Teachers in New York State have the unique privilege of teaching children from a wide variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is essential that teachers learn about their students’ home languages so they can use their families’ linguistic practices as a resource for learning.  The goal of this assignment is to create a  project about a language used by NYC children that can be shared with educators and future educators so we can all learn from it.  If a student in my course or members of his/her /their family speaks a language other than English at home, I encourage them to choose it so they can share their knowledge with the…

Pedagogy, there’s so much to this specific term that has helped me understand and so much this certain group has allowed me to do. It has open up so many opportunities for me to share my thoughts and have my voice heard. I realized I really like participating in a group where we can all discuss important topics and express our own being. For example, when I entered in my Fall semester of 2019 , I did not participate in clubs at all because I am a full time student and mother. I have a 2 year old son who needs my attention. In the beginning , my own child…

My initial thoughts about the concept of open pedagogy and open assignments were ones of excitement and possibility as I thought of all the creative and innovative approaches being explored and their ability to give students a sense of agency and to make them into creative producers of knowledge, not just passive receivers of it. But, after reading “Open Digital Pedagogy = Critical Pedagogy” by Judy Rosen and Maura Smale, my thoughts shifted to some potential problems with actually implementing them in my classes. The notion that open pedagogy can help “flatten hierarchies” is one of the most appealing and exciting aspects of it but, when I think about implementing…

Since going remote, the hands on/interactive approach of the lab portion of the anatomy and physiology course has been diminished. I think that coming up with OER assignments that specifically tackle a sort of hands on approach for the lab portion would be a worthwhile idea. Of course, there is no feasible way for us to get the students to actually use the microscope and identify specific prepared slides. However, interactive skills are important in understanding important scientific concepts. There are plenty of websites that offer self-guided histology activities and notes; in order for students to appreciate slide/sample preparation, an activity could be prepared surrounding these histological samples. Furthermore, some…

As someone who learned in a “traditional” classroom setting, the idea of open pedagogy is something I approach with curiosity, but also with caution. As a student, I thrived in a teacher centered classroom, and honestly thought that it was a great way of learning. However, as I learn more about open pedagogy, I can see the appeal of it to students and the instructors alike. One major advantage of open pedagogy is the lack of a financial burden/impact on a student’s financial being. Material for a course should be readily accessible for students; I think most people can agree that the costs of textbooks are exorbitant. However, the quality…

I know we went over this briefly today, but if anyone needs a refresher on creating blog posts in the CUNY Academic Commons, here is a wonderful, step-by-step guide which should be helpful.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dP5Sz3d7IIjyIYZL40IAnJViCB2sHnchAQCI3o31000/edit?usp=sharing

For those of you that might need/want some inspiration for Open Pedagogy Assignments, here are a few links that unpack assignments and activities for open learning: Open Pedagogy Examples (from Austin Community College) Barnard Zine Library (for anyone interested in or looking for more information on Zines) OER-Enabled Pedagogy (from the Open Education Group/David Wiley) Open Pedagogy: Examples of Class Activities (from Professor Christina Hendricks, University of British Columbia)

I love this fellowship! I am so grateful for this opportunity, this has allowed me to understand how much professors truly care for their students. Seeing how you guys take time to listen to your students and change assignments just to fit there needs is really amazing 💜 as a student you don’t really get to see the thought teachers put into their students we just see the lecture and assignments, but this experience has allowed me to see the how much thought and attention professor really give into preparing lectures and giving assignments. I can tell that guys really care about your students. So I’m grateful I was able…

It was a great experience and I am very happy to have been part of this group. I enjoyed the reading, the conversations, and the students’ feedback. These discussions have helped me reshape some of my current assignments. With some changes, I was able to increase their effectiveness as the student would be able to share his/her content with others, hear the feedback, and then see how that example fits into the course content. I am sure that more improvements can be made and I hope to hear more of your feedback.