Dreams from My Father: Creating Classroom Activities and Utilizing the Website for the 2009/10 Common Reading

Presenters will discuss how the 2009/10 Common Reading, Dreams from My Father by President Barack Obama, can be integrated into instruction, drawing on themes such as identity, race, class, education, family relationships, immigration, civic engagement, community change, and awareness of the world. Presenters will demonstrate the website developed to support teaching and learning with Dreams from My Father, and participants will have an opportunity to collaborate on a lesson or activity related to the text.

Presenters: Ali Abdallah (Center for Teaching & Learning), Susan Bernstein (English), Ann Matsuuchi, Ros Orgel (Center for Teaching & Learning), Steven Ovadia, (Library), Charles Perkins (Adult Learning Center) and Alexandra Rojas (Library)

Room: E259

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Math Education at LaGuardia: Going Greener

Math education is changing at LaGuardia Community College by making use of more technologically oriented teaching methods along with environmental contexts. In an effort to foster a greener environment, math is being taught using interesting and engaging environmental issues that not only help students learn math, but also help them understand their role in protecting the earth. Additionally, students use technology to practice math. The Mathematics Department is using the online system, Educo, for teaching basic skills courses. By incorporating technology into our courses, the Math Department is saving not only a tremendous amount of energy for students who then could put it to use for productive purposes but also natural resources such as paper, thus contributing to a greener environment.

Presenters: Dr. Sreedevi Ande and Dr. Mangala Kothari (Mathematics, Engineering, & Computer Science)

Room: E264

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Understanding the Economic Crisis

This workshop will provide an in-depth analysis of the economic crisis, going beyond that which is offered by most economists and media pundits. It will introduce easy to understand concepts which we can use in the classroom to give students a handle on the current reality.

Presenter: Michael Frank (Cooperative Education)

Room: E262

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The "On Track" Project: Changing Student Behaviors, Beliefs and Mindsets

The "On Track" Project is attempting to tackle what we hypothesize in many cases to be a root cause of poor student academic progress: attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and mindsets that do not promote success. For example, many students lack understanding as to how learning actually occurs, as well as the discipline needed to take ownership of their own learning process, thereby lessening the impact of our pedagogies. The “On Track” Project Committee has spent a semester reviewing research on changing behaviors, beliefs, and mindsets in academic as well as other settings. We’ll discuss the research, and in particular, present two possible "catalysts" for change: social norms and mindfulness.

Presenters: Paul Arcario (Academic Affairs), Lara Beaty (Social Science), Renee Butler (Enrollment Management & Student Development), Les Gallo-Silver (Human Services), Judith Gazzola (Career Development Center), Mitchell Levy (Counseling), Sam Michalowski (Institutional Research & Assessment), Bradford Orcutt (Information Technology), Mary Romanello (Academic Affairs), and Rosemary Talmadge (President’s Office)

Room: E265

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The Globalization of Teaching and Learning: A Focus on China

The 21st century community college, like other major institutions, has already begun to face the challenges of globalization. This transformation is rapidly making itself felt in the classrooms around the world. This workshop will focus on the changes that China has been undertaking in its educational system and those that the United States has been implementing, particularly with regard to second and foreign language teaching. The presenters have just returned from Shanxi Province, China where they conducted a series of teacher training workshops and in-depth interviews.

Presenters: Wenjuan Fan (Education & Language Acquisition), Judith Gex (Education & Language Acquisition), Carolyn Henner Stanchina (College Now; Center for Teaching & Learning) and Carol Montgomery (Humanities)

Room: E260

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One of the 21st Century’s Best Kept Secrets: Credit for Prior Learning in the Community Colleges

This workshop will examine the changing definitions of what constitutes advanced education and higher learning. Government, employers and institutions of higher education are redefining and accepting alternative paths to achievement of college degrees. Included will be a discussion of some of the recent trends and proposals that have been made for the future. This presentation will include a review of LaGuardia’s Credit for Prior Learning initiative and the use of ePortfolio in conjunction with it as a tool for demonstrating and evaluating learning.

Presenters: Janice Karlen (Business & Technology) and Susan Sanchirico (Cooperative Education)

Room: E266

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Sustainability and Service Learning at LaGuardia: Partnering with the Community on Environmental Issues

Just behind the C Building lies Newtown Creek, a 3.5 mile-long, highly polluted industrial waterway that is the recipient of the largest oil spill in U.S. history. It is here that LaGuardia will embark on its first ever community "service-learning" project—a collaboration with Riverkeeper, the Newtown Creek Alliance, and Queens College to monitor water quality within the creek and associated waterways. Service learning entails faculty guided data collection and analysis by students in service to the community. Community college partnerships with the community can dramatically augment the effectiveness of the national effort towards environmental remediation, community greening and best practice implementation. This project is a springboard into a broader discussion about how faculty expertise, student learning and community needs can be coordinated towards a constructive integration of human activity and the natural world. Hopefully, this vision is just the beginning of a new phase for LaGuardia and its surrounding community to reclaim and sustain the magnificent natural habitat that was once Newtown Creek and the surrounding estuary.

Presenters: Steven Lang (Social Science) and Sarah Durand (Health Sciences)

Room: E225