CUNY Academic Commons

Just came across this video of Jane Jacobs on cities & economy, nice to put a face to the reading–http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/clips/6895/

Thanks Charles. I was amused with the opening line: “The new Program in General Education seeks to connect in an explicit way what students learn in Harvard classrooms to life outside the ivied walls and beyond the college years,” and noted that not matter what type of walls, ivied or cinderblock, the goal is to […]

Thanks for posting Charles. Your link got me to thinking one sad consequence of the credentialing effect is the cheapening of education. The focus on the degree turns the whole experience into a process of attaining rubber stamps and less a reflection of getting an education. It’s a bleak addendum to the Death and Life […]

Great question Paul. I think drawing embodies multiple strategies that fall under Gen Ed such as critical thinking and analysis. Creating a visual representation of what you see requires a thoughtful consideration of what you are trying to render. Even though I’m a terrible draftsman myself, I ask my students to make sketches or doodles […]

The Summerfield reading was extremely useful because it synthesized all those nagging questions of the first few meetings: why are we here? what is Gen Ed? will we ever be able to agree on anything? It also provided valuable historical perspective on the diverse CUNY system and Gen Ed initiatives. I think a copy should […]

My first reaction to Jeannette Wing’s article was how she produced a useful buzzword–catchy, savvy, smart–to help bridge the gap between computer science and other disciplines. I agree with other comments that she’s not very specific in defining what the strategies of computational thinking are. Although the article is broad and general in…[Read more]