new york city college of technology, cuny

New York City College of Technology, CUNY A Living Laboratory: Revitalizing General Education for a 21st Century College of Technology

Agenda, February 22, 2013

General Education Seminar, Third Year Fellows “Real World Problem Solving”

kgoodlad, jreitz 022213

Gen Ed Subcommittee and Living Lab Fellows Working Groups Discussion Questions Template Please record the results of your group discussion using the “Discussion Questions Template” Word document (available on the TYF OpenLab site “Files” area). GROUP: __Table #1___________________ What is happening with General Education and Assessment in your department? English: Assessment: Two reports on assessment, look at learning objectives + assessments and look for methods for improvement. Gen ED: frequent reports, heated debates within faculty Biology: Gen ED: currently revising curriculum mapping/fine tuning. Looking at learning objectives of all courses and aligning with the gen ed and cuny common core. Assessment: looking at deficiency. Looking at plagiarism and citation. More scientific writing laboratory reports Human Services: Gen Ed: Go over each syllabus for each course to align with Gen Ed and Middlestates (skills, knowledge, values.) Expected outcomes and assessments, revising and fine tuning Assessment: Rubric for GEN ED SLO each course (plan not implemented yet in all courses) Enivornmental: Assessment: Critical Course Assessment, GEN ED Quantitative Literacy (Rubric), Mapped curriculum Math: Gen Ed: mapped curriculum, modified all course outlines to include Gen Ed SLOs. Assessment: Quantitative Literacy Program participant. Arch Tech: Gen Ed: Curriculum for the AAS has been mapped in detail, SLO and Assessment vehicles have been updated in the course outlines for the AAS.





Assessment: Participated in Reading Assessment program, department mission/goals mapping, rubric development workshops and test development workshops. Also, we have implemented a course review process. Can you identify the successes? Environ. Control gives score sheet to students in advance and sees that students work improves Bio: Also, gives expectations for paper with clear rubric, and the students respond well. English: Student models, Gen Ed models, graded models (samples), self, peer review assessment is also successful (the assessment is also assessed) Students understand how to self edit, evaluate their own work. Math: Use models as well, student examples make big difference (you can do this too) Human Services: examples!!! Define expectations for assessment Can you identify any roadblocks? Human Services: some faculty are resistant to implementing rubrics (takes away from freedom) How do we best communicate with part time faculty? What strategies for implementation can you come up with? How can the Living Lab Fellows, Gen Ed and Assessment committee members best work together in each department?





Gen Ed Subcommittee and Living Lab Fellows Working Groups Discussion Questions Template Please record the results of your group discussion using the “Discussion Questions Template” Word document (available on the TYF OpenLab site “Files” area). GROUP: ____2_________________ What is happening with General Education and Assessment in your department? Mixed activity level Can you identify the successes? Can you identify any roadblocks? Hard to communicate the value of the work Some course material is hard to quantify How do we best communicate with part time faculty? Subject area summit with course coordinator Meet with adjuncts, talk about how courses fit together in the big picture, make sure all pre-requisite paths are cohesive Regular meeting with adjuncts What strategies for implementation can you come up with? Critical friends – regular course evaluations/updates How can the Living Lab Fellows, Gen Ed and Assessment committee members best work together in each department? It is currently hit or miss for each dept. in terms of who the living lab fellow is and how much time/interest they have for sharing with dept.





Gen Ed Subcommittee and Living Lab Fellows Working Groups Discussion Questions Template GROUP: 3___________________ What is happening with General Education and Assessment in your department?

For some, senior faculty seem cynical—or believe that we are already doing this “so why are we here?” Some feel as if they are simply moving furniture around

Departments are complying

RadTech/CMCE--Accreditation helps with creating ownership in Gen Ed

Library—assessment is moving forward Can you identify the successes?

Leverage of accreditation—helps instill that it is important

Breaking down the responsibilities

Breaking Gen Ed into teaching strategies Can you identify any roadblocks?

High course load, overload

No accountability

No incentive for Gen Ed

Senior faculty have no interest or some, even negative interest

Generational gap as a result in the change from technical to research based institution How do we best communicate with part time faculty?

Adjunct Breakfast

Hire an Adjunct Coordinator What strategies for implementation can you come up with?

Show that value and simplicity of change

Building on what you are already doing

Enhancing pedagogical stuff

Show how it’s less of a burden, model examples that work—with little changes

How can the Living Lab Fellows, Gen Ed and Assessment committee members best work together in each department?





Gen Ed Subcommittee and Living Lab Fellows Working Groups Discussion Questions Template Please record the results of your group discussion using the “Discussion Questions Template” Word document (available on the TYF OpenLab site “Files” area). GROUP: Table 4 What is happening with General Education and Assessment in your department? ADGA: Architecture: people mapping SLOs for the major (and for General Education) English: Can you identify the successes?

Living Lab

New Faculty Orientation Can you identify any roadblocks?

The habit of apathy (lack of prior culture of assessments), especially among the long-term faculty

Hostility towards it: see it is “extra” or decontextualized from the work we actually do

Need to think about relevancy

General Education synonymous in a lot of people’s minds with Pathways, and assessment with Middle States

How do we best communicate with part time faculty?

Create an OpenLab site that aggregates news from around City Tech What strategies for implementation can you come up with? How can the Living Lab Fellows, Gen Ed and Assessment committee members best work together in each department?





Gen Ed Subcommittee and Living Lab Fellows Working Groups Discussion Questions Template GROUP: _________5____________ What is happening with General Education and Assessment in your department? Hospitality: Assessing two courses, lots of writing. One research, one dining room. Departmental review of course outlines to incorporate SLOs. Almost finished with required courses. Chemistry: Looking @ scientific reasoning and assessment. Developing assignments for content validity. Developing an approach strategy for writing lab reports. This strategy is being implemented in all of Chem II, WAC is spreading it to other departments. Finished incorporating GenEd SLOs into course outlines. Developing an Env. Science I & II interdisciplinary course with physics, math, chemistry & biology. Computer Eng: Improving faculty awareness of GenEd work within the department. Developing a writing intensive course is in progress. Accreditation is currently consuming massive resources & leaving little for GenEd development. Dental Hygiene: GenEd SLOs are incorporated into every course. Incorporating OpenLab and higher level reasoning in exams for Dental Anatomy. Looking ahead to using ePortfolio on OpenLab and also teaching via Blackboard. Mathematics: Unsure of the departmental progress. Can you identify the successes? Architecture: This is the 3rd semester of NEW core courses. The courses were completely re-done with the SLOs in mind. Students are coming to class more prepared, with the appropriate basic skills. Chemistry: Students understand that they are expected to write independent material. Hospitality: Advisory board has stressed the importance of writing skills. Dental Hygiene: Individual successes, not everyone is in the same boat.





Can you identify any roadblocks? Computer Engineering: Accreditation is a huge roadblock in terms of resources & competing requirements. Reaching department-wide, reaching part-time, general apathy. How do we best communicate with part time faculty? What strategies for implementation can you come up with? How can the Living Lab Fellows, Gen Ed and Assessment committee members best work together in each department?





Gen Ed Subcommittee and Living Lab Fellows Working Groups Discussion Questions Template GROUP: _____6_______________ What is happening with General Education and Assessment in your department? African American study, English, nursing, social science are sure that they participated this assessment, they all updated their syllabi based on the GE learning outcomes. Social science been collecting assessment data for three year. Biology has some assessment now, faculties know about this. Can you identify the successes? This GE learning outcomes forces, inspires faculties to update their teaching materials and change how they teach students. Very beneficial for a lot faculties. Faculties automatically update their teaching style based on the assessment outcomes. What we did at GE, lead to departments, and disseminated to P-Tech. The impact is large and very successful. The template developed in the assessment has been used by a lot of faculties and adjunct. In this case, course coordinators are responsible to disseminate the information, their works are vital. Can you identify any roadblocks? Lack of communication is roadblocks between full time and adjuncts. In this case, course coordinators are important. The culture of the department should be changed to promote communication. Faculties are territorial about their teaching and class materials. GE and living lab has made faculties to the less territorial. How do we best communicate with part time faculty? Course coordinator is the key! Invite them to join the open lab to the part of the community. What strategies for implementation can you come up with?





Chair and course coordinator are the key. Again. Open lab is a good tool, but not as important as above. Sharing of syllabi across department should be a rule! How can the Living Lab Fellows, Gen Ed and Assessment committee members best work together in each department?

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