Nucleus Vol.4 Issue 1

September 2012Nucleus: A Faculty Commons Quarterly Volume 4 - Issue 1 1

Nucleus A Faculty Commons QuarterlyVolume 4 - Issue 1 September 2012

September 2012 Nucleus: A Faculty Commons Quarterly Volume 4 - Issue 12

Russell K. HotzlerPresident

Bonne August Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Miguel CairolVice President for Administration and Finance

Marcela Katz ArmozaVice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs

Gilen ChanSpecial Counsel/Legal Affairs Designee

Compliance and Diversity Officer

Stephen M. SoifferSpecial Assistant to the President/

Institutional Advancement

Pamela BrownAssociate Provost

Karl BotchwayInterim Dean, School of Arts and Sciences

Barbara GrumetDean, School of Professional Studies

Kevin HomInterim Dean, School of Technology and Design

Carol SonnenblickDean, Division of Continuing Education

Faculty Commons A Center for Teaching, Learning, Scholarship and Service

Julia Jordan, Acting DirectorAvril Miller, College Assistant

Kevin Rajaram, College Assistant

Assessment and Institutional ResearchTammie Cumming, Director

Raymond Moncada, Institutional AnalystRachel Tsang, Assessment Analyst

Olga Batyr, Research AideAlbert Li, College Assistant

Office of Sponsored ProgramsBarbara Burke, Director

Patty Barba Gorkhover, Associate DirectorEleanor Bergonzo, Assistant Director

Grants Outreach Coordinator 2012-2013Professor Pa Her

Design TeamProfessor Anita Giraldo, Artistic Director Professor Reneta Lansiquot, Web Master

Angelica Corrao, Matthew Joseph, Jonathan Campoverde

EditorsBarbara Burke and Julia Jordan

Designer Joanna Rooney

PhotographerAlina Melnikova

N E W Y O R K C I T Y C O L L E G E O F T E C H N O L O G Y of the City University of New York

Professional Development Advisory Council (PDAC)Norbert AnekeIsaac BarjisIan BeilinNadia BenakliKaren BonsignoreCandido CaboSanjoy ChakrabortyGwen Cohen-Brown

Susan DavideLynda DiasMary Sue DonskyAida EguesBoris GelmanMaria GiulianiKaren GoodladJoel Greenstein

George GuidaPa HerLouise HoffmanNeil KatzDarya KrymKaren LundstremZory MarantzJohn McCullough

Djafar MynbaevSusan PhillipEstela RojasWalied SamarraiRyoya TeraoShauna VeyDebbie WaksbaumDenise Whethers

Gail WilliamsAdrianne WortzelFarrukh Zia

Pamela Brown, Chair


An Exhilarating Work in Progress 4Bonne August

To NSF and Back 5Pamela Brown

A Living Lab Blooms at City Tech 6Sandra Cheng

AIR Launches ICIS 9Tammie Cumming

Portraits in Teaching 10Faculty New to City Tech

NSF I3: Interdisciplinary Case Studies 12Cinda P. Scott

STEM Case Studies 16STEM Faculty

New E-Process for Grants 18Patty Barba Gorkhover

PSC CUNY Research Awardees 19

Fall Calendar Highlights 20

C O N T E N T S

Cover Art: Welcome Center at City TechJoanna Rooney, Photographer

PrintingDigital Imaging Center at City Tech

“ The results of this two-year-long collection of data revealed

that students consistently cited

faculty as the ‘best thing’

about their courses. ”

STEM Laboratory Survey, 2011

NSF I3 Project


Bonne August, Provost

An Exhilarating Work in Progress anus, the ancient Roman god of gates, doorways, and beginnings (January is named for him), is traditionally depicted with two

faces, looking in opposite direc-tions. Although “Janus-faced” can be regarded as synonymous with hypocrisy, in fact, the ability to look simultaneously forward and back, prospectively and retrospectively, is invaluable when we reach mile-stones and liminal (from the Latin for “threshold”) or transformative states. With the beginning of the new aca-demic year, this issue of Nucleus extends an enthusiastic “Welcome Back” to faculty, students, and staff, and to Pamela Brown, whom we warmly welcome back from a year at the National Science Founda-tion (NSF) to assume a new role as City Tech’s associate provost. At the same time, we open our doors to new students, new staff, and the new faculty members whose faces and messages greet us from the centerfold. The very welcome new Welcome Center graces the cover of this issue, as it does the first floor of the Atrium. The Center’s gallery provides a handsome new space in which to convene, as does the re-furbished Janet Lefler Dining Room above it. Just down Jay Street, the new façade of the Voorhees building, nearly completed, fittingly announc-es the groundbreaking work going on within. As we prepare to submit the report required for the Periodic Review by our accrediting agency, Middle States, there is much wel-come news to report from City Tech.

Prompted by the image of Janus, and the task of preparing the Pe-riodic Review Report, however, I

am not only looking forward—to more new facilities, new degrees, new faculty, and new grants and op-portunities— but also looking back five years to 2007. At that time, three years after President Hotzler’s ar-rival, the groundwork had been laid for City Tech’s measured resurgence from budget deficit, deferred main-tenance, and inadequate hiring. The first critical facilities project—re-placement of Namm windows and the unstable limestone on the facade that had left Namm Hall surround-ed by unsightly scaffolding for nine years!—had been completed. Today, although the project list is still ample and we eagerly await the demolition next spring of Klitgord to prepare for construction of the new building on that site, on every floor of the College there is evidence of change.

City Tech has grown in several key ways in the past five years. Enroll-ment has increased from under 12,000 to just over 16,000 students. The full-time faculty has expanded from 285 to over 400—a dramatic and revitalizing development. Each year, the faculty scholarship report expands, reflecting the scholarly, professional, and creative work of both the new faculty and their more senior colleagues. The Tenth Annual Poster Session this fall promises to be an impressive landmark. While the existing associate and bachelor’s pro-grams, bolstered by new equipment, facilities, and faculty, have updated curricula and implemented new techniques and methods, the College has added half a dozen new bacca-laureate programs, with two more awaiting State approval and several others in progress. Each year, the number of graduating bachelor-level students increases, helping to create

additional momentum for the associ-ate programs as well. City Tech has also matured as a grant-receiving in-stitution, with the Title V Living Lab project and more than a dozen NSF grants, including both institutional and faculty research grants.

While all of these positive efforts are heartening and will continue, a view of the recommendations from the 2007 self-study and the subsequent Middle States Team Report, as well as the 2008 Strategic Plan, reveals a still-challenging agenda. Hard issues of retention and graduation rates continue to face us. More globally, in important ways, as a College we both are and are not the City Tech of the past. We still need to define the City Tech of the future for ourselves, as well as for our constituencies both current and potential, and to gain rec-ognition for the College’s distinctive place in the CUNY spectrum. This is energizing work, but work it is. The collegial spirit that characterizes City Tech faculty and staff and our shared commitment to our striving students make it both rewarding and worth-while. Welcome back to City Tech, an exhilarating work in progress!


To NSF and Back

Pamela Brown

As the summer season winds down it is a time for new beginnings at City Tech. The

start of the school year is especially significant for the recently hired fac-ulty starting a new chapter in their careers. It is also a milestone for the first-year and transfer students who have come to City Tech for the first time to work towards their profes-sional and educational goals. The buzz in the hallways and classrooms, and all of the “where is…” questions remind us of the excitement and chal-lenges of learning how to navigate a new place with new people.

Returning to City Tech after a one-year leave of absence to serve as a Program Director for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the Divi-sion of Undergraduate Education is a new beginning for me. I am looking forward to working with all of you in my new position as associate provost in the areas of curriculum planning and implementation, academic pro-gram review, accreditation, articu-lation, professional development, and coordinated undergraduate education initiatives.

Expanding opportunities for un-dergraduate research is one area to

which I am especially looking for-ward to making contributions. Pro-fessor Selwyn Williams, Director of undergraduate research and the Undergraduate Research Committee are developing strategies to involve more students and faculty.

The NSF experience provided me with the opportunity to learn more about activities across the country designed to improve undergraduate education. While much good work is being done, a recognized national challenge continues to be spreading the word about evidence-based effec-tive practices to improve student suc-cess. Issues around transfer and artic-ulation agreements are also complex.

Publications are a good way to disseminate

successful strategies to

improve student engagement

with learning. There are so many innovations be-ing developed at City Tech from which the larger academic commu-nity could benefit. Publications are a good way to disseminate these successful strategies to improve stu-dent engagement with learning. In addition to helping other educators, peer reviewed articles by City Tech

faculty and others providing stu-dent support services contribute to professional accomplishments and advance the prestige of the College.

In order to support these goals, a se-ries of workshops on publishing ed-ucational research will be launched. Workshop topics will include iden-tifying journals for publication, lit-erature surveys, developing research questions and methodologies, IRB approval, using statistical software packages to evaluate data, accessing reliable and valid online surveys and assessment tools, organizing and writing educational research articles and responding to reviewers.

At the kick-off session, faculty who have published the results of their work in the classroom will talk about their projects. A long-term goal is to support groups with complementary talents working together to develop and implement their ideas, and pub-lish their work. I hope many of you not only attend these workshops , but also volunteer to share your expertise.


Fall coincides with the begin-ning of Year 3 of City Tech’s ambitious Living Lab, a major

grant-funded project aimed at re-thinking the role of General Edu-cation in our college of technology, using City Tech and our Brook-lyn waterfront location as a living laboratory. With numerous faculty seminars and last spring’s official launch of the OpenLab, the digital component to the project, the Liv-ing Lab has inspired faculty and students with new approaches to learning and teaching, and finding new ways to work together across all disciplines. Over the past two years, two groups of Living Lab Fel-lows and a large number of Associ-ate Fellows have come together in a series of semester-long seminars focused on enhancing General Education at City Tech.

The first year of the program ad-dressed General Education and the first-year experience, begin-ning with a provocative and broad question: “What is Gen Ed?” Fac-ulty from disciplines as diverse as English, mathematics, restorative dentistry, and hospitality manage-ment have participated in a series of seminars to contemplate and debate ideas of General Education in our undergraduate curricula. Working together, Living Lab mem-bers have studied and implement-ed inventive pedagogical practices in their own classrooms, providing models for other faculty to try in their own courses.

Participation in the Living Lab has led many faculty members to refinetheir own teaching goals and practices. Ezra Halleck, one of the project’s First-Year Fellows, thus a Living Lab pioneer, emphasizes the need to get students to the see the bigger picture. According to Halleck, a professor of mathematics, “I encourage them to make connections to other disciplines, the world around them as well as important issues that we face.” Class websites on the Open-Lab are filled with examples of high-impact learning practices that help students connect the dots between their courses and to the world beyond City Tech.

More powerful and interactive than conventional learning-management systems, the OpenLab increases the possibilities of student interaction with fellow students and faculty. At last count, the OpenLab boasted almost 4,000 users, who have packed the site with captivating class web-sites, student portfolios, and virtual community spaces. Students have more access to professors and to each other, creating a vibrant online community that is new to City Tech. A powerful tool, the OpenLab, offers limitless potential for reaching beyond the walls of the classroom and helping students better integrate academic demands with their daily lives. Graciela Bardello-Vivero, a part-time faculty member in social science and an Associate Fellow, hopes “to expand the exchange of ideas among students” through the blogging capabilities of the OpenLab.

A Living Lab Blooms at City Tech“A Living Laboratory: Revitalizing General Education for a Twenty-First Century College of Technology” is a five-year initiative funded by a $3.1M grant awarded under the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V) program, Project Director Maura Smale. The project was launched in October 2010 and has appeared regularly in Nucleus. Living Lab Fellow Professor Sandra Cheng, and newly-appointed Communications Lead, reports on her colleagues’ progress.

As an open digital platform, many OpenLab courses are public and available to anyone with access to the Internet. Visitors from across the globe can look at portfolios of creative work and expressive examples of student writing, offering a mi-crocosmic view of our school of technology in downtown Brooklyn to the world.

Living Lab seminars offer unique opportunities for full-time and part-time faculty from diverse disciplines to collaborate and to learn new teach-ing methodologies that range from incorporating more writing exercises to assessment. The seminars actively promote place-based learning and encourage faculty to move outside the conventional four walls of the classroom and make use of the campus and the surrounding Brooklyn waterfront. As a result of her experience with the Living Lab, Melanie Villatoro, a professor of civil engineering and a Second-Year Fellow, often asks herself, “Am I using my sur-roundings to my advantage to help explain the concept?” The Second-Year Seminar concentrated on collaborative field-based research: Seminar Fellows participated in model field trips similar to the ones they will lead with students in order to explore the possibilities of using Brooklyn as a backdrop to their classes, whether it is a course on American history or the fundamentalsof mathematics.

Over and above offering ways to incorporate active learning strategies



in the classroom, Living Lab Semi-nars demonstrate the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration. Paul King, a professor in architec-tural technology, emphasizes one of the most valuable rewards of the Living Lab Seminars is the opportu-nity to meet and collaborate with faculty from other disciplines. The teamwork in the Living Lab has led Professors Jody Rosen and Justin Davis to repeat a series of collab-orative courses over several semes-ters. Together they have merged their classes to launch “Telling Brooklyn Stories,” a learning com-munity between Rosen’s English composition class and Davis’s ef-fective speaking course. Davis praises the OpenLab as a valuable resource that allows for “better ac-cessibility” and “better flexibility in delivering a course.” The class

The successes of the Living Lab have moved some faculty partici-pants to take on greater roles in spreading the word. Some of the pioneers who jumpstarted the Liv-ing Lab have now taken on leader-ship roles. With passion and hu-mor, Professors Karen Goodlad and

Join the Living Lab Gen Ed Seminar as a Third-Year Fellow! Applications are due October 11, 2012.

Find out more at http://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/livinglab.

Seminar Fellows discuss exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum.

Seminar Fellows test water samples from the East River.

Jonas Reitz will guide the new group of Third-Year Fellows to help shape the future of General Edu-cation at City Tech. Not long ago, a former president of Harvard Uni-versity grumbled about the pace of institutional change and likened attempts to transform undergradu-ate education to “trying to move a graveyard.” Remarkably, the Liv-ing Lab has explored diverse means of pedagogical transformation in a few short years. Here, the reshaping of General Education for an under-graduate institution of technology is well underway.

website for “Telling Brooklyn Sto-ries” is a model of how faculty have helped students relate course-work to their everyday lives, while strengthening their skills in critical thinking, writing, and speaking.


AIR Launches Integrated CourseInformation System (ICIS)

AIR was asked to create a compre-hensive course system that links with assessment data, is accessible 24/7 to City Tech faculty and ad-ministrators, and is user friendly. AIR set out to generate the solution with lots of input from the General Education Assessment Committee.

Faculty representatives from each department worked in groups to review their critical courses and learning outcomes, course by course, department by department.

As a part of Living Lab, the AIR team was well positioned to guide

faculty in developing a culture of assessment for learning as a com-plement to the General Education seminars.

AIR developed ICIS to streamline the effort of collecting course infor-mation and exporting course out-lines to the website in a standard-ized format. ICIS provides faculty and administrators relevant infor-mation about learning outcomes for their departments and accred-iting agencies, and meets the rec-ommendation of Middle States to embrace a comprehensive approach to assessment for student learning

through a cycle of continuous qual-ity improvement.

Tested by departments, one of the most useful outcomes of ICIS is the curriculum map from course- level objectives to program-level outcomes. According to Gerarda Shields, a professor of construction management and civil engineering technology, “The curriculum map-ping feature is incredibly important, especially for accredited programs. The report generated allows you to clearly see the knowledge and skills taught.”

Tammie Cumming, Director

The Office of Assessment and Institutional Research (AIR) is responsible for the generation, organization, and dissemination of timely and relevant information to support institutional planning and decision making.


Portraits in Teaching

Ashwin Satyanarayana Computer Systems Technology

The feeling I get from making students happy and excited about what they’re learning is one of the best feelings in the world.

Viviana Acquaviva, Physics

Seeing that look in the students’ eyes that signals that they now “get it.” Witnessing- and hopefully facilitating- this process is incredibly rewarding.

Bridget Maley, Nursing

I am very excited to be at City Tech. It is a wonderful teaching and learning environment for all students as well as faculty.

Davida SmythBiological Sciences

I’m excited to teach every day, hoping to inspire and infect my students with a previously unrealized interest in microbiology.

Alberto Martinez, Chemistry What excites me about teaching is that we can really impact people’s lives.

Angran XiaoMechanical Engineering Technology

I can learn something new from students in each class.

Mery Diaz, Human Services

I look forward to sharing with students the same passion and commitment for social work that I was shown as a student.

Ozlem YasarMechanical Engineering Technology

I have the passion to make a difference, influence students, and guide them as they learn new things.

Maria Sol FlahertyBiological Sciences

I love teaching since it enables me to help students pursue their dreams by motivating them and helping them realize their full potential.


Ian Beilin, Library

No matter how many times I’ve taught a course or a topic, each semester’s classes bring new challenges, opportunities, and rewards.

Laura Westengard, English

I am excited when I can give students the tools they need to unlock their ideas. What revelations follow!

Ariane Masuda, Mathematics

What excites me about teaching is the challenge of contributing to tomorrow’s world.

Virginia Curran, Nursing

I am so excited to share my love of the Art and Science of Nursing with students!

Anna Matthews, Dental Hygiene

I am one of the luckiest people to go to work with a smile every day.

Ashley Grill, Dental Hygiene

I find teaching is a natural extension of learning. When students have questions, it is an opportunity for everyone to learn.

W hat excites me about teaching is the opportunity to share

with the students my love for lan-guage, as one of the most wonderful human facilities, and for my native language, Spanish.

Roxana Delbene Grossi Humanities

Teaching is me at my best! This is my gift to the world. It ex-

cites me at the very moment when the student has an epiphany, an understanding of the content that I’m trying to convey to him/her. I like to see this transforma-tion process, and the impact that this knowledge will have on the student-knowledge in use! I take pride in knowing that I’m edu-cating the next open heart sur-geon, the next scientist, the next musician, or the next president of the United States.

Renata Ferdinand, English

I want students to have fun learning accounting. What ex-

cites me is when my students get involved in class as they are mas-tering the subject and come to love accounting as much as I do.

Alison Iavarone, Business

W hen my students and I work together to write and

revise that writing, we not only transform words on the page but also our ways of approaching the writing process, ourselves, and the world around us. For me, this re-visioning of individual and collective outlooks, knowledge-making, and narratives is one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of teaching.

Jill Belli, English

Christopher Swift, Humanities

What I love about teaching is that my experience from year to year is never the same.

Faculty New to City Tech

Simon Smith, Mathematics

When a student finally appreciates the subtle beauty of a mathematical concept and sees for the first time the aesthetics of mathematical reasoning.


Interdisciplinary Case Studies: A Tool to Promote Institutional ChangeCinda Scott, I3 Program Manager and Coordinator of Integrated STEM Projects introduces Reneta Lansiquot, Co-PI.

Innovation through Institution-al Integration (I3) is a National Science Foundation (NSF)

initiative that challenges faculty, ad-ministrators and project partners nationwide to think strategically about the creative integration of NSF awards and to provide stu-dents with an interdisciplinary technologically-current approach to learning science, technology, engi-neering and mathematics (STEM).

Through a $929K NSF grant awarded in 2009, the City Tech I3 Incubator: Interdisciplinary Part-nerships for Laboratory Integration has become the catalyst for change at the student, faculty and ad-ministrative levels. Its goal is to transform STEM laboratories at City Tech to make them more

effective vehicles for interdisci-plinary STEM learning.

The I3 project also seeks to enhance collaboration among STEM faculty members from different disciplines in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Technology and Design and has generated new lines of com-munication among current NSF project personnel.

In 2009, the I3 project began to collect baseline data on faculty and student attitudes and experiences in STEM laboratories to document and better understand student and faculty experience in the laboratory, the use of technology in the laboratory, and student and faculty connections with industry. The results of this two-year-long collection of data

revealed that students consistently cited faculty as the “best thing” about their courses. However, stu-dents and faculty both cited the need for more access to computers, modernization of equipment to re-flect current standards, and more real-world, hands-on application and discussion of laboratory assignments.

Based on these findings, the I3 project team began in 2010 to fo-cus on ways to improve laborato-ry technology and pedagogy. The project leadership team chose to implement case studies as a mech-anism for providing students with interdisciplinary, hands-on, real-world experiences. A case study was defined as an instructional method that can be used in one les-son or over several lessons, for one topic, as a way of approaching a complex subject through an interdisciplinary lens whereby the students are presented with an overarching problem or case, which is then analyzed by students individually or in groups and possible solutions are developed.

It is well documented that the use of case studies enables students to experience first-hand the im-portance of the information they are learning in a discipline be-cause they can immediately see how it relates to everyday experi-ences and situations. Cases force students to “make decisions about how they would respond to com-plex situations involving difficult choices,” thereby challenging them

Reneta Lansiquot


to problem-solve on their own or within groups. In addition, the inductive and experiential nature of case studies encourages stu-dents to take an “action perspec-tive” in solving problems rather than analyzing problems “from a distance.” Too often, students taking STEM laboratory courses are forced to be mere observers rather than involved participants.

The traditional teaching model in biology, for example, has been one where the professor unloads a barrage of information onto the

student and the student then re-gurgitates the information back to the professor. This “cookbook” style of teaching rather than in-quiry-oriented teaching can cause students to lose interest in STEM and may eventually lead them to pursue non-STEM majors.

In a study comparing two groups of students enrolled in non-sci-ence major introductory biology lab classes over a semester to un-derstand student attitudes toward traditional curriculum versus inquiry-based curriculum, the authors found that students from the experimental inquiry group significantly improved their sci-ence literacy skills and increased their self-confidence in their abil-ity to use those skills.

The goal of interdisciplinary studies is to prepare students for questions, problems, or topics too complex or broad for a single discipline or field to cover ad-equately, and to thrive on draw-

ing connections between seemingly exclusive domains. In addition, interdisciplinary teaching enables students to recognize varied per-spectives; purposefully connect and integrate across-discipline knowl-edge and skills to solve problems; synthesize and transfer knowledge across disciplinary boundaries; be-come flexible thinkers; gain comfort with complexity and uncertainty; comprehend factors inherent in com-plex problems; think critically, com-municate effectively, and work col-laboratively; and apply integrative thinking to problem solving in ethi-

Case learning educates the person who will become the

professional, not just the mind.—John Boehrer and Thomas Angelo¹

cally and socially responsible ways. Thus, we brought together an inter-disciplinary team of faculty to create case studies as a pedagogical strat-egy to foster student understanding and engagement around complex ideas to enhance their problem solv-ing abilities.

I3 asks: How do we broaden and strengthen the number of students, particularly under-represented mi-nority students, in STEM in order to compete on an international level and to secure a prosperous economy for this and future generations? The answer lies in the faculty members who experience first-hand the reality of the struggles that many of our stu-dents endure to receive an education. The faculty is the gateway to encour-aging students to persist and stay in STEM fields. The key to improving STEM undergraduate education lies in getting the majority of STEM fac-ulty members to use more effective pedagogical techniques than is now the norm in these disciplines.

The I3 project team reached out to motivated faculty interested in transforming laboratory curricula by bridging basic math and science with applied technology through the formation of interdisciplinary teams. The case study writing pro-cess addresses the I3 goal of bridg-ing research and education. Though the I3 project does not provide funds for laboratory makeovers, we have found that, through the case study writing process, faculty members can provide real-world, hands-on experiences to students when access to research facilities is limited. The I3 case study writing workshops series held during the Spring 2012 semes-ter brought to light the challenges and accomplishments of laboratory learning at City Tech.

Case Study Writing Workshop Series

In the initial case study writing workshop, Professor Brahmadeo Dewprashad from the Department of Science at the Borough of Manhat-tan Community College explained what makes a good case study and how to go about writing a case. Af-ter this initial workshop, it was ap-parent that a more in-depth series of workshops would be needed in order to see the kind of impact that the I3 project wanted these poten-tial cases to have on STEM learn-ing. Therefore, in the Spring of 2012, three workshops were developed for case study writing. The first work-shop focused on how to write a case study; the second instructed faculty on classroom implementation; and the third stressed the importance of assessment and how to assess stu-dent performance using case studies.

Thirteen faculty members from the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Technology and Design volunteered to participate, representing a wide range of STEM departments. Rath-er than forcing faculty members to work together in interdisciplinary teams, faculty members were en-couraged during the first work-


shop to talk with the other par-ticipants to find out if there were any overlaps or shared needs be-tween disciplines. The success of these workshops lay in the cre-ation of a timetable and a clear definition of expectations. Fac-ulty members knew from the be-ginning that the process would be lengthy and at times challeng-ing; however, each understood the overall importance and po-tential impact from the outset.

Several interdisciplinary teams emerged after the first work-shop based on natural pairings and the realization that working with someone in another disci-pline can help to solve problems within one’s own. For example, Lin Zhou from mathematics and Lufeng Leng from physics ex-plored the shared problem be-tween mathematics and physics of students not understanding variables and symbols. Although not all faculty members worked

in interdisciplinary teams, many of them expressed their belief that there was great value in being able to discuss their ideas with faculty peers from other departments.

During the second workshop on implementing case studies, Pro-fessor Reneta Lansiquot present-ed faculty members with a step-by-step “How to Write a Case Study” handout and three sample case studies written by their col-leagues and successfully imple-mented in the interdisciplinary course, Weird Science: Interpret-ing and Redefining Humanity. This writing-intensive course enables students to explore the literature of shifting and expanding defi-nitions of humanity and post-humanity from the perspectives of the natural and social sciences, technology, and engineering, in-corporating digital media. Pro-fessor Lansiquot’s Weird Science course is an example of how the use of case studies can transform

a computer lab course. The course included ten guest lecturers who provided disciplinary perspectives on the course theme. Upon com-pletion, students demonstrated a more in-depth understanding of the core concepts of the disci-plines highlighted in the course: marine biology, molecular biolo-gy, psychology, computer systems technology, entertainment technol-ogy, physics, and mathematics.

The third workshop focused on peer review of faculty members’ case study drafts using a rubric we provided and discussion of stu-dent outcomes assessment, based on their learning objectives after implementing their case studies this fall. During the summer, fac-ulty revised their case studies based on detailed feedback that they provided to one another other and that we provided to them. We also discussed the details of the survey that participants will administer to students during their

Cinda Scott reviews NSF I3 Projec t objec tives.


classes to assess the effectiveness of their case studies.

At the end of the case study writing workshop series, a survey was ad-ministered to the participants in order to assess the effectiveness of the workshop series. All of the participants who responded to the question whether Workshop I: How to Create a Case Study was useful either said it was use-ful (36.4%, 4/11) or very useful (63.6%, 7/11). Workshop II: How to Implement a Case Study, was found by the majority (81.8%, 9/11) of respondents to be very useful. There is still room for im-provement in the case study writ-ing workshop series, and, while many of the faculty feel confident in their ability not only to teach students using case studies, but also to teach other faculty mem-bers in their departments how to write case studies, we need to provide the necessary structural supports to allow faculty to feel certain that they can implement this type of teaching methodol-ogy without fear of failure.

The Way Forward

Implementing case studies takes dedicated faculty who are inter-ested in changing static models of teaching and who are con-fident in their ability to make those changes. The I3 case study model is in the early stages of implementation; however, we have consulted with department chairs and faculty participants about how to ensure its success. A case study alone cannot change the face of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics laboratories. Rather, a systemic change in both curriculum and attitudes toward inquiry-based teaching and learning should be adopted and infused throughout all facets of City Tech labs for real

and lasting impact. Case studies are merely kindling for igniting an institution-wide effort to im-prove current laboratory prac-tice. As key stakeholders in the process of transforming STEM laboratory curricula, faculty members must continue to work across departmental lines and within their own disciplines to create interesting and believable cases that engage students and set them on the path to a lifelong love of discovery.

Objectives of I3 Incubator

1. To create new interdisciplinary laboratory content by bridging ba-sic math and science with applied technology through the formation of interdisciplinary teams of facul-ty members from different depart-ments across the School of Arts and Science and the School of Technol-ogy and Design.

2. To adopt laboratory pedagogy that fosters active learning and problem-solving rather than rote learning by incorporating real-world interdisciplinary projects into the current curriculum.

3. To optimize the use of technol-ogy in labs for scientific and edu-cational purposes by using online educational platforms.

4. To strengthen the range, intensity and duration of STEM mentoring/partnership activities at the insti-tutional, faculty and student levels by creating internship programs and deepening existing partner-ships with other colleges, industry and government agencies.

5. To weave existing NSF-support-ed efforts into a coherent, sustain-able whole by creating a matrix of overlapping areas between exist-ing NSF grants to foster increased collaboration between grants.

NSF I3 Project Leadership

Bonne August, Provost, I3 PI

Pamela Brown, Associate Provost formerly Co-PI

Reneta Lansiquot, Co-PI, English

Vasily Kolchenko, Co-PI, Biology

Karl Botchway, Interim DeanSchool of Arts & Sciences

Selwyn Williams, I3 Liaison, Biology

Cinda Scott, I3 Program Manager, Coordinator, Integrated Projects

Reneta Lansiquot, Co-PI

Reneta Lansiquot, associate pro-fessor of English, served on the Keck-Project Kaleidoscope Facili-tating Interdisciplinary Learning Program, Creating and Sustaining an Interdisciplinary STEM Cul-ture at City Tech. As a specialist in interdisciplinary studies, she teaches Weird Science: Interpreting and Redefining Humanity, a course that engages students in exploring what it means to be human from perspectives of the natural and so-cial sciences, technology, and engi-neering. Lansiquot authored Cases on Interdisciplinary Research Trends in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Studies on Urban Classrooms (IGI Global, 2013). As Co-PI, Professor Lansiquot shares her knowledge of case study technique with faculty so that the I3 objectives are met, changing the way faculty teach across the STEM disciplines.

End Note1. Angelo, T. & Boehrer, J. (2002). Case learn-ing: How does it work? Why is it effective? Case Method Website: How to Teach with Cases, University of California, Santa Bar-bara. Retrieved from http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/projects/casemethod/teaching.html


STEM Case Studies Written by City Tech Faculty

This case study project is presented to students in the Electrical Engineering and Facility Management Programs. The intent is to offer students the oppor-tunity to apply the theory of

Catherine Cullen, Environmental Control TechnologyMuhammad Ali Ummy, Electrical Engineering

Technology

Mr. Rump Goes to Washington

using communication to solve problems with the hands on application of electrical engineering skills in a real world professional work environment.

David Smith, Entertainment Technology

This case study is designed for an intermediate level music technology course in synthesis. This exercise is designed to force students to start with a pre-existing

We Have Sound Check in Three Hours and What ?!?!?

sound, analyze it, create a descriptive set of param-eters, and then attempt to duplicate it as closely as possible.

Diana Samaroo, Chemistry

This case study follows the cascade of chemical reac-tions that result in the de-ployment of airbags. The case emphasizes several chemistry concepts such as

78% of Earth’s Air

balancing chemical equa-tions, predicting products of chemical reaction, stoi-chiometry and the applica-tion of the ideal gas law to real life situations.

CyberCheaterBusters.com

Benito Mendoza, Computer Engineering Technology

This case study introduces students to computer foren-sics. The story chronicles the lives of four college stu-dents interested in starting their own online company. However, in order for the

students to get their com-pany off the ground, they first need to learn about network security. This case uses a model that asks stu-dents to answer questions throughout.

Lufeng Leng, Physics and Lin Zhou, Mathematics

This case study addresses the problem of symbol use that arises in physics. Stu-dents will learn that, al-though in physics different sets of variables are used,

“symbols do not matter” in math and physics; what matters is the underly-ing method of solving the problems.

To A or Not to B, Let’s See


A “Gooey” Situation

Hong Li Computer Systems Technology

A new IT specialist of a small law firm has to take on an urgent task that will create a program for all clients to es-timate their compensation as victims of Gulf oil spill. The program has to be completed in 22 hours because the firm needs feedback from clients to report to court.

This case uses an earth-quake event to teach stu-dents the value and use of logarithms. It focuses on how the Richter scale helps us to understand and compare the magnitude of earthquakes. The story structure is modular: the first part is about the dis-

Paul King, Architectural Technology Thomas Johnstone, Mathematics

covery and development of the slide rule and the second gives an example of its application. The in-tention is that a series of different stories can be de-veloped for the second half of the case to introduce the many different real world applications of logarithms.

Did You Feel That?

Yu Wang, Computer Engineering Technology

Tomorrow’s engineer must have a working knowledge of microprocessors/micro-computers since most digi-tal devices utilize a micro-processor. The storyline of the case study addresses the major components and functions of microproces-

sors/microcomputers with some degree of mystery, requiring familiarity with the metric system, number representation, computer instructions, register, com-puter memory, and the microprocessor.

The Last Computer

Candido Cabo, Computer Systems Technology Reneta Lansiquot, English

This case study describes how Native Americans un-derstood how human be-ings are interconnected to other elements of the envi-ronment and rely on them for survival, an idea which can be applied to the sci-entific study of life, which consists of multiple net-

A Network of Everything: Ecology, Complexity, and the Ways of Being Human

works and complex sys-tems organized at different levels. Finally, we explore how we have further ex-panded our life’s networks by embedding artificial nodes like machines and technology in our increas-ingly interdependent lives.

Blue Moon: A Hybrid Chromosome Affair

Jeremy Seto, Biological Sciences

Blue Moon begins at the junction of fantasy, sci-ence and pop-culture to illustrate speciation, meio-sis, gametogenesis and non-disjunction. Using ge-nomic organization of fic-tional hominids (humans, werewolves and vam-pires) in order to under-stand biologically sound

mechanisms underlying successful hybridization, the exercises walk through the process of gametogen-esis and fertilization using physical manipulatives to better illustrate the dif-ference between healthy hybrids and disease states related to abnormal chro-mosome number.


Sponsored Programs: New E-Process for Internal Proposal Review

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is proud to announce our new Notice of Intent to Apply (NOI) online form. Once the deci-sion has been made to apply for a specific grant, completing this quick and easy online form will make the grants submission pro-cess smoother. It will help appli-cants consider whether they will need input from other departments to prepare the proposal, ensure that chairs and deans are informed of the plans, and provide appli-cants with a better understanding of what is required for submis-sion. The NOI must be completed at least one month before the grant deadline. It is recommended that applicants meet with OSP staff to review grant requirements.

OSP strives to enable faculty to submit quality grant proposals and can assist with the narrative, bud-get, and required forms. The com-plete grant application, including the narrative and all other required components, should be submitted to OSP at least one week before the funding agency deadline. This will allow OSP to review the final application, provide feedback and suggest edits.

Note: Faculty do not have to submit a NOI for PSC-CUNY Research Awards.

Patty Barba GorkhoverAssociate Director

It is recommended

that applicants meet with OSP staff to review

grant requirements.

Notice of Intentto Apply


AwardeeIllya Azaroff Oleg BermanDaniel Capruso

Holly CarleySandra ChengKyle CuordileoneLia DikigoropoulouSamar El Hitti

Andrea Ferroglia Anita GiraldoCamille GoodisonGeorge GuidaASM Delowar Hossain

Delaram KahrobaeiGerman KolmakovLufeng Leng

Xiangdong Li

Robin Michals Sheila MillerDjafar Mynbaev

Masato Nakamura

Rouzbeh Nazari

Mark NoonanHamidreza Norouzi

Giovanni Ossola

Kenneth ParkerLisa Pope FischerJohannah RodgersEric Sabbah

Annette Saddik

Jeremy SetoFangyang Shen Benjamin Shepard Sarah StandingRyoya TeraoTeresa Tobin

Thomas TradlerViviana Vladutescu

Adrianne WortzelHuseyin YuceAndleeb Zameer

DepartmentARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGYPHYSICSSOCIAL SCIENCE

MATHEMATICSHUMANITIESSOCIAL SCIENCEARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGYMATHEMATICS

PHYSICSADVERTISING DESIGN/GRAPHIC ARTSENGLISHENGLISHELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

MATHEMATICSPHYSICSPHYSICS

COMPUTER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY

ADVERTISING DESIGN/GRAPHIC ARTSMATHEMATICSTELECOMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGYMECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGYENGLISHCONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGYPHYSICS

MATHEMATICS SOCIAL SCIENCEENGLISH COMPUTER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY

ENGLISH

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESCOMPUTER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGYHUMAN SERVICESHUMANITIESENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGYLIBRARY

MATHEMATICSELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGYMATHEMATICSBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

TitleGimme Shelter: Designing for Disaster in the 21st CenturyGraphene-Based Electronic and Photonic DevicesPrediction of Psychopathic and Paranoid Personality Characteristics in a Clinical SampleOn Extremal Doubly Stochastic MeasuresDrawing Games: Play, Virtuosity, and Draftsmanship in the Carracci StudioNoel Field and the “Fieldist Conspiracy” Contemporary Architecture in Cyprus 1990-Present A Dependent Artin-Schreier Defect Extension that Fails Strong MonomializationResummation for Heavy Particle Production at the Large Hadron ColliderSteel, Ice & Stone The Story of My Father and Jamaican Music Virtue at the Coffee HouseUtilization of Distributed Control Framework to Overcome DownstreamImpediments in Ethernet Passive Optical NetworkResearch in Non-Commutative CryptographyNonlinear Dynamics of Exciton and Polariton Bose-Einstein CondensatesExtending the Reach of Gigabit Passive Optical Networks via Distributed Raman AmplificationStudy of a Position Service Based on Interacting Multiple Model with Unscented Kalman Filter Unnatural Waters: Urban EstuariesCoupled Cell Networks and Leatherback Sea Turtle Population ModelingNanophotonic Devices for Optical Communications

Stochastic Simulation for New Design of a High-Efficiency CombustionChamber in Waste-to-Energy (WTE) PlantsDevelopment of an Advanced Technique for Mapping and Monitoring Lower Tropopheric Relative HumidityBrooklyn Tides: A Cultural History of the Brooklyn WaterfrontImproving Instantaneous Microwave Emissivity Retrieval

Scattering Amplitudes at the Integrand-Level: Learning from the One-Loop to Build the Two-LoopExpanding the Theory of Obstructions for Projective ModulesElderly Hungarian Women’s Reinterpretation of Post Socialist ChangeDNA: A Digital NovelA Secure Protocal for Ubiquitous Sensing for Medical Emergency Monitoring and Response“The Strange, The Crazed, The Queer”: Tennessee Wiliams’ Late Plays and the Theater of ExcessEffects of Cytokine Exposure from Infection and Stress on NeurodevelopmentPREM: Performance, Reliability and Energy Models for RAID SystemsThe Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) Climate Changes CultureSarika: A Child’s DevelopmentLibrary and Information Science Education in the World Community: A Comparative StudyLoop and Gerbe Chern-Simons TheoryImpact of Optical, Physical and Chemical Properties of Aerosol on Radiative ForcingWhirled War (2)Vibrations of Circularly Periodic Plates with Free Boundary ConditionsRole of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Superfamily in Neural Protection and Regeneration in Multiple Sclerosis

2 0 1 2 P S C C U N Y R e s e a r c h A w a r d e e s


10/3 PDAC: Publishing Your Educational Research 2:30pm – 4:00pm RSVP: [email protected]

10/4 Grants: Applying for a PSC-CUNY Research Award 9:30am – 10:30am RSVP: [email protected]

10/10 Pedagogy on the OpenLab 6:00pm – 7:30pm RSVP: [email protected]

10/12 NSF I3: Interdisciplinary Case Studies 12:00pm – 2:00pm College Community Welcome

10/16 WAC: Promoting Academic Integrity 1:00pm – 2:15pm RSVP: [email protected]

10/23 Understanding Your Rights as an Author 5:30pm – 7:00pm Library: Open Access Week RSVP: [email protected]

10/24 PDAC: Developing Your Research Designs 2:30pm – 4:00pm RSVP: [email protected]

10/31 PDAC: Strategizing Your Literature Review 2:30pm – 4:00pm RSVP: [email protected]

11/5 PDAC: Identifying Publication Venues 2:30pm – 4:00pm RSVP: [email protected]

11/6 Working with Courses on the OpenLab 12:45pm – 2:15pm RSVP: [email protected]

11/7 Library: Advanced Photoshop-Beyond the Basics 1:00pm – 2:00pm RSVP: [email protected]

11/13 WAC: Learning Course Content through Writing 1:00pm – 2:15pm RSVP: [email protected]

11/14 Grants: Research Foundation-Hiring/Managing Staff 9:30am – 11:00am RSVP: [email protected]

11/15 10th Annual CityTech Poster Presentation 1:00pm – 3:00pm All Welcome; Questions: [email protected]

11/29 iTEC: Blackboard Walk-in Clinic 1:00pm – 2:00pm All Faculty Welcome

11/30 NSF: Communicating in a Male Dominated Field 9:30am – 2:00pm RSVP: [email protected]

12/4 WAC: Developing Your Writing-Intensive Course 1:00pm – 2:15pm RSVP: [email protected]

12/5-6 Honors & Emerging Scholars and Learning Communities Poster Presentation 11:00am – 3:00pm College Community Welcome

Contact us at extension 5225 • [email protected] • http://facultycommons.citytech.cuny.edu/

FACULTY COMMONS CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Traditional A Awards:

up to $3,500Traditional B Awards:

up to $6,000Enhanced Awards: up to $12,000

PSC-CUNY RESEARCH AWARDThere are three levels of awards.Questions: [email protected] or 718-260-5173

Grant application due by January 6, 2012

December 7, 2012City Tech deadline to submit your proposal

Documents

Nucleus Vol.4 Issue 1