen is more and more necessary in corporate communication. My own history has been full of twists and turns, and it’s brought me finally to the subject of communication. I simply didn’t know as a young person that you can study communication. I didn’t know what to do, so I ended up in a business school.”

That’s the way Dr. Minna Logemann explains how she became an expert in a field that is more and more in demand today: corporate communication. She is originally from …

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 …

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 …

On The Use Of Semantic-Based Aig To Automatically Generate Programming Exercises, Laura Zavala, Benito Mendoza

Publications and Research

In introductory programming courses, proficiency is typically achieved through substantial practice in the form of relatively small assignments and quizzes. Unfortunately, creating programming assignments and quizzes is both, time-consuming and error-prone. We use Automatic Item Generation (AIG) in order to address the problem of creating numerous programming exercises that can be used for assignments or quizzes in introductory programming courses. AIG is based on the use of test-item templates with embedded variables and formulas which are resolved by a computer program with actual values to generate test-items. Thus, hundreds or even thousands of test-items can be generated with a single …

Africa Has A Need For Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One of the oldest words in the English language is bigotry. Although it has an obscure origin, everybody knows its meaning: intolerance toward the opinions, lifestyles, or identities of people who are different from the person expressing those opinions. The bigot bases such rejection of others on ignorance and usually takes such bigoted positions to insult.

In one of the many scandals that we are witnessing on a weekly basis, Donald Trump referred to all the countries of Africa, as well as Haiti and El Salvador, as “s***hole countries.” The problem with this statement is that it not only reflects …

Higher Ed Is In Need Of Fresh Ideas, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One common expression in the English language, particularly on this side of the Atlantic, is to refer to unexpected or crazy ideas as coming “out of left field.” The expression originated from baseball, specifically after Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, was built in 1914. In what is today the left field of the stadium, there used to be what was then called a mental asylum. So when something crazy or unforeseen happened it was said to be “out of the left field.”

Some of the greatest ideas in the history of civilization came “out of the left field.” …

U.S. Vs. Europe In Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Last week, while in Spain, I had the chance to speak with several higher education officials about how academia compares between Europe and the U.S. As someone who received his under-graduate degree in Europe and his graduate education in the U.S. many years ago, I was very intrigued. And this is what I found out.

When I went to college at the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, European undergraduate degrees were five years. During those five years, all the subjects that you took were both a year long, and also were all related to your field of study. The advantage …

Weissman Was My Destination, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The date was Monday, August 8, 2016. The coeditor of this book, Gary Hentzi, and I visited Baruch College’s archives to get an idea of the kind of photographic resources we would have available to use as illustrations. We were impressed by how much material the archives contained and by how well organized they were. The director of the archives, Sandra Roff, and her staff walked us through the collection and occasionally showed us a particular picture that they thought could be of interest.

The Effect Of The End Of Net Neutrality, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

You expect that any material in public libraries is available to you. There may be a few exceptions, such as adult material not being accessible to minors, or some very rare or delicate materials that need to be handled with special care and cannot be checked out. Nowadays when you do an Internet search you expect to access any web site for the same cost and at the same speed.

There is free access to the Internet at many locations, from public libraries to places such as malls, coffee shops, and the like. The connections at these places are usually …

A How-To Guide On Bringing Undergraduate Research To Community And Technical Colleges, Angelo Kolokithas, Olga Calderón

Publications and Research

Increasing the interest and participation of students in STEM is a priority for colleges, universities, and the nation as a whole. As new generations of students embark in training and in learning novel technologies to deal with the challenges of emerging infectious diseases, crop and food production, and the development of new and better sustainable alternatives in the face of a changing environment on our planet, we must also evolve our approach to teaching and learning. One strategy that may be found helpful as students face the challenges ahead is to instill inquiry and problem-solving skills as part of their …

Using Visual “Bait” To Hook, Engage, And Empower New Community College Writers, Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

This reflective article focuses on a series of semester-long activities conducted with developmental writers in an urban community college classroom. It builds on the research of John Berger (1972) and Sondra Perl (1994) who highlight seeing and perception as key components of self-composition. The article showcases assignments where students created photo journals as a way to share their lives, thoughts, and experiences. The use of structured prompts allowed students to actively engage with their neighborhoods -- a sort of text to be read, captured, and ultimately decoded through written explanation. The examples will be useful to practitioners who may be …

Early Career Exploration As A Strategy To Reduce Loan Debt, Karen Abigail Williams

Publications and Research

Despite the recent economic recovery, state support for higher education remains below pre-recession levels, making college loan debt a requirement for students from low and middle income families (Mitchell & Leachman, 2015). In cases where they have unmet financial need, students incur supplemental loan debt to attend these institutions, even if their out-of-pocket expenses are less at lower-ranked institutions (Williams, 2012). Study participants who entered college as low-income students recommended that students only assume loan debt if they understand their career goals, potential salaries, and the impact of loan debt on future finances. This article explores how attitudes about upward …

Emancipatory Learning, Open Educational Resources, Open Education, And Digital Critical Participatory Action Research, Jason Leggett, Jay Wen, Anthony Chatman

Publications and Research

Given that we must prepare students for the future workforce today how can we use the power of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Digital Social Science research to improve student learning and help students develop technical skills needed for the high-tech workforce? In this article, we use transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1978) and Digital + Critical Participatory Action Research (D+CPAR) to analyze the effectiveness of integrating OERs into a course and reflect on how we used OERs to support student learning and make civic engagement more equitable at an urban community college. In a criminal justice course analyzing the legal …

Learning Places At The Intersection Of Information Literacy And Place-Based Learning, Anne E. Leonard

Publications and Research

This information literacy lesson enhances assignments in a range of social science disciplines, including geography, sociology, anthropology, and political science. It was designed with undergraduate social sciences and interdisciplinary courses in mind. Interdisciplinary courses that engage with one or more social science disciplines should be included. Graduate students in urban planning, architecture, social work, and public affairs will benefit from this module as well.

Lab Manual Design With Engineering Learning Style And Flipped Learning Model In Computer Engineering Technology Education, Yu Wang, Sunghoon Jang

Publications and Research

We have designed a lab manual based on Felder-Silverman learning style model (FSLSM) and the flipped classroom model for engineering education. This lab manual is developed for early junior year course of “Microcomputer Systems Technology” and emphasizes student-centered active learning experiences with more practical exercises and open-ended questions. Instead of taking traditional assembly language to study computer architecture, we are looking for a different approach to teach students to learn the assembly language by embedding an inline assembly language module into a C program. Our lab guide consists of online videos and practical exercises on various platforms including Microsoft Windows …

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 4.0: The Interactive Course, Robert O. Duncan, Joe Bisz, Julie Cassidy, Kathleen Offenholley, Maura A. Smale, Carolyn Stallard, Deborah Sturm, Anders A. Wallace, Cuny Games Network

Publications and Research

Proceedings of the CUNY Games Conference, held from January 22-23, 2018, at the CUNY Graduate Center and Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Critical Play with History (Panel) - Composition & Storytelling - Health & Cognitive Sciences - Gaming Anthropology: Teaching Culture and Power Through Games and Design (Panel) - Twine & Writing Games - Easy Ideas II - STEM Games - Global Games for Change Catalog (Panel) - Comics & Active Learning - Fact Checking & Research - Computer Science & Game Design - SimGlobal: Building a Serious Roleplay Course for the Social Sciences (Panel) - Role Playing Games, Narrative, …

Going Public: How And Why To Develop A Digital Scholarly Identity, Katina Rogers, Lisa M. Rhody, Danica Savonick, Lisa Tagliaferri

Publications and Research

Establishing a meaningful digital identity is essential to managing one’s scholarly and professional reputation. This workshop addresses ways to cultivate an online identity and offers guidance on “going public” using tools and strategies for building a community around your work. Topics include social media, writing for different audiences, personal websites, digital dissertations, and more.

Symptomatic Leadership In Business Instruction: How To Finally Teach Diversity And Inclusion For Lasting Change, Linda L. Ridley

Publications and Research

Are business faculty complicit in mythologizing business concepts by ignoring historical precedence?

The refusal to examine in totality the history of discrimination and racism allows us to perpetuate a mythology of white supremacy that is enhanced through impotent diversity programs repeated throughout corporate America. This paper examines the importance of demythologizing the business curriculum through symptomatic thinking, which allows faculty and students to untangle the quagmire of diversity and inclusion in corporate America. Students are thereby equipped with tools for behavior transformation in the workplace that uses a symptomatic, rather than symbolic approach, to decision making and problem solving.

From Departure To Destination. Reminiscences Of The Weissman School Of Arts And Sciences., Aldemaro Romero Jr., Gary Hentzi

Publications and Research

This volume is both a remembrance of the past and a prologue of the bright future to come for the George and Mildred Weissman School of Arts and Sciences (WSAS). As these chapter attest, the Weissman School has grown and evolved significantly, and particularly in the period sine George and Mildred Weissman provided their visionary endowment gift in 1999. Now the School is on the precipice of a new era.

Contents:

"Foreword," Mitchel B. Wallerstein

"Introduction," Katherine Pence

"First Annual Weissman Lecture, 1998," George Weissman

"A Two-Way Street," Carol Berkin

"Baruch and the Liberal Arts," Myrna Chase

"Fertile Ground," Roslyn …

From College To Careers: Tracking The First Two Years For Graphic Design Graduates, Kathryn Weinstein

Publications and Research

This article presents the findings of a two-year longitudinal pilot study of one graduating class from an undergraduate graphic design degree program of a New York City public college. Through an initial survey and four subsequent surveys over a two-year period, the study has sought to determine the percentage of graduates who found employment in the field of graphic design, the length of time graduates persisted before exiting the field, and the identification of factors that influenced the ability of these thirty-seven graduates to secure employment as graphic designers. Two years after graduation, the majority (65 percent) of the cohort …

Who Speaks For The Paralegal Studies Student? - An Educator’S Perspective When Teaching Forensic Science To The Legal Studies Student, Marissa Moran

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.