CUNY Academic Commons

Seth,

For me, it has been both through bringing it up in formal settings (when it connects in meetings) and informally. I find that when faculty complains about students, it is a good entry point. Start by empathizing and then sharing one strategy that helps you. Maybe then follow up with an email that has a resource. Encourage that professor and…[Read more]

Consider showing struggling, for real, with students. Put up a problem not based on the knowledge of the subject, but on other skills that might be challenging for all, such as logic or a Suduko. Let the students see they can figure some things out even before the teacher gets it. Then, have students discuss why this activity was useful. What did…[Read more]

You may also want to do warm-ups, homework, or test preparation by having students find errors in incorrect work from previous years. They can explain errors (in thinking or computation) and correct them. They can also clarify if it was a logical error or a silly error and “give advice” to the student as to how (or what) they could study better…[Read more]

My colleague teaches genetics and allows the students to choose their case study topic. Most students choose a disease/disorder that someone in their lives has/had. There are many subjects/topics where we can do the same. Allowing students choice gives them a chance to connect to their lives and/or interests.

Seth,

We have a great site for computational thinking and equity practices https://citelearning.commons.gc.cuny.edu/equitable-cite-pedagogy/

We are doing this work in teacher education across CUNY.

My question for the group about this post is:

How can you make students open to constructive criticism?
Are we ACTIVELY working in our rapport and boosting their confidence so that they are hurt or defensive?
What are some CONCRETE ways we can do this?

Seth – I love this idea! It is so helpful to students to give them in-class time to make groups and form a plan/schedule to work. That is often the hardest part – especially for students who might not know many people in the class. I have done resource photo scavenger hunts with students on the first day of class, but I like how connected this is…[Read more]

I also use the quote “Problems are just opportunities that haven’t presented themselves.” I am not sure who said it, but I think that starting without the word “failure” can be better for many people’s skepticism with this work.
I also like “Working hard is important, but there is something that matters even more: Believing in yourself.” That’s…[Read more]

Along those lines, here is an organizer I have used to help me get to know my students. They appreciate it when the professor also fills it out and posts it. 🙂

On the last board, I shared https://app.bookcreator.com/ as a fun way to get to know each other.
I have been having my students create “Genius Boards” inspired by the work of Gholdy Mohammad.https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/cultivating-genius-an-equity-framework-9781338594898.html She does A LOT of online seminars and…[Read more]

Since I was in this course a few years ago, I have been looking for ways to bump things up a notch and to share some digital platforms my students can use for their own projects.
I am going to use https://app.bookcreator.com/ to introduce myself in the future and have students do the same. Granted, I teach future elementary school teachers, but…[Read more]

Carrie,

It is so wonderful to hear that you are thinking about your English language learners and that you are using a tone that is welcoming and informal. I recommend using subtitles in your video. You can do that through a Zoom recording for free or on other platforms. Some platforms will even translate to different languages for you.

Agreed! Share this with your students. Let them know that you are working to improve your craft and that it is overwhelming to you. Students often think that if they were actually “smart” they wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Society places a false stereotype that “smart people” find things “easy” when we know that is not the case. I was going to add my…[Read more]

Along these lines, we cannot mistake grit for a growth mindset. Although the message of working hard to achieve is important, we want to be thoughtful about also including the societal barriers people must overcome which leads to some efforts not resulting in the same rewards. It is important to acknowledge these and support students with tools to…[Read more]

Yes! This is the work of Friere. The students are the teachers and the teachers are the students. We all learn from each other. Cultivating this environment is key to a growth mindset. Here is an excerpt: http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/philosophy/education/freire/freire-2.html

Hi,
I am looking for help finding computing skills assessments and tutorial modules for the students in my Computing in Education class. I do not want to spend class time teaching some students to use Microsoft Office when this is usually covered before college. I want to use the class time to focus on more advanced computing skills and…[Read more]

Medgar Evers College

Bud: implementing the revised version of my artifact now

Rose: not there yet

Thorn: student participation in discussion around the What’s in the Graph? even though we had deep conversations this summer