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Volume 7.1 (2014) TOUCHSTONE The Journal of the Professor Magda Vasillov Center for Teaching and Learning TOUCHSTONE Volume 7.1 (Spring 2014) Published annually by the Professor Magda Vasillov Center forTeaching and learning, the Division of Academic Affairs, Eugenio Marfa de Hostos Community College ofThe City University of New York. Editors Carl James Grindley, Ph.D. English Department Kim Sanabria, Ph D. language and Cognition Department Editorial Review Board Jason Buchanan, Ph.D. English Department William Casari library Robert F. Cohen, Ph.D. Language and Cognition Department Sherese Mitchell, Ed.D. Education Department Jennifer Tang, M.L.S., M.F.A. Library The Professor Magda Vasillov Center for Teaching and Learning Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College 500 Grand Concourse, The Bronx, NY 10451 The views expressed in rouchstone are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College or The City University of New York. Cover image: Hostos students entering the 475 Grand Concourse building on the firstday of classes, September 14, 1970. CUNY signed a ten year lease for the for- mer ARCS Industries Building and renovated it for Hostos. Magda Vasillov, photog- rapher. Magda Vasillov Collection, Hostos Community College Archives. Copyright© 2014 by the authors. All nghts reserved. 2 Touchstone C. Coballes-Vega Fringe Theater Festival, che Cuba Study Abroad Tour, the NASA internship at chc NASA Huncsville Space Flight Cemer, the Bronx STEM Scholars Program, che Louis $cokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM; clinical rotations ar Bronx Lebanon, Momefiore, and Lincoln Hospicals, the Hosros Design Lab wich Massachuscm Museum of Contemporary Arc (MASS MoCA), Narional Science Foundation game-framed math and science projecrs, and ochers. All of chese activi­ ties require additional planning as well as our of class time for faculty. In a cime when we are very focused nationally on persisrence, retention, and graduation, it is extremely critical char our Hoscos faculty know the merits of chese learning oppor­ rnnities. They parricipace because chey know rhese experiences are assecs for Hoscos srudenrs and can provide rransformational change in their lives. A recem artick "How Caring Professors Can Change Lives," in the Chronicle ofHigher Education (May, 2014), reponed on a survey of 30,000 American gradu­ ates undertaken by (he Gallup-Purdue Index Report. The survey asked questions abour cmploymenr, job engagement, :rnd well-being. The resulrs indicared chat graduates ''had double rhe chances of being engaged in their work and were chree rimes as likely to be thriving if they had connecred wich a profession on campus who scimulaced chem, cared about chem, and encouraged their hopes and dreams." The scudy also indicated char chese results were found in both privare and public uni­ versity graduates. This evidence is consistent with other studies char have pointed to "caring faculty" as a ddinire comribucor of why srndents remember faculry rhey have come in comact with during their undergraduate experience. We enhanced the rheme of "caring" in rhe spring of 2014 when we launched rhc Hostos Teaching Institute, an opporrnniry for experienced reaching faculty ro share their expcrrise wirh ocher faculty wirhin the college. The faculry who were participants commented on the quality of rhe ideas that were shared and the positive exchange among rhe fuculry. We are appreciative of those who volunteered to sup­ pon our new and continuing faculty and expecr to continue chis initiative in years to come or on an ongoing basis as part of rhe professional development program. As we cdebrare HOSTOS 175, we are reminded of che philosophy of Hosros' educational philosophy in the following srarernenr: "In one of his journal entries, in Madrid, during rhe lace 1860s, he wrote: "Si logro aprender, lograreser." "If I can learn, I can become." Hoscos was che perpetual learner, an individual who defined himself in terms of learning" (Hernandez, p. 11-12). For our srudents, rhe legacy of EL1gcnio Marfa de Hoscos is ever present in our faculty and their commitment to teaching and learning. The educational opportunity char our scudems experience here ac Hoscos Community College is a true rescamenc ro the groundbreaking work of Hoscos rhe man, author, reformer, liberator, and human rights advocate. The achievements of rhe graduates of 2014 provide a significant and powerful imellecru­ al connection to che educational philosophy and work of Eugenio Maria de Hoscos. WORKS CITED How caring professors can change lives. (2014, May 16). Chronicle ofHigher Edu.cation, pp. A3-6. 6 Touchstone C.J. Grindley and K. Sanabria deparcmenr and led rhe college in forward.chinking initiatives such as the General Education competencies. The Center forTeaching and Learningwas named for chis beloved colleague, and rhe journalho nors her memory. Since chat first day when scudencs are picw red emeri ng class for the very first time, rhe process of learning has evolved in ways char were unimaginable at char rime, and pedagogy is incorporating che new possibilities of rhe online world. We next include three pieces dedicated to che ways in which technology is shap• ing che educarional experience for us all. Professor Aragona, from rhe Education department, gives an insightful overview of e•learning, and explains how andra­ gogy, che learning behavior of adults, has acquired new meaning in a world where studying can take place in the self.directed environmem rhar technology creates. Simultaneously, che role of the instrucror has undergone a perceptible change, and as educacors, we arc now poised ro redefine and reshape rhe learning experience of our srudenrs. Such is rhe thrusr of the next piece, a collaboracive reporr by Professors Seixas and Wolfe from Behavioral and Social Sciences, which describes ways in which che iPad enhances scudencs' motivation and their ability co access resources. Finally, Sherese Mitchell, in her words a former "hesicanc educator who ran from change in the area of technology," cells Blackboard the way she has come co feel abour its impact on her life. Touchstone was speci Ficall y designed as a forum for presenting personal reAec­ rions, scholarly articles, new initiatives in reaching and learning, and reports on classroom innovations. And, as in previous edicions of rhe journal, we are now proud to include an original piece of liceracure, "Bronx Larin," an enigmatic tale leading to an encounter in the East Academic Complex. English Professor Hubner screeches a veil across the American cominenr, co disclose characters whose despair and determination, temptations and successes eerily echo emotions and sicuarions that we all recognize. l11e role and power of words are compelling copies ro all language inscmcrors, and parricularly so co Professor Wander, from rhe Humanities Department's Unit of Modern Languages (French and lralian). In "Mussolini's Rhetoric," he argues char abstract oratory underpinned Musso! in i's cransformarion from journalistro dicraror ro world conqueror. II Duce may have used words co forge fascisc choughr, bur the thread of the next piece, "Adamanria," is chat words also make conversarions, convey dreams, and preserve legacies. Here, Professor Lara·Bonilla assembles a colleccion of micro­ stories ro delineare her journey co Hosros, from the time during her childhood when she would plead wich her grandfacher to cell her stories of rhe Spanish Civil War. Returning to the present day, we next present four perspectives from mache­ macics, English, science and engineering. The first rwo, by Professors Cunningham/ Doyle and Steinhoff, respectively, consider the inrricacics of assessing the emerging abiliries of students who score under rhe cucoffpoims of rhe CUNY Assessment Tests. Recent revision of marhcmacics assessmenr inscrumenrs has complicated ef­ forcs ro measure all aspects of scudencs' performance, but available data do pro­ vide the opportunity co make the mosr advisable modifications co class syllabi and practices. In "Assessment of Our Assessment," the make-or-break exam model is brought under scrutiny and a pica is made co reevaluate the ways in which we allow 8 Touchstone Introduction srudems a say in chci r education. These are quescions rhar cerrainly demand our urgent accention. Yee, rhe promise ofcrearive pedagogy is on our side. Business Professor Ridley bas found that promoting critical chinking, exercising greater focus on whar re­ searcher Carol Dweck has called a growth mindser, and experimenring with mod­ els such as che flipped classrnom all lead to better outcomes among our srudenrs. And in a three-way collaboration between professors from the Natural Sciences Department and a represemative from Information Technology, we learn about rhe ways in which quamicative reasoning skills can be: enhanced in an e-porrfolio environment when scudems are prompred to include personal reactions cogecher wich cheir reports on chemical formulae,separacion of rnixrures, and cirraition. Self­ reAecrion appears noc only to bolster scudems'self-confidence, bur ro make far more accurate judgmems roo. Seeking a similar level of srudenr engagement, English Professor Zucker scrucrured her Exposimry \Xlriring class to include a service learning component. She reports on the experience, describing ir as her most significant achicv<.:mem of the academic year, in the following piece. Seemingly, her srudems were similarly de­ lighred wich rhe experience of participating

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