A DJ U N C T Achievements
TART= Tasty Adjunct Recipe Tips Recipes from our own adjunct faculty
Bobby Deitch, adjunct, Performing Arts, performed with his band Forever Ray, to a sellout crowd on Dec. 30 at the BB Kings Blues Club, Times Square, NYC. In addition, he preformed on drums on the Jam Cruise aboard the MSC Diviana (Jan. 4-9, Caribbean Sea: Jamaica and Bahamas). Collette Fournier, adjunct, Art, had three works accepted for the juried exhibit, “Cultural Expressions,” held at the Mount Vernon Public Library (Feb. 3-28). Kaoru Miyauchi, adjunct, Performing Arts and RCC Alumna 2007, performed at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 23. This was her 10th piano performance at Carnegie Hall. The concert was sponsored by the Alexander and Buono master class for musicians. Sara Macel, adjunct, Art, recently published a photographic monograph book, May the Road Rise to Meet You, which has been featured in The New Yorker, Wired Magazine, and in an article titled “Inspirational Photography Books for 2014” in The Telegraph. More information is available at her website: daylightbooks.org/store/sara-macelmay-road-rise-meet-you. Her work was exhibited in a solo show at the Center for Photography in Woodstock and she was the artist-in-residence for the month of March a the Wassaic Project: wassacartresidency.org/residents/.
Connecting adjunct faculty to Rockland Community College
Burton Louis-Charles, Coordinator, Evening, Weekend, Day & Off-Site Studies • blouis@sunyrockland.edu
TUNA CAKES Ingredients:
• 2 cans tuna in water (drained) • 1/2 c. quick oats • 2 large eggs • 1/2 c. plain low fat greek yogurt • 1/2 Tsp. sea salt • 1/4 Tsp. ground black pepper • 1/2 c. parsley • 2 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil Mix all ingredients but the oil in a bowl. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Measure out 1/4 c. of the mixture for each cake. Fry cakes 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Enjoy!
Both recipes were submitted by John Boyle, Adjunct, EMT.
BANANA BREAD Ingredients:
• 2 cups whole wheat flour • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1 teaspoon salt • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce • 3/4 cups honey • 2 eggs, beaten • 3 mashed overripe bananas Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into the flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated over for 50 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
Adjunct Lounges Academic I, Room 1224 Academic II, Room 2330 Technology Center, Room 8302
THE BRIDGE
College ID pictures can be taken in the Lobby of the Technology Center at the Security Booth. Please call 845-574-4217/4227 for days & hours of operation.
Dear Adjuncts, Do you have any tips or helpful ideas that your local adjuncts need to know? If so, please send them to me at blouis@sunyrockland.edu and I will post them in our future newsletter. Hope to hear from you and as always, thank you for your help and support. - Burton
Spring 2014
New Initiatives in Developmental English Shows Promise Dr. Susan Deer, Provost & VP Academic Affairs & Student Services, charged the Developmental English Accelerated Learning Committee in February 2013 to investigate best practices in developmental English pedagogy and to revise our curriculum accordingly. The committee met on a regular basis throughout the Spring semester and conducted research into the newest innovations in the teaching of developmental English. In June 2013, several members of the committee attended the National Conference on Acceleration in Developmental Education. This conference served as a catalyst in our curricular revisions. In Fall 2013, the English department piloted two sections of English 080, which were revised according to “accelerated” instructional methodologies developed at Chabot College (CA). This pedagogy benefits the teaching of college-level reading and writing in a supportive and scaffolded learning environment over an exclusively “skill and drill” approach. Adjunct faculty members Cynthia Williams (who developed the course curriculum) and Leslie Schoenberg taught these sections. We also piloted four sections of English 101 along the “ALP” model of the Community College of Baltimore County. Forty of the 96 total seats in these sections were open to upper-level developmental students. These students, in turn, enrolled in a support module taught by their English 101 teacher (English 098). Stephen Burke and adjunct faculty member Suzie Quarrell developed the course curriculum (including a custom textbook) and taught these sections.
(l to r:) Stephen M. Burke, Instructor English; Jodilynn Greico, Adjunct English Instructor; Catherine Davis, Assistant Professor English; Katherine Lynch, Department Chair, English; Martha Rottman, Division Chair, Social and Behavioral Science.
The student pass rates of our pilot sections appear below. Both English 101/098 and the revised English 080 show dramatic improvement in student success: • ENG 101 098 DC01 - 9 out of 10 passed • ENG 101 098 DC02 - 10 out of 10 passed • ENG 101 098 DC03 - 9 out of 10 passed • ENG 101 098 DC04 - 6 out of 8 passed (the class did not fill to 10) The average success rate in English 101 is 75%. The success rate in this pilot program was 85%. • ENG 080 GC13 – 13 out of 22 passed to ENG 101 • ENG 080 GC11 – 9 out of 22 passed to ENG 101 The average pass rate from English 080 to English 101 is 22%. The pass rate in this pilot program was 50%. During Spring 2014, we expanded our pilot to include two revised sections of English 090 and four additional sections of English 101/098. Through the generosity of Title III, we conducted training sessions for our new pilot instructors. The revised curriculum will be rolled out in all developmental English sections beginning in Fall 2014.
Why we GI V E
I support must align with my personal passion, which is access to educational opportunities for socially marginalized children. I enerosity has many different grew up in a names - Tzedakah, Dāna, Zakah. Yet it rural farming is a universal concept shared by almost community in Illinois, and was among the every faith and culture; it is part of first generation to attend college. My being human. Some people engage grandparents and parents used their bodies in philanthropy because of the social to support their families, and I have the recognition, out of a sense of religious privilege of using my mind and my intellect obligation, or for tax purposes; and to support mine, all because of education. some for the mere joy of giving. My I believe it is important to give to charity. own experience of ‘giving’ began at an However, I admit I do so for a variety of early age. reasons -- sometimes for tax purposes, Growing up Catholic, I became sometimes for the recognition. Regardless accustomed to the concept of a “weekly of the reason, I always benefit from the offering.” Each Saturday evening, my good feeling I get from knowing I am sister and I would put the change left supporting the public good; please forgive over from our lunch money in our my sappy sentiment. respective tithing envelopes to be I invite and encourage you to consider deposited in the collection basket at Sunday morning Mass. This weekly ritual your own passion. What do you believe in? What resonates with your own sense accustomed me at a young age to the of rightness, of justice, of equality? I then concept of philanthropy. offer that it is not enough to believe in it, As an adult, I have adopted two you must also support it, as a voice, as a qualifiers for my own philanthropic volunteer, and most importantly as a donor. activities. First, organizations I support Speaking as Director of Development, I must pass the “fishing test:” if you give a hope that for many of you, RCC and the man a fish, he eats for a day; if you teach important role we play in the education him to fish, he eats for a lifetime. In other spectrum of Rockland County resonates words, I like to support programs and with your passion and with what you believe organizations that teach skills that allow is truly important in a fair and equitable individuals to have more control over society. their own lives, to set their own destinies, Bruno Casolari aka fishing lessons. Next, organizations Director of Resource Development
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Interactive Communication Tools: Building a Sense of Class Community
Research supports the definition of learning as a social process, so cultivating interactive communication is a vital component of that social process. Stimulating communication is the lifeblood of any successful course. Through communication, instructors are able to convey concepts of instruction to students and allow them to not only engage with the materials presented, but to embrace them. These are the building blocks of not just a class, but a class community. The SUNY Learning Network notes, “Courses that are designed to promote a sense of class community, where there are ample opportunities for interaction and the social construction of knowledge, result in teaching and learning communities of satisfied students and faculty.” Interactive communication between students, and in particular the quantity and quality of interaction between the student and the instructor, affect faculty satisfaction,
student satisfaction, and the perception of learning. Effective interactive communication has also proven to promote retention, as there is also evidence to suggest that a strong sense of community in the classroom helps reduce student feelings of isolation and “burnout” associated with higher attrition levels in both classroom-based and distance learning. A positive sense of community also promotes the likelihood of student support and information flow, commitment to group goals, cooperation among members, and satisfaction with group processes and efforts [e.g. Rovai (2002)]. As you as an instructor seek to intentionally develop innovative ways to structure your interactive communication construct within your course, consider that the ANGEL Learning Management System offers a host of tools and strategies to facilitate interactive communication in both the face-to-face and online classroom setting. ANGEL tools for interactive communication are available in the discussion forums, course email, course announcements and calendar features. All of those tools provide significant opportunities for the instructor to establish significant teaching presence and create a flow of communication. But there is more! Blackboard Collaborate (formerly known as Elluminate), is an online collaboration platform emdedded in ANGEL under the “Communicate” tab that provides web conferencing, mobile collaboration, instant messaging, and voice authoring. An instructor who may be uploading PowerPoint lectures can also within Collaborate record their lectures for student review and provide additional explanation for difficult concepts, and meet interactively with students on both a one-on-one and collective basis. Blackboard is also helpful in addressing continuity of instruction for weather cancellations, as well as providing guest speakers from outof-town and facilitating tutoring sessions. Interactive communication provides students not only with opportunities to engage and interact with the content actively and solidly to promote retention, but also with each other. When instructors build and design activities that create a sense of connectedness between the course participants and with the instructor, it not only builds a social/ group spirit, but fosters a sense of trust and promotes growth within course outcomes. Contact eLearning to learn strategies to cultivate interactive communication in your courses today!
~ Amie L. Gardner, Assistant Director, eLearning
“Seeing the Spark”
Dr. Sherrill Wilson, Adjunct, PDA/History and I like to see my students get very involved with my classes, especially when you’re walking in the hallway and students will stop you to talk to about what we did in class. What is your philosophy of education? My philosophy is that it’s key for students to experience, when possible, the subject matter. It is important for students to learn from each other and identify with the situation. I use films in my classes so that the students can internalize Dr. Sherrill D Wilson earned a M.A. and identify with the subject. Also, I and Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology believe in collaborative learning and from the New School for Social in teaching my students in teams. Research in 1991. She is the author of Through collaboration, the students New York City’s African Slave Owners: can work together and earn a team A Social and Material Culture History grade as well as an individual grade. (1994). She served as the founding Also, the students find the strongest director of the Office of Public and weakest of the group and help Education and Interpretation for the them to achieve an overall grade. I National Monument NY African Burial believe in self-assessment, but only Ground located in lower Manhattan periodically. If we give the student from 1993-2005. Dr. Wilson lectures too much power then we relinquish and writes on the subjects of the the role of the professor as a part in African presence in colonial and early their educational guidance. New York, and the enslaved African presence in the North. Dr. Wilson How would your students describe is one of our PDA instructors, and I you as a teacher? had the opportunity to sit down and I’m described as a teacher that gives ask her a few questions about her a lot of work, but they learn from all academic career. that information. I think my students enjoy my class, especially a person When did you first get interested who comes in on a Friday night. in teaching? That’s dedication. I am here to share My interest in teaching started information with students and get when I went to Hunter College as them ready for a four-year school. an undergraduate student. I was in I like to boost students’ confidence a unique program where we had the and help them grow as individuals. opportunity to work in elementary When I see students that keep classrooms and teach the students coming back to class, then I know while simultaneously learning with that they want to learn. I encourage our teachers, in our first semester. I my students to get an A in my class. changed my major from education to I tell them that an A is like a plant, English Literature for a year and a half, and you need to nurture and water then I changed it to Religious Studies. it, so it can grow. Otherwise it will I find teaching to be very rewarding die.
What are a few of your proudest professional accomplishments? I think working in the Reading and Writing Center and “seeing the spark” in students when they finally master a writing goal. That is a great accomplishment in itself. I respect students who work hard and don’t give up. You see the change in their learning when they finally understand and that is a rewarding feeling. That’s what I’m here for. Another accomplishment for me is working with the “African Burial Ground Project”, where 419 human remains from the 18th century were excavated, and it was my job to distribute this information to at least half a million people around the world. I served as the Public Education Director for the Project for 12 years. Our task was to “Spread the word, educate the public about this major archaeological find. I had about 15 staff members, 450+ volunteers, and numerous interns. These dedicated individuals, along with heavily invested community advocates made it all worthwhile. Today the African Burial ground is a National Monument, the only one dedicated to the contributions and sacrifices of Africans to building New York, to building America. Currently Dr. Wilson is completing Poetic License: The NY African Burial Ground and Beyond, a book of poetry and collage on her experiences while educating the world on the neglected history of the historical African presence in NY. Please join us for
FALL 2014 Adjunct Faculty Start-Up Monday, August 19 • 5 pm Technology Center Ellipse RSVP
Burton Louis-Charles 845-574-4789 or blouis@ sunyrockland.edu