CTE Day 2008 was held on November 6th to celebrate The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: Continuum of Greatness at the Gould Memorial Auditorium. Dr. Harriet Shenkman, Director of the CTE, delivered the welcome address and BCC Senior VP George Sanchez gave the greetings. Presentations were given by faculty on several honorees of the Hall of Fame. Dr. Katie Culkin (History) presented on John Greenleaf Whittier, Dr. Shyala Akkaraju (Biology) on Thomas Alva Edison, Dr. David Gordon (History) on Peter Cooper, and Dr. Vincent Bonelli (History) on Jonathan Edwards.
There were also digital storytelling presentations created by the students of Dr. Grace Cukras, Dr. Vasso Thomas, Dr. Nelson Reynoso and the students of Learning Community, One World, One Love which depicted the life of Jane Addams and the Hull House in Chicago. Prof. Diane D’Alessio and the education interns made a presentation on the Historical Significance of Election 2008 and Gender and Racial Equity, while the Writing Center, led by Director Janet Robertson, made a Powerpoint presentation featuring the autobiography of BCC alumnus Ezequiel Jimenez, who used to be a dishwasher but is now a painter and cultural activist.
In the afternoon, Dr. James Zimmermann, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Director of the Research Academy on University Learning at Montclair State University, gave a lecture entitled “Bridging Theory, Research and Practice: Aligning Educational Perspectives and Student Learning” at the Center for Teaching Excellence. It was a very well-attended and well-received event, where Bronx Community College members of faculty were able to have a productive exchange about teaching and learning with the guest speaker. Following the lecture was a hands-on Customized Assessment Tools Workshop that elicited a lively discussion among the participants.
CTE Week 2006
CTE Week 2006 was noteworthy since it saw the long-awaited opening of the CTE Center in the lower level of Philosophy Hall. With President Williams presiding over the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the CTE center was officially opened for business. Faculty workshops, CTE advisory board and CTE project meetings, and special speakers will be part of the events planned for this Center.
Stacy Schiff, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and 2006 Academy Award in Literature of the America was the special guest speaker. She discussed her work about Benjamin Franklin entitled, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America. Her presentation was enthusiastically received and she also attended the follow-up luncheon in the Gould Memorial Library Rotunda.
The theme for CTE Week 2006 was “Celebrating Student Learning and Achievement.” There was an array of workshops from Salsa dancing, Education day events, to Apple IPOD presentation, to presentations of student autobiographies.
CTE Week 2005
During CTE Week, we will provide models of student excellence as a result of engaged learning as well as models of engaged pedagogy. The Advisory Board is planning displays and demonstrations in lobbies across the campus and several sessions centering on engaged pedagogy. Science and Math projects will be displayed in Meister Hall and PowerPoint presentations of Education majors will be running in Colston Hall. Perkins Tutors will demonstrate their successes, honors students will demonstrate their use of PC Tablets; the Debate Club will give a demonstration of their award-winning skills; student art will be displayed; "salsa shines" will be performed; and faculty who participated in action research projects and technology training will demonstrate their accomplishments. Most of these demonstrations model Gen Ed proficiencies and are just a few examples of the exciting work by faculty and students we can expect to see.
The main event in Gould Memorial Auditorium will feature Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States and Distinguished Professor at Lehman College, reading from his work. Students will take part in this event by reading their award winning written works as a result of a contest planned by an inter-departmental team. The library and the bookstore will support these efforts by creating a display of the author's work and a Presidential Grant awarded to Grace Cukras will fund student participation.
CTE Week took place Nov. 29 – Dec.3, 2004. There was a full day devoted to technology and another day devoted to education and the infusion of science, mathematics and technology into teacher education. There were also sessions on general education, assessment, college collaborations, grant writing and CPE preparation. A poster exhibit of new initiatives at BCC gave every department an opportunity to showcase their activities.
Furthermore, we were extremely fortunate to have two distinguished guest speakers scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 3. Edward P. Jones, author of “Lost in the City” and the novel, “The Known World”, for which he won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, read from his works. He also presented prizes to the student essay winners. The CTE Essay Contest, coordinated once again by the English Department, Education and Reading Department, the LiteraryArtsCenter, WAC and the WritingCenter, required students to write about selected themes in the author’s work.
Our second guest was Dr. Ken Bain, author of “What the Best College Teachers Do”. Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at NYU, he was a keynote speaker at the CTE Gala Luncheon. He summarized the practices and beliefs of effective teachers based upon his findings from his fifteen-year study of one hundred college teachers in a wide variety of fields and colleges. He also led a unique workshop for faculty on “The Promising Syllabus.”
CTE WEEK 2003
CTE Week took place on Nov. 17-21, 2003. The week
showcased more than fifteen teaching and learning initiatives. All sectors
of the college community, faculty, students, administrators and collaborative
partners, celebrated excellence in teaching and learning. J Juechter
was instrumental in obtaining an Enrichment Grant from the BCC Foundation
which helped fund the activities. Showcased was the scholarly and creative
work of the faculty (orchestrated by Kathleen Williams), Writing Across
the Curriculum, ISR, Technology Day, Education Day, and many others.
Edgardo Vega Yunqué, author of the forthcoming novel, “No
Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew it Cauze
Bill Bailey Ain’t Never Coming Home Again”, was our guest
speaker. Like the title, his novel is a handful, but it is rich in what
it teaches us about life. His work, in his own words, “is an attempt
to examine the issues of race, ethnicity and culture in the United States
as it develops into a Creole society in which culture and relationships
between people are more important than the color of our skin.” We
expected this topic to be of interest to both faculty and students, and,
he did also speak about his experience growing up and being a student
in the Bronx.
CTE Week 2006 was noteworthy since it saw the long-awaited opening of the CTE Center in the lower level of Philosophy Hall. With President Williams presiding over the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the CTE center was officially opened for business. Faculty workshops, CTE advisory board and CTE project meetings, and special speakers will be part of the events planned for this Center.
Stacy Schiff, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and 2006 Academy Award in Literature of the America was the special guest speaker. She discussed her work about Benjamin Franklin entitled, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America. Her presentation was enthusiastically received and she also attended the follow-up luncheon in the Gould Memorial Library Rotunda.
The theme for CTE Week 2006 was “Celebrating Student Learning and Achievement.” There was an array of workshops from Salsa dancing, Education day events, to Apple IPOD presentation, to presentations of student autobiographies.
celebrated excellence in teaching and learning. J Juechter
was instrumental in obtaining an Enrichment Grant from the BCC Foundation
which helped fund the activities. Showcased was the scholarly and creative
work of the faculty (orchestrated by Kathleen Williams), Writing Across
the Curriculum, ISR, Technology Day, Education Day, and many others. 