Higher Education Commons^™

Students’ Attitudes About Peer-Led Team Learning Workshops In General Chemistry: A Critical Incident Study, A.E. Dreyfuss, Janet Liou-Mark

Publications and Research

How would students respond to open-ended questions regarding their experiences with PLTL workshops? This paper will present the results of a two-semester qualitative study on how students view workshop in their introductory chemistry courses, using Brookfield’s (1995) Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ). The five questions probe what stands out in the affirmative and negative, using key words: engaged, distanced, affirmed, puzzled or confused, and surprising. Collecting key moments from students in workshop, after several weeks of meeting, allow a grounded sense of how students view the workshop experience.

Mobile Information Literacy: Supporting Students’ Research And Information Needs In A Mobile World, Stefanie Havelka

Publications and Research

Mobile devices have changed everyday life and they have had a great impact in higher education. This article describes a pilot project in which an academic librarian at Lehman College, City University of New York, taught information literacy exclusively via mobile devices. The concept of mobile information literacy is also reviewed, and its role in current and future teaching practices is evaluated. Lessons learned from this project tell us that mobile information literacy, albeit in its infancy, could play an essential part in students’ learning, and therefore academic librarians could incorporate it as part of their practice.

Knowledge Studies, Jay Bernstein

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cuny Librarians And Reassignment Time: What Is It? How Do I Get It?, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Although librarians in CUNY had achieved Faculty Status by 1946 and Faculty Rank in 1965, they were still never put on the Faculty Calendar with the Summer (or its equivalent) off. Professional Reassignment leave for library faculty was added to the contract in 1978 as a two-week research leave, and it has since expanded to a maximum of six weeks. However, as Professional Reassignment leave increased, the amount of annual leave for new librarians decreased.

Brooklyn's Waterfront As A Living Laboratory, Anne E. Leonard

Publications and Research

Fellows in the college’s Living Lab seminar develop general education learning outcomes using high-impact learning practices, especially place-based learning. Capitalizing on City Tech’s greatest asset, proximity to Brooklyn’s historic post-industrial waterfront, fellows participate in a walking tour, enhanced by a mobile website on the OpenLab. As this activity is integrated into coursework, students use the site to assess their learning.

How I Teach Gender In History (Of Technology), Geoff Zylstra

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Students' Immersion Experiences In Study Abroad, Federica Goldoni

Publications and Research

Data show that a larger number of students than ever are participating in learning experiences abroad. However, such programs are not always as immersive and intensive as participants, faculty, program directors, and administrators would wish. This study examines the ways in which students created sustained opportunities to interact with members of the host community as well as episodes of cultural clash, miscommunication, and misunderstanding experienced at the intersection of two cultures that led to diminishing willingness to interact with members of the host community. The article concludes with recommendations for pre-departure experiences that are designed to help students become more …

The Intellectual And Curricular Spaces Of Knowledge Studies, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

The words “knowledge” and “information” are sometimes used interchangeably, but the connection between them is complex and problematic. Knowledge is a mental product gained from engaging with information. All educational subjects, scholarly disciplines, occupations, and activities produce knowledge as well as information. Because libraries encompass potentially all subjects, professional vision in librarianship would benefit from an examination of knowledge that transcends the methods and topical concerns of individual disciplines. An interdisciplinary (or transdisciplinary) framework in which to view knowledge was pioneered in the post-Sputnik age by Fritz Machlup and Michael Polanyi. Their insights have stimulated scholars to develop research, publications, …

Restoring College Education To The Nation's Prisons, Jeremy Travis

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Create Cornerstone: Introduction To Scientific Thinking, A New Course For Stem-Interested Freshmen, Demystifies Scientific Thinking Through Analysis Of Scientific Literature, Alan J. Gottesman, Sally G. Hoskins

Publications and Research

The Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment (CREATE) strategy for teaching and learning uses intensive analysis of primary literature to improve students’ critical-thinking and content integration abilities, as well as their self-rated science attitudes, understanding, and confidence. CREATE also supports maturation of undergraduates’ epistemological beliefs about science. This approach, originally tested with upper-level students, has been adapted in Introduction to Scientific Thinking, a new course for freshmen. Results fromthis course’s initial semesters indicate that freshmen in a one-semester introductory course that uses a narrowly focused set of readings to promote development of analytical …

Cuny Librarians And Faculty Status, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Although the libraries in what were then known as the City Colleges of New York were made academic departments in 1938, all of the librarians did not have faculty status until 1946, and faculty rank did not come until 1965.

Searching Mindfully: Are Libraries Up To The Challenge Of Competing With Google Books?, Amrita Dhawan

Publications and Research

Traditional research tools used by libraries, such as encyclopedias and catalogs (OPACs) were created in an age of print and information scarcity. They have not kept up with changes in the information world which assume an abundance of online information in different formats and interdisciplinary topics which attempt to solve ‘real world’ messy problems and not traditional theoretical questions. The traditional tools rest on an unwieldy and somewhat outdated collaboration between OCLC, LOC, private aggregators, librarians and faculty. The search results they deliver offer excessive information with very little guidance on how to systematically sift through them. This makes the …

Survey On Humanities Graduate Education And Alternative Academic Careers (Main), Katina Rogers

Publications and Research

As humanities scholars increasingly recognize the value of public engagement, and as the proportion of tenure-track faculty positions available to new graduates continues to decline, many humanities programs are focusing renewed attention on equipping graduate students for careers as scholars both within and beyond academe. To support those efforts, the Scholarly Communication Institute has carried out a study investigating perceptions about career preparation provided by humanities graduate programs. The survey results help to create a more solid foundation on which to base curricular reform and new initiatives by moving the conversation about varied career paths from anecdote to data. The …

Social Class And Learning Disabilities: Intersectional Effects On College Students In New York City, Ashleigh B. Thompson

Publications and Research

Purpose - Previous quantitative research documents that college students with disabilities do not attain higher education at rates equal to their nondisabled peers. This qualitative study posits that socioeconomic status (SES) is a determinant of this discrepancy, and explores how SES and disability shape the college experience of New York City (NYC) students with learning disabilities (LDs), specifically.

Methodology - Research findings from semi-structured interviews with students with LDs (n = 10) at a low-SES and a high-SES colleges are presented against the backdrop of administrative data from NYC baccalaureate-granting colleges (n = 44), disability staff surveys (n = 21), …

Cuny Librarians And Reassignment Leave: What Is It? How Do I Get It?, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Although librarians in CUNY had achieved Faculty Status by 1946 and Faculty Rank in 1965, they were still never put on the Faculty Calendar with the Summer (or its equivalent) off. Professional Reassignment leave for library faculty was added to the contract in 1978 as a two-week research leave, and it has since expanded to a maximum of six weeks. However, as Professional Reassignment leave increased, the amount of annual leave for new librarians decreased.

Survey On Humanities Graduate Education And Alternative Academic Careers (Employer Survey), Katina Rogers

Publications and Research

As humanities scholars increasingly recognize the value of public engagement, and as the proportion of tenure-track faculty positions available to new graduates continues to decline, many humanities programs are focusing renewed attention on equipping graduate students for careers as scholars both within and beyond academe. To support those efforts, the Scholarly Communication Institute has carried out a study investigating perceptions about career preparation provided by humanities graduate programs. The survey results help to create a more solid foundation on which to base curricular reform and new initiatives by moving the conversation about varied career paths from anecdote to data. The …

Beyond Physical Space: Implementing A Virtual Learning Commons At An Urban Community College, Heba Elsayed, Carlos Guevara, Rebecca Hoda-Kearse, Isabel Li, Kate Lyons, George Rosa, Varun Sehgal

Publications and Research

The administration, faculty, and staff at Hostos Community College strive to improve students’ computer and information literacy skills while meeting the distinct needs of Millennials. In 2007, Hostos initiated a project to reconfigure physical spaces throughout the campus (areas in the Library, Academic Learning Center, Educational Technology Office, and Academic Computing Center) and establish a unified virtual space, creating a cross-divisional entity: the Information Learning Commons (ILC).

This case discusses the formation of the ILC Committee, the group that envisions and manages physical ILC spaces’ renovation and also develops virtual spaces; the planning and implementation of physical learning commons spaces; …

Cuban Scientist Discusses Exchange With Siue, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Former Estl Mayor Gives Back To Alma Mater, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cuba Trip Presents Surprises For Siue Student, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Professor Teaches Science Teachers To Teach, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Developing Sustainable International Library Exchange Programs: The Cuny-Shanghai Library Faculty Exchange Model, Sheau-Yueh Janey Chao, Beth Evans, Ryan Phillps, Mark Aaron Polger, Beth Posner, Ellen Sexton

Publications and Research

This article describes the City University of New York ( CUNY)-Shanghai Librarian Faculty Exchange Program. By observing and working in academic library services at CUNY, Shanghai University (SU), and Shanghai Normal University (SNU), participants were able to teach and learn from their colleagues, bringing their experiences back to further share with their home library patrons, colleagues, and colleges.

Career Eportfolios: Recognizing And Promoting Employable Skills, Karen Bonsignore

Publications and Research

New York City College of Technology “City Tech,” which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY), began its ePortfolio Project with Title V grant funding in 2001. The project was institutionalized when grant funding ended in 2006. Since it began, the City Tech ePortfolio project has provided well over 5,000 students from many departments within the college the opportunity to prepare a Career ePortfolio to be used to showcase their professional development and academic skills in the form of a digital résumé. The Career ePortfolio enables students to store their work, document what they have learned in …

Making Higher Education More Affordable, One Course Reading At A Time: Academic Libraries As Key Advocates For Open Access Textbooks And Educational Resources, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

Open access textbooks (OATs) and educational resources (OERs) are being lauded as a viable alternative to costly print textbooks. Some academic libraries are joining the OER movement by creating guides to open repositories. Others are promoting OATs and OERs, reviewing them, and even helping to create them. This article analyzes how academic libraries are currently engaged in open access textbook and OER initiatives. By drawing on examples of library initiatives across the United States, the author illustrates how libraries are facilitating the adoption and implementation of these affordable resources.

Developing A Community Of Practice Among Peer Leaders: The Leadership Seminar, A.E. Dreyfuss, Janet Liou-Mark, Amelise Bonhomme, Travion Joseph

Publications and Research

The Leadership Seminar, piloted in the fall semester of 2011, is a mandatory weekly meeting for Peer Leaders at New York City College of Technology, City University of New York (CUNY). Its main purpose was to create a community of practice among first-time and experienced Peer Leaders. Continued in the spring 2012 semester, the one hour session provides a setting where Peer Leaders can share their experiences, discuss problems that arise in their workshops, and further develop their leadership and professional skills

A History Of Peer-Led Team Learning, 1990-2012, A.E. Dreyfuss

Publications and Research

From Workshop Chemistry in 1991 at the City College of New York, CUNY, to implementation in other disciplines and development of Peer-Led Team Learning and its Six Critical Components, this paper reviews the contributions of faculty at a variety of higher education institutions to the dissemination and growth of PLTL as a successful model of student engagement with the position of the student Peer Leader.

Government Information For Your Mobile Phone, Rebecca Arzola, Debbie Rabina

Publications and Research

A tasting menu of selected apps, created by U.S. government agencies, that provides information accessible from your mobile phone.

But Are They Connected?: A Report On The Queens College Technology Survey Of The Use Of Ubiquitous Tools For Learning, Eva M. Fernández, Michelle C. Fraboni

Publications and Research

The casual observer of the student population at Queens College (an urban, public, predominantly undergraduate campus) is awed by the ubiquity of technology, offering students the ability to communicate and participate in learning anytime, anywhere. They text, email, facebook, and tweet all day long. They have nearly instant access to the digital tools that have been touted as changing teaching and learning at all levels of education. With over 80% of our population born in or after 1980, there is an assumption that these digital natives intuitively know about and prefer digital tools for learning. With this in mind, and …

Faculty As Undergraduate Research Mentors For Students Of Color: Taking Into Account The Costs, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

This article is based on the findings of a 2-year study that examined the nature of effective faculty/student undergraduate research (UR) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) relationships. The study site was a large urban public college where three fourths of all incoming freshmen receive need-based aid; and although not a historically Black college or university (HBCU), 85% are students of color. The college offers 2- and 4-year STEM degree programs. Utilizing cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as both a theoretical and methodological framework, this phenomenological study employed semistructured interviews, written surveys, and member checking to understand four paired faculty/student …

Introducing Aerospace Engineering To High And Middle Schools, Sean Pratt, Yapah Berry, Olivia Reed, Gaffar Gailani

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.