Students are asked to gather nutrition data regarding their favorite snacks and assess how well they contribute to their maintenance of a healthy diet, as defined through, articles, websites, and guidelines established by the US Department of Agriculture.

Organic chemistry is a two-semester course (Organic Chemistry I, SCC 251 and Organic Chemistry II, SCC 252) required for majors in Biology. The SCC 251 course has been designated for the Integrative Learning Core Competency as well the Digital Communication Ability. This course emphasizes the synthesis, structure, reactivity, and mechanisms of reaction of organic compounds. Laboratory stresses various organic synthetic and analytic techniques (distillation, extraction, chromatography and spectroscopy).
This lab provided an opportunity for students to go deeper with the chemistry content by correlating to the concepts they learned in General Chemistry courses such as Valence shell electron pair repulsion theory (VSEPR), resonance, polarity, dipole moment, acid-base reactions, mole concept, thermochemistry and chemical kinetics. In addition, for the experimental part, applying the techniques such as qualitative analysis of ions, filtration, melting point, optical spectroscopy, and molecular modelling. This lab was performed at the end of the semester when students are familiar with basic organic techniques such as distillation, crystallization, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and column chromatography--techniques they learned previously in this lab. Overall, this lab was designed to develop critical thinking and integrative learning skills while introducing students to the porphyrin and green chemistry concepts. This experiment illustrates the several principles of green chemistry and is easily extendable to introduce topics in other chemistry courses such as NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C and 19F NMR), material chemistry, click chemistry, coordination chemistry and environmental chemistry.
Learning outcomes that can be assessed using this lab include an understanding of laboratory procedures (methods and techniques), safety hazards, and instrumentation, understanding of concepts and theories gained by performing the experiment, collecting data through observation and/or experimentation (TLC and column chromatography), interpretation of the data (percent yield, UV-vis spectra), drawing conclusions and perspective of the experiment. The knowledge students gain during this process will be useful to connect with future chemistry courses and can also be utilized to do research.
LaGuardia‰Ûªs Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Main Course Learning Objectives: Based on the principles and methods of green chemistry concept, students will be able to develop the ability to analyze and evaluate organic chemical reactions and processes. Gather, analyze, and interpret experimental data and graph the UV visible spectra using Microsoft excel. The ChemDraw program is used to increase classroom experiences in the preparation of high quality chemical drawings. This software is used to draw and submit chemical compound. ChemDraw Professional can also be used to predict properties, generate spectra, construct correct IUPAC names, and calculate reaction stoichiometry.

Excerpted from “Quantitative Models for Management” by Steven Cosares, Fred Rispoli, and Paul Abramson, RMC Publications, 3rd Edition (2011).

Decision-Making often refers to a multi-stage process that starts with some form of introspection or reflection about a situation in which a person or group of people find themselves. These ruminations usually lead to series of questions that need to be answered, or to a set of data that needs to be collected and analyzed, or to some calculations that need to be performed before someone can be in a position to make informed decisions and take appropriate actions.We provide some simple examples of Quantitative Models, which are often found in a decision-making situation. We focus on the use of algebraic equations, probability models, the “Payoff Table” and “Decision Tree” models, to represent situations involving a sequence one or more of decisions over time. Concepts are illustrated with a large set of examples that can be presented during classroom instruction and can be practiced by the students, either individually or in groups, through homework or lab exercises.

This assignment titled “My Interdisciplinary Perspective on Climate Change” was developed in Fall 2020 as the signature assignment of the STEM Learning Community LC50 for students enrolled in the Biology program of the Natural Sciences department, at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. The assignment targets Integrative Learning and Global Learning Core Competencies, and Digital/Oral Communication Abilities.
For this STEM Cluster, “Climate Change” is the shared theme that connects learning from the different disciplines and helps build students’ overall knowledge on an imperative issue that our planet currently faces. Work on this assignment entails a narrated digital student presentation on the various aspects of Climate Change such as causes, global effects and manifestations, and possible remedial solutions or suggested actions. Students also practice summarizing the research and learning on this theme from the various courses undertaken in the first semester.
The main goal of this signature assignment is to make connections among the ideas, experiences and learning acquired among the different courses, assignments and co-curricular activities of this semester that contributed to the students’ understanding of this global phenomenon. This high-stakes assignment is worth 20% of the final grade in NSF 101: First Year Seminar for Natural Sciences (program-core course). Students are guided by all four instructors of the Learning Community, which comprises of the courses- NSF 101, MAT 115: College Algebra and Trigonometry, ENG 101: Composition I, and HUC 106: Public Speaking, through a 12-week scaffolded process to complete work and showcase their findings as a well-informed Biology major and responsible citizen of society. This assignment meets the NSF101 learning objectives and helps the students to hone their skills on the targeted Core Competencies (Global/Integrative Learning) and Communication Abilities (Digital/Oral), thereby increasing their chances of being successful in the subsequent 200-level classes of their major.
LaGuardia's Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Student artifacts were deposited for this assignment at the end of the semester for college-wide Benchmark Readings 2021, and the Fall 2020 Learning Communities Seminar (as the LC assignment). Due to the serious COVID-related situation in New York state in Fall 2020, including high incidence of the disease and the associated challenging and technical issues at some students’ end, more emphasis was placed on helping the students learn how to prepare a digital presentation embodying their work on science, data analysis, writing and communication skills, while incorporating elements of integrative and global learning from all four classes on Climate Change. However, when the assignment is implemented again in the future, both Digital and Oral Communication Abilities will be fostered in all student work. It is noteworthy that some students managed to cover both these abilities in their work in Fall 2020 also.

The following "Neighborhood Research Paper" assignment has been used in LIF 101 for Social Science and Humanities students, but could be adapted to give students the chance to practice disciplinary thinking in a variety of fields. The main objectives of the assignment are to give students the chance to engage with guided secondary and primary source research by using key resources on campus, especially the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives and the Library; to help students practice fundamental writing and critical thinking skills (summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, synthesis, analysis); to give students a chance to conduct preliminary ethnographic research (i.e. field notes, interviews) in their own neighborhoods in order to de-familiarize environments that may have become familiar to them; to introduce students to disciplinary mindsets through focused inquiries that align with the role they adopt for the assignment.
This is a high-stakes assignment made up of lower stakes tasks that unfold over five weeks. It is worth 25% of the total course grade.

Students write a program that reads data based on a provided banking scenario, work on inputs, and generate a report after the data is processed.

This assignment is the first in a series of assignments of the semester-long research project. The main goal of this assignment is to introduce students into the project and its theme (Becoming a LaGuardia college student). In the next step students conduct a simple analysis of their personal narratives, i.e. data they generated using a simple analytical tool based on concept of college readiness developed by David Conley (2008). In this first step of the project students were prompted through a series of questions to explore and reflect on their motivation for going to college, their future goals and aspirations, their experiences of transitioning from high school, and type of skills and knowledge they considered necessary for college, and what skills, knowledge, support they had or were lacking when enrolling to college.The whole project is described in further detailed here:
PodluckÌÁ, D. (2017). Collaborative Inquiry Project in the First-Year Seminar in Psychology: Students‰Ûª Agentive Authorship of Learning and Development. In R. Obeid, A. Schwartz, C. Shane-Simpson, & P. J. Brooks (Eds.) How We Teach Now: The GSTA Guide to Student-Centered Teaching. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/howweteachnow
LaGuardia‰Ûªs Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Main Course Learning Objectives: Introduce students to research methods and data collection (personal narrative as a one of the research methods in qualitative approach: students writing their personal narrative generated data that were later used in the research project) Students engage in self-exploration and reflect on self-development

HUA 130 Beginning Photography consists of majors and non-majors and is the foundation course in the Photography program curriculum. This photo book assignment was revised and refined through a Learning Matters mini-grant. The guidance from the CTL mini-grant was extremely helpful in altering it to be more reflective of the Integrative Learning Core Competency and Digital Communication Ability. Rethinking and reworking these assignments have helped to enhance our skills at planning and execution of future assignments. This process has also contributed greatly to our understanding of LaGuardia's Core Competencies and Communication Abilities.
In this assignment, students engage in integrative learning and practice digital communication skills by synthesizing and demonstrating what they have learned over the semester by designing and creating a photography book. The photography book should also include a half page written introduction that explains the theme of the book. The students demonstrate the ability to make connections across personal experiences, experiences in school, and ideas discussed in this photography class to create a visual expression of their experiences, thoughts, and ideas. The low stakes assignments challenge them to get out of their comfort zone; we discuss their work when we have critiques and their project is examined. Pushing them out of their comfort zone results in improved confidence, which can be applied to many situations throughout their lives. When they are out photographing, they are applying their intellectual skills, technical skills learned in class, and making connections between theories, practice, experience, as well as how to problem solve. Through creating this book, the students synthesize and advance what they have learned as well as writing a half page introduction and reflection that explains the theme of their particular book. They learn how to successfully communicate ideas, imagery, and writing. Students must prove successful operation across analog and digital photographic processes and display a high level of proficiency in this realm. The success of this assignment requires students to demonstrate ability using computers and software appropriate for the photographic field.
The responses from the students to the assignment were mostly positive and they were engaged. They did, however, have difficulty with the writing aspect, so I will finesse that component by adding a lower stakes reflection earlier in the semester, which should prepare the students for writing in their book.
LaGuardia's Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Learning Outcomes: Students prove successful operation across analog and digital photographic processes and demonstrate a high level of proficiency. Students demonstrate ability to use computers and software appropriate for the photographic field. Students learn how to successfully communicate ideas, imagery, and writing. Students gain understanding of making connections across ideas and experiences to synthesize and transfer learning.
The photo book is 25% of the final grade. The students are given 2 weeks to complete this book assignment.

HUT 101, The Art of Theatre, is the entrance level course for the Theatre program. It addresses the integrative learning core competency and the oral communication ability. As a freshman course, it provides a baseline for measurement of this competency and communication ability. It is required of all Theatre majors, and is part of the CUNY Flexible Core in Creative Expression. There are generally more non-majors than majors in the class. This assignment was originally developed during our first mini-grant period (2016-17 the academic year) by Celia Braxton and Abby Gerdts with the global learning core competency rubric and digital communication ability in mind. It was a close adaptation of an assignment Abby had devised for a course at another college, with a digital communication component tacked on. We discussed and refined the assignment in the late Fall 2016 semester, and it was introduced into the course in Spring I 2017 in two classes. That semester, the HUT 101 course was packed with two other Core Competency assignments--an inquiry and problem solving/written and an integrative learning/oral assignment. It was a tall order for one introductory freshman course! During the evaluation at the end of the Spring I 2017 semester, it became clear that one course could not hold all three assignments, and that this particular assignment was much more suited to the integrative learning core competency than global learning. The digital communication aspect, which required a student to present three artifacts which influenced their script, seemed forced, and since all the artifacts presented were personal to the students, this reinforced our understanding that playwriting is really an integrative learning experience. However the oral communication ability seemed to offer an opportunity for students to reflect on their process, and that had proven useful to students as an endpoint of the assignment it had originally been a part of. Therefore, the playwriting assignment now addresses the integrative learning core competency and oral communication ability. The main objective of this project is one of experiential learning. Students write a five-page play, one of several theatre arts experienced during the semester. The original freewrite prompt that started off the assignment asked students to: Make a list of all the things you are passionate about. Maybe think about your childhood and what you used to spend your time doing then? What occupied your time and your thoughts? What social/political ideas are you passionate about? There are no wrong answers. This produced many highly conventional storylines (romances gone wrong, women fighting over men), or shapeless scripts with little structure. Therefore, during the 2017-18 summer, I developed a new ritual version of the assignment. It was used in five classes in the Fall I 2017 semester. The ritual provides an outline for the action: the main character, character objective, and with the interruption, the major obstacle that the main character must overcome. The original assignment did not provide this skeleton. The addition of the ritual element has helped to overcome the problems identified above. This new assignment was presented in a charrette workshop early in the semester. Some changes to wording and scaffolding descriptions were made. The project is a 3_ week project including three or four complete classes interspersed with other classwork. After the first class, the writing of the plays is done at home. In-class work includes reading the plays out loud for peer group critique, and at least one class in which second drafts are read for the class. Students may use these plays as the basis for development of a 10-minute (10-page) play to be submitted to the Summer Theatre Festival, which offers staged readings of student-written plays.

English 102 is a required course for almost all LaGuardia students. While most students enroll in the course in their second semester, there are some advanced students who take the course later. It is recommended that Composition I and II be taken in sequence since the latter builds upon skills acquired in the first composition course. Composition II is a process-based writing course. Students further develop the critical thinking, writing, and research skills they acquired in ENG 101. They learn close-reading techniques and study diverse texts in at least three genres (poetry, drama, and fiction). Students are required to write three out-of-class essays and one in class final exam.
The paper assignment allows students to practice all the dimensions of the IPS rubric and the writing and research skills they have been learning over the course of the semester. It prepares them for writing and researching essays for all future college courses that require low-stakes and high-stakes writing assignments. It also prepares them for writing and problem solving tasks in professional contexts. Allowing them to recognize how the dimensions of the IPS rubric that we have practiced in ENG 102 can transfer to other non-writing tasks can also be useful and is something I need to think about implementing into my lesson. One way to do this might be to review the IPS rubric with students and discuss how each dimension relates to our course work.
I have taught ENG 102 for several semesters and each semester I revise assignments and lessons to meet the requirements of the course and to better engage student learning. In this last semester, I revised these assignments in two significant ways: 1) by linking the two assignments and having them focus on the same text; and 2) by using key words from the rubric in the paper assignment guidelines.
The presentation and research paper assignments on Sherman Alexie's short story collection, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, require that students use close reading skills to identify and analyze major themes and literary devices used in Alexie's writing. The collection presents stories set in the 1990s on a Spokane reservation in Washington State. The paper requires that students compose an argument based essay using evidence from the story and from outside sources (one scholarly article and one other credible source). The outside sources allow students to frame the historical context of the stories and to read the issues presented in the text in their cultural context. They also enrich students' analysis of the story's characters, themes, language, and structure. Through literature students further understand and draw conclusions about U.S. history, reservation experiences, stereotypes of Native Americans, and historical and contemporary struggles of Native Americans as a marginalized group.
Challenges students have with the presentation include working in teams and navigating group dynamics outside of the classroom. This includes time-management, coordinating schedules of groups members, and ensuring all group members do their portion of the assignment prior to the in-class presentation. In general, most groups work well and group leaders naturally emerge. To address some of the above challenges, I ask students to use google.doc and google.slide so that students can keep track of each other's progress and work. I have also implemented evaluation sheets that students complete after the presentation. These encourage accountability by allowing students to evaluate themselves and each group member, and give me a sense of each student's contribution to the presentation.
In regards to the research paper, students experience few challenges with the assignment because the presentation helps to prepare them for the paper. Since students complete this assignment at the end of the semester, time-management does seem to be an issue. Students sometimes get overwhelmed and are unable to spend as much time as they need to produce a polished, revised version of the paper.
Through the research they conduct as a group (using the secondary sources given to them and some they find on their own), students are able to meet most of the dimensions of the IPS rubric, mostly on a novice or developing level. The last dimension of the rubric seems to be the most challenging. While they are able to draw conclusions supported by evidence, some students have difficulty identifying implications and limitations. I believe this challenge is in part linked to the difficulty some students have with writing the conclusions of their papers. In future courses, I will spend more time discussing conclusions and review several model conclusion paragraphs throughout the semester. In addition, I believe this may also be a challenge of using literary texts (fiction) rather than nonfiction and data-driven resources as sources of evidence. This dimension will also develop as students continue to engage critically in advanced courses that require analytic thinking and writing.
LaGuardia's Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Main Course Learning Objectives: Further develop the critical thinking, writing, and research skills they acquired in ENG 101 Learn close-reading techniques and study diverse texts in at least three genres (poetry, drama, and fiction)

This assignment, as part of a 1-hour library session, was developed for students in BTF 101- Business. The Inquiry and Problem, Integrative Learning, and Global Learning core competencies inform the content of the session. Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops. Business research frequently relies on using often-expensive information products to gain or protect some sort of market advantage or position. This lesson will introduce students to the idea that information is a valuable and essential tool for solving business problems.
This session will result in students gaining hands-on experience working with a variety of business research tools, with students focusing on the global aspects of business. Students will learn the process of using specific business research tools for specific kinds of research, mirroring the type of work they will be expected to perform as part of the workforce.
LaGuardia‰Ûªs Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Main Course Learning Objectives:
Students will be introduced to the concept of library academic resources
Students will learn the strengths and weaknesses of different forms of information

LIF 101, Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities
This assignment was designed to reintroduce students to library resources and to give students an opportunity to examine scholarly publications in parts and in detail, without the pressure of using the article in a formal research paper, or having to understand the entire article.
To prepare for this assignment, we started class with a writing exercise to answer, "what makes something scholarly?" All responses were written on the board; together we identified common ideas that came up more than once. I added to their responses with a short lecture about the information cycle and how the process by which information is created determines whether a source is popular or scholarly. Then, we did a second writing exercise to answer, "what is the difference between data and information?" Using their responses, we create a shared definition for the two terms.
We tested our definitions using a scholarly article; I select a different article every semester, but last fall, I used: Wood, J. Luke, & Ireland, S. Mei-Yen. (2014). Supporting Black Male Community College Success: Determinants of Faculty-Student Engagement. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38(2-3), 154-3), p.154-165. In small groups, students are given one paragraph from the article. Together, they are asked to: Summarize the main idea of the paragraph Look for the use of information Look for the use of data
After sharing out to the larger group, we talked about the overall purpose of the article, and how this type of scholarly information would be used during their time at LaGuardia and at Senior Colleges.
This assignment was due one week later and it was worth 10% of the overall grade.

The main objectives are: Facilitate student self-examination and exploration of how interests, skills and values can connect to academic and professional goals; build student capacity for reflective planning, including breaking out tasks and self-assessment; build student knowledge of academic and career paths; support students with making a decision on proper major Increase engagement with college offices and staff; build writing skills including essay organization and development. Relevant student Performance Objectives for course: Locate the multiple resources available at LaGuardia and use these to solve academic problems related to advising, course selection, academic skills, and extracurricular activities. Identify education and career goals and prepare an individualized educational plan, based on a structured exploration of personal interests, skills and values. Define and practice academic survival and success strategies (e.g. note-taking, active reading, test preparation and taking, collaborative learning skills) and the self-management habits necessary for academic success (e.g. time management, motivation, self-responsibility and financial literacy.) Demonstrate the use of skills and knowledge gained from diverse experiences to enhance learning and success.

This series of in-class and at home reflective assignments was designed for the Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities First Year Seminar. Drawing on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk "The Danger of a Single Story" and the chapter "Citizens of the World" from Martha Nussbaum's Not for Profit, students begin to develop an understanding of the role of the liberal arts in moving towards a more complex perception of cultural differences across the world. They also reflect on their own biases and experiences during the first semester. Students write the first reflection after discussing the TED talk and the chapter in class at the beginning of the semester, and they return to some of the questions posed by these texts at the end of the first semester. This allows for a greater sense of continuity and coherence, as students reflect on their own learning experience over the course of a semester, deepening their thinking about important questions related to the role of the liberal arts in examining global issues from multiple perspectives. The main objectives of the assignment are To strengthen integrative learning as students reflect on connections between their own learning and life experiences To strengthen global learning as students begin to understand global events from multiple and often divergent perspectives To encourage students to reflect on the ways in which their own lives intersect with those of others To highlight the crucial role of the liberal arts in deconstructing single stories and questioning simplistic constructions of binary opposites and superficial labeling of others
The two main assignments are formal reflections, one at the beginning and one at the end of the semester (10% each). These assignments are supported by in-class reflection and discussion.

This Research Paper Assignment is designed for NSF & LMF courses (STEM majors). The assignment is to have students research a global scientific issue. Possible topics that work well for this assignment contain solar panel use, the increase in health issues (like respiratory or mental health conditions) due to global warming/climate change, animal (and other living organism) extinction (or increase) due to global warming, sea level rise, coastal flooding, how the increase in ocean plastics affects the ocean and its species (which affect the environment/climate), etc. However, any global scientific topic will do.
The assignment's main objectives are to scaffold the overall research paper to improve students Inquiry and Problem Solving (IPS) and Global Learning (GL) competencies.
The IPS competency is scaffolded with 2 CER worksheets that help students analyze their research sources using the Claim Evidence Reasoning and Rebuttal (CER) method, which they will utilize in LaGuardia's Natural Sciences Courses. The CER method is the Scientific Method, which uses more everyday language. For example, instead of being asked to formulate a hypothesis, students generate a testable claim. By convention, this method is referred to as the CER Method. However, I include the second, and write CERR Method, to remind students to include possible contradictions, challenges, and/or rebuttals to experiments they do and while researching studies in scientific journals and from other sources.
Additionally, there is a worksheet with prompts that ask students to reflect on the 3 dimensions of the Global Learning Competencies, based on their research topics, to enhance students ability with this competency.
Students are expected to work on these worksheets throughout the semester. The worksheets are due, at different times throughout the semester, before the final paper is due. Ideally the first worksheet is due the fourth week of lecture, typically 1 to 2 weeks after the first library visit. The second and third worksheets are due the 6th and 8th week of lecture, respectively.
The first two worksheets are the same CERR method worksheets. Students will complete one worksheet for each of the 2 articles they must use for their research.
To further help students organize and engage with what they learn from their research, students are also required to complete a 3-5 minute Power Point presentation. The in-class presentation is due at least a week before the final paper is due, either the ninth or tenth week of the semester. This is a great opportunity for the entire class to share what they learned and to give each other feedback about the organization, content, and overall delivery of each other's research before the final paper is due.
There is a presentation guideline and grading rubric that is to be discussed before the presentations; it is better to discuss the rubric with the class at least a week before the presentation is due. Students have the grading rubric and a grade sheet for each presenter so they can score each presenter and write down notes to give feedback to the presenters. I collect the score sheets to view how students evaluated each other's presentations and as proof of participation during presentation day. However, the score sheets do not affect the students' presentation grade. Having students fill out the score sheets is an in-class activity meant to keep students focused on the presentations. Students are required to give presenters feedback, and/or ask questions, to earn "Class-Participation" points for the day; students may lose up to 2% of their total grade for each lecture they do not participate in.
The final paper is also outlined for format and content, which is like the presentation guideline and worksheets. The paper outline further describes, and specifies, the types of information to include in each section of the research paper. The point of this document is to prepare students for what their own papers and lab reports should include as they progress with their classes. The final paper is due 1-2 weeks after the presentation is due, which is the 11th or 12th week of the semester. The worksheet component of this assignment is worth 10% of the grade. The two CERR worksheets are worth 3% (6% for 2 worksheets). The Global Learning Worksheet counts toward 4% of the final grade. The Power Point Presentation is worth 5% and the final paper is also worth 5%. The research assignment totals 20% of the final course grade.

This is a classroom activity report on teaching algorithms as part of a second course in computer programming. Teaching an algorithm in an introductory level programming class is often a dry task for the instructor and the rewards for the student are abstract. To make the learning of algorithms and software more rewarding, this assignment employs a Rubik‰Ûªs cube.

A. Scavenger Hunt Description This Scavenger Hunt Assignment is designed for the First Year Seminar for Natural Sciences (NSF 101) and the First Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Math and Science (LMF 101) (STEM majors).The main objective of this assignment is to familiarize students with their campus and its resources, to encourage students to collaborate with each other, and to be aware that the scientific method is applied to solve any problem, not just scientific issues. It is meant to address the Integrative Learning Core Competency. Students are given the entire class time (at least two hours) to complete the assignment. For LMF sections, I often add more clues, because the class runs for an additional hour. I have the students report back to class, so we can discuss and share their experiences and explain the follow-up Lab Report Reflection. For LMF sections the discussion is after the 2 hours allotted for the clues. The NSF section discusses the Scavenger Hunt and follow-up Lab Report Reflection the next class following the Scavenger Hunt group activity. The Lab Report Reflection is due the week following the discussion, but students may hand it in before the due date. The Reflection is written as a STEM lab report/abstract format, using the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning, & Rebuttal (CERR) method, which is used within the Natural Sciences Dept. for all STEM classes. The CER method is the Scientific Method, which uses more ordinary language. So instead of making a hypothesis, students make a testable claim. I write CERR method, which includes the second, to remind students to include possible contradictions, challenges, and/or rebuttals to experiments they do, and the research they find reading scientific journals. This assignment is worth 5% of students' total grade, 2.5 % for the actual hunt and 2.5% for the reflection. I do not take off points for students that complete the hunt alone because they were absent. The penalty is having to do the assignment on their own time.

This assignment was designed to help students bring together the multiple threads of the First Year Seminar; students contextualize their past, present, and future stories within their personal, academic, and career goals. This assignment asked students to revise the writing they've done in past ePortfolio reflections, incorporate outside information from a range of sources, and plan out a realistic path for achieving their goals at LaGuardia and beyond.

This assignment was used in a Public Speaking course where students learned to build a variety of public speeches. The assignment aims to enable students to make connections to experience, to reflect and self-asses their learning. In line with the integrative learning core competency, they are also encouraged to make connections between and among academic disciplines. At the same time, it gives them the opportunity to broaden the possibilities for connections in their analyses, allowing them the ability to adapt & apply learning across diverse contexts.
LaGuardia‰Ûªs Core Competencies and Communication Abilities
Main Course Learning Objectives: Students demonstrate their ability to criticize speeches Students reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses as speakers