Center Stage: a Platform for the Discussion of Teaching/Learning Ideas

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ED 344 651 JC 920 223

AUTHOR O'Heron, Paul, Ed. TITLE Center Stage: A Platform for the Discussion of Teaching/Learning Ideas. 1991-1992. INSTITUTION Broome Community Coll., Binghamton, NY. PUB DATE 92 NOTE 70p.; For volume 1 (1990-1991), see ED 337 234. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Serials (022) -- Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) JOURNAL CIT Center Stage; v2 n1-9 Sep 1991-May 1992

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Classroom Environment; *Classroom Techniques; College Faculty; *College Instruction; Community Colleges; Creative Teaching; Educational Strategies; *Instructional Innovation; Learning Strategies; School Publications; Teacher Effectiveness; *Teaching (Occupation); *Teaching Experience; Teaching Methods; Two Year Colleges

ABSTRACT "Center Stage" is a monthly publication of Broome Community College (Binghamtcn, New York), sponsored by the Teaching Resources Center as a platform for the discussion of ideas about teaching and learning by Broome College faculty. The second volume (nine issues) of "Center Stage" includes the following articles: "Towards a Learning Community: Using and Infusing a Campus-Wide Theme," by Bryan K. Blanchard; "Characteristics of Adult Learners," by Annamary Allen; "Technology, Culture, and the Modern Crisis," by Lorenz J. Firsching; "Writing as a Sustainable Skill in the Technologies," by Rachel Hinton; "Pronouns and Sexism," by Richard Stoner; "Calculators: Giving All a Fair Disadvantage," by Frank Plunkett; "The Department of Athletics and the Student Atalete Within the College Community," by Dan Minch; "How to Divide a Candy Bar or What's New in Mathematics," by Mort Goldberg; "In a Changing World, College and University Teaching Must Be Appreciated, Recognized, and Rewarded," by A. Jerome Jewler; "Critical Thinking? What Is It Anyway?" by Rick Firenze; "Uncertainty Analysis," by Ralph McGrew; "The Why of Biology Field Trips or Experiential Learning," by Dave Sterling; "Learning Outside the Classroom: Student Club Membership," by Barbara Nilsen; "The Everglades Classroom," by Dave Walsh; "Nursing Education Off-Campus," by Carolyn Pierce; and "Mathematics and the Environment," by Maruja Lander. Six of the issues include one to three essays by faculty members entitled, "Why I Teach." (JSP)

*********************************************************o************* Reproductions supplied by FDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** CENTER STAGE

A Platform for the Discussion of Teaching/Learning Ideas

Volume 2 Numbers 1-9 September 1991-May1992

Edited by Paul O'Heron

Broome Community College Binghampton, New York 13902

U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS ()Iro e Edo: ationai Research and improvement MATERIAL HAS SEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC] This document nas been reproduced as re< erved from the person ororganization noglnahni) P. O'Heron Mmor chaoyes have been made to improve reproduCtion quairty

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Volume 2 Number I September 15, 1991

Not By Bread Alone Towards a Learning Community : Rebecca Bennett, English Department Using and Infusing a Campus-Wide Theme Btyan K. Blanchard, VPAA As I sit here in the Chautauqua library on a perfect July day -- a refreshing breeze and the clear tones of With the Fall 1991 semester, BCC initiates an excit- Dvorak's 6th Symphony coming through the open win-ing educational experiment as it seeks to establish a new dow--I'm tempted to make this article on why I went intosort of learning community on campus. After several teaching a very short one. Not only because I'm enjoyingsemesters of experience with innovative approaches, the college is now moving to implement a strateg which, if I'm tempted to make this article on why I successful, will both unify )ur diverse programs into a went into teaching a very short one. more common academic cul urc and deliver animportant message on behalf of general education. Theexperiment myself far too much to want to write about a subject thatis based on the adoption of a college-wide theme for the seems distant and unimportant, but also becausewight academic year - Science and Technology for a Sustainable now I could sum up one of the main reasons I enjoySociety - and the aim is to create a federated learning teaching in four simple words: I get summers off! But thiscommunity which will embrace in new ways the many would be a bit misleading and inaccurate.I would bedifferent programs we offer. What is intended, however, dishonest if I didn't admit that one thing I love aboutis not just a new addition to what we do now. It is instead teaching is the freedom it gives me to pursue other inter-an extension of our infusion approach togeneral educa- ests: spending time with my family, traveling, gardening,tion and a new way of delivering community college taking photographs, reading in my hammock, etc. But ...instruction. I also must admit that when I was finishing up graduate school and applying for jobs, I didn't think about the time Too often in our collegiate institutions, the good off as a reason to pursue a teaching career. Luckily I hadintentions of educators end up being translated into new recently had an experience -- an epiphany, if you will --courses which are then accreted to thecurriculum. If there ( Continued on page 2 ) were room, these new courses mightultimately prove beneficial to students. Unfortunately, there are limits to what can reasonably be imposed on undergraduates. Since this is so, there must also be limits on the number of new Not by Bread Alone courses which can be added to existing programs, espe- -- Rebecca Bennett, page1 cially in view of the fact that program faculty themselves are at no loss for ideas on additions to therequired course Towards a Learning Community : Using and Infusing a Campus-Wide Theme ...there is much good sense to infusing new -- BryanBlanchard, page 1 ideas into the existing curriculum rather than just grafting new things on to it. Why I Teach -- Jean Krichbaum, page2 list. Thus, there is much good sense to infusing new ideas into the existing curriculum rather than just grafting new Welcome to the Teaching Resourcts Center things on to it. Eitber that or weshould all follow the lead -- AliceMcNeely, page 3 of the one university so far which now offers an extra year free so its graduates can study all the general education Characteristics of Adult Learners courses which were crowded out of itsundergraduate Annamary Allen, page 5 degree sequences.

Aside Richard Lamm, the former Governor of Colorado, -- MotivatingStudents, page 8 tells an amusing and insightful anecdote about a parallel

( Continued cn page 4 )

`.1 Bennett (from page 1) into your hands, thank you for being an example to me. that had made me understand my goals more clearly. Thank you for being a careful scholar and a caring, feeling human being. Trying to balance intellect ar 1 emotion in As a teaching assistant, one of my duties that yearmy teaching is a constant challenge -- one I'm not at all was to attend unuergraduate classes taught by the pmfes-sorry I took on. sors on my orals ammittee. One unremarkable spring co day I was sitting in on a freshman literature course taught Why I Teach by B.J. Leggatt -- a tall, imposing figure with dark hair, a Jean Krichbaum, Mathematics Department large bushy mustache and a commanding voice. Even though I'd known him for over a year, I still felt a bit It's the day before I start summer session.I'm intimidated -- by his physical presence as well as histhins.ing..."I don't know, maybe I should have taken the intelligence and scholarly reputation. On this particularsummer off.It doesn't seem like it's been three weeks day the class was studying poetry and the professor wassince I last taught. It seems more like two days." "Will readi ng a poem out loud. I don't remember author or title,they understand my presentations? Will I really encour- but I vaguely recall that is was a twentieth-century Britishage them to participate? Will I improve their opinion of poet. At any rate, those details ate less significant to meMathematies?" I then anticipate the familia: comments than what happened next. I had been looking down at myof my students. "Just give me the steps and I'll do the text, following along with the verse, when I noticed a catchproblem." "Don't bother me with why you do the problem in Dr. Leggatt's normally strong, unflinching voice. Whenthis way, just teach me how to do it."I think to myself, "With all these uncertainties, why teach?" I saw that there were tears in his eyes and

tint he was deeply moved-- for whatever I teach because I value Mathematics. I Yeason -- by the passage he had been reciting. Why? I teach because I value Mathematics. It is an excellent tool for developing aitical thinking skills. Through I looked up, I saw that there were tears in his eyes and thatmy instruction I want my students to begin to see the value he was deeply moved -- for whatever reason-- by the pas-in Mathematics as a tool to develop their reasoning skills. sage he had been reciting. Most of the undergraduatesThey should learn that the thought processes involved in were clearly embarrassed by this show of emotion andproblem solving are as important (if not more so) than there were various giggles and whispers around the room.arriving at the correct answer. The professor didn't apologize for his reaction, however, nor did he diminish his feelings by making a joke about Further I seek to change the "I hate Math and I what had just happened. He composed himself, finishednever could do Math" attitude in some of my students. reading the poem, and without realizing itchanged myThis has met with some success. A thirteen-year old in life. seventh grade my first yeas of teaching refused at first to do any in-class work. He would not even let me see his I couldn't then (and still can't adequately!) explainpaper. With patience and stubbornness on my part, he how I know that day that teaching is what I wanted to dobegan to work and let me see the easy problems that he with my life. Professor Leggatt's spontaneous, unashamedknew he had right. I praised him as much as possible for reaction had somehow made me realize that being able toevery correct step. Grad ally he began to ask questions take a risk in front of a relatively large group of people;when I walked over to lib seat. He found that he was able that helping students realize the importance of respond-to be successful in mastering most of the concepts in ing emotionally to a subject as well as understanding itseventh grade Math. That year he grew from a fifth grade intellectually; that being able to identify feelings, figureto a seventh grade Mathematics level. He began to believe out what they mean, why we have them and integrate themin his ability to work at his Mathematics skills into our lives in a constructive, meaningful way -- that all of these relatively unquantifiable aspects of life were and Many of the students in the lower level Mathematics are very important to me. As I continued to think aboutcourses are filled with apprehension about their ability. this experience, I also realized that there are very few pro-Many women in particular absolutely dread the course. I fessions where such freedom is possible.I have senseddemonstrate to them that Mathematics is a subject that over the yearsfrom student reactions in class as well ascan be enjoyed. They are encouraged to take as many on formal evaluations that being able to integrateMathematics courses as they can to make their education emotion into the skills I teach is a valuable (and valued!)more well-rounded and to get a competitive edge over ability. other students.

So, Professor Leggatt, if this document should fall On a personal level I teach to experience change. Continued on a e 6 Welcome to the Teaching Resources Center determine the directions taken by the TRC. Alice McNeely, Cootinator TRC USE OF Rt.. OMS: All TRC events, unless other- When I lived in the Johnson City area, I frequentedwise specified, will be held at the Center. Functions for 14 the neighborhood public library, appropriately called "Yourpeople or less will be held in the conference room portion Home Library." I loved that old house, the worn leatherof the center (L-213). This room is available for your use chairs and bright, sun-lit rooms lined with books. It felt i f a TRC function is not scheduled. If you would like to use comfortable. It felt like home. Although the TRC lacksthe room for a meeting related to professional develop- the aged patina of Your Home Library, I hope it developsment or pedagogy you should call the TRC to schedule it. some of that atmosphere. The Teaching Center is a placeThe room divider can be closed for privacy. You will find created by and for faculty, a place for you to feel at home.the L-213 entrance by the faculty lounge most convenient The ultimate purpose of the Teaching Resource Center isfor functions held in the conference arca. The adjoining to enhance the learning experiences of students. Theroom, L-211 is the "drop in" area andcontains the books, TRC will foster this by providing opportunities for self-videos, periodicals, bulletin board, computers, coffee and initiated learning to all faculty who seek to enhance theireventually a sofa. teaching effectiveness. The shape it takes depends on the needs and interests of all of us. REFRESHMENTS: The Faculty Association is providing daily coffee and tea. The FSA is contributing The Teaching Center is a place created by funds for refreshments at TRC functions. This means that and for faculty,...The shape it takes de- cookies, muffins, cheese eit crackers, etc. can be provided pends on the needs and interests of all of us. at TRC sponsored events.

The Center was established in Ja nuary and officially CENTER STAGE: This monthly publication is opened its doors at the beginning of this semester. If yousponsored by the TRC. As a faculty publication, its didn't make it to the Open House, please come visit. Theexistence is dependent upon faculty writing articles for Center is open Mondays 13am-7pm and 8am-3:30pmpublication. Paul O'Heron has been the chief Editor and Tuesday-Friday. Other times may be arranged by ap-Publisher. Ann Soya will edit the October Issue. Guest pointment. Check FOCUS every week for upcomingEditors are gratefully accepted; desktop publishing is not events, you don't need an event to use the center. It's arequired. The Writing Center Coordinator would be quiet place to relax, do paper work or meet with otherhappy to talk with faculty members about their drafts. faculty. Weare matci ling new faculty memberswith Here is the nifty gritty you need to know about the veteran BCC faculty members. TRC: L WHO WE SERVE: All faculty (tenure track and MENTORS: A new faculty mentoring project was adjuncts) and teaching staff. Other staff members areinitiated this fall. We are matching new faculty members welcome to participate if an activity interests them andwith veteran BCC faculty members. The mentor serves as space allows. colleague and advisor to the new faculty member. We hope this will assuage isolation and help our new col- STAFFING: The TRC is staffed by a faculty mem-leagues assimilate into BCC campus life. At last count we ber on full release time serving as coordinator to handlehad 37 new adjunct faculty membeis on campus this the day to day operations. That position has been de-semester. If you are willing to mentor, please contact the signed to rotate every 2-3 years. In addition to the coor-teaching center. dinator there are several work-study students who help with the secretarial and receptionist duties of the center. RESOURCES: This is the area of the TRC that we If the coordinator cannot be present, a work-study stu-hope will grow. Our current holdings include - dent will keep the center open during our hours of operation. If yot, would like the coordinator's assistance, it is 1. BULLETIN BOARD A large bulletin board is suggested that you make an appointment to ensure heravailable for yt u to post conferenca and articles that availability. would be of interest to faculty. A list of conferences generated by the VPAA's office is updated weekly and POLICY DECISIONS: A TRC advisory board,posted on the bulletin board. which is made up of faculty representatives from the 4 divisions, LAC, adjunct faculty, non-classroom faculty, 2. BOOKS Currently we house the Special Collec- College Council and the Professional Developmenttion for the Institute for Community College Research. Coordinator, oversees the TRC Coordinator and helps ( Continued on page 7 ) Blanchard (from page 1) soundr,-)o good to be true, but it is true for learning situation.(1) He says that a few years ago, Tennessee comir. ,..ties which restructure the curriculum in suffered an intense period of political scandal and corrup- orde achieve linking and coordination of con- tion. Reformers in the state senate ded&xl that what was tent aal learners... (2) needed was a tough, no-nonsense ethics code, but other senators, perhaps intent on protecting their own inter- A learning community, Hamberg goes on to say, is a ests, mounted a campaign to preserve the status quo. Thepedagogical approach which place:, emphasis on the stu- opposition's strategy, amazing as it may sound, involveddent and the instructor as members of a community an add-on to Tennessee law. They proposed to enact theengaged in a common purpose. Typically, courses are Ten Commandments and th.1 Golden Rule and by thiseither team-taught or joined in some way so as to under device avoid establishing a new ethics code.But the reformers were sensitive to the drawbacks of mere add- A learning community...is a pedagogical ons and quick on their feet besides. Through an amend- approach which places emphasis on the stu- ment, they incorporated the Ten Commandments and the dent and the instructor as members of a Golden Rule into their own proposal and then dared the community engaged in a common purpose. opposition to vote against millennia of Judeo-Christian dogma. By this maneuver, they saved their bill; and todayscore the linkages between disciplines. Some colleges the various articles of Tennessee's code of ethics detailhave used Western Civilization of other history cour ;es as procedural rules on conduct and then jump to an articlethe vehicle for drawing together a number of discipthies, which reads in its entirety, "Thou shalt have no other gods for example literature, art, and music. The point is ,:ither before Me". Governor Lamm might have added thatto focus on connections or to analyze experience from a infusion is only as good a strategy as the match it providesnumber of different perspectives, depending on the type between the new and the old. of outcomes which the instructors seek to promote. Ei- ther way, the possibilities for student-student and faculty- But if there are good reasons for... a com- student collaboration are enhanced. In his description of mon theme on campus, none is potentially the pedagogy of learning communities, Hamberg identi- more valuable than the possibility of creat- fies a number of characteristics common to most efforts: ing a learning community. 1. There is an integration of the skills which stu- But if there are good reasons for applying an infu-dents should learn with the content of the curriculum. sion strategy to the existing curriculum and striking a common theme on campus, none is potentially more 2. Interdisciplinary study is intended to counter the valuable than the possibility of creating a learning com-fragmented view which too often results from immersion munity. This is a concept and a goal which has been in separate disciplines. mentioned with increasing frequency in the literature of higher education. For example, Ron Hamberg of the 3. Collaborative learning methods are frequently Seattle Community Colleges, writing in "Leadershipused. Abstracts", published by the League for Innovation in the Community College, has written that, 4. Class schedules and campus space are often used in new ways so that teachers and students interact more There is general agreement that undergradu- frequently.(3) ate education is in crisis.Its fundamental ills include the lack of coherence in course work, the lack For community colleges, learning communities offer of connectedness among the disciplines, and the significant opportunities because they hold the possibility lack of intellectual interaction between faculty and of affecting the nature .Ind level of interaction on campus. students. This is important because a main purpose of community colleges is to be an open door to higher education. As In contrast, imagine a learning environment such, community colleges often attract the very sorts of where students and instructors eagerly work to- students who are most likely to drop out. Indeed, research gether toward understanding concepts, solving prac- now shows that residential colleges which are not de- tical and intellectual problems, debating philosophi- signed for this purpose are actually better at serving so- cal positions, and trying to synthesize aspects of calked high-risk students because of the very nature of diffekent disciplines. Imagine students and faculty their campus environments. In short, residential living reluctant to quit Cleir activity at the appointed hour, improves retention. Some time ago, this observation and imagine that ninety percent of the students prompted Alexander Astin to write: complete their classes and receive credit. This almost ( Continued on page 6 ) Characteristics of Adult Learners Annamary Allen, Business Department Thirty Something

Malcolm Knowles, a well known researcher in adult * Are seeking a career, not a job. education, suggests that adults learn best when the in- * Want honest, constructive criticism. structors practice andragogy, the art mtd science of help- * Are seeking to distinguish their strongest traits ing adults learn. and abilities. * Become much more self-directed learners. Characteristics of adult learners include: * Multiple roles cause time constraints. * Do not want to waste time. * A group of adults (say 50 years old) are more diverse than a group of high school gradu tes Twenty Something -- Tend to be followers (say 18 years old). Age and experience create and study what others say they should know. more diverse, unique individuals. Adults become self directed. Forty Something * Adults place a high value on personal experiences. * Adults need to apply the information learned * Have set ethics and values. immediately. * Females become more self assured. * Memory changes with age and thus affects Seek involvement in expectations and goal setting. learning. As one ages, short-term memory Seek application of information to work place. capacity decreases. * Need extra time, slower reactions. All five senses decline with age, especially sight and hearing. Fay't Sometli * With age it seems harder to organize complex material. * Listen to their information. * Previously learned material starts to interfere with * Experienced. new material to be learned. It is harder to relearn * Can't pull the wool over their eye. or correct than to learn for the first time. * Adults have a slower reaction time. Sixty Plus Something * Adults have greater readiness 'Pam. Adults are internally motivate,. * Are considered mentors in the workplace, so may bring the mentor role to the classroom. Adults have many roles that take priority Independent learning is preferred. over learner/student roles such as parent, * Seek information with immediate application to employee, employer, or spouse. their individual needs.

* Adults have many roles that take priority over learner/student roles such as parent, employee, Instructors as Facilitators - What is a Facilitator? employer, or spouse. * Fatigue increases with age and learner's attention Michael Galbaith says, "The adult educator is in a span decreases. The optimum attention span forsense a guide to learners who are involved in aneducation adults is 40 minutes. journey." A facilitator has acquired these skills: * Adults are most productive the first 20 minutes of instruction. $ Proficient in their content area * Interpersonal skills to show caring, trust and IifcStagcs encouragement * An understanding of learners The following age categories list specific character- * Adapting teaching style to incorporate methods istics that apply to teaching adults in that age group. and techniques preferred by adult learners * Confident personality with enthusiasm for TwenuSorgnethin teaching * Ability to be creative and present subject matter in * Seek clear definitions and clear expectations. an interesting way * Seek social interaction. * Ability to relate theory to practice * Fun is still a priority. * Encourage learning outcomes that extend beyond * Tend to be followers and study what others say the classroom they should knc . ( Continued on page 7 ) Blanchard (from page 4) 2.Ron L. Hamberg, "Learning Communities: Community colleges...need not necessarily view Needed Education Restructuring". Leadership Abstracts, the data or the impact of residence as irrelevant. Vol. 4, number 9, June 1991. Indeed, these data should challenge the colleges' in- genuity and resourcefulness. Commuter institu- 3.Ibid. tions might devise approaches to simulate the residential experience so students would spend more 4.Alexander W. Asti n, Preventing Students from time on campus and interact more. If the theory Dropping Out. San Francisco: Jossey-I3ass, 1975, p.160. about involvement and persistence is valid (and many findings support it), any programs that in- co volve the commuter student in campus life and activities presumably will have a positive effect on Krichbaum (from page 2) persistence.(4) So it may be even more important for colleges such On a personal level I teach to experience as ours to search for unifying factors to deepen our cam- change....I would not be as aware of the pus culture and promote involvement. problems facing society if I did not teach.

Attempts at creating these sorts of learning commu-Change brings challenges and growth. I constantly have to nities, however, are not that common and when they doadjust my teaching practices to meet the changing needs occur they are usually modest ventures based on paired orof the class. The biggest challenge is to perceive how the clustered courses. What the BCC attempt envisions isstudents are understanding my explanation. Growth comes something grander;it aims at linking the courses andfrom being able to change the explanation if I feel that programs of an entire campus. Among its elements are anthey have lost their understanding. orientation, a campus bibliography and common readings, convocations, faculty workshops, speakers, panel Similarly, teaching provides a great setting for inter- discussions, films, Freshman Seminars, capstone Englishacting with other people. I enjoy learning about the lives, courses, and departmental activities. Of course, the cen-interests, and causes of my students. The students have tral vehicle is general education and that is also a vehicletaught me a little about various subjects ranging fro m drag which has always been available, to BCC and to all otherracing to composting. I am given insights to the personal colleges. The difference is that general education is rarelydifficulties of some of their lives. Getting to know my made explicit and almost never approached in a coordi-students is important in providing a decent atmosphere nated fashion by all the elements of an institution norconducive to learning. In a broader sense, by listening to made a focus of both the academic and student life dimen-my students, I am more conscious of the changes in sions of the institutional structure. The BCC approachsociety. I would not be as aware of the problems facing does this and also overcomss the main objectives to suchsociety if I did not teach. efforts elsewhere, namely that they are too costly and too much at variance with the accustomed practices of the Driving home after my first summer night class, I faculty. was glad I had decided to teach this summer.Little compares to the feeling of being in front of a group talking The BCC general education theme arises about a favorite subject, especially when it provides the from the faculty and professional staff... opportunity to achieve so much both professionally and personally. In The BCC general education theme arises from the faculty and professional staff and challenges individuals to use or adapt their own courses and methods to support a community effort. Indeed, beyond helping to increase the sense of community on campus an additional value of Center Stage is distributed across the campus the experiment may He in its potential to encourage in a general mailing fashion, that is, several copies reflection and creativity within the framework of existing are sent to each department office not to individu- courses and structures. als. If you did not receive a copy of Center Stage in your mail box, extra copies are available in the Teaching Resources Center, L-213, x5354. 1.Richard D. Lamm, "Nonprofits" (an address to the Cdorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations, Notify the person who distributes your mail to Denver, CO, June 21, 1991). Reprinted in italSmi,Ies make sure you receive subsequent issues. voL LV11, no. 21, August 15, 1991, p. 647. 6 McNeely (from page 3) New Directions for Community Collega, and Techno- We also have a small collection on Science and Technol-logical Horizons in Education Journal. ogy for a Sustainable Society. These materials are primarily from Doug Garnar's private collection and some addi- 5. COMPUTER I LARDWARE The TRC has two tional materials are provided by Carl Mitcham. (Signcomputers for daily operations and faculty use. The older them out on the 3x5 cards provided.) We will graciouslymachine has had some problems and will be rc pi; 4th accept a book you'd like to share, loan or donate. a PS/2. We have two printers, one that will print m ce We are working on getting the color printer to accept A large collection of video tapes are avail- Ilerge characters, which are necessary for classroom over- able at the TRC. head and funding funds for che overheads which am expensive. The second printer can be used for hardcopy as 3. VIDEO TAPES. A large collection of videowell as black and white overhead masters in any font. We tapes are available at the TRC. Kurt Nelson has relocatedalso have 1 interactive video system (SONY video disc a series of educational tapes to the TRC. These tapes haveplayer and color video monitor) which will be connected been taken off the SUNY satellite and include a wideto our new computer. The TRC would like to know about variety of educational programs including courses fromfaculty ;II terested in exploring this technoloy. The video other colleges, PBS telecasts and teleconferences. Amongdiscs anct software for this system are vc.ry limited at this our holdings are the "Race to Save the Plan3" series, atime. sequence on "The Brain," and a new staff development workshop entitled "Classroom Assessment: Putting it 6. COMPUTER SOFTWARE The following into Practice". We also have an extensive Adeo tapesoftware has been donated to the TRC: WordPerfect 5.1 collection on "Critical Thinking," the "Global TomorrowFirst Choice, and PageMaker. In addithAnything ac- Coalition" tape left by Carl Mitcham and a tape of Dr.cessible on the mainframe is availalke. Donations of Mitcham's afternoon workshop. Arrangements can belegally obtained software will be accepted. made for group viewing in the TRC, please allow enough lead time to reserve a VCR/TV. Individual viewing can be The Teaching Center has been established for your done anytime in the Library Proper. benefit. Your presence, contributions and ideas are welcome. The chairs are comfortable, the view superb, the 4. PUBLIC/MONS Our collection includes: Thecoffee on, and with your presence, the company will be Teachinarofessor Commtview Com-excellent. munity/Junior College Quarterly of Research and Practice,

Allen (from page 5) Aside (from page 8) Recognition Many instructors use the methods by whichj You can increase the motivation of many students they themselves best learned. by filling some of their needs for recognition and social relationships. Get to know each student. Without dis- * Flexible and patient couraging low achievers, provide recognition for out- * Nurture self-direction; thus empower adults standing accomplishments. Encourage friendships be- * Understand how adults best learn tween students by letting them work in groups.

Many instructors use the methods by which they Giving verbal or nonverbal praise to stu- themselves best learned. For example, if the instructor dents who are doing their best will go a long learned best in a situation when the information was way toward motivating them. assigned, read, then quizzed on the material, the instructor will have the tendency to assign reading, then quiz Approval students. Facilitators realize this happens and will alter Giving verbal or nonverbal praise to students who methods of instruction to meet the needs of differentare doing their best will go a long way toward motivating types of learners. them. Avoid focusing un students' mistakes, butwhen you COmust, point them out in a non-threatening, uncritical manner.

Confidence Students should be assured that they are capable of learning, although not all at the same rate or thiough identical methods. Motivating Students Grades should be a positive incentive. Research shows that threatening students with grades may produce The following has been excerpted from Teaching inavoidance and withdrawal rather than interest.If the the Community College. An Orientation. .The League fortraditional A-B-C system is used, students should be told Innovation in the Community Colleges, HBJ Media Sys-that if all of them preform to A standards, they all will tems Corporation, 1981. The complete text is available inreceive A's. the Teaching Resource Center, L-213, x5354. Over the years some instructors have "graded on the [Here arej several factors which you can use tocurve." This means that the number of grades in each ensure that students achieve rewards and satisfactioncategory were predetermined, based on a statistical for- from their fIllege work. Students will learn if you helpmula. For example, the instructor might give two A's, five meet thek ..eeds. You can design motivation into yourB's, ten C's, and very few D's and Fs. The formula is instruction. founded on the notion that most students are average and should get C's, whereas very few perform on the A level or Curiosity People stek ani enjoy stimuli that are different I Gradiagon the curve is not linked to per- from what they are used to, but too much novelty produces formance objectives.... It should beavoided1 anxiety rather than curiosity. To arouse curiosity, ask many questions, particularly unanticipated ones. Pacethe F level. Grading on the curve is not linked to perform- learning so that each step offers something new with onlyance objectives. The practice unnecessarly increases a moderate risk of failure. competition and reduces motivation. It should be avoided.

Success Decision Making Many community college students anticipate fail- If students help make decisions that affect them and ure and withdraw from school when failure occurs. It istheir learning, their motivation to succeed in your course particularly important for these students to experiencewill probably increase. Whenever possible, allow stu- success, especially in early classroom assignments. Alldents to choose from among course or lesson objectives; assignments should be carefully prepared so that successlet them have a say in how they reach the objectives. is possible with reasonable effort. ( Continued on page 7 ) Many community college students anticipate failure and withdraw from school when Comingext Lcsue failure occurs. It is particularly important for these students to experience success... Next month's issue will deal with the college's theme of a sustainable society. Tho issue will be edited When all students must reach a certain level of by Ann Soya. If you are Interested in addressing that competency, as in a dental hygiene course, provide success topic (pro or con), contact Ann in the Mechanical by letting students work at their own pace without pen- Suite, x5085, or leave a message in the Liberal Arts alty. When all students do not have to attain a certain level office. of competency, you may want to assign tasks of varying complexity, so that each student has an opportunity to Articles will also be accepted for the November achieve at his or her own level. issue dealing with (in part) changes in teaching methodology brought about by politcal correctness. Grades Grading standards should be clear and unambigu- Center Stage is published monthly in cooperation with ous. They should be connected to achievement of objee, the Teaching Resources Center. tins and to learning that is most desired. For example, if students are told that grades are based on memorization, Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: they are likely to memorize. If grades are based on higher skills such as integration and application, they are more Paul O'Heron likely to acquire and demonstrate those skills. Remem- Mathematics Department, T-215 ber, grades are primary motivators for some community Phone : 771-5232 college students. E-Mail : OHERON J (All-in-One)

1 0 A Platfonn for MeDiscussion of TeachingILearningIdeas Broome Community College --Binghamton, New York 13902 October 15, 1991 Volume 2 Nwnber 2

The campus theme of "Scienceand Technology for Technology, Culture, pindthe Modern Crisis Lorenz I. Fusching, History Depastment a SustainableSociety" provides the focus forthis month's topic is enormous, as the Center Stage. The scope of this studies were done Lorenz Firsching and Joanne During the decade of the 1980's, range of articlessuggests. deep under the polar ice caps. and philosophical issuesof ice samplea taken from Maniago examine the historical window onto the atmos- tate-twentieth century concern withThese studies gave scientists a that lead us to a What the studies reviews several ap-phere of the Earth centuries ago. sustainability, while Doug Garner of the atmosphere in a recent book byrevealed was that the carbon content proaches for the future as identified centuries, perhaps thou- Barbara Wilda considers IMO ofthehad remained constant foe many Warren Wager. This changed, however, duringthe nine- ethical issues we now face becauseof advances in medicalsands of years. In a little more than a century,ending in Rachel Hinton and Anna Halligantake ateenth century. technology. the atmosphere doubled.In microcosmic view of sustainability uit manifests itself in 1950, the carbon content of the decades since 1950,it has doubled again.Nothing their own classrooms.Finally, Dennis Fehley, former could mom clearly demonstratethe power of human BCC student, speculatesabout the relationship between capitalism and environmentaldegradation. technology. enables us to de- We hope that these articleswill be of interest to ...it is only technology that technology has caused. faculty who wish to explore theissue of Sustainability in tect the changes that their own minds and with theirstudents.Since the theme Of course, there is an ironybete: it is only technol- of Sustainbility will continue tobe examined throughout reactions to the articlesogy that enables us todetect the changes that technology the Fall and Sprim semesters, confronted with this ambiguous the subject will behas caused. We are often contained here, as well as new ones on Medical technology gives uslonger welcomed for fidure editions ofCenter Stage. nature of technology. and better lives, yet it also posesdeep ethical, legal, and Industrial technology gives us un- Contents : economic problems. dreamed of power and wealth,but also causes pollution, unemployment.Military Technology, Culture, and theModern Crisis toxic wastes, and technological technology gives us smart bombsand laser-guided mis- Lorenz Firsching, page 1 siles, yet paradoxically theUnited States has been less secure over the lastforty years than at any timein our The Sustainable Classroom Anna C. Halligan, page 2 nation's history. We are told that technologyis neutral; it is human Science Technology and aSustainable Future of technology that is at fault.This is true on Joanne Maniago, page 3 use or misuse one level, Butit is kn idea that resemblesthe NRA claim that guns don't kill people,people kill people. True, a gun 1 he Sustainable Society:Futurizing Human will not go off by itself; but gunsgive extraordinary powers Development With a gun, it is peFsible tokill with great rapidity. Douglas Garner, page 5 to kill. In the same way, technologyconfers extraonlinary pow- values; a society where Sustainable Society ers.Further, gt,..?. rilluence our Medical Technology for a PA,:cepted tends to be a moreviolent Barbara Marcia, page 6 guns are comrr AS 414 society.Tek. ao.o*fs mfluences andhelps shape our values. Thus wLn weblame human values for theproblems Writing as a "Sustainable" Skillin the associated with technology,this leads us 1k again to Technologies Rachel Hinton, Page 7 technology. We assume that the way wethink about technology Don't Fool with Mother Nature itself "nawrai" and"inevi- Feheley, Page 10 and about nature is somehow -- Dennis ( Continued on page2 ) Firsching (from page 1) The SustainableClassroom Anna C. Halligan, EnglishDepariment table."But in fact our ideas are theproduct of specific In pre-modern societiesaround historical circumstances. It is week five of the fall semesterand the ideals of the world, a different way ofthinking prevailed. Pre- summer have faded,bleached by overexposure to eva- modern peoples viewed naturefrom a holistic perspec- sions, excuses, lateness, absences,disinterest."I didn't get tive: everything was seen asconnected. The English the assignment.' "Youdidn't tell us we had toreed that." Renaissance judge John Fortescuewrote 'There is no I swear!' "The convoca- the ground, no bird thatflies on'The essay is in my friend's car worm that crawls upon tion was the same time as mydental appointment."Even high, no fish that swims in thedepths which the chains of the excuses show nooriginality.They lack unity, organi- is a division be- zeion, coherence, substance.Do I sound like my life Pre-modern peoples saw no I've lost the thesis sentence; man, and the disordered drab paragraph? tween the worlds of nature, the colored thread that holdsthings together. Theclarity have paled to opaqueness. IIMMIIIgods. and patience of August this order does not bindin the most harmonious con- midnight of the filth weekof division between the On Wednesday at cord...." Pre-modern peoples saw no Greenhouse is coming.The seas gods. The search for signsschool, I am despairing. worlds of nature, man, and the will rise. Drought andfamine will ravage theEarth. The in nature to understandpolitical or religious events exem- Mistakenly I've saved the Biblical story of the starofAmazon rain forest isburning. plifies this type of thinking; the worst batch of essaysfor last. Bethlehem as told in Matthew'sGospel gives us a glimpse of the pre-modern mind atwork. The dynamic of this classis mysterious.Like a the caricature of classroomdemographics, this group has Pre-modern thought was alsobased on an analogy non-traditional attdents I've everen- everything in nature was seen asalive.hardest working to living things; countered, along with the mostresistant "studentsby 'Sense and feeling belongto Tommaso Campanella wrote default." The air is thickwith hostility threeafternoons a Giainbattista della Porta At all elements." His contemporary, week. The older students aretheoretical role models. creature, everywhereboth insisted "The world is a living least that's the way itworks in pedagogicaltextbooks. In Finally, pre-modern peoplestook a male and female...." the real classroom, it's not sosimple.In the real class- God and nature were one; work of their religious view of nature. room, the ex-highschool seniors resent the thus possessed a religioui the indeci- human actions in or on nature older classmates; theolder students bristle at This explains why suchactivities as mining siptificance. pherable andincomprehensibleessaystheir younger Ovid wrote "The richearth/Was Asked were condemned. compatriots have hastilywritten in the hallway. for more; they dug outher vitals,/Pried outthe wealth a They found the guiltof iron,/ I am ldnder lord had hidden... And I feel burdenedin the darkness because And war came forth." And gold, more guilty still. responsibleI accept theresponsibility every semester. is really a contractwith myself; a that pre-modern peoplesdidThe contract I sign All this does not mean commitment to a mission; apromise of salvation. I control nature throughtechnology for not attempt to believe that writing, becauseit is reflective andrecursive, But such actions werecarried on with an society is human benefit. can cause are/visioning of self.I believe that if entirely different set of values.Machines were seen as with articulate, to be sustainable,it must be peopled spirit. The arts of technol- critically being alive, possessing a soul or reasoning, engaged humanbeings who can read and the tool-maker growth; to ogy possessed areligious significance, and write well. Part of myjob is to noerish the kind of priest,The purpose of tech- support the or iron-smith was a affirm the progress; tovalidate the journey; to live in harmonywith nature, not nology was to help man spirit of each student whoshares my classroom. to dominate or controlit. of The essays won't look soinedeemable in the light part of humanlife aTechnology is as much a morning. Like Scar lett,I'll be able to see thepossibilities. magical s art orreligion... I'll be positive andempowering.I'll craft the I will be sus- L comment that willtrigger enlightenment. All this began to changein Europe with the techno- taining. logical revolution of theperiod 1300 - 1800.The details recounted many times, andI will be of this revolution have been At 2PM on Friday,the ideals of summer them here.But two impor- will not attempt to summarize freshly colored withhope. tant points abcut thetechnology that Europeacquired in this period did not comefrom Europe; rather,it was ( Continued en page8 ) 2 12 Science/Technology and a Sustainable Future imects, awl man. All of these had been developed with the Joanne "4aniago, History Department best of intentions. We would control nature through killing "pests,' both insect and plant, so more food could For the past two and a half c n.tiries in the Westernbe grown, and prevent the spread of diseases like maleria European orbit (Western Europe, North America, and ;7fthese had been developed with the Japan) science and its offspring technology were consid- Fir ered to be the saviors of mankind.Homo sapiens have best of intentions. always looked for a super hero b provide comfort, pleas-and yellowfever. DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-tricholo- ure, and leisure thus avoiding life's realitiesof discomfort,roethane) was first used as an insecticide in 1939, but not pain, and physical labor.By 1700 the literrie class waswidely until after World War II.DDT, Chlordane, Hep- convinced that science and technology was that super-tachlor and Dieldrin do not have to be ingested to be fatal. hero. And in a way it was! In the 18th and 19th centuriesThey can enter the host through the pores and then are the "good life" was only for the few who could afford it.stored in fatty tissue until the amount becomes toxic and However, hy the beginning of the 20th century and thethe host (bird, fish, mammal or man) dies.Her book maturing of the practical application of science and tech-closed with this statement: nology called the Industrial Revolution, it spread to the majority, at least within the Western European orbit. The "control of nature" is a phrase conceived in ar- rogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and No longer was travelslow, uncomfortable, and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists dangerous.By 1945 we had diesel powered ships and for the convenience of man. trainsThe internal combustion engine gave us cars and planes for ever faster speeds. The telephone now made it The book had an immediate impact on the public. possible to instantly talk with friends or business clients Her documented statements hit home not only with the anywhere on the planet.Electricioy made living morebird and nature lovers, but with the farmers, lumbermen, pleasurable and necessary housework less time consum-cattlemen, and other persons intimately involved with the ing. Consumer goods production and food processingecological concerns. Some laymen began to join with the added to the leisure time, especially for women.Profes- "fringes" of the scientific community to reevaluate the sional sports, movies, and on the horizon TV, assuredword PROGRESS.But government, the corperiate struc- entertainmentfor those leisure hours, Fiom factoryture and the majority of the citizens just shook their heads worker to company presidents we had paid vacations forover anyone paying serious attention to the concernsof a the first time in history, eight-hour working days in rea-middle-aged female bird watcher.As the spokespersons sonably safe surroundings.Modern medicine and den-for chemical producers Dow and DuPont pointed out, she tistry with their new medications, diagnostic equipmentwas probably just going through menopause. and surgical procedures were relieving us from pain, helping us to cope with the stress of being pushed to do But the fight was on seemingly between ecologists more faster, like the machines, and even increasing ourand science and technology, or was it? Some scientists are life spans. leading ecologists. The real battle may include more interests than these. In addition, those people in the white coats had just figured out how to split the atom which meant more and Then in 1966 came economist Kenneth Boulding's cheaper energy and power to rtm our increasingly mecha- "Economics of the Spaceship Earth," and biologist Gar- nized life style. Right on schedule, science and technology rett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons." These were in- were doing their job, producing more bangfor less bucks. troduced into college and university classes where discus- Life was good! sion and interest spread.In 1970 the people that brought ...== you the Vietnam protests and the CivilRights Movement Right on schedule, science and technology also joined in the first EARTH DAY!Sen. Gaylord were doing their job, producing more bang Nelson of Wisconson led the movement for a nationwide for less bucks. Life was good! day to promote ecological awareness, and in the 20+ years since April 22, 1970, we have learned to take Mrs. Carson Then in 1962 Rachel Carson's Silent Spring intro-seriously. duced the masses to a new word -- ECOLOGY.This middle-aged lady, a marine biologist by trade and a bird We the people have fmally recognized that some watcher by hobby, began to get concerned about disap-technologies are destroying the planet because the pro- pearing species of birds and decided to look into why In duction of things we consumers demand leave waste by- her book she pulled together known but scattered infor-products which are toxic to most life forms except cock- mation about the development and use of chemical pesti-roaches. Why don't we just get rid of the toxic waste? We cides as they affected ecological chains of life.plants, ( Continued on page 4 )

13 Maniago (from page 3) States could use some appropriate technology.In 1980 don't know how. Then why don't we just quit making theRoger Smith took over GM and invested $80 billion stuff until we know how to dispose of it safely? Because wecreating a high tech production system for automobiles. want the comfort, pleasure, and leisure they bring. This included buying Electronic Data Systems, a computer services firm to mastermind the operation. The But it's not all the fault of the consumer.Like mostresu!t was a disaster.Acoording to the August 10. 1991 problems there is a systemic cause.We have built anissue of THE ECONOMIST: economic system on theconcept of constant growth. Every year more stuff must be produeed and sold to make The production lines ground to a halt for hours constantly increasing profits.Shopping malls and office while technicians tried to debug software.When buildings are a glaring example of producing things we they did work, the robots often began dismembering don't need just to keep the system going.To make sure each other, smashing cars, spraying paint every- consumer items sell, the system invented "built in obsoles- where or even fitting the wrong equipment.Auto- cence" and "throw away" ethics.Recycle, repair, or reuse matic guided vehicles installed to ferry parts around became dirty words in the 1960's,70's, and *80's. the factory, sometimes simply refused to move. What was meant to be a showcase plant turned into a ...the whole society seems to have suddenly nightmare. recognized that some uses of technology are destroying the planet and we must act to A perfect example of inappropriatetechnology. save ourselves. There are some things robots can do well, but most .1 116 complex assemblies can be done better by human beings By the 1990's the whole society seems to have sud-using computers and robots. denly recognized that some uses of technology are destroying the planet and we must act to save ourselves. It became apparent that the way workers were trained, Animal life cannot survive without clean air, water, and motivated, and managed. not high technology, was food.Ecologists have been discussing sustainability for the real key to competitive car making. the last twenty years and fmally political and economic leadership who have trailed woefully far behind the public A practical example here on campus isthe water are at least beginning to use the term. Sustainable agricul-fountain in the new gym across from the dance room. ture, sustainable life styles, and sustainable technology. They apparently wanted to save water with ar. automatic turn off so the invested in very expensive fountains oper- What issustainable technology?Robert Olsen inated by electronic chips. the May-June 1991issue of FUTURIST definesitas "technology which can satisfy present needs without jeop- This particular one lasted about 5 months; its usual ardizing the prospects of future generations, and can belife span is 6 months. The transistor broke and had to be used by all people for all time without exhausting re-replaced at h price almost as much as the original foun- sourcesorhavingunacceptableenvironmentalconse-tain. So the head of maintenance said "Forget it. Go to the quences."This covers all the bases and sounds good, buthardware store and get a plain faucet that will last four or in practical terms, what will it look like? five years, and when it breaks we can fix it." High tech is fine in its place, but we must stop trying to kill ants with Sustainable technologies for the future will take twohydrogen bombs. Bigger and more cumplzoc is not always paths.One was anticipated by J. F. Schumacher in hisbetter, or even serisible. 1973 best seller, SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL. He called it 'appropriate or intermediate"technology. Traditional ... wemust stop trying to kill ants with hydro- Science and Technology applications in the 20th century gen bombs. have tended to overkill, especiallyin relation to thin' world nations. A village needs a well or a simple pump to The second path isto have bette:and m...re ad- get water into the village.It should be made of availablevanced Science and Technology. We are now at the materials and villagers should understand how it worksbeginning (the first 150 years). not the end of revolution- well enough to keep it in good repair themselves.This isary changes in technology.Within 50 years everything appropriate technology.Science and Technology tends tothat passes for HIGH TECH today will be a museum talk and plan in terms of a complex of darns and hydroelec-piece.To be sustainable this new technology must (1) be tricity powered turbinesto run pumps big enough tobased on a safe and inexhaustible source of energy (2) be supply New York State.The cost and maintemtnce werehiehly efficient in use of energy and other resources. and out of the question and unnecessary. (3) produce nu waste that is damaging or is not biodegrad- able or recyclable.This is a big order, but certainly not We didn't realize in the 1980's that even the United ( Continued on page 9 ) The Sustainable Society: Futurizing According to Wager, the technoliberal paradigm Human Development posits an abiding faith in the power of technology and Douglas Omar, History/Social Science Department managerial techniques to solve human problems and to During a recent address to the National Press clubhelp preserve liberty. In the final analysis it favors growth the leader of the Ukraine noted that history had onceand development through the resourceful application of again begun to move in his land.Events set in motion byknowledge to the satisfaction of human needs. Mikhail Gorbachev's twin policies of Perestroika and Glasnost helped to produce the East European revolu- Despite its condemnation of capitalism, Wagar sees tions of 1989 climaxing in the fall of the Berlin Wall.the radkal paradigm as sharing many similaritieswith its These events coupled with the remarkable overthrow ofteclmoliberal counterpart, most notablyits commitment the Communist Putsch this past August signalled not only to rapid economic growth andcapital intensive technol- the end of the Cold War, but also the unfreezing of history.ogy based on the values associatedwith reason, science, Humanity is no longer held prisoner in the glacial grasp oftechnology, and progress. an ideological struggle between Eastand West.Rather, it now free to address the mostfundamental material, eco- Pitted against both the technoliberal and radical logical, and spiritual problems of modern industrial civi-paradigms is that of the counterculturalists.Central to needed is lization. this paradigm is the argument that what is really a cultural transformation ofmodern civilization.Wager calling for a simpler, less men...both spoke of the need for the creation of sees the counterculturists as a "sustainable" modelof human develop- centralized society, emphasizing more traditional ways of life. The counterculturists also call for asubordination of t. science, reason, logic and technique to the powers ofthe rRecent speakers to our campus, Carl Mitchum and head and spirit.In the final analysis they appeal to a Alan Duming, both spoke of the need for the creationofrevived sense of sacredness of the person, humankind,and a "sustainable" model ofhuman development. It was the cauth. apparent from their respective talks thatsustainable human development occurs when human beings are able to meet The threefold typology of the future of humande- both their basic needs (psychological needs as well asvelopment offered by Wager is a convenient startingpoint safety and security) and their growth needs (loving andas we search for the keys to asustainable future, but it is questions belonging,self-esteem,andself-actualization)withoutonly that. There are a number of hard technical jeopardizing the opportunity of future generations to dothat students must be asked to consider.For example with respect likewise. does the earth have a finite carrying capacity to the human family? If so, what isit, and how should we Mitchum and Durning questioned the propositionbe prepared to respond to it? that humanity has indeed discovered a viable modelfor sustainable human development. Citing an impressive Another complex issue involves the degree array of environmentalindicators ranging from desertifi- of environmental damage done byindus- cation and ozone depletion, to the dangersof global trial civilization. How severe is it inreality,.. warming and inadequate waste disposal, both arguedthat modern industrial civilization, if left as is, would notlead of envi- to sustainable human development. Another complex issue involves the degree ronmental damage done by industrialcivilization. How Clearly we are challenged as educators to exploresevere is it in reality, andwhat can be done to restore the with our students what a viable model ofsustainable biosphere? Put another way is modern industrialization human development should look like.Our ta5k isto sustainable without soriousmodification? stimulate students to consider the complexity ofsustain- profound able human development and to recognize thatthere are Beyond these issues remain some truly For instance, is a number of possibleparadigms to consider. questions regarding basic human values. endless material growth actually desirable(assuming it to Is the tendency in mod- In an extremely suggestive monograph W.Warrenbe environmentally sustainable)? the centralization of power one to Wager makes the case for three possibleparadigms ofem civilization toward supported? Regard- things to come: the technoliberal future,theradical be ultimately resisted, arrested, or be clear that future, and the counterculture future.*All three para- less of how one answers the questions it must left--put another digms are opposed to racism in its various forms,sexism, future history has many twists and turns religious bigotry, intolerance, and share a concernfor theway, the future is stillopen-ended. preservation of the biosphere. ( Continued on page 9 )

5 Medical Technology for a Sustainable Societythe concern is from what source would this tissuebe Barbara March, Nursing Departmenfr obtained? Few would take issue with fetal tissue obtained from a miscarriage but securing such products is to uncer- Since the fourth century the Hippocratic oath haslain to be useful.If fetal transplants were to be widely sworn physicians to apply measumwhich will benefit thesuccessful, a tremendous demand for aborted tissue might and abort- sick and avoid harm.Certainly this too is the identifiedreasonably lead to women becoming pregnant objective of medical technology.In earlier times scien-ing for a fee.Is this the kind of market driven society we tists had limited ability to change the health ofindividualsdesire for our future? but in the modern age they can profoundly affect matters of life and death. Many advances in technology,although At both cads of the life cycle ethicists aredebating intended for the enhancement of health, result in unin-over heroic care issues.They are questioning the tremen- tended effects which create dilemmas for a sustainabledous expenditure of resources in savingtiny infants who for years with society.I have selected a few current examples toillus-have a poor chance of living or who may exist trate the problem. sevei-tt impairments.Although it is possible to save infants of less than one pound today, does that meanthat all The Federal Drug Administration approved No/ should be rescued? Is the infliction of long termsuffering families a viable strategy in a in December of 1990.Implanted in the upper. . on these babies and their drug releases hornvmes for a period of five year sustainablesociety? ing very effective and convenient birth control. unintended events have occurred which complicatethe At the other end of life are theelderly - - that 12% of the health enthusiasm over the drug's merits. A staterepresentativeof the population who consume over 31% in Kansas proposed that women on welfarebe paid acare dollar. Just becausethe technology exists to treat the bonus of $500 if they agree to Norplanttherapy. A very old vigorously, shouldendless resources be tapped California judge offered a woman convicted of childabusefor persons who have outlived their owndesire for living? the choice between a long prison term orNorplant. In oneA leading philosopher,Daniel Callahan, proposed in 41 1987 that perhaps some limits should beestablished on Many advances in technology, ...result in spending for health care for the very old.Is his idea unintended effects which create dilemmas shocking or a necessary step toward conversationof scarce for a sustainable society. resources to sustain our society? transplant was locality a bill has been proposed that wouldrequire treat- Eighty years ago the first corneal advanced to ment of drug offenders with Norplant.Are these punitiveaccomplished and since then technology has Twenty uses for a dmg consistentwith the intent of the develop-permit transplantation of a masher of vital orgvns. if transplant surgery were too ment of technology for asustainable society? A screeningyears ago one questioned will we get all the test to determine the carriers of CysticFibrosis was devel-risky, but today the question is where oped in the summer of 1990.This common hereditarydonor organs that ore needed?It is estimated that 50-100 transplants alone. disease affects the digestive and respiratorysystems ofthousand lives could be saved by heart policy should children resulting in severe malabsorptionof nutrientsThus it raises the question whether public voluntary donation and fatal obstruction in the lungs.Since carriers can nowbe changed to repeal the law requiring body parts cease be identified, could insurance companiesrefuse to coverof organs, or should control over one's Another law prohibits the sale of donor the care of a child with Cystic Fibrosis ifthe parents werewith death? profit driven market supply be a more known carriers? Would the possibility of identifyingorgans, but would a kidney function is consid- Cystic Fibrosis in a fetus via amniocentesislead to anhumane way to save lives? Tlie benefit for donor increase in the numbers of abortions?Is this a form ofering recommending a modest financial genetic selection and isit consistent with a sustainablefamilies to cover funeral expenses. society. ...should control over one's body parts cease In 1987 a Mexican surgeon successfullytreated five with death? patients with Parkinson's Diseaseby transplanting fetal toward life and adrenal gland tissue into the patient'sbrains, thus supply- Finally I wonder if American values physician in ing the deficien!. hormone. Parlemson'sis a commondeath have come full circle. A few years ago a assist his patients incurable nerve disorder of theeklerly that leads to rigid-the midwest devised a death machine tu This summer the book Final Dit, ity and tremors. Current medicationshave distmbing sidein completing suicide. become totally incapaci-a how-to-book forsuicide, has remained on the New York effects and patients eventually Has medical tech- Fetal tissue is healthy and grows rapidlymaking itTimes best-seller list for many weeks. tated. it can achieve, the perfect donor tissue for numerousother disorders.nology become so valued for the wonders Although the possibility of miraculous curesis exciting, ( Continued on page 9 ) 6 Writing as a "Sustainable" Skill thishelped some studentsorganize theirthoughts,it really didn't help them with their grammar and sentence in the Technologies cninstructionproblems. Rachel Hinton, Computer Studies "I don't have to know how to write!What's so This was also my problem because grading this important about it?"Sound familiar?I must have heard assignment was a nightmare;It took me over two hours to thishundreds of times from my Freshman computergrade one of these reports and I usually have three or four students.They seem to believe that studying technicallysections of this class with up to twenty students each. The oriented subjects absolves them of the need to be able toprocess of grading included reading thearticle and then organize their thoughtsand put them on paper ina comparing the summary.Unfortunately, I spent most of coherent manner.While it is a shame that many of ourmy time correcting grammatical errors.(Although I tease students come out of High School unable to compose athem about hating me as their computer instructor,I gramrnatically correct paragraph, it is even more alarmingfigure they'd really hate me as their English instructor. that they haven't learned the value and powerof theYou see, Mom was an English teacher and I guess some of written word.However, during the summer of 1991 my it rubbed off on me.)I needed HELP! CST 119 students and I learned a valuable lesson. The students needed help too. Many of them didn't Computer Concepts and Applications (CST 119) is realize that writingskills help was available right on a Freshman survey coursewhich explores computers and campus.I wanted them to know that help was obtainable. their use in the world today.In lab, students learn how to I decided that a trip to the Writing Center was in order.I effectivelyutilizemicrocomputersoftwaresuchas met with Roberta Williams and askedher what the school wordprocessors, spreadsheets, and databases. Students policy was on requiring students tovisitthe Writing are introduced to wordprocessingin the second week ofCenter for a particular assignment.She said that some of class and are repeatedly encouraged to use it throughoutthe Liberal Arts classes requiredit,but none of the the semester. Why? Hopefully, the students areprovided Technology based courses did. With her help, I decided to with a powerful tool they can use in other classes.What try a daring experiment. For the summerclass, I amended is unfortunate, is many of them feel that a spellchecker is the requirements to include a trip to tileWriting Center all they need to successfully write a paper.When 1 hearwith a draft copy of their summary. As an incentive, the this I cringe and tell my students that even brilliantideas students were given 5 points towards their gradefor are wasted if expressedin an incomprehensible fashion. showing up at the appointment. To facilitate this, Roberta juggled her staff so the students could be accommodated. It IS important to be able to communicate Not only did it take less time to grade the competently. papers, but they werebetter written than Well, you found me out!I value the written word most others I had seen in the past... very highly.It IS important to be able to communicate The experiment succeeded far competently.In addition, it is also important to be able to What can say? read and understand other people's idets.In an effort tobeyond my expectations.Not only did it take less time to teach these concepts, they are combintx7, andoffered as angrade the papers, but they were better writtenthan most assignment that counts for 10% et their grade. Each others I had seen in the past and therefore moreenjoyable student is required to fmd an aqicle with a computer- toread. However, until my conversations about this related topic and write a summar( of it.This assignment article with Ann Soya, I didn't realize the mostit is also given for other reasonswhich is why the onlybenefit was gained by the students.She pointed c in detail,I restriction isthat they can not do any kind of productwhile I took the time to correct their errors they review. It gives the students an opportunity to explorereally didn't have the time to teach them the skills subjects that we may not cover or only touch upon.It alsoneeded to write their next papers betterwhich was really gives me a chance to see what their areas ofinterest are. what I desired.By sending them to the Writ r they could meet with people who had the time a The assignment sheet provides a detaileddescrip- tise to teach them these life-long skills. tion of the assignment and a copy of thegrading policy which must be turned in with the final product.In addi- Where do I go from here?Well, as we say in tion to their use of the word;rocessor,the students arecomputer parlance, I'm going intobeta testing. This In the graded on the content, structure (grammar,punctuatiea, semester we are trying our first lareescale attempt. and sentence construction), and organizationof ideas inone summer classthere were only eleven students so with students on the summary.Originally, the only additional help I pro-Roberta and her staff were able to meet vided was a handout I received from aWriting Across thean individual basis. She andI 11-,ve agreed that this will not Curriculum workshop called Writine Summaries". While ( Continued on pace 9 ) 7

17 Firsching (from page 2) illustrate, the values we look to to help us solve this ques- originally invented in China, India ethe Islamic world.tion are themselves the products in part of our technol- This points to the fact that technology is a human activity,ogy, and of the complex historical circumstances in which not the sole product of Western man.Technology is asmodern technology evolved. much a part of human life as art or religion, which is why no simplistic anti-technological solutions to human prob- At present a sort of "mainstream" view of nature and iems can wore.The second and more important pointtechnology exists; although by no means unchallenged, about the technological revolutionis thatit occurred inthis view remains part of the consciousness of most people certain specifichistorical cireumstances. The rise ofin the West and the educated elite in the Third World, and nationalgovernments, the development of a capitalist itisthe "official" ideology of the governments of the economy, the discovery and conquest of the New World,United States and some other nations.According to this the Scientific Revolution, and the growth of individual-view, nature exists as a resource to be exploited for human ism in Western culture ell occurred in the same periodbenefit, through technology. Technology is the source of from 1300 to 1800.Each of these developments bothprogress and a source of unending benefits for man; all or influenced and was influenced by the technological revo-at least the majority of problems can be solved through lution. Thus a set of values developed in the Westerntechnology. world bound up with technology. ...it is the "official" ideology of the govern- A new and radically different way of thinking about ments of the United States...nature exists as nature arose in the Western world. An analytical view of nature replaced the holistic view; nature was seen as a a resource to be exploited for human bene- problem, to be solved by breakingit down into ever fit, through technology... smaller parts. Nature was also seen as non-living, a "thing" (or many things).And nature was seen as separate from The speakers who will be presented at this Fall's both man and God. Capitalism influenced Western man'stheme workshops will all, consciously or unconsciously, view of nature as well, Ls a reading of Robinson Crusoepresent a set of values about technology. Some will show demonstrates.Nature was seen as a resource, a kind ofthe influence of this mainstream view; others will present capital, to be exploited for human benefit.The Westernalternatives.One of the ways the extra-curricular events view of nature was also influenced by nationalism, and theconnected to the theme of "Science and Technology for a conquests in the New World.Nature was seen as anSustainable Society" can be of most benefit to our stu- enemy, to be conquered through the foece and cunning ofdents is by helping them to become aware of these values. technology. At this critical juncture of human history, we must become conscious of the relation between technology and Nature was seen as an enemy, to be con- values; whether we ultimately affirm the "mainstream" quered through the force and cunning of Western view of technology and nature or seek to create technology. a new way of thinking, we can no longer afford to remain unaware of the complex interplay between our culture With these changes came the rise of the idea ofand our technology. progress, a notion unknown to ancient thinkers. The future was seen in terms of ever-growing wealth and Bibliographical Note power created by technology.Western man came to believe that all problems could eventually be solved through Two of the best sources for understanding pre- technology. modern ideas on nature and technology come from literary scholars: C.S. Lewis, The Dinarded Imam(1964) and There are many examples today of these ideas atE.M.W. Tillyard, The Elizabethan World Picture (1942). work.AIDS, for example, is seen as an enemy, to beCarolyn Merchant's important and controversial The Death conquered by medical technology. Itisinevitable, weof Nature: Women, EctAteev and the Scientific Revolution assume, that AIDS will be conquered.Both the lumber(1980/1990) provides a wealth of ideas.Keith Thomas's industry aed many environmentalists see trees as a kind ofMan and the Natural World (1983) provides interesting capital, a resource to he exploited for human benefit; theyinsights into changing views of nature, while his earlier merely differ over how to exploit this particular resource.Itsligion and the Decline of Matic(1971) is a tour de force on the transition from preenodern to modernthought. The relation of technologyto the modern crisisThe second episode of the documentary series " Africa: A cannot be seen in simple terms.Technoloq gives usVoyage of Discovery" provides fasciruiting insights into enormous power to change nature and human society.pre-modern attitudestowards teehnology. But how will that power be used?As I have tried to

8 3 Hinton (from page7) Maniago (from page 4) be feasible as there arecurrently five CST 119classes However, whether we achieveit or meet in beyond man's ability. being nm this fall. Sheplans to have the students not is not dependent ontechnology. staff or a peer small groups witheither a member of her work together toanalyze and refine each to discuss issustainabletutor. They will The one thing no one wants others work. We hopethat in the long run, notonly will economic-political institutions. Until we do someth:ag will also learn ethics of thesethey learn betterwriting skills, but they to change theunreasmable goals and skills as -^,ell as how towork will continue to bemisused and un-critical thinking and analysis systems, technology of the most importantskills for creating a This is the reason wecsn't just sit by asas a team, one sustainable. sustainablesociety. Herman Kshn and hisfollowers suggested, andwait for co they Science and Technology tosolve all of the problems didn't create the prob- created.Science and technology 10) that gaveFeheley (from page lems, it just providedknowledge and machinery the ability to from the pollution man and hiseconomic-political institutions not "account"for disease downstream Acid rain, ozone depletion,greenhousesource, or carried onthe wind, or etched onchromosomes do the damage. charges would have effect, dangerous fission power,toxic wastes in water, air,to be the heritageof the future. These Technology, but balance sheet. and soil,weren't causedby Science and negatively impacted the unintelligent behav- by man's greed,irresponsibility, and Science and problems are intertwined ior in using (or misusing)it. We were all Many of our pollution I see the solution tothese Technology, individual consumers,producers, and politi-with economics andpolitics. Individuals invotved in creating theenvironmental problemsproblems as having threemajor components. cians for their actions will all have to beinvolved in theand businesses mustaccept responsibility which face us, 20t1 we and leg- against the environment.Government planning solu*ions. CD for islation on environmentalissues must be long range manipulation by the benefit ofsociety, tux! must resist corporations, or political ac- Garnar (from page5) self-interested individuals, vision.Finally, the most impor- Francis Fukuyama arguedin tion groups with tunnel In the summer of 1989 preserving what remainsof cur Earth's History," that liberal,tant component in a now famousarticle, "The End of comn .ment toecology. We must mainassets is an individual democratic capitalism hadmet head on its two in the light of ourreal needs, andevaluate what we consume ideological competitors,fascism and communism, available alternativeproducts, and the defeated. What Fukuyamaseemed fitness of purpose, both had been soundly final disposition of anitem and its packagingthrough is that with thedefeat of fascism and People vote for to miss completely recycling, incineration,and land-filling. the end of the cold warsignalling the end ofcommunism If markets do notexist free toproducts by openingtheir wallets. (as it has beenpracticed to date) history was now such products will notbe produced. model of sustainablefor wasteful products, move down newpaths. Hopefully, a future-looking society will seethe absolute will success-I believe a human developmentwill emerge--one that gratification, and the accu- ecological, and spiritualcrisesfolly of immediate consumer fully address the material, mulation of over-packaged,overpriced objects will soon of individual civilization. lose its fashionable status. ED Our challenge then aseducators is to explorewith of such a sustainable our studentswhat the major features Suggested Reading daunting task, development paradigmwould look likea If not us, thenwho? but one worthy of ourprofession. Several of the booksmentioned in this issue's articles are availablefor loan fromthe Teaching Re- *see W. WarrenWagar's THE NEXTTHREE COME sources Center.Titles include: FUTURES: PARADIGMSOF THINGS TO ED A Short Historyof the Future, Wager YIIIIM=1.00 Gaia: An Atlas ofPlanet Management,Myers Mankind at theTurning Point: TheSecond and Marckx (from page6) Remrt to the Clubof Rome, Mesarovic fmds its Pestel that the society ofpeople it is intended to serve State of the World,the the sheer possi- Several mlitions of The power oppressive?Is true sustainability existence the more Worldwatch Institute bility of existing oris the quality of crucialcriterion? EC

9 Don't Fool With Mother Nature understand the attempts to motivate people to acquire Dennis Feheley, Student certain material possessions through advertising.Even the New York State Lottery advises us that all we 4ted is I have been thinking about "Gaea" because I never"A Dollar and a Dream." I'm old enough to remember had been exposed to her before last month. James Love-when the politicians told us that the profits from the cock, who originated the concept of the Earth as anlottery would be used for education.It sounded good.I integrated organism, writes, "Gaea, as I see her, is nobelieved it.I buy lottery tickets, haven't won much, but doting mother, tolerm1 of misdemeanors, nor isshe somestill have the "dream." We are a society motivated by fragile and delicate damsel in danger fmm brutal man-money. We are encouraged not tolook beyond our own But the dream is turn- kind.She is stem and tough, always keeping the worldlittle niches, our own self-interest. warm and comfortable forthose who obey the Inks, buting into a nightmare. ruthless in her destruction of those who transgreer "The physical Earth will adapt to man's tampering withits Human wastes pollute the water and land.Chemi- systems, but manking has the potential todestroy thecal fertilizers may make the soil useless for future genera- "living balance" that allows humans to inhabitthis planet.tions but turn a profit today.I know a family that used to live and play at the Love Canal area that has lost afamily One of the principle moral/ethical issues member to cancer, and several other family members are currently sick.I read about the destruction and pollution regarding the protection and utilization of of land in South America, not only to harvesttimber or the Earth is our society's obligation to con- graze cattle, but also the clearingof land with herbicides serve and protect thefinite resources of this to grow illegal drugs, and pouring toxicchemical wastes planet for the unborn generations. leftover from drug processing octo the land or into streams. I saw a truck outlined with red-orange flags onRoute 17 One of the principle moral/ethical issues regarding week carrying concrete coffins holding nuclear waste. the prntection and utilization of the Earth is oursociety'sOur newspaper tells us about thepollution of wells by obligation to conserve and protect the finite resourcesofchemical wastes in Vestal Lad Endicott.i've read articles soil and thisplanet for the unborn generations. Policies andrecounting how major corporations have ruined legislation regarding the care and protection of theair,streams, and they've said they did nothingthe was apinst ozone, land, material resources,and water are essentialthe law. They paid a fine but did notacknow!edge guilt. because people tend to accept any solutionthat looksThey probably turned a profit, or at least kept expenses quick and cheap, and tend not to spend too mucheffortdown for the accounting period by not disposingof their exploring the consequences of' a decision. wastes in an environmentally responsible way.They did ( Continued on page 9 ) A quick coat of paint or asphalt may hidecrumbling infrastructure for a short time, but the cracks willbe back, Coming Next Issue and usually the cost of repair or replacementhas signifi- cantly increased. It reminds me of a jokeQuestion: What was the last thing one astronaut said tothe other The next issue will deal with the topic ofcalcula- the classroom, how before blastoff?Answer: You realize that this thing was tors and personal computers in built by the low bidder.Government, businesses, and political correctnessis affecting the classroom, and a individuals often take the lowest bid. Do we as asociety coutitmation of the "Why I Teach" series. get what we pay for or what wedeserve? You are encouraged to write on these orother 25 for un- I believe that the current Americanvalue system topics. The submission deadline is October if you contact the and our capitalistic economic system are twobasic causes solicited articles, or October 31 topic. for most of our ecological problems. To me, moneyis how editor prior to submission to discuss your capitalists keep score. Too many peoplefocus only on the dollars and do not consider the consequencesof their Center Stage is published monthly incooperation with actions over the long run. the Teaching Resources Center.

In my perception of the currentAmerican value Send correspondence and contributions tothe editor: system, we consciously andsubconsciously evaluate other people by what they own, what they wear,what they say, Paul O'Heron how they pronounce it, what they urive.We are bom- Mathematics Department, T-215 barded with encouragements to "Dress forSuccess," "Build Phone : 771-5232 a Powerful Vocabulaty,"and arrive in " Cadillac Style." I E-Mail: OHERON P(All-in-One)

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20 Center Stage A Platfortn for the Discussion of Teaching/LearningIdeas Broome Community College -- Binghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 3 November 15, 1991

The topic of calculators and small computers in the Why I Teach? classroom has been of interest to me for several years. John Butchko, Humanities Calculators are as common to the classroom as ants at a picnic, and often are just as bothersome.It appears the A job where you can be creative...be yourself...meet power of the calculator is rapidly outpacingthe acquisi-many interesting individuals each year...helpothers achieve tion of skills and tenacity needed to master these littleproficiencyand/orsuccess...workwithstate-of-the-art marvels. equipment...and go home at night with positive feelings about your workday. The aforementioned Are major On the horizon we see notebook computers withreasons I teach.However, there are other underlying pen interfaces, and fully functional palmtop computersreasons I teach and why BCC. the size of a stack of 5"x7" index cards. Of course these things will be driven by state of the art software keyed into Early on in my life I discovered one of my strengths each acgdemic dicipline. The questions we will eventuallywas the ability to get a job done alonewithout others have to face are: how much power and ability do we wantcontributing their two cents to my scheme.This contin- our students to defer to their machines,and how muchued into sports:wtightlifting, boxing, wrestling, and class time do we want to devote to instructing students ontrack, where I was in control of my actions. Much of my using their software. confidence today was unconsciously being i'eveloped in my pre-college school years. Oh yes, I was a gameplayer Also in this issue: Richard Stoner provides a light-also,engaged in band, orchestra,football and other hearted look at gender problems in his English classes, "tomfooleries."Even in Boy Scouts I felt comfortable in Roberta Williams discusses humility in teaching, and theleadership roles and in helping my fellow comrades. series "Why I Teach" continues. Enjoy. -- ed. In junior high school I was asked by a counselor Contents : what field of study I wished to undertake in high school. I, like many, replied "I don't know - what's available?" This Why I Teach information I took home & discussed with my parents. At he always -- John Butchko, page1 that time, my father (a policeman) confessed -- Martha Fenty, page2 wanted to be a teacher -I guess, subconsciously this influenced my choices later in life. Humility Roberta Williams, page 3 ...I discovered a very dedicated faculty who were knowledgeable andseemingly happy Calculators: What They Can and Can't in their job setting. Do in the Classroom Luis Moreno, page 4 Several years later I graduated from high school with a pre-college electrical engineering degree, there- Pronouns and Sexism fore, BCC's Electrical Technology program was alogical -- Richard Stoner, page5 choice for post-high school studies.It was in this curriculum I discovered a very dedicated faculty who wereknowl- Calculators - Giving All a Fair Disadvantage edgeable and seemingly happy in their job setting.This -- FrankPlunkett, page 7 was not my best educationalperformance time, however, and due to the dedicated push of many professorsand Work It Without the Circuits: Diminishing the most prominently Professor Robert Beers,I graduated in Role of Computers in the Classroom '68. Well, due to marginal GPA, lack of funds, uncertainy -- Tracy Tyrrell, page8 of the Vietnam draft and general confusion as tohow to continue my life I decided to seek employment. Aside page 10 ( Continued on page 9 ) 21 Why I Teach I love the educational stimulation of teaching. * Martha Fenty, History/Social Sciences education did not ;top when I stepped into the classroom. In one sense, that's when my education really started;it If people still took last names from their family'scontinues with each year I teach.There are many aspects occupatbn, my name would have been Martha Teach.I of teaching which baoaden my educational horizons. My come from a family of teachers.From nursery school, learning is ongoing as I prepare for classes, read articks where my grandmother was a teacher, through elemen-and journals, and chat with colleagues. Most of all, I lease tary school and high school, I was surrounded by my fatherform my students. In class interacting with students, and various uncles, aunts and cousins.I felt that I couldreading papers, listening to speeches, I still experience tie not escape.Is it any wonder that out of sheer frustrationexhilaration of saying to them or to myself, "Gee, I dial I announced, "I will never be a teacher!" There was a timeknow that". that I wanted to be a speech therapist; I even considered becoming a musician. My education did not stop when I stepped into the classroom. Well, here I am, a teacher; I've been so for over 20 years. When I was asked to write an article on why I teach, I may have chosen a career in teaching because issi my first thought was to answer , "Because I love it." Endfamily influence or because my other options weren't of article.But that response is imprecise. The question Ipractical.I continued that career because of the rewards, should be answering is why do I love teaching. Let me bechallenges, and educational stimulation it affords me. I've like E.B. Browning and count the ways. heard it said, "If you love your job, you will never have to work a day in your life." I'm lucky to have chosen a job the I love the rewards of teaching. Of course oae of theI love. ED rewards is time off, especially summer vacation.I remember an acquaintance who left teaching for a job in industry. Her most difficult adjustment was having to work 50 weeks of the year.I'm sure I would feel the same way. FYI Vacation time was particularly important to me when my children were young. Now that my children are grown, I still fmd that aspect of teaching more appealiez. Through an arrangement with the Vice-Presi- dent of Academic Affairs and the editor of Center Even more significant is the reward of watching my Stage, this publiction is pleased te, announce its inclu- students learn, of helping them overcome obstacles and sion in Resources in Education (RIE). RIE is a monthly achieve success, of seeing them reeve from can't to can, of abstract journalannouncing recentreportliterature having them tell me months or years later how beneficial related to the field of eduction, permitting the early the. skill was that I taught them has been. identification and acquisition of reports of interest to the educational community.Information is arranged II love the challenge of teaching. as document resumes cross-indexed according to subject, personal author, institution, and publication type. I love the challenge of teaching.The challenge of teaching relates directly to the involvement with students. RIE is sponsored by the Educational Resources Teachers have an enormous impact on the MAW' lives they Information Center (ERIC) of the Office of Educa- touch. The potential for affecting, maybe even changing, tional Research and Improvement in the U.S. Depart- someone's life is a challenging responsibility.Having an ment of education.ERIC is a nationwide information effect on others is more than teaching facts and skills; it's netwerk for acqiring, selecting, abstracting, indexing, also being an example in terms of demeanor and attitude. storing, retrieving, and disseminating significant and timely educational reports.Its coordinating staff is in Involvement with students includes being flexkle Washington D.C. with sixteen clearinghouses located and able to meet unexpected situations.Each class is at universities or with professional organizations across different; classes have personalities just like individuals the country. do.Part of the challenge of teaching is to interact with these individuals who make up a class, engage them, and If you would like more information on ERIC, or find the right teaching tools to suit them.I strive to make would like to learn how to use it, ask the reference li- classes interesting and fun.That too is challenge -- to be brarians to point out copies of the abstract.There are interesting and fun and still impart knowledge.Though I several years of back issues on file in the reference sec- may teach the same course from year to year, the students tion of the library alongside the other periodical ab- make each experience different. stracts.

+1=111, 2 22 Humility anybody be expected to express an individual perspective Roberta Williams, Writing Center that depends upon group membership.People of color must especially grow tired, I think, of repeatedly explain- Two basic assumptions guide my conduct when Iing themselves to whites.(I wouldn't like being asked for teach literature.First, I must share power with students"a white person's viewpoint.")When a student does if I want them to become active participants in theirchoose to share an insider's perspective, I appreciate the education:I am not the dispenser of "right" answers but acontribution as a gift. guide and co-learner in a process of inquiry.Second, I have a responsibility to help students understand how When a student does choose to share an in- experience both enables and hinders us; I want them, in sider's perspective, I appreciate the contri- the course of taking in and synthesizing new knowledge, bution as a gift. to recognize and push against their experiential boundaries, acts which require courage and faith.I need, there- Two such gifts once came during a discussion of fore, to practice humility.If I hide my own fallibility, howAnzia Yezierska's Bread Givers, part of a course called can I expect students to risk exposingtheirs? Without hu- "Images of Working-Class Women."The most exciting mility, I doubt there can be a free-flowing exchange ofinterchanges were initiated by two of the students: a ideas from multiple perspectives, a dialogue of qualityJewish woman who was moved deeply by the novel as a which will engender critical thinking. story of Jews in the diaspora; a Puerto Rican student who saw mirrored in the protagonist's struggle thestudent's I must share power with students if I want own painful passage through the process ofAmericaniza- them to become active participants in their tion. I had understood those levels of meaning, in a education... scholarly way, but with the outsider's necessarily partial sight.Those women, in contrast, gave compelling ac- I believe with Paolo Freire that everyone is "capablecounts from inside their experiences.Perhaps, in part, of looking critically at his [or her] world in a dialogicalhumility led to receipt of those gifts. encounter with others" (13) but that a productive dialogue cannot occur if "the parties (or one of them) lack Humility also helped, I think, when students in a humility" 178). Freire asks, "How can I dialogue if I alwaysdifferent class read, in translation, Julia DeBurgos's "Rio project ignorance onto others and never perceive myGrande de Loiza."I decided at the last minute to have own? How can I dialogue if I consider myself a memberthem look also at a poem in rome respects similar, Miguel of the in-group of 'pure men' [sicj, the owv os of truth andHernandez's "Mediterraneo".Unable to quickly locate knowledge, for whom all nun-members are 'these people' "Mediterraneo" in English but unwilling to miss the chance or 'the great unwashedi....How can Idialogue if I amto compare the female and male, Puerto Rican and Span- afraid of being displaced, the mere possibility causing meish perspectives, I settled for a translation of my own. torment and weekness?"(7?-79). Naturally I thought it only fairto both poet and students- -to let the students know of my shaky status as a translator. Humility.It's not enough to acknowledge the outer edges of my experience as I already perceive them.I must A Dominican student pointed out problems in the also allow for the possibility of narrower bounds that Itranslation and also gave a wonderfully detailed explana- might yet discover.And I must take particular care intion of the shades of meaning which emanate from the approaching people and texts from different cultures.(Iphrase, "recodo del caminc."His comments not only find "different" problematical here but use the word any-enlarged his classmates' understanding of the poem but how because I can't think of another term that would servealso led to discussicn of the slipperiness of language better; from any other center of orientation, my owngenerally and the difficultiesall translators must con- culture would be "different.") As a scholar recently said, front.Students began to realize, I think, that reading a people within any culture have an "experientially deter-translation is never quite the same as reading the original. mined ability to direct discussion" of their own subjectiv-And I like elso to believe 'ny opening remark--"This can ity, language and history (Foreman 12).Thus I try not tobe but a pale shadow of what Hernandez created"made ascribe centrality to my own cultural vantage point but toit easier for the student to speak. validate, instead, the worth of each person's experience. The goal is to foster an open and inclusive environment, Alongside my knowledge of Indian culture, my skills one that invites everybody to revealinsights derived fromas a trtnslator shine. So an evenlarger dose of humility is his or her special way of seeing. in order when I introduce poems from India that share common themes with some of theWestern works I teach. I don't, however, "volunteer" the expertise of stu-Before we begin to explore the poems, I remind students dents from different cultures.No single person can rea-of allusions in some of the Western texts to Greek and sonably be expected to speak for a group, nor should ( Continued on page 10 ) 3 23 Calculators: What They Can and Can't do in have a calculator handy, some of the procedures are so the Classroom fundamental that all should know how to perform them it Luis Moreno, Mathematics Department only because the very Procedure enhances the meaning of the concept.Fractions are more meaningful if one under- Phylum: machine.Order: electronic device. Fam-stands the procedure tor adding them. ily: computer.Genus: calculator.Species: various ones. In the last 20 years. calculators have invaded our desks, Moreover, some problems can be done better with- bookbags and classrooms and have staked out permanentout a calculator, but only if the mathematical concept is territories there. What should their role be in the curricu- learned.For example, if gas costs $1.25 per gallon, how lum, particularly in mathematics?I would direct themany gallons does one get for one dollar? We can think, reader who feels immune to the progress of these ma-"$1.25 is $514 per gallon, so we get 4/5 gallon per dollar,'" chines by virtue of his/her discipline to the last paragraph, leaving the calculator aficionado in the dust!Hopefully for the difficulties and advantages that calculators presentafter a student in MAT 090 (or in elementary school)leans to mathematics now will eventually be felt by all educa-these and many such concepts not illuminated by a calcu- tors. lator, this devise can then be used as an aid not a crutch.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics tOther shortcomings arise later if a calcula- has for many years stated that calculators should be deeply or is not put in its proper place. enmeshed within the reaching of mathematics, apparently r with great change in methodology and content. Other shodcomings arise later if a calculator is net put inits proper place. Considerthe tangent of 30 The advantages seem evident:the curriculum woulddegrees.A calculator dutifully gives 0.577350269 and never emphasize mind-numbing repetitive calculations atinstantly drops a student into an uncountable vastness of any level.Students would not be given a page of long irrational numbers.This has little meaning if not but- division problemsin fifth grade (enjoyable memories,tressed by theory. But realizing that tan30° = 1/Nb-gives the anyone?), nor asked to fmd the inverse of a 4-by-4 matrixstudent far more insight than a calculator can muster. by hand in 14th grade. Few people do such things by hand in practice these days!Furthermore, a person may not In order to avoid all of this an ideal can be imagined: gain much "number sense"-- numeracy is the generalwhat a calculator model "can do"should be a subse; of modern term -- after striving through eight years of arith-what a student is capable of doing at a given point in hrd metic. The speed and accuracy with a calculator can takeher training (given enough time and patience!). lin a square root, graph a function, or find the future value ofexample, an algebra student should have a simple +, x, an investment should change mathematics learning from+ calculator as an aid, assuming that prior to this, the a procedure-oriented discipline to a discovery -orientedarithmetic algorithmsforthese operations were truly thinking process, leaving the minutiae to the machine. learned via paper, pencil, and thought. At a higher level, a calculus student would use a graphics calculator mole The NCTM's position is clearly one of aspirationknowledgeably if he/she were able to sketch ly1= sin x and oad leadership, and much of itis in some cases true. I y =[t] dt, neither of which graphics calculators can certainly won't return to logarithm tables, and I rarely usedirectly do. a slide rule.But consider that the eminent mathematician Paul Halmos recently said, "...I am still in favor of the Inreality,calculator"sophistication"takesgiant multiplicationtablebeing drummedintoinnocent leaps from one species to the next:basic, scientific, pro- heads...together with some of the elementary...techniquesgrammable,graphics/programmable,andsupercalcula- of estimating orders of magnitude..."It seems that sometor.But learning is a smooth gradual process.Thus, a problems refuse to be nails even though we have discov-calculator's capabilities often exceed a student's abilities: ered the hammer. "I don't evenow what half of these keys are for!" As the student progresses through courses, the calculators caps- A cocksure student early this semester told Hities should become more fully realized. me th-.1. this course was unnecessary since "I'll always have a calculator." But what occursisa disconnection between the calculator's potential as a learning ail and the process of MAT-090 is taught without a calculator assistance,learning mathematics.This is seen not in the overuse bit for various reasons. A cocksure stuient early this semes-in the underuse of the device's capabilities by many stu- ter told me that this course was unnecessary since "I'lldents.At the algebra level, students rarely use the mem- always have a calculator."I suddenly had a vision of aoryfeatureforstoringintermediateresults. In keypad subcutaneously implanted somewhere in the arm,calculus,students rarely use the programming capacity.In numerals tattooed in gothic....But even if we always do ( Continued on page 9 ) 4 Pronouns and Sexism first person I; 3) use the you address: 4) use a noun or a who, and 6) use their Richard Stoner, English synonym instead of a pronoun; 5) use for the singular. After all, according to Ms. Maggio,such You are marking student paper and notice themedieval writers as Chaucer used their as an indefinite following sentence: "A driver with a poorly tuned enginepkonoun extensively even whenreferring to a singular contributes their share to pollutieg the air through need-antecedent. Constance Gefvert agrees with Ms. Maggio less emissions.' What strikes you first is the use oftheir.and in her handbook, The Confident Writer, develops sn You circle it and write along the margin that their isplural explanation, based on language history, for using their to and driver is singular; therefore, the possessive pronoun representan antecedent of undeterminedgender and should also be singular. So far so good, but now what younumber. do suggest to replace their: his, her, his orher, his/her, (s)his, on's, un's, s/his, one's, the driver's, each's? However, the editors of Webster's Dictioniny_ef English Usace (1989) do not resort to reviving past usage In recent years this choice has become fraught withas Ms. Maggio and Ms.Gefvert do; they simply supply a political implications Cor the writer, the reader, and espe-list of newly minted "epicene pronouns" to replacethe cially for the writing instructor. Traditional handbookspolitically offensive he. These include: ne, nis, nim,hiser, direct that the masculine pronoun should be usedwhenthon, en, unus, tabs, ir, iro, im, ons, he'er, shis,hens, co, the gender of the antecedentis not known. However,cos, tey, ter, tem, chis, che,chim, and chimself. Politically these many, who consider language as an actof political defmi-concerned teachers and journalists have created tion, argue that to use his (or any form of themasculineneologisms over the years and the Webster's editors have pronoun) is to assume that the male is the moreprobablegarnered them from articles in language journals.Web- reader particularly for scholarly writing. This "sexist" as-stes does not indicate how successfully these wordshave sumption can rapidly raise waves in the new political seasentered into the language. These three textsshould illus- that college instructors need to navigate. trate how handbooks have probablyconfused more than helped someone wishing to use pronouns in apolitically Recent handbooks, however, are not life-rafts. Eachcorrect way. been sug- of the choices in the first paragraph's list has do gested by at least one handbook to replace his orhim. If handbooks are of little help, then how Three respected handbooks on AmericanEnglish usage the major publications handle this sensitive make rather startlingly different suggestions onthis pro- issue? noun problem. Roy Cooperudin his An.....aericanand how do the We (1980), pronounces that: If handbooks are of little help, then major publications handle this sensitive issue?What advice "He or she" (and in other circumstances, the otherdo such diverse and popular publications asthe tlew York pairs [his or her]) is not only clumsy but unnecessary.It is Times, Coin World and New Yorker, givetheir reporters and pronoun use? A review of a well-establishedconvention thatthe masculine formon non-sexist language twenty-six alone isken as applying to both sexes. The plural pro-eight stylebooks, gathered from a survey of following noun [their) is commonly usedin speech but is question-magazines and newspapers, has yielded the able in writing (176). information: Male pronouns are supposedly thehardest ABA Journal (main publication of theAmerican avoid form of sexist language to overcome. Bar Association): The ABA Journal does try to sexist language by using neutral wordswhere possible Not surprisingly, Rosalie Maggio advises the oppo-(such as "mail carrier" instead of "postman")and using "they" instead site in ]]Le Nonsexist Word Finder(1988): plural pronouns instead of singular (such as of "he"). However, if we must use a singular pronoun we Coined words Male pronouns are supposedly the hardestform ofgenerally use "he" instead of "he or she." should not be used. sexist language to overcome. Purists insist that"he, his"such as "chairperson or spokesperson" and "him" are indispensable when a personin question is Avoid gender or archetypal.In apocalyptic terms, they Christian Scieace Monitor Style Guide: unidentified activities or roles [one assumes male writers such as Cooperudhere] warnspecific terms in general reference to but don't go to ex- that non-sexist alternatives are ostentatiousand politi-that are appropriate for either sex, board," unless the board is in cized. (201). tremes. Don't say "A 12-man fact all-male and this is pettinent; "A12-member board" "spokes- Ms. Maggio then offus several ways toavoid sexistserves...Let idioms serve e.g. Man-made...Avoid "congress- pronouns in writing. She liststhe following options to fitpersons" or "congresspersons"; "spokesmen", appropriate circumstances: 1) use he or she;2) use the ( Continued on page 6 ) 25 ut t e pronoun "fie" or his usually should be used when Stoner (from page 5) an indefmite antecedent may be male or female: A re- men*, "freshmen", etc. are appropriate because they areporter attempts to protect "his" sources ( Not "his or her" not at root gender-oriented...As for pronouns, specify "hesources). Frequently, however, the best choice is a slight or she" in a situation where "he" alone is in obvious exclu-revision of the sentence: Reporters attempt to protect sion. But a plural can temper a profusion of "heor she" e.g.their sources. "Children can tell their parents"..,And aL a story hases- tablished that neither sex is excluded,an occasional lone Was.:4_0_02ostp2,_11aLsk- 1, on We-- If,for ex- "he," likewise a lone "she," is less obtrusive thana run ofample, "his" is no longer acceptable ks a generic possessive "he or she"...The "he" idiom may be adaptedal naturallypronoun, as in "Everyone should have his umbrella", what and unobjectionably aq in "to each his own." should replace it? "Everyone should have their umbrella" is grammatically incorrect...This particular example has a Coitl_Nyarltinual-- Avoid overtlysexistsimple solution: "Everyone should have an umbrella." But language like "distaff." When writing about a function,not all questions are so readily answered...Use generic write "collectors and their spouses" instead of "husbandsterms for occupations or groups of people unless it would or wives"...do not use "their" for "its" or "his." be awkward or artificial; alumnus, a graduate; business- man: a business executive or business manager. Consumer Reports: For at least 15 years, we have been careful to use non-sexist terms... We put "he" or "she" The remainder of responding publications either ir,to the plural "they." "Congressman" becomes "memberdid not submit a stylebook for this survey or did not have of Congress." a formal stylebook for their editors and reporters, but used one or more of the standard handbooks on usage. A Moly: "Avoids use of "him" in reference to malelist of handbooks follows this article. and female; however we do use such gender-specific terms as 'adman' and 'adwoman' in certain cases." Language, even in its apparently most simple form, must be used carefully and with ladel hiah&p_.ei.._a_qlerArinial--Avoid terms thought. that imply that everyone in a particular group or occupation is of one sex. Terms such as "maihnan", "fireman", What remains clear is that there is no one answer to "salesman"...should be replaced with equivalents that dothe apparently simple question of what to use in place of not imply sex: "letter carriers,"firefighters", "police offi-"their". Language in America reflects its users and their cers", "sialespeople"...most female designating terms shouldconcerns, as simple or complicated as they may be. This is be replaced with neutral equivalents: "aviator", not "avia-the most valuable lesson that an instructor can transmit to trix"; "serv:mt", not "maid." But some terms, such as "ac-the student writer: Language, even in its apparently most tress" and "waitress" are retained for now because they aresimple form, must be used carefully and with thought. almostuniversallyacceptedwithoutdiscriminatoryRegardless of what pronoun the writer chooses, each connotations...a few job titles that have no good neutral writer should realize that such a choice may convey mean- equivalents, such as "foreman" are retained and should teings far beyond the original intent. applied to both men and women. Military titles, such as "ainnan first class", also apply to both men and women... Handbooks Used by Publications Surveyed: In references to all of humanity, terms such as man and(Call numbers after the handbook title indicate location mankind are permissible, but comideration should bein BCC library.) given to whether a neutral equivalent such as humanity orAmerican Usage andStyle,The Consensus: REF the human race could be substituted without harming thePZ1460.C648 sound of the sentence...Sentences that use he, him or hisAP Stylebook as generic singular pronouns often may be recast to avoidChicago Manual of Style the masculine word--and should be recast when there isFowler's Modern Engli!, any implication of sexual stereotyping ["they" for "he" inGovernment Printing Olikce Style Manual plural form]. When such rewording is not possible, writersModern American Usage and editors should make an effort to say "lie or she" (or "hisNew York Times Style Manual or hers", "him or hei "). But the grace and readability of aThe Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage: story should not be sacrificed to this codsiderationWhenREF E1460.WH25. 1989 referring to hurricanes, nations, or water-craft, use theThe Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage: REF neuter pronoun except in quoted material. PE2835.E84 The Nonsexist Word Finder: A Guide to Gender Free Wall Street Journal Stylebook 2nd edition-- Male-Usage: REF PE1689.M23 ness should not be presumed in constructing a sentence, ( Continued on page 9 )

, , Calculators - Giving All a Fair Disadvantage one is at a big disadvantage when it comes todetermining Frank Plunkett, Mechanical Depatiment statistical parameters for a large number of data.

In the mid 1970's a revolution in computing took Another feature that has the potential for providing place which had nothing to do with what were considered unfair advantage is programmability. Any student with a computers atthat time.While most students in theprogrammable calculator, and a PhD in User's Manuals, engineering fields were easily recognized by the foot longcan install a formula, and by plugging in the right numbers leather cases that contained their slide rules (contrary toget a corrwt result.A standard practice on the part of legend rather few students actually used the belt loops), ainstructors is to require that solutions to test problems be few of the more affluent began carrying shorter, fattercompletely developed with formulas being shown both cases housing a new gizmo- the electroniccalculator. Thesymbolically, and with the proper numbers installed.This first models seen in the halls of the technical institutionsdoes make tests more fair, but the more powerful calcula- were not made by Keuffel-Esser, a recognized nameintors still allow u.eir owners to get a second opinion which slide rules, but by another hyphenated outfit by the nameat the very least a psychological benefit. of Hewlett-Packard. Now one of theirlittle beauties could be had for something over four hundred dollars It is clear that all calculators are not created equal which at the time was a lot of money. Most students' carswith respect to both power and price.More money buys did not cost that much. So for a while they were a novelty,more computing power, and some students haveand/or but not for long. Competitors came out of the woodwork,spend more money than others. What can be done to give prices came down, and calculators became the new weaponall students the same chance on tests and projects involv- of choice.Times got pretty bad for the slide rule compa- ingcomputations? nies. This supports the argument that requiring a The transition from slide rule to calculators took particular calculator would not be an undue place roughly within two years, and a curious time it was. burden on the students. The factthat the calculator providedits user w.th a distinct computational speed advantage was quickly rec- At BCC an informal poll of the Mechanica. Engi- ognized, and their use during tests was banned by manyneering Technology seniors revealed that most purchased professors.It was only fair.Imagine attempting to deter-new cakulators upon entering college.This supports the mine the standard deviation of fifty data points withoutargument that requiring a particular calculator would not the use of a calculator; forget it, it's impossible. So for abe an undue burden on the students. In fact, it might save while the slide rule user was a protected species.It didn'tsome the cost of purchasing another, morepowerful, help; they are now extinct. model lsnng their college years. Additional benefits would also be realized. Today students would no more consider adding a column of numbers without a calculator than would think Instructors could easily answer questions concern- of tying their shoes. They have all used calculators in highing the operation of particular functions, and the fact that school, aixi some in grammar school (or isit K througha student lost the manual the day afterpurchasing would 8?). So when the new freshpeople walk into college in thenot pose serious difficulty.If the calculator is program- fall most already own a calculator, and ithas becomemable, and if the instructor also owns one, programs almost unnecessary to include calculators on the list ofcould be developed for or by the class.Students would required supplies for a course. They are as commonplacequickly see the benefit of a program for repetitive calcu- asDockersTM. lations and "what-ir studies. ...the variety of calculators brought to the At the present time none of the technologies at BCC college classroom is as wide as the skill in requires a specific calculator, but the topic is being ac- their use. tively discussed.Different programs have slightly differ- ..1ent needs, but, considering the variety ofmodels on the As anyone who has introduced students to statisti-market, fulfilling them will not be difficult.The personal cal computations knows, the variety of calculators broughtpreferences of instructors (RPN vs. algebraic entry, etc.) to the college classroom is as wide as the skill in their use.will demand compromise, but even this is not impossible. Now the question is not so much whether calculators poseAnd if the philosophical question of forced conformity an unfair advantage, but whether somecalculators pro-arises, it may be pointed out that there is still the choice vide greater advantage than others.At least such is thebetween 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm pencils. case in courses where computationplays a good example. Althoughitisrare now to fmd a calculatorwithout Calculators are generally taken for granted by stu- statistical functions they do exist, and any student owning ( Continued on page 10 )

277 Work it Without the Circuits: Diminishing the The question, however, cannot be answered as simply Role of Computers in the Classroom as this.In education, the subjects and goals involved are Tracy Tyrrell, Student far too diversified to be answered with a yes or no. Witness the extremes. Should a Physics student gathering ber data We exist in the age of computers. There are few thatbe made to compute standard deviation by hand or should would disagree that computers are the essential aspect, ifshe be allowed the use of a computer software program to not the axis around which our entire society revolves. Thedo the job for her? If the intent of the lab is for the student present goals of humans are:faster, better, and moreto figure out the velocity, then the computer can be used accurate.We have reached the point where "PC" is aas a tool to efficiently handle the tedious calculations and household acronym and one can purchase computer sys-avoid obfuscating the main goal.Likewise, should a tems that can be held in the palm of the hand. TechnologyChemistry student be asked to perform repeated distilla- is replacing the non-technological aspects nf the world wetions or be allowed to use a gas chromatograph to deter- live in by leaps and bounds, and in vast dimensions andmine the constituents of a mixture? Should a second year diversity.Witne Fs the number of automatic bank tellers,Calculus student be allowed to use a graphing calculator robotic assembly lines and on-line databases.How doeson an exam which covers the graphing of functions? this paradigm fit into the boundaries of education? What role do computers and technology have in the classroom? In order to decide the place for computers, we must Isthe mainstreaming of computersinto our school'sobserve each situation individually. We must fully exam- curriculum the catalyst the students need for future prog-ine what the goals of both the course and the professor ress, or have they become crutches for the students, result-are.Taking the problem out of its individual context will ing only in hindering their true academic potential? not give us the answer.

Before deciding their roles, several questions should We are now finding more and more educational , considered and all aspects of the situation must beinstitutions,from pre-kindergartentocollegiatelevel, taken into account.It's good to attempt to pinpoint ourusing computers as an integral part of the learning expe- basis of learning. Where does the knowledge stem from?rience.By saying that the emphasis should be placed on Our capacity for thought and information can be thoughttneory, I am in no way condemning the use of computers. of as a product coming from two sources:active learningStudents should be aware of the importance of, and our and passive learning.There is no doubt that computersdependency on, computers in society.They must realize contribute as an active source of learning by allowingthat computers will be central to, or at least involved in, experience in hands-on work.But, when does the use ofwhatever vocation they choose. Computers and calcula- computers leave the realm of knowledge and become ators should be presented to the students under supervi- trap in which students are left aimlessly pushing buttons?sion of a professor with the imowledge that they are used Have we completely abandoned the previousrole ofonly as a tool. computers as a means to an end and allowed them to Computers and calculators should be pre- convert their role to an end to the means? sented to the students under supervision of Have we completely abandoned the previ- a professor with the knowledge that they ous role of computers as a means to an end are used only as a tool. and allowed them to convert their role to an end to the means? Computers should be introduced as a supplement to the class.The visual dynamism of computer software Perhaps even greater emphasis should be placed on(which can be easily geared for young children) should be the argument of computers and theory.When a studenttaken advantage of.The use of computers for experi- uses one of the trigonometric functions on his calculator,ments, exams, and quizzes should be a decision based on does he realize the theory behind it?Is he taking technol-what the goal of the learning experience is, the time factor ogy for granted and allowing the computers to think forfor the project, the degree of knowledge of the student on him? Have we lost sight of the idea of man over machine?related topics, concepts, and theories, and an objective Only humans have the capacity to. think. The studentlook must be taken to decide whether the computer's use needs to realize the computer only runs on what thewould be an enhancement for the student or would allow programmer has told it to do. Without theory, technologythe student the easy way out,If we view computers as the cannot exist.As students, our primary goal should be tokey to our future, we must remember that we can only learn the theories and concepts behind theformulas.excel if we control, fully understlind, and expand on the Hiding behind a wall of ignorance will only create stagna-mechanisms behind the machine. tion, both in the student's academic potential and in the future of our technological society. Butchko (from page 1) course in audio/visual production. Employment opportunities for ET graduates in 1968 were very good - especially for BTCC graduates.Having In order to grow at BCC or move on, a higher degree co-oped in industry in Rochester and Owego and possess-was necessary. My master's in education wasachieved in ing skills learned in high school and college, industry 1984.Teaching, by this time, had become a pleasant part seemed the route to take.At this point, Professor Beersof my life.When our communications/media arts pro- related a job opening at the college (BTCC) in instruc-gram started in 1986, a full-tin aching responsibility tional television. My ears perked - could I be on the samebecame reality.No more balancing the technical-college staff as those whom I respected as professors? Could I liveresponsibilities with the teaching responsibilities.Many on the meager salary offered?Obviously, the answer wasof these technical tasks were usurped by student/commit- yes! tee demands which required both time and sensitivity. When time became scarce and the easy way out was nit to In the years that followedI found the collegiatebe involved I thought back to the time spent on me by atmosphere to be very good for me in a maturing way. Mymany dedicated professors, guiding me throughthe edu- initial position (assistant instructor) was fulfilling for acational ranks. while, but the teaching environment was catchy - I realized I think often of Professor Beers as one I try to I...the teaching environment was catchy I emulate because of his intense dedication to his students and his field of study.Also, if my father had become a thatto grow within this environment I must becometeacher, he would've possessed the traits of Professor better educated, and hence completed my BS and perma-Beers - many of which I pride myself on having today: a nent teaching certificate in 1973.I was hooked on educa-non-conformistpersonality,compassion,dedication,a tion and teaching. The Hippocratic oath pm meanconstant need to know more, and love of life - everyday! something! Assisting the professional staff for many yearsTeaching for me is fulfilling, demanding, creativity-pro- was not enough. Itherefore developed and taught amoting, interactive, and a major fun part of my life.111

Moreno (from page 41 this device, a student will be able to write five pages of part, I think this is because some calculator manuals areEnglish in it's loose, spoken form, and choose among the worst examples of technical writing extant.But canseveral emulations on a menu:technical, literary, busi- this also be due to not having enough previous mathe-ness, (officialese?) etc.... Then he/she willfeed the manu- matical skills at hand to understand the manual?Mostscript into the intelligent fax at the back of the machine, likely yes, especially for the students barely keeping afloatand receive a "first draft" printout in the chosen form.If in the course the calculator is intended to help. this does not seem good enough, our student need only to reinsert the paper, and obtain a "second draft". The The resolution to such problems doesn't IL in dras-processor's fuzzy logic will be able tounderstand the tically revamping methodology and content.The 19thmeaning of sentences, and therefore suggest alternative century mathematician Joseph Fourier stated,"Mathe-flows of ideas.If the student is lazy or pressed for time, a matics compares the most diverse phenomena and discov-default order of ideas may be prescribed.The paper ers the secret analogies which unitethem."Calculators,handed in, and although it is clearly written, the professor on the other hand, aredesigned to give efficient answerswill see 10% student and 90% syntax processor.The of one form or another.Their wisest use is therefore topaper must be redone,this time without the technological exploit their efficiency so as to clarify the analogies Fourierprotheses, and the student retorts, "Why do I have to learn speaks of.But the theoretical content we teach, i.e., theto write like this?Everyone can understand this pretty mathematics that is used to discover the analogies, cannotwell, and I'll always have a syntax processor." be diluted to suit this new technology. The processor's fuzzy logic will be able to understand the meaning of sentences, and Stoner (from page 6) therefore suggest alternative flows of ideas. Webster'sDictionaryofEnglishUsage:REF PE1460.WH25.1989 The new technology is conquering new niches. Let'sWiley Guidelines on Sexism in Language consider a neighboring genus in our electronic taxonomy:Words into Type the word processor.

In Today, it can format a paper, spell - check it, etc.. IiI 20 years, it will evolve into a laptop syntax processor.With 9 29 Aside

The following article is a summary of The Case for He then focuses on the problems with current stan- Calculatorsi A New Perspective on Math Teaching anddardized tests and how they have to be rewritten if calcu- Testing(CollegeBoarc!Review,No.160,Summer, lators are to be infused appropriately. He maintains there 1991),three articles combined to present a case for includ-are very few good calculator questions on modern tests, ing (programmable) calculators in the classroom. and we need to research and correct this deficiency before attempting to implement an across the board calculator Joan Countryman and Elizabeth Wilson's article, policy. Living in a Mathematical World, takes the viewpoint that a calculator is a tool which can be used to explore more The thirdarticle,Calculators and the SAT, by calculation intensive ideas.:It is their view that a calcula-Gretchen W. Rizol, counterpoints the first two articles. tor cannot replace the interpretation, organization, dataShe relates the current and future plans for introducing collection and solving skills necessary to a successfulnew calculator based versions of the SAT, PSAT, and attempt at a problem's solution. Mathematics Achievement Tests prior to 1994.She then briefly presents the results of several studies showing that AnthonyRalston'scontribution,Calculatorsforcalculator usage on current exams have resulted in mixed Teaching and Testing Mathematics, starts with the au-performances. thor's view on the benefits of calculator use.Included in his list is the idea that "students will learn from the begin- At the end she discusses several details of implem- ning of their studies that mathematics is an experimental, entation including:fairness, calculator functionality, and as well as an exact, science. This lesson is of major impor-calculator specific training. tance in the use of mathematics generally in our ever more technologicfo,society." Additional references are given. co Williams (from page 3) Plunkett (from page 7) Roman myths, to Shakespeare, to folk tales from thisdents and instructors alike; their potential as an educa- country and elsewhere, to the Bible.I ask them to imaginetional toolislargely ignored.However, when depart- having read the works from the U.S. and Europe divorcedments institute a requirement for a particular calculator, from their literary and historical contexts. Then I empha-and integrate its use within their programs, the lights will size how little I know about the Hindu religion and othercome on.At that point the question will be "Why did we aspects of Indian culture and ask how the students thinkwait so kag?" CD the deficiency would affect my understanding of the poems. When we do fmally talk about the poems themselves, Coming Next Issue students will be ready, I hope, both to identify commonali- ties between the Eastern and Western works and to appre- The next issue will be out on December 15 and ciate the accessible glimpses of the Indian poems' "differ- will include articles on student athletics at BCC. If you ent" content. would like to share your thoughts with your colleagues, please contact the editor as stated below. Before the class ends, I remind the students of what we are missing.."If we all went to India for a year to Articles are usually 500 words, but may be longer immerse ourselves in Indian culture, then do you think we or shorter.Please submit a typed, double spaced copy could read the poems Cs Indians would?" along with an electronic copy on disk (ASCII format) or via electronic mail.Articles are due no later than During sersters when the students andI have November 26, 1991. done a fairly good job together, they know better. Center Stage is published monthly in cooperation with Works Cited the Teaching Resources Center.

Foreman, Gabrielle."The Racism of Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: Postmodernism." The Women's Review of Books 8.11. (Sept. 1991):12. Paul O'Heron Freire, Paolo.The Pedaeoev of the Oppressed. Mathematics Department, T-215 New York:The Continuum Publishing Corp., 1988. Phone : 771-5232 E-Mail : OHERON P (All-in-One) Center Stage A Platform for the Discussion of TeachinglLearning Ideas Broome Community College -- Binghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 4 December 15, 1991

Why I Teach Why I Teach 1301 Newcomb, Business Denise Abrams, Physical Therapist Assistant Program

I entered this profession atypically:I couldn't find Why do I teach? What a difficult question. I teach another job. Following service in the second great warbecause I love it.I hadn't really put my answer into and the attainmcnt of an undergraduate degree, I went toconcrete terms before. Teaching has many bcncfits, such work for a Fortune 5(X) company; after three years in aas summers off, but it has its constraints as well.I could seeming meaningless capacity I resigned. find other jobs in my field that offer these benefits without constraints, so that's not the reason. I do come from a long Fortunately, I obtained a better position in a lesser-line of teachers in my family. My grandmother is one of known company, a !kit the only major employer in a small the best in my opinion, so there is a certain "blood" community. Twelve years later I had the impressive titleconnection if you will. After contemplation I could come of "Contract Adrn in istrator;" soon thereafter, however,up with many different reasons. my position was abolished because of corporate restructuring- what today is known as preparation for a takeover. I think the most important reason is the mutual (Yes, thcy were taken.) rewards teach ing brings. I teach because of the look on the face of mystudents. I really began teaching a long time ago I placement service allowed me to be considered bywhen I was in high school,I taught religious instruction two firms in Rochester and Buffalo, each a considerableto six-year-olds. That's probably whcn I caught the bug. distance from where I lived in Watertown, Coinciden-Seeing the childrens' eyes light up whcn they truly under- tally, as things are wont to happen, my mother-in-lawstood a concept was inspiring. Their eyes greweve n brighter suffered radical surgery, and the prognosis was negative.when I congratulated thcm for their good work. I felt My wife, understandably, refused to move. excited for them and proud that I could make them feel so good about themselves. The rewards are thus mutual. Using most of our accumulated savings, I purchased a retail business downtown, which provided marginal Seeing the childrens' eyes light up when earnings for three years. Then, urban renewal interests they truly understood a concept was inspir- razed the downtown shopping district, and I was back on ing. the street. As I thought more on the subject of why I teach, I I had always been interested in teaching but balked thought why hadn't I gone into teaching as a profession in at the monetary aspect. No problem now, though, as I hadthe first place. In high school I had decided I wanted to zero earnings. I decided to obtain a graduate degree and help people. I felt medicine was extremely interesting and certification, at the expense of the few remaining assets. followed that avenue. I found Physical Therapy exciting, ( Continued on page 2 ) challenging and extremely important to the successful rehabilitation ofcertain patients. Somehow I alwayswanted to do a bit more. Physical Therapy required me to continually review and add to my education.I truly loved this Why I Teach aspect of the job.Continuing education is extremely -- Robert Newcomb, page 1 valuable and stimulating. Teaching has given me the -- Denise Abrams, page 1 added luxury to continue learning daily. I learn from my -- John Bunnell, page 2 students, from fellow faculty members and from a variety of courses I can attend.It seems in this setting the The Student Athelete educational experience has no bounds. -- Dan Minch, page 3 - Keriy McCoy, page 3 I again had the pleasure of teaching while working -- Dave Michalak, page 3 as a Physical Therapist. In the Physical Therapy programs -- Scott Gustafson, page 5 ( Continued on page 6 ) Newcomb (from page 1) of theory and practicality. I bore too many real life scars A sage advisor at SUNY-Potsdam suggested that Ito teach textbook nirvana and tried to tell young people should instead apply for a position in a community col-how academic philosophies apply in the workplace. lege, considering my background and age (38). I wrote to the President of each institution and received three job It seems to me that instructors in community col- offers within a week, presumably because the month was leges bear this special responsibility. My evening commu- August. nications students, especially, tell me that they agree with my recommendations, but their bosses use stilted,dated I accepted the lowest monetary offer and rank be-methods of writing. I urge them to persevere on the basis cause of the friendly demeanor of President Tyrrell andthat effective communication will eventually take hold by Chairman Kalbaugh. I entered the classroom with trepi-osmosis. dation, having no training in educational techniques, dedding to teach by - or to - the book. That was a mistake None of the foregoing comments dismiss the secu- I soon realized, because there's a limit to theory; practieumrity that tenure affords. Irrespective of that aegis, how- must at times show the way. ever, is the ongoi ng com m itment of a hookedinstructor to present a realistic mix of theory and reality. The first classroom observation by the Chair resulted in a mostly positive report. The only criticism A greater hook in my case was the feeling of doing which I recall was erasing the chalkboard horizontally insomething important, meaningful. It's nice to sit on the stead of vertically.(If only I had had courses in educa-patio on a June evening and reflect on the sparkle which tion!)I was buoyed by a comment by Evelyn Katuzak,I perceived in some young eyes during the academic year. Secretarial Chair, that her students liked my course in business communication, despite wrong-way erasures. I'd like to think I had a part in the careers of Tim Grippen and Tom Libous, two sparklers. There also are ...I became increasingly aware of my role as the several colleagues, former students, who carry on as I sorter of theory and practicality. leave this beloved campus. The Business Division is in good hands. I was further elated when a marketing class gave me a pen and pencil set at the end of the quarter,probably a I'm remiss in being unable to name or cite accurately reward for leniency. As the quarters and semesters pro-the person who said: the effects of teaching arc infinite; gressed, I became increasingly aware of my role as sorterone cannot know what they may entail.Ah, so! E0

Why I Teach that they didn't understand before....to help people better John Bunnell, Business themselves. People generally appreciate what you do for them and just letting them know that you care about them I get up in the morning...I don't have to dread it. I'mmeans a lot to th m. doing something I love; I can't see myself doing anything else. But, I don't think I really considered teaching until All of us who enjoy teaching can offer a long list of I was a junior in college. Up to that point, I had considered reasons why we do it. For me, it boils down to aChristmas all the usual careers that growing up in the fifties andcard. sixties had brought. About ten years ago while teaching a section of Looking back it seems like most of my strong roleMarketing, I encountered an unusually apathetic student. mode!s when I was growing up were teachers.I can seeHe appeared to be a little older than most of the others in them influencing me a lot more than I felt at t ,,e time. I'm the class. He never missed a class, but refused to partici- not sure that I believe in callings, but I do knowthatpate in the discussions, didn't turn in any writtenassign- everything that I do in my job is very compatible with myments and scored exceptionally low on the first two tests. nature arid my world. Assignments that seemed to generate enthusiasm with the others generated no response from him. He didn't To me, a teacher is someone who cares even seem to be with us at times.By midterm, I had about people and their future ... reconciled myself tohaving lost this one, when one afternoon he appeared at my office door. "Can I talk to To me, a teacher is someone who cares about peopleyou?" "Sure; I said. At that he began to spill out his life's and their future and I've enioyed working with people; Itroubles. see teaching as a way to he% people to understandthings ( Continue 2 The Department of Athletics and the Student always strive towards the best possible grades, meet all Athlete Within the College Community college appointments and obligations promptly and regularly on the field and in the classroom. The student/ Dan Minch, Athletic Director athlete should be mindful that he/she is only part of the The function of the Athletic Department is to serveentire educational program and must not put themselves as an integral part of the institution's totalacademic andahead of or above the other college programs. student activities program. The athletic program should contribute to the overall educational experience of the The college community should acknowledge that student through the integration of student/athletes withthe student/athlete is striving to meet certain obligations other students. It should provide for maximum personal,beyond the classroom. If he or she is fulfilling the educa- physical and mental development through a well-roundedtional obligation, then the college community should schedule of in tercollegia te spons. The program should beexert every effort to support them educationally and boa% representative and competitive within the regionalathletically. The college community needs to realize that fort national conferences that it competes. the athletic teams act as a "window" from which the outside community view the college. Any support from The student/athlete should recognize that he or shethe college community is greatly appreciated by the stu- is first and foremost a student. The athlete should attenddent/athlete and the Athletic Department. all scheduled classes, unless excused by the instructor,

The student Athelete The Student Athelete Kerry McCoy, Student Dave Michalak, Mathematics, Baseball Coach

As a seccnd-year goal kr,eper for the Brk xime Corn- The Broome Community College Baseball team muni:y College soccer team I know the importance ofstarts each season with an informational team meeting. loyalty, dedication, and perseverance. As a 1990 graduateDuring the course of the meeting one of the athletes of Seton Catholic Central High School and present owneralways asks; "What happens when we have a class a...d a of a 3.03, I know the importance of good grades, studygame scheduled at the same time?"Unfortunately, I'm habits and a positive work ethic. As a student at Broome,unable to give them a concrete answer since the college I pride myself on my ability to keep the two balanced.does not have a written policy addressing this issue. Ap- Neither one takes up a majority of my time. parently there was a practice years ago by which the Athletic Director sent a list of names to each department I have been extremely lucky to have teach- on campus informing them ofathletes absent from class ers who have been accommodating to my on the days when they would be attendingathletic con- needs as a student athlete. tests. This procedure is no longer in effect, so when a conflict arises for the athletes today, they are "officially" In my college experience here, I have been ex-left on their own. Since the college is sponsoring an tremely lucky to have teachers who have been accommo-intercollegiate athletic program and providing resources, dating to my needs as a student athlete. When I sayfunding, and coaches, it's ironic that no provision has accenmodating, I do not mean that I received specialbeen made to inform the faculty why these individuals are treatment which was not accessible to the other studentsabsent from classes. in my classes. I was not given any extra benefits bemse I establish was a student athlete. On the contrary, it was necessary for a better approach would be to me to sacrifice for these accommodations. some guidelines and incorporatethem into the college's class attendance policy. Whether it meant getting up early in order to take a test earner in the day or week because I had a game which In my opinion, a better approach would be to estab- conflicted with the test time, participating in extra classlish some guidelines and incorporate them into the activities (a class topic-oriented play, in one instance), orcollege's class attendance policy. This would apply to all missing part of practice in order to get important notes forstudents participating in athletics or any other college a certain class, I would do it in trdet to keep up my schoolsponsored program where a legitimate absence from class work. After all, I'm attending i:ollege to attain a highcan be recognized. IthacaCollege, for example, clearly grade point awrage not a low goa;s against average, and Istates its policy and procedure in the student handbook, would not expect any favors oi ItAiway to lx.. given to meundergraduate catalog, coach's man ual, an d in the athlete's simply because I have a desine to play a sport whilegeneral information brochure. It's -'itood that stu- attending college. dents are to be excused from classc: 4tn they are in ( Continued on page 4 ) ( Continued on page 4

33 McCoy (from page 3) Besides an education, though, college life also offers I feel that too much of college athletics, especially many diversified, extra-curricular activities for its stu-those events which are seen on TV is overshadowed by the dents to participate in. One of these is athletics. I considerknowledge that the real college superstars are going to myself lucky to attend such an athletic college as Broome. have a future in the pros, especially basketball and foot- A great deal of the students attending Broome participateball.This leads young athletes to think that they can in the athletic program in some way. Many go to thebreeze through college and can, with sports, succeed in games played by the various Broome sports teams. Otherslife just like "so-and-so" or "what's-his-name." The young are members of the intramural sower, volleyball, or bas-athlete attends college spending all his time getting in ketball teams. A select few play vars ity sports for Broome. shape, working on his skills, abandoning his schoolwork, Each of these activities allows the student a chance to joinand when it comes time to try out for the team, he fails. in social happenings around campus and improve theirNow what has he got? Poor grades beyond repair and a physical well-being at the same time. shattered sense of what he believed to be reality.It is unfortunate but these "rude awakenings" happen all too I am proud to be able to say that I am a often in today's colleges. There has to be a greater effort Broome Hornet... by coaches and parents to intermix both the athletic aspect and the academics of the young athlete's workload. I am proud to be able to say that I am a BroomeThe leaders in our society have to show the youth that they Hornet because it has given me a chance to participate incan do both at the same time, and that it is important to do a sport that I iove and, at the same time, meet new people.so in order to prepare for the reality that maybe their Being a team member means that you will always haveathleticism may not be able to put bread on the table. someone to back you up, and with that comes the obligation you have to the others on the team. It means you This is the reason I feel it is important for student don't have to be by yourself in the tough times at school orathletes to concentrate on their grades as well as their when dealing with diversities which present themselvesstats. I feel that there is a need for more Dave Robinsons, for the first time at college. who, after graduating from the Naval Academy at An- napolis, fulfilled his two year military obligation to the The behavior of a student athlete on campus isNavy before signing with the San Antonio Spurs of the considered a reflection of the coach and how he conductsNBA. He truly is the ideal for all student athletes. He his team. That student's behavior off campus is consid-made sure he had a future instead of hoping for one. ered a reflection on the school and the degree to which it endows a sense of pride and respect for the community. This is true for any institution, be it the institution ofMichalak (from page 3) education one attends, a place of employment, or place of worship. All possess a certain code of behavior which areattendance of an official college function and that they expected to be followed by members of that assemblage orwill make all necessary advance arrangements with indi- community. vidual faculty members. The burden is placed directly on the athlete and it is very clear that absence from class does The student athlete is a role model for those not mean that the athlete is excused from completing who wish to play sports in college. required work or from fulfilling class responsibilities.

I believe that a student athlete holds such a respon- ...it is very clear that absence from class sibility and that these individuals should consider his or does not mean that the athlete is excused her actions before following through with them. They from completing required work or from should decide whether or not the actions will hurt the fulfilling class responsibilities. Image, honor, or re inectabil i ty of the school. The student athlete is a role model for those who wish to play sports in In an attempt to minimize the number ot potential college. If those future stars watch as a college sports starscheduling conflicts for athletes, careful advisement is gets through college by cheating, buying off professors, orneeded. Spring semester athletes can make use of prereg- taking the easy course in any,way, that kid will likely formistration before the semester begins to insure that they an opinion that that is what college athletics is all about:have as many early classes as possible. Course schedules get by at any cost as long as you can play ball, wrestle, swim,should be arranged so that heavier loading is distributed etc. They will also get the impressicn that it is OK to doamong the semesters that the athlete is not competing. so, and that it is accepted in the academic society that isEnrollment in summer courses should also be recom- college. mended as needed to help individual athletes maintain

( Continued on age 5 ) The Student Athlete The only disadvantage a student athletehas over Scott Gustafson, Student regular students is that some of the matches or gamesthey Often times when students leave the high schoolplay are during class time and sometimes they have tomiss level and enter college, they do not continuc participatinga class or a test.However, usually you can get the class in and in the sport or sports that they did in high school.Somework missed from another etudent and you can go feel that whcn they enter college they are going outintosee your teacher during his orher office hours to make up thc real world and the only thing that matters isgood the test or quiz. On an occasion though, ateacher does not collegiate level for grades and that sports can only interfere with thcir stud-think that there is any room at the ies. Others think that college sports are so much moresports and that the student shouldfocus his attention on competitive and they are not good enough to make anyhis grades. Consequently the teacherwill not let the missed. I'm not kind of noticeable contribution to the team.However, Iathlete make up a quiz or test that they tend to disagree with these students' thinking andI en-trying to bean advocate for special treatment,but I do feel thework he courage anyone who enjoys a sport toparticipate in thatthat if a student makes an attempt to make up conscie: tious sport at the college level because there is somuch more tomissed thc teacher should realize that he is gain in partaking of a sport than just competition. and allow them to make up thatquiz or test. I encourage anyone who enjoys a sport to Overall, I feel that since I have been on asporting participate in that sport at the college level... team at the collegiate level I havebecome a more organized and well-rounded person and myexperience has Student athletes, in my opinion, learn how to budgetbeen a rewarding one. at. their time more efficiently than a regular student. Ifound that when I was on thc golf team last spring I did nothaveMichalak (from page 4) as much free time on my handsthan when I was attending curriculum. A long school in the fall semester. This forced me to do my workacademic progress in their respective the implementation of aca- as soon as I got home fromthe tournament that day andrange solution would involve Ideally, this I had no extra timc to do any of thc hobbies I have.I alsodemic advisors specifically for our athletes. position desig- found myself having to do a significant portion ofmyworkwould require thc creation of a full-time approach in school between classes when usually my friendsand Inated to meet this need. A more immediate and establish would go to thc cafeteria to get something to eat. might be to survey campus faculty members a number of thoseintereste : in advising and scheduling However, being a student athlete can also enhanceathletes. Because of thc large numbersinvolved, some one's social life. When I went to the various tournamentstype of compensation could bearranged for the advisors around New York State I mct so many differentpeople.by way of stipend or release time. Whcn the match starts you are grouped with three other During my twelve years of coachingbase- students from different community colleges. Sincegolf is that such an individual sport sometimes you can getreally ball at BCC, it has been my experience nervous playing and it cases the pressureif you talk and the faculty in general have been very coop- joke around with the other players while you are onthe erative in dealing with our student-athletes. course. Because of go lf, I have made manyfriends not only baseball at from meeting new teammates, but the other studentsI During my twelve years of coaching have played with through the course of thc season. BCC, it has been my experience that thc faculty ingeneral have been very cooperative in dealing with ourstudent- ...if a student makes an attempt to make up athletes. However; there have been somedifficult situa- the work he missed the teacher should real- tions when a viable solution of a schedulingconflict could and instructor.The ize that he is conocientious and allow them not be reached between athlete decision to attend class or a scheduled game is not an easy to make up that quiz or test. one for athletes seriousabout thcir academic course of During and atter the sport season, I feel that astudy. Unfortunately, the best decision is notalways made student athlete has a better respect for his or horschoolby the athlete for various reasons including peerpressure than a regular student. The student athlete realizesthatfrom teammates. when they are participating in their sport they are notonly representing themselves with thcir play, but they arealso This spring, I will attempt to let facultymembers representing their school with thcir attitude and theiroff-know in advance when poten t ia sched ul i ng corgiicts might court behavior. This respect for the schoolcontinues evenoccur. Each student-athletewill have a letter stating that it will include when their season is over. they arc a member of the baseball team and (ContinucdonpçJ

5 35 Michalak (from page 5) Bunnell (from page 2) a listing of the weekday dates and times during the season It seems he had recently gone through a divorce in when absence from class will be necessary. I'm hoping which there was a child involved; his wife had custody. To that this procedure will accomplish several importantcope, he turned to alcohol and drugs. (At this point I'm objectives. First, thc instructor will know that a sincerethinking that it would have been a great day to have gone effort is being made in advance to establish a mechanism home early). We hear a lot as teachers and I'm sure it's not by which all classwork that is missed can be made up.all genuine, but this, I could tell, was. Faculty members can take this opportunity to impress upon the athlete the importance of not missing any addi- My first response was to suggest our Counseling tional classes beyond those that conflict during the sea-Center; but he was reluctant in spite of their confidential- son. Also, the athlete can be advised whether any ity because there were people he and his farrAy knew other sections of the same course are being taught by theirworking on campus. I was out of my usual element; why instructors along with the times and days. Developing a couldn't he have asked a question about business?I written contract or agreement with each student-athlete picked up the phone and called some people I knew in thc at the beginning of the semester may be an option for medical profession and they offered some places to turn. establishing how and when missed work can be made tip. Through mutual cooperation, we can expect a by-product Each year at Christmas he sends a Christ- that reflects both motivation and the encouragement to mas card that simply says thanks... reach full potential which is, after all, the same objective sought after in the academic realm as in the field of To make a long story short, this student entered athletics. counseling and finished BCC. He transferred and oh- Ylined a bachelor degree, and has an excellent position Abrams (from page 1) and has remarried. Each year at Christmas he sends a Christmas card that simply says thanks and his signature. thestudentsare required to completea clinical rotation in a therapy department under the direction of a Physical That's what it's all about for me, knowing that I can Therapist employed t here. I had manyopportunities to be make a difference. I'd like to think that I can make this the clinical instructor. The same mutual rewardswere difference in and out of the classroom. experienced and amplified. One learns so much when trying to teach another. Now, not only were both the Thisstudent isn't theonlyone to thank me for things student and myself benefit ting, Out sowas the patient who I've done, but he will always be the one I think of first when was involved. I'm asked why I teach.

When the program at BCC evolved I heard they Coming Next Issue were looking for an adjunct instructor.I decided since I loved teaching so much I would investigate expanding my horizons a bit. Then I learned the real "Truth". Teaching Next month's isst.e will be an open forum. All is extremely time consuming and difficult. The work that readers are encouraged to send articles relating to went into developing a course that was suitable was tre- teaching and academic issues at BCC. mendous.I was left feeling exhausted. I didn't dwell oni this however, I didn't have time! I still had to teach the The usual length for an article is 400- 6(X) words, course! As the semester ended I felt I had accomplished which will fill about a single column. If you have a the most difficult task I had undertaken so far.It felt longer article, or would like to edit a series of articles, great! I was responsible and successful at actually educat- feel free to inquire about having one or several pages ing students in my chosen field, to go forth and continue of an issue reserved for you. Happy Holidays!!! on their own paths of the future. I had a direct impact on their lives. I wanted to woi k full-time! Center Stage is published monthly in cooperation with the Teaching Resources Center. Irealize now thatI can help more people, and continue my educatiod more satisfactorily tvrough teaching. I am helping students realize their asp"rations and Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: dreams. I am also helping many more patients by sending Paul O'Heron forth well educated, enthusiastic and caring students and graduates. This is why I teach. Mathematics Department, T-215 Phone : 771-5232 E-Mail : OHERON j (All-in-One)

6 Center Stage A Platform for the Discussion of Teaching/ Learning Ideas Broome Community CollegeBinghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 5 January 15, 1991

How to Divide a Candy Bar Educational Philosophy Of Alan Dixon, Electrical Department What's New in Mathemaics During the middle ages a university was a place Mort Goldberg, Mathematics where knowledge was housed. Those who knew or thought As more and more colleges examine their curricula,they knew gathered in these places. What was known in they recognize a growing need for Mathematics. I am notthose times was centered with these "experts". However, thinking of the usual user of Mathematics in Technologythe accumulated knowledge was not available to every- and Physical Science but rather in the Social Sciences. one.In modern times, a community college gathers experts together from the community and the resulting At our campus we have anticipated this trend byknowledge is available to anyone. revising theMathematics: A LiberalArtcourse to include some exciting "new" topics. The section entitled "Social Here at BCC, I have found that the gathered faculty Choice and Decision Making" includes units dealing withexpertise is joined by an increasing base of student l:nowl- different types of voting, winning coalitions, veto power,edge. Our students are a bit older now, coming from apportionment problems, etc. industry or life's experiences, with expertise of their own. Frequently in my classroom, what we are learning is We are trying to make math "anxious" studentssupplemented by the experiences of my students. A day aware of the importance of Mathematics in the non-does not pass that I do not learn erciting things from my technical areas of education and the relevance it has forstudents. Often, a question leads to a differen t way to view their lives. some topic. Information from an industry experienceis volunteered for our edification. Students bring in inter- Let us consider the following problem in the area ofesting objects for all to see from a local company. Educa- "fair division." How do we divide a candy bar "fairly"tion in my classroom is a shared experience where we between two children? The method we all grew up with islearn from each other as well as from textbooks, labora- "you break it in two and I'll choose first." This reminds metory exercises, and the experts. of a cute anecdote that I'll get to later. Continuing the division problem - how do we divide a candy bar among As a teacher, I have become a facilitator of learning, three (or more) children? While you consider this prob-a resource of material. My responsibility is to makethe lem, I'll relate the anecdote. Two friends having justmaterial available in new and exciting ways each day completed dinner are served two slices of pie, one notice-demonstrating where possible the applications of what is taught. People need to touch and feel the things we are ( Continued on page 3 ) discussing. We measure, examine, poke, feel, smell, and sometimes break. We respond to each other as this Contents : process plays out and all are enriched by theresulting enthusiasm. Why I Teach -- TeachingPhilosophy So what is my philosophy? Can WordPerfect com- Alan Dixon, page 1 mit this to paper? My philosophy is that we are here to learn from each other, a main mission so to speak. To- How to Divide a Candy Bar etc. gether we look for new knowledge, playing with our -- Mort Goldberg, page 1 creativity. The knowledge is available to anyone, the skills we develop may last the rest of our lives. 'MC Update -- Alice McNeely,Page 2 As an Eagle Scout, I repeated many times the phrase "to help other people at all times". For me, Teaching is an Gender Specific Pronouns and Titles ideal profession for exercising this admonition. Ii -- KarenGoodman, page4 Teaching Resources Center Update really are good teachers and came away refreshed and Mice McNeely, TRC Coordinator renewed. Jerry demonstrated activities we could use to get acquainted with our students. We explored our teach- Preparing for this Spring semester, I wiped the 4ing-learning styles and how to meet the needs of students month planning calendar clean, taking note of the formalwith diverse learning styles. We examined the connection events that went on at the Teaching Resource Center lastbetween writing and learning and considered ways to use semester, and surprised by their number and diversity.writing in the classroom.We investigated giving and We had presentations from off campus on PC Solve,receiving criticism for professional development and some Retirement and Tax Shelter Annuities, Alcohol Affectedpractical tips on writing peer evaluations. Most of the Students and Multi Media Technologies. On Campus, participants came away with some new insights into their many members of our faculty and staff contributed to theteaching and were encouraged to try new approached in New Faculty Orientation and the information sessions ontheir classes. An overwhelming majority of the partici- student and faculty resources. Paul O'Heron shared thepants indicated that the session should be offered again Infinite Hotel, Greta Wingate prepared a very personal-for their colleagues who missed it. ized introduction to Library resources, Angelo Zuccolo gave us a dramatic exposition on Acting in the Classroom, .. we cansupport, encourage and revitalize and Karen Goodman provided tips for Writing Objective other. Exams. In reaction to articles in Innovative Abstracts and The Teaching Professor on open-book and open-note For me, the most exiting part of my job as coordina- exams several faculty met to discuss the application totor of the Teaching Resource Center has been my contact their own classroom. with faculty members from across the campus.I have gotten to know and appreciate many exceptional people On the less formal side, a few faculty membersand have had the opportunity to recognize the wonderful discovered that The Center is an excellent place to sched- resource this campus has in its faculty. We are so busy ule meetings. The Center provided space for such groupsbeing teachers that we sometimes forget to refuel.It is as the Freshman Experience Faculty, Writing Across thedifficult to treat ourselves to an hour "off," but we can Curriculum Committee, Professional Development Com-support, encourage and revitalize each other. mittee, Writing Center Staff, Placement Exam Evalua- tors, Portfolio Committee and General Education Sub- Gender-Specific Pronouns and Titles committees. In addition to these scheduled events many Karen Goodman, Engineering Science faculty members found the Center to be a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of campus life. They dropped by to In the November, 1991 issue of Center Stage, Dick use the computer, browse through the resources, find aStoner discussed several possible ways to avoid gender- quiet place to work or peruse the latest issue of Thespecific pronouns (he, her, his, hers). The lack of a neutral Chronicle of Higher Education. New faculty came seekingpronoun, such as the French 'on', is sometimes a disadvan- information and conversation. The Center sponsored tage in English. Using "one" as a neutral pronoun seems mentoring project for new faculty, and match 25 of the 37so awkward. "You" and "they" aren't always appropriate. new faculty members with mentors. Several coffee andWhy not use masculine and feminine pronouns equally conversation sessions were offered where new facultywhen gender is unknown or unimportant to the context? connected with mentors to discuss a variety of topics such as problem students, availability of resources, parking, This technique is not an original one; I have recently and curriculum development. seen or heard it used in several situations. In the Wellness Letter, a monthly publication of the University e:Califor- The Center staff collected information and pro-nia at Berkeley, one article may use the feminine through- duced and distributed pedagogical materials. The Centerout, while another uses the masculine. Illustrations use assisted in the production of Center Stage, assembled themale and female figures equally when both are appropri- faculty handbook, distributed the Faculty Promotionate. Sometimes, whole issues will use the masculine or Guidelines, and coll xted books, videos and other mate-feminine, Paul Hewitt's Conceptual Physics, the text in rials on pedagogical issues. my physics courses for health sciences curricula, often uses "he" in one paragraph and "she" in another. Photo- The Spring Semester started early for the thirty fivegraphs and figures show either females of males or both faculty members who came back to campus on January 9together engaging in scientific activity. This is an espe- & 10 to participate in the intensive 19 hour workshop withcially encouraging technique for a beginning science text; Jerome Jewler. I've heard numerous positive comments.women see that science is not a gender-dependen t. pro- We laughed, we learned and some of the peoplewe pass incess. Too often women students feel estranged from the halls became more than faces in the crowd. Somescience even before they've had any experience with it. participants remarked that they were reassured that they Contin_c_ 2 Goldberg (from page 1) ods for how to apportion the seats. atly larger than the other. One fr. .nd says, "You pick first," and so the second person cho ses the larger piece. We try to give the students relevant examples of how The first one then remarks, rather ruefully, "If you had let this all works. An appropriate example for the readers of me go first, I'd have chose the smaller piece." To which thethis column would be the following: Suppose four aca- other person replies, "So don't co._;n, it's what youdemic divisions have a full-time faculty count of LGS-55, got." TEC-39, HS-21, and BUS-47. College Gouncil (like the Senate) takes two people from each division but Rep Now back to the candy bar. One way is to have anCouncil (like the House) apportions seats. Suppose there impartial observer take a knife and hold it above the candyare to be 10 representatives - how should they be appor bar at the left end and move it to the right perpendiculartioned among the four divisions? It is interesting to note to the long symmetry line of the candy bar. the methods once proposed by Hamilton, Jefferson and Adams allocate the seats differently. (See the table be- -) low.) Suppose there are to be 10 representatives -how should they be apportioned among HERSHEY the four divisions? If this intrigues you, stop by and we'll be happy to .1/ explain the details. Meanwhile back in Montana, the Federal judge (from Idaho) wrote the minority opinion against Montana suggesting they offer a better method for --> apportionment before striking down the current one. The two federal judges (from Montana) in the majority ruling have upheld Montana's challenge so far. The complaint As the knife is moved any child can shout stop andstems from the number of people each representative the portion to the left of the knife belongs to that child.represents. According to the table below, in the Adams The process continues until everyone is served. Doesmethod, each HS rep represents 10.5 faculty while each everyone get an equal share? Not likely, but everyone getsTEC rep represents 19.5 faculty.Jefferson's method a "fair" share. seems best in this example where the range of faculty per representative is least extreme. The national average for One of the other topics which was mentioned ear-representation is one per 537,000. If Montana had two lier, apportionment, is very current. The state of Montanarepresentatives, it would cut their average to 400,000. But is suing the Federal Government because they are losingthen some other state has to lose a seat due to the limit of one of their two seats in the House of Representatives435 house members. based on the 1990 census. The problem dates back to revolutionary times when the framers of the Constitution The numbers in the preceding paragraphs may not were trying to establish the appropriate type of govern-have been your preferred reading but the need for them is ment and chose a bicameral legislature. The Senate, toobvious. We believe that our students nee( an under- favor the small states, received eval representation andstanding of the fact that Mathematics is a crucial part of the House, to favor larger states, received an apportion- many fields. We welcome you to sample this course which ment based on population. Alexander Hamilton, Thomasmeets our desire to infuse certain Mathematical concepts Jefferson, John Q. Adams and others all proposed meth-in the curriculum. The results of three methods of apportionment based on a fixed number of representatives Faculty Hamilton Jefferson Adams LGS 55 3 4 3 TEC 39 3 2 2

HS 21 2

13US 47 3 3 3 TOTAL 162 10 10 10

3 Goodman (from page 2) masculine pronouns instead of the more common femi- Male students, many of whom have been in previousnine ones. female-deficient chemistry and physics courses, also begin to realize that physical sciences are not just "men's Keep in mind that I do not advocate inventing work". situations where the feminine third person singular must be used. "You" and "they" are perfectly good, frequently In a Binghamton Press-Sun Bulletin article on childpreferable, ways to avoid beinggender specific. I certainly care a couple of weeks ago, an infant's symptoms weredo not want to completely replace "he" with "she". Just described and thereafter the child was referred to as "she".realize t%at "she" is as good a pronoun for an individual Still the writer felt the need to include in the last sentenceperson as "he". the words, "regardless of whether the child was male or female". That would have been viewed as unnecessary if Now, some comments on a related matter: titles of the masculine pronoun had been used. address, specifically Ms. vs. Mrs. or Miss. Imagine the following situation. It's the first day of class and you're Finally, in a Teaching Center workshop on enhanc-introducing yourself to your students. If you're a man, you ing the teaching experience given during the semesterp robab ly do not say or write your name as "Mr. John Doe". break, the presenter used "she" as the pronoun forYou say, "My name is John Doe", and the students will "teacher", which had been used in the previous sentence. probably call you Mr. Doe. Fine. If you're a woman and This was an oral presentation, where habit would haveyou say "My name is Mary Smith", students will wonder generally resulted automatically in the use of "he". Thewhat to call you or they will use Mrs. Smith. Why should presenter was male, so he must have given some thoughtthe form of address for a woman depend on her marital to his use of the feminine when the masculine would havestatus any more than for a man? I am not in favor of seemed so natural. eliminating Mrs. and Miss as feminine forms of address for those who prefer them; however, where marital status I have started to adopt this same strategy in myis unknown or uncertain, Ms. should be the default title, lectures and on my exams. Like nearly everyone else, Iespecially in any circumstances where marital status is used to use the masculine as a matter of course. But I'mcompletely irrelevant. In a professional 3ituation, a man a woman scientist and it seems ridiculous to describe awould not be asked whether or not he is married. Re- geologist in the field ad a "he" when I've done exactly thequesting a title of "Miss" of "Mrs." from a woman is doing same things. Now I may say, "A geologist in the fieki wouldjust that. The use of "Ms,", except when a woman requests use her Brunton compass to measure the orientation of anotherwise, would avoid such problems. CO outcrop and plot it on her map." On physics exams problems involving people are often used. These people have habitually referred to as "he's". I now try to phrase some problems this way: "A skier at the top of a 500-foot Coming Next Issue high frictionless hill starts from rest and slides down to the bottom. How fast is she moving at the base of the hill?" Next month's issue will contain the results of the Note: the emphases in both of these examples are given wish list mentioned elsewhere in this issue, along with here only for clarity; I do not emphasize the gender other articles. verbally in my class or on any written materials. I want it to be a natural usage--no big deal, no radical feminism, The usual length for an article is 400 - 600 words, just common sense. My success in equalizing feminine which will fill about a single column. If you have a and masculine pronouns has been limited, but I plan to longer article, or would like to edit a series of articles, put more conscious thought into the effort. If students feel free to inquire about having one or several pages smile when the feminine is used, I view it as a sign of of an issue reserved for you. appreciation for the variation. No one has so far objected or even commented. Center Stage is published ntr'Illy ii-i cooperation with Classes taught by men might especially benefit from the Teaching Resources Center. using feminine pronouns at least occasionally; perhaps this would help create the mental image that a woman Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: mid just as well teach or do research within that discipline. In fact, the same benefits would apply in classes Paul O'Heron taught by women in a traditionally more female-oriented Mathematics Department, T-215 discipline (nursing, dental hygiene, office management, Phone : 771-5232 for example) when the instructor could sometimes use E-Mail : OHERON_P (All-in-One)

4 0 Center Stage A PiaOrm for the Diwusslon of Teaching/LearningIdeas Broome Community CollegeBinghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 6 February 15, 1991

Why I Teach In a Qianging World, College and University Annette Bucinell, adjunct instructor, Mathematks Teaching Must Be Appreciated, Recognized, and Rewarded When !graduated college in 1981, I wasn't sure what type of job I would want to look for. I had a full semester A. Jerome Jewler of student teaching, and had worked for a summer in a Professor, College of Journalism & Mass Communication, University major computer company. I felt that both of those expe- of South Carolina, Columbia riences did not represent what each job would be like as a MI-time job, so I decided to look into each type of job further. You won't be seeing this article in any publication on my campus because it's jist not a popularissue with the In the summer of 1981, I had two interviews forestablishment. Maybe that's why I tend to be jealous of permanent jobs. One was for a system analyst, and thethose ofyou teaching at community col leges. You're there other was for an eighth grade mathematiss teacher. I feltto teach, and it's perfectly all right to makepublic confident about both interviews, and waited to hear aboutacknowledgement of this fact. each job. Luckily, no decision had to be made - I was only offered the teachilig position. At this point, I was lucky to At major state universities like mine, teaching is have a job and I was ready to be a "real" teacher. important, too. Surely we realize the importance of preparing our young citizens for the future. Surely we know Eighth grade is not the easiest grade to teach, espe-that education is essential for success in our complex and cially for a first year teacher. You are dealing with not justcompetitive society. Surely we believe that an overwhelm- teaching the academic material, but discipline and familying majority of students graduating from our high schools problems, social interaction of teenagers, and raging hor-need to develop critical thinking and writing skills, need mones. Every day was a different adventure. You neverto understand the value of a liberal education, and need knew what was going to happen on a given day, but everynot only our guidance but our encouragementduring day you had to be ready for anything. There was nothingtheir complex transition from adolescence into indepen- routine about this job. And that was something I enjoyed.dence. When the end of June came around, I knew that the decision that was made for me - not to work in industry - We know all that. Yet the culture of the udiversity was the right one. asks that we sublimate our passion for teaching to allow time for scholarly research. For if you're not discovering Every day was a different adventure. something new, you're not contributing to the "body of knowledge." I realized that I could make a difference in my students' lives. It didn't have to be in just mathematics, it As one of my colleagues sees it, teaching is the ultimate punishment for those who fail in their quest for ( Continued on page 3 ) such "new knowledge." You don't want to do research? Contents Fine, we'll give you a heavy teaching load. You do want to do research? Fine, we'll give some of your classes to someone else. Why I Teach -- AnnetteBucinell, page 1 ( Continued on page 2 )

In a Changing World Professor Jewler is the co-editor of Your College -- A. Jerome Jewler, page1 for Success Wadsworth 1992, and author of Creative Strategy in Advertisingt Fourth Some Wish List Responses Edition, Wadsworth 1992. He was asked to write this -- SeveralColleagues, page 4 article while giving a seminar on campus during the intercession.

41 Jew ler (from page 1) state that I believe we can document teaching effectiveness just as surely as we document scholarship, and that in On both sides of the fence, teaching is seen as toughthe case of the latter, we need to broaden our concept work. American historian and educator Jacque Barzun,beyond the idea of "new knowledge." former provost of Columbia University and special ad- viser lche President on the arts, puts the task of teaching But let me allow Boyer to speak for himself: he into sharp focus: "In recounting my apprenticeship, Ireminds us that the myth in higher education today is that called teaching backbreaking work and later hinted thatall faculty are or should be researchers, while the fact is steady teaching is a task that would fray the nerves of an ox.that most professors--according to a Carnegie study--say they would much rather teach than do research. Unfortu- "In recounting my apprenticeship, I called nately, at many campuses the rewart system does not teaching backbreaking work and later hinted match the workload given professors. that steady teaching is a task that would fray the nerves of an ox." When Harvard College was founded in 1636, Boyer continues, the focus was on the student, and educating the Theseare both sober statements. AN HOUR OF :EACH-whole person was at the heart of the colonial college. For ING IS CERTAINLY THE EQUIVALENT OF A150 years, that's what higher education in America was all WHOLE MORNING OF OFFICE WORK The pace,about. Then came the American Revolution, and a need the concentration, the output of energy in office work areto build a nation. Accordingly, new colleges turned to the child's play compared with handling a rlass, and thetask, colleges such as Renssalear Polytechnic Institute smaller the class, the harder the work. Tutoring a single(1824) in Troy, NY. It was a reminder that America person -- as someone has said -- makes you understandneeded engineers. In 1862, the %and Grant act linked what a dynamo feels like when it is discharging into a non-higher learning to agriculture. The movement was to- conductor." wards reality and practicality.

I've managed to ignore the arguments which nar- The irony was that as the rules of scholarship were rowly define research as "the discovery of knowledge" togetting narrower, educational opportunities in this coun- the exclusion of what Ernest Boyer, president of thetry were expanding. And while college missions were Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachingexpanding, status was being measured by something termed claims are also valid forms of scholarship: the synthesis of"world class research" and "world class students," some- knowledge, the application of knowledge, and last, butthing which the majority of institutions lacked, and their certainly not least, the teaching of knowledge. But latelystruggle for identity was intense. I'm getting preuy itchy under the collar as a result of having been elected to our University Tenure and Promo- Boyer concludes by stating that it is time to move tion Committee. I've sat through several long meetings inbeyond the teaching vs. research debate. It's a tired topic which anything less than "new knowledge" was pooh-at best. Can we admit the system isn't working and relate poohed as undeserving of the term, "research." I've heardscholarship more directly to tile rich diversity of institu- disparaging remarks about published books that "merelytions where faculty work? rehashed this candidate's doctoral thesis," when letters of support claimed the book was a significant expansion of Can we enlarge the vision of what it means to be a that thesis and merited recognition as an important piecescholar? Boyer believes we can and we should. His vision of work in itself. I've heard candidates decried for havingof scholarship has four dimensions. "narrow fields of study" as well as for being "unfocused in their research." You can bend facts to suit your needs First, there is the DISCOVERER of knowledge. rather easily; I must admit to doing the same at times. AndThis is the disciplined researcher, who represents a crucial yet it is the same people who claim to be able to evaluatedimension of scholarship, for discovery is at the heart of research who also claim that teaching is nigh impossiblewhat it means to be a scholar. But it is not all. to evaluate, which is why it generally takes second place in the tenure/promotion process. If you can't evaluate it, Second, there is the INTEGRATOR of knowledge, how can you use teaching as a basis for estimating thethe person who makes connections among the disciplines, worth of the candidate? who is charged with the task of finding patterns and value in our knowledge. Space does not allow me to reject that argument by documenting the various formative and summative pro- Third, there is the APPLICATOR of knowledge, cedures for evaluating teaching that many are alreadythe scholar with the capacity to relate theory to the reality using and that I summarized in a recent workshop on yourof life, for knowledge unapplied is pedantry at its worst. campus to nearly forty willing subjects. Let me simply ( Continued on page 3 )

4 2 Jew ler (from page 2) This concept of the utility or usefulness of knowledge is We worked hard on our proposal, citing evidence-- uniquely American. Today's scholars must concern them-like good scholars--of the growing trend on major univer- selves with today's crises: deficient schools, pollution,sity campuses to focus on teaching in the manner outlined social issues. They cannot divorce themselves from real-in our recommendation. We arranged a meeting with the ity. It is interesting to note that not only can knowledge bePresident and presented our proposal, and we returned to applied for the good of mankind, but that new knowledgemeet with him several months later tounderscore our actually can emerge from such practice. dedication to our effoits. That is about as far as things have gotten after nearly nine months. We asked the office Without great teaching, scholarship is like of the provost to work with us in accomplishing ourtask. a tree that falls in the w( .xls and is never We are still waiting for an answer and none of us has been heard. This means active, not passi learn- invited to join the teaching task force.

ing. So I applaud your success at establishing a teaching And finally, there is the scholarship of teaching. Thecenter. What's more, I urge you to visit and support your TEACHER of knowledge must be able to present knowl-center, tr., become involved in its programs, to suggest edge to future scholars. Without great teaching, scholar-ways hi which it can enlarge its influence inthe classroom. ship is like a tree that falls in the woods and is never heard.For when teaching improves, learning improves. When This means active, not passive, learning. Creative, not teachers feel validation for their efforts, they work harder conforming, teaching. And collaboration, not competi-for their institutions. And when every classroom experi- tion, among students. Consequential human problemsence is a positive one for both teacher andlearner, that is will be resolved only through collaboration. We needthe finest gift any true scholar could possibly hope for. teachers who are involved in classroom research as well, in the evaluation of their own teaching ... even as it is taking place. Bucinell (from page 1) As I reread those words of Boyer, I think about my own large state university, where the boastshave to docould be that they just needed someone to talk to about with becoming a world class research university and wheretheir problems. A few years ago, I ran into one of my teaching, although some would claim differently, is takingformer students in a local bar. We sat down and talked for a back seat. Yes, the administration has appointed aa while. He wasn't the best student,in fact, he was teaching task force and the office of the provost is hostingrepeating the eighth grade when he was in my class. At the a series of monthly breakfast presentations on teaching.end of our conversation, he said, "You were my favorite The former group has been meeting periodic?, Ily for nearly teacher.I may not remember all the math you tried to two years iind I have yet to see evidence ofcommitmentteach me, but you showed us more than just math." And to teaching, while the latter series manages to pull to-that made me feel good - I had made a difference. That's gether a scant five or six hour-long presentations eachone reason why I'm still in teaching today. year, most of them too brief to afford any truemeaningful 1111=1111W discussion of teaching issues. And that made me feel good - I had made a difference. It was for these reasons that I joined three col- 1 leagues in the writing of a proposal for an instructional Another very important reason is that I can spend a development center, one run by faculty for faculty, wheregreat deal of time with my own children. As aneducator, anyone who wanted to improve his or hcr teaching could I know how important that is. Although it wasn't a major seek advice and assistance. We envisioned an ongoingfactor when I entered teaching, it sure is a major benefit! program of not only presentations, but confidentialevalu-I can make the time to help in my children's academic and ations of teaching, videotaping of classroom performancesocial development. Someone else isn't raising my chil- for those who requested it, assistance on audiovisualdren. My morals and values are the ones that are being teaching aids, exposure to a variety of methods of con-instilled in them. They will encounter many types of ducting a class, the establishment of a library of teachingpeople and be in many different types of situations in their literature readily available to faculty, and that intangiblelives. Hopefully, they will be able to make reasonable feeling of support for what some of us deem the mostdecisions for themselves because of the values that they important reason for a college or university's existence: learned through me. Although they will pick up things that incredibly rewarding interaction between teacherfrom other people, the more time I can spend with them, and learner as a body of knowledge is passed down from the -e they can pick up from me. one generation to the next. WISH LIST In the "old days", the Public relations director published a list of all college employees according to the The following arc some of the wishes sent in re-department or office. It was kept up to date with comings sponse to last issue's request. They are many, varied, andand goings via the "Communicator".This list was a presented in no particular order. If you can help with avaluable publication and I'd love to see it available again. wish, or have information that a wish already has come true, drop a line to the Teaching Resources Center. That senior level students might be funded as teaching assistants specifically to help withading. CI* I wish the Library had a budget with a realistic A "HELP" desk for evening students the first twonumber. weeks of classes. (Many stop in to Community Education office seeking help with registration, missing classes and I wish administration would fill all the lines that are instructors, etc.) open.

I wish the college would repair and refurbish the I wish Tech Assistants had a promotion system. track. We need to steer clear of "babying" our students and Iwish I could understand the new phone system (I'mgive them much more responsibility!! They need to be sure the problem has to do with my technophobia). pushed! They can take it!

I wish there were a weekly common hour. I wish mutual respect, personal responsibility, and camaraderie could replace gossip, backbiting and politics I wish BCC had a day care center on campus for theon campus. children of students, faculty and staff. A center would also serve as a lab school for early childhood, nursing, mental I wish that our vice-presidents would put their per- health and psychology students. BCC is one of very fewsonal di fferences aside and work TOGETHER to support N.Y. State two year colleges not offering a day carethe goals of our institution. service. More computers, and not just the IBM type. I wish BCC had a swimming pool, not just any pool, but one that would make SUNY-Binghamton's look like More and better classroom space. a wading pool. Students that come to college for the challenge and I wish BCC had SNOW! enjoyment of learning, rather than as a requirement for a better job. I wish I had time for a few non-school things I'd really like to do to improve myself. There's books to be A 486-33MHz machine on my desk (or in my brief- read, letters to write to friends, movies to see,... Maybecase.) next summer or fall. Coming Next Issue Swimming Pool.

Jogging/walking/biking trails - or at least side valks The next issue will be devoted to the topic of around the perimeter of campus. critical thinking. Rick Firenze will be guest editor.

A policy/procedure manual so we all could know who is supposed to make what decisions and by what Cente Stage is published monthly in cooperation with processes. the Teaching Resources Center.

In the event that there are "tough times ahead" for Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: our community at BCC, I wish all of us peace, patience and understanding with each other. Paul O'Heron Mathematics Department, T-215 That non-English speaking students were required Phone : 778-5000, ext.5232 to do an intensive course of ESL before being enrolled in E-Mail : OHERON_P (All-in-One, any other courses.

4,1 Center Sta A Playbrm for the Discussion o f Teaching/Learning Ideas Broome Community College -- Binghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 7 March 15, 1992

"At BCC, faculty in all curricula will seek to incorpo- Critical Thinking? What Is It Anyway? rate aspects of critical thinking L:to their teaching, and in Rick Firenze, Biology some courses required of all students, critical thinking exercises will be central both to course objectives and As chairperson of the Critical Thinking Committee, instructional methods." -- Coherence and Purpose: Gen- I am often asked by colleagues, students, family members eral Education at BCC and strangers at the mall; "What do you mean by critical thinking anyway?" In response to this question, I often The Critical Thinking Committee stands realy toblurt out one of Richard Paul's ponderously florid defini- assist all faculty in the task of infusing this mode oftions - instruction into their discipline. Committee members are: Bryan Blanchard, Jim Boyden, Ann Cleary, Rick "The art of thinking about your thinking while Firenze (Chair), George Higginbottom, Ben Kasper, Ralph you're thinking so as to make your thinking more McGrew, Steve Na tale, John Pagura, and Jackie Shrader. clear, precise, accurate, relevant, consistent, and fair." Contents : "Thinking which meets epistemological demands insofar as they square with the vested interests of Critical Thinking, What is it Anyway? the thinker." -- Rick Firenze, page 1 This response is given primarily for one of two Critical Thinking in Substantive Law reasons: either to avoid further questioning or to delight -- Gerald Loy, page 3 in watching the eyes of my inquisitor glaze over. However, if I'm truly interested in giving a serious answer to what is The Perils of High Tech Employment often posed as a rhetorical question I respond not with an -- James Antonakos, page 3 answer but with a question of my own. It could be:

But We Have Always Done It That Way! What do you think about surrogate parenting? -- Dan Dodway, page 4 Are men inherently more aggressive than women? What is your opinion of Operation Rescue? Putting the Problem before the Solution How do you feel about raising the speed limit to 65 -- Sandra K. Wright, page5 mph? Are you pro or con with respect to the death pen- Uncertainty Analysis alty? -- Ralph McGrew, page 6 Are homosexuals born or made?

Tricks of the Trade After what I hope is a brief response I simply ask, -- Nursing Department, page 7 Why?

Thinking About Real Problems It should be obvious from the above that the subject -- FrankPlunkett, page 8 of the question I pose is indeed irrelevant. In fact, so is the answer. I'm not interested in what the person thinks, but From Textbook To Controversy In One Step why they think that way. How did they arrive at their Kelli Ligeikis, page 9 conclusion. What are their basic Assumptions? Infer- ences? Data? Interpretations? Implications? Evidence? What's All The Excitement About In The Are their conclusions truly conclusions or merely more Library? assumptions? After almost a quarter of a century of -- Deborah Spanfelner, page 10 teaching (ouch!), I'm thoroughly convinced that most

( Continued on page 2 )

4 5 aPPIAROPARI.rPP..1MI.PIPPIPMMAPPIMI Firenze (from page 1) Information Exchange students wouldn't know an assumption from a conclusion from an inference from an opinion from a fact (whateverThe Information Exchange is a new monthly feature. Wc that is?). In fact most have a very difficult time in actuallywelcome your questions and answers. Please send them to telling you vAyt they "think" what they "think." Most haveThe Teaching Resource Center, C/O Center Stage. never truly thought about their thinking. THOUGHT ABOUT THEIR THINKING! Oh no, shades of Dr. Paul? Not actually. Try a simple task. The next time your Q. Where are there FAX capabilities onthis campus students reach a conclusion or form an opinion of athat faculty can use? problem you have posed, ask them to ask themselves the question, WHY? With apologies to Descartes, "I A. Currently four facsimile machines are available . think...therefore I must have a reason to think that way."within the Academic Affairs domain. They are located in Hopefully this will encourage them to learn to recognizethe Academic Affairs Office; The Business Division Of- and differentiate inference and implication, evidence and fice; The Library; and The Technolgies, Engineering and opinion, bias and sound judgement. Computing Divison Office. The Liberal Arts & General Studies and The Health Science divisions will be getting EXAMPLE: Last semester in COL 101 "The Col-machines for their areas in the near future. V.P. Blan- lege Experience" I asked my students to give me theirchard, Dean Reilly, Ms. Johnston and Dean Beston have decision on the timely subject of the Clarence Thomas -authorized faculty use of machines in their areas. The fax Anita Hill trial. On one side of a 5 x 7 card they were tonumbers are: write one of two words, Guilty/Innocent. They found that part far too easy. On the other side they were to give their Academic Affairs Office 778-5173 reasons why they had rtached that conclusion. Both the Business Division Office 778-5170 verdict and the "rationale' were then shared anonymously The Library 778-5108 with the class. The discussion quickly exposed the illogic Technolog Division Office 778-5345 of their logic. In essence it exposed "uncritical thinking." Q. What is the procedurefor dealing with a medical When a common response is "He's guilty becauseemergency in the classroom? Is it the same for day and he's a male and all males are pigs"; it is only too obviousevening classes? that critical thinking was not necessarily applied to this case. After all, those students who answered in such a way A. In the event of a medical emergencyduring the day were obviously female (inference) because only females(8am-5pm), the faculty member should send someone to (assumption) who have had negative experiences withthe nearest phone to call the Health and Wellness Re- males (assumption) would feel this way. source Center at 5181. During the evening hours the Security office should be called at 5083. The caller should It should be emphasized that this pedagogicaldescribe the problem, identify the individual having the method should not be restricted to the social sciences,problem, and indicate the location.The Health and humanities or matters of ethical and moral dilemmas, butWellness Resource Center staff will respond immedi- fast finds its true home in the sciences and its stepchild the ately, access the situation and call for an ambulance if technologies. necessary. -- Mary Ligouri, Director, Health and Wellness Resource Center The concept of critical thinking is relatively easy to grasp, always ask yourself how and why you have reached OVER TO YOU your conclusions. The process however, takes a little I am interested in trying cooperative learning meth- more practice and a great deal of work. This is why oneods in my classroom and would like to talk to other faculty should expect less than an enthusiastic response whenmembers who are have tried this approach. Has any one critical thinking projects are introduced to the student.tried it? What kind of impact has it had? -- Denise I'm sure, as educators, most of us encourage our studentsAbrams, Physical Therapy Assistant Program to do some critical thinking in the classroom. I'm equally sure most of us do not demand nearly enough. As educa- Does theeampus have facilities to make high quality tors we must place less emphasis on the destination ofcolor slides? -- Paul O'Heron, Mathematics education and more on the journey itself. I.

"Not that the incredulous person doesn't believe in anything. It's just that he doesn't believe in everything." -- Umberto Eco Critical Thinking In Substantive Law their own position, but also forces the student to critically Gerald A. Loy, Business analyze the presumptive position of the other side.

Fostering the concept of Critical Analysis and Criti- This exercise can be conducted in many different cal Thinking in the learning environment is an late; est-academic areas which stress the possibility that equal ing, as well as a challenging goal, facing the classroomarguments exist on both sides of any pertinent issue. The instructor. My areas of teaching responsibility includekey in forcing the element of Critical Thinking is to Business Law I, Business Law II, Real Property Law,prov:de a "closed end" supply of reference and authorita- Family Law, Torts, Negligence, and Personnel Manage-tive material form which the student can argue a particu- ment. lar.position (the packet of case law previously discussed). This material must be carefully chosen so as to provide an I am of the firm befief that the presentation ofequal argument to each issue presented. substantive law (statutes,case law, precedent, ordinances, and common law) is only gm_put of my responsibility in My next endeavor is to develop the project to in- teaching the Law and Management Course curricula:Ofclude "open end" source material. This will allow the student to expand their CriticalThinking into the area of at least equal, and at times superior importance, is the -. idea that the student mt_mt apply the substantive rules and.reseaich. concepts as learned in the dassroom to critical ;7..4 di- vase thinking situations. These situations mt.. .7. such I would be happy to provide anyone with the case that the student is aware that most arguments advanced byproblem, case law packet, and examples of the final writ- them, no matter howseentingly solid and overly pervasive,ten product. This project sava to satisfy the writing can be answered mnd challenged by an equally solid andrequirement in Business Law II as well as more impor- pervasive counter argument. If the student is genuinelytantly, to motivate the student to critically apply the convinced regarding the existence of and the challengesubstantive materials learned in the Business Law cur- of, the Counter Argument; the student will lear-up" toriculum. UI meet the challenge. The 'gear up" necessarily requires that the student critically analyze and be prepared to meet The Perils of High Tech Employment the on-coming challenge. The 'gear up" is Critical Think- James L. Antonaltos, Electrical Technology ing. Sometime during the semester in my EET267 Digi- The "gear up" necessarily requires that the tal Electronics and Microprocessors course I ask my student critically analyze and be prepared students a question. Prior to asking the question I de- to meet the on-coming challenge. scribe an almost ideal situation:

To insure the equality of the argument and, there- Imagine that you have just completed all your job fore, to foster the element of Critical Analysis, I haveinterviews. A high-tech firm is interested in your talents deveoped a Business Law classroom project including aand makes you an offer. The money is better than you had hypothetical case problem which contains many makhoped for and the location of the plant is in a part of the arguable issues. Subsequent to supplying the studen t withcou n t ry where you have always wanted to live. You accept the case problem, a packet of case law in provided. Thethe position, only to find out during your first week that case law is carefully chosen to present two cases in direct the company has secret military contracts and you will be s.upport and two cases in direct opposition to each of thehelping to design guidance systems for nuclear missiles. eight issues addressed in the case problem. Students are assigned the responsibility to advocate one position and At this point my question to the students is: oppose the other. Typically, the class is divided in half with regards to the assignment. The students are required Do you keep the job? to review the material and prepare a 3-5 minute oral argument for each issue. After oral arguments, the stu- The students must give their reasons for keeping or dent is required to submit a written position paper incor- leaving the job. Barring no objections I read all of the porating the methods, rules, concepts, and substantiveresponses to the class (without any indication whose materials taught in Business Law I and Business Law 11. response I am relating). This gives the entire class the opportunity to see how other people make value judge- This exercise forces Critical Thinking because itments, and gives them something to think about before requires that the student not only prepare and analyzethey actually begin their interviews. .411 "Every thinker puts some portion of an apparently stable world in peril."John Dewey

17 But We Have Always Done It That Way! 1. We can never know anything. Dan Dodway, Mathematics 2. We won't know we know even if we do. 3. Even if we know something, we won't be able CAUTION: You will never be the same if you read this. to communicate it.

A great thinker died recently leaving a legacy that Socrates went one step further. He was the wisest will live as long as people continue using computers orman in the world, and he knew it (in what has come to be benefiting from their many applications. Grace Hopperknown as Socratic irony). He had one bit of knowledge: was famous for many things and many quotes. WhileHe did not know anything except that he KNEW that he watching her speak, I thought that I would like to be thatdid not know anything. This put him one step ahead of sharp when I reached her venerable age. After a while Ieveryone else who did not know even that. realized that there was little hope of this since I am not that sharp now. A more recent thinker and mathematician, Descar- tes, attempted to confirm his own existence by the famous The title of this article is guaranteed to invoke herstatement:"I think. Therefore, I am." Though more spirit because she promised on many occasions (and Iimpressive in Latin: "Cogito. Ergo sum." it is neither have it on video tape if you want to know more about her)persuasive nor useful. it is not persuasive because all that that if you ever say "but we have always done it that way"is really certain is that thinking is going on. It is presump- she would come back to haunt you. tuous, however reasonable, to assume a thinker therefore exists. His conclusion is not particularly useful because In her lengthy career in the Navy she often encoun-no one would doubt his existence anyway (except perhaps tered resistance to improvements she sought, and nadanother philosopher). delightful ways of getting around obstacles. See the tape. She recognized needs for improvement and realized it Scientists lost patience with philosophy about the could not take place without change. Certainly not alltime Hume noted that cause and effect (the backt one of change represents progress, but it is equally obvious thatscience) cannot be truly observed. Pushed to the utmost no progress will take place without change. limit of certainty, all that is ever observed could be classi- fied as multiple instances of the Post Hoc fallacy. Namely, Heraaitus...observed that you could never events seem to follow what we interpret as their causes, step into the same river twice because life is but all we can be philosophically certain of is that one in a constant state of flux. simply follows the other. For example, in watching a play we see an actor flip a switch and a light on the set comes Among the early Greek philosophers who contem-on. However, the cause is probably controlled by a tech- plated change was Heraclitus who observed that younician behind the scenes. Life might be like that with a could never step into the same river twice because life is inmalevolent deity or a deity with a strange sense of humor. a constant state of flux. On closer examination it can be observed that it is not even possible to step into the same Pushed to the extreme of critical thinking the best river once since it is changing even as we step into it. l'histhat might be hoped for is solipsism. A more pragmatic explains the "Caution" at the beginning. For what it isand vastly more common approach is to accept things worth, those who do not read this will also never be thewhich seem reasonable unless given evidence to the con- sante. trary. This led to the scientific method which involves forming hypotheses, testing, and not accepting results One allegorical interpretation of the Bible consid-which cannot be replicated by other researchers. Replica- ers the forbidden fruit to be from the tree of knowledge.tion by independent agents is needed since cases abound Eating it resulted not only in a loss of immortality andof "fudged" data which has been ill used to support false innocence, but also in a loss of ignorance. Every time we conclusions (frequently for financial gain). learn something new, we are no longer the same person, and, in some sense, our former self has died. It is doubtless thing this scientific model, progress takes place the desire for self preservation which explains our stu-through research and development, and is shared through dents' reluctance to learn. Mental inertia must be over-professional journals, conferences, and other media. come. Newton claimed the reason he could see so far was because he stood upon the shoulders of giants. Our educa- Philosophers have always pondered and tried totion thus far has given us a few giant shoulders from which determine what they knew. Sophists once claimed: to see the world, but there is a lot more out there. ( Continued on page 5 ) "Who needs information this high off the ground? Just give me confirmation." -- Roger Waters 4 Dodway (from page 4) Brochures are available in the Teacher Center for Change is in.vitable. Approached with the rightthese and other conferences. The BCC administration attitude and method, it can lead to progress. Ignored, ithas made a commitment to support professional travel will lead to stagnation and atrophy.It has been myrecognizing the value which goes beyond what can be pleasure to attend numerous rewarding conferences.measured in dollars and cents. Also, the Foundation/FSA While many have been focused on my particular disci-Professional Development Assistancz Program provides pline, all are generally useful in se, ,:sting the process asfinancial support for travel and course work. lam grateful a model for progress and critical thinking. for the help I have received, and encourage others to make use of the opportunities. This model suggests challenging conventional wisdom which often is simply wrong or does not apply as Putting the Problem before the Solution generally as "everyoneseems to think. Otherwise, Gali- Sandra K. Wright, Computer Studies leo would not have challenged the ancient notion that heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects. In education In CST 200, Systems Analysis and Design, students as well as science, conventional wisdom is in a stateofare frequently asked to respond tomini-cases which evolution. highlight some newly learned technique or spotlight a state of the art technology. One of the mostinteresting Suggesting new ideas may not always be greetedmini-cases in terms of student response and critical with joy. As Taylor, a seventeenth century essayist, ex-thinking skills outlines a system design disaster. The pressed in verse: story involves a young systems analyst, Valerie, laid an assistant manager of the Accounts Receivable Dept., "Though man a thinking being is lefined, Larry, who are being questioned by top management few use the grand prerogative of mind. regarding the disastrous outcome of a newly implemented How few think well of the thinking few. Accounts Receivable information system. The system, How many never think who think they do." which cost over $625,000, resulted in lost or erroneous records, angry customers and potential law suits. Stu- We are fortunate to be members of an academicdents are asked to respond to a variety of questions community where the freedom to differ and explore isincluding: What should have been done to avoid this tolerated, and, if we are lucky, encouraged. outcome? Who is responsible for the failure of the system? What should happen to the individuals who are When confronting the status quo, look to the evi-responsible? dence. Where is the data? That is the criteria by which we should measure what will be, not "but we have always done Students struggle with the idea that Larry and it that way" or "everyone else does it that .vay." Valerie will probably lose their jobs. They empathize with these employees because their mistakes are very Where do new ideas come from? Inspiration istypical and very human. Excitement over new technology great, "but there are more things in heaven and earth thanand the promise of a state of the art system led them to are dreamt of in your philosophy." You are missingout onhasty decisions. Solutions were chosen before alterna- potentially useful resources if you do not read profes-tives were fully evaluated. Design steps were skipped in sional material such as Center Stage and Innovationorder to keep from falling behind schedule. Feasibility of Abstracts and writing in your area. Students and col-the project was never assessed once the project began, leagues can also provide an abundance of ideas.Forand sunk costs were used to justify, continuation of the mtample, I am able to generate a lot of useful commentsproject even when it became obvious that things were not tiom students by asking for anonymous written feedback.turning out as planned.

Another pleasant way to grow wi th your discipline is The class discussion of this case study is lively to attend professional conferedces. Two which I stronglyandsometimes emotional. The whiz-kiis in my class are recommend that are not specific to any one discipline are:anxious to apply all of their newly acquired technological skills to real world problems. It is difficult for them to National Institute for Staff and Organizational De-slow down and analyze problems, to look for the alterna- velopm( ,t in Austin, Texas on May 24-27, 1992, and tives, and to determine what pg_ds to be done before Problem Solving Across the Curriculum at Wellsdeciding hoit will be done. Critical thinking is essential College in Aurora, New York on June 18-20, 1992 to the successful implementation of computerinforma- tion systems and obviously essential to their future success as productive employees. 'There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dan erous."Hannah Arendt

4 9 judge- tell them they must maketheir own choice, as the Uncertainty Analysis experiences in mak- ment I lust beinformed by their own Ralph McGmw in critical ing the measurement.Thus, as is generally true thinking, appeal to authoritydoes not work. Thestudent In my laboratory sectionsof the course Engineering Compared to a is given the ability towin an argument. Physics 1 and 2, I assign thestudents to think aboutthe lecture classroom, thelaboratory setting is moreconduc- uncertainty in their measureddata and calculaWresults. for in tive to their accepting thisability and responsibility, Typically the students areinstructed: and lab the students are theactive agents and work in twos threes. *To repeat each measurementfor a few trials, *To call the largest andsmallest trial-values the oestimating uncertaintiesis an essential upper and lowerbounds, part of measurement,of calculation based *To take half of their sum asthe "best values" used write half of their difference as n experimentaldata, and of comparing in calculations and to another. the plus-or minus"absolute uncertainty," experimental results with one *To convert the absoluteuncertainty in each datum r In many fields criticalthinking is essential to treat- into a percentage uncertainty, estimating in the result of a ing subject matter fairlyand adequately; here *To estimate the uncertainty uncertainties is an essential partof measurement, of calculation by adding up the percentageuncertain- calculation based on experimentaldata, and of comparing ties in all the data enteringthe calculation, and another. For example,the uncertainty is large enough to experimental results with one *To state whether the uncertainties when giving surveyre- between the calculated news media quote account for the difference knows that in measuring aquantity accepted value. sults. Every engineer result and the corresponding the determination of eachsuccessive digit has a much higher price-tag. Studentsoften find this price idea re- Following these steps isdifficult for some students markable. In my experience,if the student is torecognize and begins to stretch theminds of nearly all. Fromtheir the generality and importanceof the concept, she needs to previous education, the studenttends to think of a quan- lab. of awork with uncertajnties inthe first lab and in every tity as having a singlevalue; now she must think uncertainties in some data and anThen she can compare high measurement giving apair of nu mbers, a best value others, learning torecognize a got" must now be replacedbywith low uncertainties in uncertainty. "That's what I she can compare higher opinion that the true valueof thenegligibly s mall uncertainty. Then forming a professional total uncertainty in someexperiments with remarkably measured quantity is "insidethe range I certify".To decide low total uncertainty inothers. how many times to repeat ameasurement she needs to numbers while the trials are think about the measured There is a differentapproach to thinkingabout going on. experimental "error?. Thestudent could be assigned to if ignore measurementuncertainties, do calculations as As the course continues,the students are intro- the data were exact, findthe percent differencebetween duced to a few more methodsfor estimating uncertainties, scatter,the calculated resu lt a nditscorrespondingacceptedvalue, to deal with caseswhere the trial values show no the difference. I find theo-and then speculate on what causes to deliberately get someapparatus to show how a just because it does not en- followthis approach less desirable retical idealization applies toit only imperfectly, to the student realistically, or tocourage criticalthinking. With this approach uncertainty through a calculation more experimental errors withmistakes; he trials instead of just a few.can easily confuse deal with many measurement arises where he first seesit, at the end choices.caa think that error So the students need tomake some reasonable of being intrinsic tothe data at between claiming a small uncer-of the experiments, instead They may feel a tension think that theory does notreally large one. With others,Ithe start; and he can tainty in some datum and a describe experiment. Thestudent will be unable mean- probably never tell the studentsthat they are assigned to difference seen in the result wheningfully to account for the !think critically," but theyhave this responsibility back at theirunless she really estimatesthe data uncertainties they must use all availableevidence to write down in understand that the truethe start.The student will be unable to measurement anuncertainty neither so small that"agreement" between experimentand theory or between value is surely not in the ray le, norso large as to show different means, unless far better precision. Theirneedexperimental %allies measured by they could have attained he can use the idea of aquantitatively estimated uncer- for critical thinking isparticularly clear whenstudents, working together, call me overto settle a disagreementtainty. uncertainty. Then I try to restatethe about the size of an ( Continued on page8 ) reasoning behind both oftheir uncertainty estimates.I

"Every age has its mythsand calls them highertruths." -- Anonymous 6 'Tricks Of The Trade" Department of Nursing Collaborative Learning Quizzes Barbara Marckx Teaching-Learning Project -- Fun for Student and Family Questions in our nursing courses are very difficult Claire Ligeikis-Clayton and Janet Wright for students. In order to improve the students' ability to answer these high level application questions, learning Integration of writing skills, critical thinking, con-quizzes were developed. These twenty question quizzes ceptual learning, and concurrent theory and practice arewere composed of sample type items selected from the of paramount concern across our campuses. test bank of questions used in this course.

Of equal importance is keeping our sanity as profes- On the day of the learning quiz, each student was sors and not inundating ourselves with mountains ofprovided with a copy of the quiz and instructed to pair up paperwork. When- we have classes of over 30 studentswith a peer in the class. The students were to select each, multiple choice exams are especially attractive. answers as a pair in any manner that they chose. Some did the quizzes independentlY and then compared and dis- But we wanted to encourage more writing. There-cussed the answers. Others did the entire quiz together. fore, we developed a teaching/learning project that re-Some pairs came up with common answers and others quired writing, but that limited writing assignments tomaintained individual answers. When they were finished, one page each! We have found that students must gatherI reviewed the correct answers with the students and we research, analyze and use critical thinking skills to includediscussed the rationales for the various choices. only one page of information. The students unanimously endorsed this type of *** learning activity as an important tool in helping them understand the course content, as well as an aid in the Teaching Through Poetry critical thinking necessary to discern the correct response Claire Ligeikis-Clayton on exams.

When I recently attended the Teaching Excellence I was concerned that the pairing choice of the stu- Conference in Austin, Texas, I attended a workshop ondents would be an issue with the students but I discovered "Teaching Through Poetry" and have since incorporatedthat they almost uniformly chose the person in the adja- it into my lectures. cent desk with no concern for the academic ability of that person. (I had assumed that high achievers would seek o ut Example: I teach a class on Loss through Stillbirthother high achieveft and purposely avoid pairing with or Miscarriage and I use a poem "The Kitten", whichsomeone known to do poorly, but this did not occur). discusses a stillbirth kitten. I hand out three index cardsStudents of all abilities stated that they learned much anJ ask for one volunteer to read the poem aloud to thefrom the problem solving strategies that they used toclass. One of the premises of reading aloud is the sway ofgether. One student said that her peer stated a rationale the voice affects meaning on the audience. I ask the class in a way that she would never forget. to write a one minute reaction and share their thoughts. I ask a second volunteer to read aloud and this time ask the I used the learning quizzes initially to give students audience to write down any question they have regardingan idea of the type of questions they could expect on their the poem or a phrase that really stuck out. I ask a thirdexam, but by conducting the quiz as a collaborative activ- volunteer to read aloud and this time write a third reac-ity, it became an effective critical thinking strategy as well. tion. Each timc students write a reaction they become *** [I teach my entire lecture from the points the students bring up... Crib Cards Mary More more indepth with the content. I teach my entire lecture from thc points the students bring up and encourage them On oneexam students may use 5 x8 cards filled with to learn the content on more of a feeling level.This any information thcy think will help them on thc test. To concept could bc further carried using popular musicdo this effectively, they must analyze what they know (self- lyrics or maybe passages out of textbooks. evaluation) and contrast that with what they need to know. *4,

( Continued on page 9 ) 7 5 1 Thinking About The Real Problems- The particularly regarding the development of inquisitive- Design Project ness. An additional component is needed. Inclusion of a Frank Plunkett, Biology realistic project is one means to enhance the discipline and practice of thinking. In Technical courses, such as one I teach entitled Mechanical Design, the primary objective is to enable the IThe panic displayed op the faces of the students to utilize a set of tools that allows them to analyze students is most uplifting. certain categories of technical problems. The idea is that after taking a wide variety of such courses they will be able I review the requirements for the Mechanical De- to analyze a wide variety of technical problems. Thesign project during the first laboratory session at the concept works pretty well up to a point. As long as thebeginning of each spring semester. The panic displayed problems resemble those explicitly treated in the courseon the faces of the students is most uplifting. The design (assuming thestudents remember the material) it's smoothrequirements illness than one page, and after I read them sailing. But real technical problems, like all real prob-aloud I notice a few students turning the sheet over lems, possas subtleties which are not treated in textbookslooking for more. The panic is followed by a period of or classrooms. This fact cannot be considered a shortcom-paralysis.After a few weeks I begin to interview the ing of the course, since variations are simply too numer-students about their preliminary work, and their concepts ous to treat in fifteen weeks, or thirty weeks, or a hundredfor the design. Some will have accomplished quite a bit, week.. While this is true, it is in the best interest of thesome are off on the wrong track, and some haven't done students, and consequently the responsibility of the in-very much at all. These discussions seem to help a bit, and structor, that they become aware of the fuzzy nature ofsome technical questions get answered. Real motivation real problems. comes more from the interactions that the students have among themselves. Althouga the more advanced stu. 1Whatis it that makes real problems fuzzy? dents are somewhat protective of their designs they are also proud of them. They often give some guidance to those not so far along with their projects. It is interesting What is it that makes real problems fuzzy? Theto note that those students with the highmt OPA's are not problem is usually with the definition. The criteria are necessarily the most comfortable with the design projects. either insufficient to completely defme the problem or they conflict with one or more aspects of the problem. In At the end of the semester the projects come due. the first case informed assumptions are required. ForThe students who worked, researched, and questioned the example, in the design of a cast iron machine componentmost are rewarded for their efforts. Those who did less are it is important to account for the possibility of a suddenly-likewise not surprised by their grades. In either case every applied shock load. This load may not be defined in thestudent has had the experience of taking a realistic prob- functional requirements for the component., but the expe-lem with its fuzzy definition and, by means of inquisitive- rienced designer recognizes that such events often occurness and analysis, developing a useful solution. The next in handling and transport.In the case of conflictingtime one of these students is faced with a complex and requirements some kind of compromise, or tradeoff, isambiguous problem they will not approach it in the same necessary. Such a situation occurs whenever a building airway as the Mechanical Design project, because they will conditioning system is designed. The comfort of thehave learned something about problem solving andifi occupants must be balanced against system energy con-find a better way. sumption (operating oast in the real world). In either case informed decisions are made which supply artificial, but reasonable clarity to the problem definition. The fuzzi-McGrew (from page 6) ness is cleaned up. I have fair overall success with my approach. Inside the physics laboratory, the student is busy with manipulat- What is necessary for the acceptable solution ofing the equipment, applying the week's concepts from such problems is the application of thinking skills:in-lecture, and writing up the report. In grading a ten-point quisitiveness, and analysis. Those with a curious naturelab, only about one point is for uncertainty analysis. come by the first skill naturally, and those possessed ofHumans may have an instinct for economy and some genius excel at the second.For most folks expertisestudents an instinct for learning/working as little as they requires discipline and practice. The traditional compo-can. So some students pass the course without once nents of a technical course: homework, laboratory experi-carrying out the program of following uncertainties from ments, and examinations do demand some degree ofdata through calculation to result.Some do not see the discipline and practice. But the amounts are insufficient,generality of the idea. 1 invite your suggestions. nfl

1 "Knowledge should not be confused with belief."Richard Paul 8 5 2 From Textbook to Controversy in One Step struction Management course, I have applied a critical Kelli Ligeikis, Civil Engineering Technology thinking technique in the following way.

There are many technical electives offered in the As part of the coursework assigned in CIV236 - Civil Engineering Technology Department. Like mostConstruction Management, students are required to keep technical curriculums, most of these courses are analyti-a journal. Journal entries includereactions to articles, cal in nature where critical thinking occurs through analy-field trips, text readings, guest lectures, etc. I have found sis of engineering problems and development of theirone magazine source to beespecially relevant for course solutions. However, I teach a course in Constructionuse, Civil Engineering. This monthly magazinecontains Management which does not fall into the same category asa section entitled "Court Decisions."These articles refer most techical electives. Quite the contrary, this cometo lawsuits in constructhn projects.More specifically, emphasizes facts and strategies related to the control ofmany involve supreme court decisionsregarding liability both time and cost for construction projects. More spe-and damages against one of the constructionparties. cifically, much of class discussion and content is focusedStudents are asked to evaluate the cases, decide if they on the role various parties (owner, architect/engineerandagree with the court's decision, and to supporttheir own contractor) involved in the construction process play. decisions with facts from their course text, class discussion and/or actual experience. Quite often, the supreme court Due to the nature of this course, it appears that arulings do not appear to be supported by information strict lecture format would be recommended to presentfrom our texts and students must analyze and determine the facts and strategies. But, as one might guess, a strictwhy. lecture format could prove to be quite boring and non- stimulating for the student. As an educator, the problem I have found the journal articles to be a welcomed becomes one of how to "spice up" course content toclass assignment. They elicit conversation and class dis- promote interest in a subject so vitally important to theircussion amongst a group of students with a diverse back- educational goals ai.d career development. ground in the construction industry. They certainly promote critical thinking through active learning. But more Well, we've all heard of active learning. Of course,importantV, the students can now understand the rele- involving students in their own learning can be a chal-vance of this course and how it applies tothe real world. lenge. In order to ?romote active learning in the Con-

Nursing ( from page 8 ) Spanfelner ( from page 10 ) analogy between the media, TV, and books. The hard- Ethical Drama Analysis ware lends an element of sophistication. Barbara Marckx I'll reiterate my initial question, "What's all the Analyze an ethical dilemma using Curtain's ethicalexcitement about in the Library these days?" For me it is analysis model. Dilemmas should be chesen by the stu-observing the students' enthusiasm with regard to con- dent from his/lier own experience or literature search. Ifducting research. It is the excitement that accompanies the student is unable to formulate the dilemma, one canthe witnessing of small, but significant successes on the be obtained from the instructor. Use the following guide-part of our Library clientele. lines to construct the paper:

1) Gather information. (10) Help Wanted 2) Identify the ethical problem. (10) 3) Identify persons involved, their roles, rights and After two ycars of acting as editor to this publica- du ties.(20) tion, Paul O'Heron has decided to concentrate his 4) Identify possible courses of action. (10) efforts on other personal and professional matters. As 5) Identify consequences of actions and ethical ideal a result, the Teaching Resources Centeris looking for (principles). (30) a faculty member to pick up the reinsstarting with the 6) Select an option (identify rationale for choicx). fall semester. (10) 7) Writing mechanics and manuscript form (vo- If you are interested in continuing the fine tradi- cabulary, grammar, sentence structure, spelling, punctua- tion of Center Stage as a forum for eductional innovation, neatness, typing). (10) tion, excellence, and stories, please contact Alice McNeely in the TRC, or at ext.5354. What's All The Excitement About in The fashion. As Librarians, we still find that we need to library These Days??? conduct our reference interview so as to ascertain whether Deborah Spanfelner, Library PAO is the appropriate index tool for a student's topic. We are enlightening our users that PAO is not a panacea A plethora of new and exciting things are happening for all information requests. When appropriate, we refer in the Library. Once again the Library has reinforced itsthe patron to the more specialized periodical indexes. We role as the information hub for the college with thecan also exchange the current compact disc with archival installation of the computerized CD-ROM Program, Pe-copies for retrospective searching. It is important to take riodical Abstracts Ondisc in the Reference Room. Peri-note of the scope of years of coverage of the database, odical Abstracts Ondisc or PAO, can be compared to thewhich can be found in the upper right hand corner of the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature in that it allowsscreen. Students tend to forget that knowledge since the the patron to search for magazine articles on a variety ofinception of creatim :s not all stored on a single CD- subjects. There exist three obvious differences that comeROM disc. Upon tisLig the print index the coverage in to mind when comparing these two indexes: years is a little more apparent as the dates are printed on the outside cover of the volumes. 1)PAO allows for keyword searching anywhere in the record. It facilitates the combination of two or more As Librarians, we have rigorously run PAO through concepts. However, PAO does not have the extensiveits paces. In doing so, some spelling errors were discov- system of cross-references that the Readers' Guide has.ered in the alphabetical dictionary.This shows that Readers' Guide contains a controlled vocabulary andcomputers, like humans, are not infallible. requires a certain amount of guesswork with regard to terminology. PAO is introduced in bibliographic instruction 2) PAO provides an abstract of the article. This hasclasses through the use of transparencies, which are backed allowed students to make more efficient choices withup with a hands-on demonstration. It is not necessary for regard to relevancy.It forces students to develop theirthe student to be more familiar with the advanced intrica- critical thinking skills. cies of the program. Students can experience searching 3)You can print out the results of your search on thesuccess with a very basic knowledge of a search strategy. computer. This saves valuable time for our patrons. As soon as a librarian assists the patron in negotiating his or her topic, one is on his way. The new technology PAO is a menu-thiven program which renders itappeals to the student who feels intimidated by print very user-friendly.Since the installation of our firstindexes. In some ways CD-ROM allows the user to be terminal in the summer of 1991, there has been an over-more interactive. The preference could be likened to the whelming response regarding its usage. Due to its popu- ( Continued on page 9 ) larity, the Computer Center has recently installed another workstation. PAO indexes information from over Coming Next Issue 450 journals from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our periodical collection supports this The next issue will be out on April 15, and will index with over 204 magazines and journals.patrons tend include articles on teaching outside the classroom. If to give more thought to their search strategy you would like to share your thoughts with your colleagues, please contact the editor as stated below. When using PAO, patrons wnd to give more thought to their search strategy.Students are encouraged to Articles are usually 500 words, but may be longer "AND" two or more concepts together in order to focus in or shorter. Please submit a typed, double spaced copy on relevancy as opposed to recall. This method of search- along with an electronic copy on disk (ASCII format) ing reinforces the concept of set theory in mathematics or via electronic mail. Articles are due no later than which makes use of the Boolean AND/OR operators. March 27, 1992.

With the introduction of CD-ROM technology Center Stage is published monthly in cooperation with comes the advent of end-user searching. Patrons seem the Teaching Resources Center. content to interact with the computer. It teaches them that research is a process and requires a search strategy. Send correspondence and contributions to the editor:

We monitor the two workstations as much as pos- Paul O'Heron sible so that the novice experiencing problems may be Mathematics Department, T-215 helped. Instructions are kept at each terminal. Some Phone : 778-5000, ext.5232 students prefer to learn PAO in a rather serendipitous E-Mail : OHERON_P (All-in-One)

1 Center Stage A Platforrr, for the Discussion of Teaching/Learning Ideas Broome Community College -- Binghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 8 April 15, 1992 While we all hope our classroom teaching enthralls Why I Teach our students, we cannot hope for it to be a complete Elaine Cons, Humanities educational experience. The world offers countless chances for learning: some sweet, some harsh. How do we at BCC Aftcr years of rcfusing to consider teaching as a take advantage of these opportunities? Read on for somepossible alternative career, I was drawn to it again--partly good ideas and implementation,Note: We receivedfrom an economic necessity and partly by design. Litera- enough articles for a sixteen page issue! That's a little too ture and language, French and English in particular, are heavy to carry, so we'll run this as a two part series andmy passion. Any time in my life, when arked what I would finish in May. Thanks to all who contributed. -- ed. most like to be, I would answer a writer. I still want to be a writer. Yet, I found that by secluding myself in study, I Learning Outside the Classroom had nothing to write about. Catherine A. Austin, Student, Mental Health I had tried tcaching, years ago, just after graduating The classroom learning experience offers a vastfrom college--with horrendous results.Recently, in a menu of information and theory. The student learns to mid-life crisis, I wrestled with my own contrary thoughts define terms, concepts and abstracts and what exactly isand emotions concerning the rest of my life. I knew I was needed to pass the test and course. Our main goal forfated to a life of research, reading and writing, however, I attending higher education is to learn but too often ismight starve! Forced by the practical necessity to recon- overshadowed by thc pressure to pass. I am quite sure thatsider, I turned to teaching once again. When BCC asked every instructor hears on a regular basis "Is this going to me to teach French, I got my chance. Amazingly, this time, be on the test?", and becomes dismayed when the pupil I started to like it, or at least I did not tremble and quake disregards the information if it is not testable. In general,at the idca of going to my class every day.I gave my testing is used to measure the students understanding ofstudents a little French, and to my surprise, I received so ( Continued on page 8 ) much more in return! I can't qualify or define in tangible terms the knowledge and understanding I gained from Contents : them, nonetheless, I Have learned as well. Learning Outside the Classroom In teaching, as in writing, I wan t to provoke,j -- Catherine A. Austin, page 1 stimulate, shock, and impress...

The Why of Biology Field Trips I have come to realize that writing and teaching have -- David Sterling, page 3 one major aspect in common. Writing, for me, has always meant writing not just about myself, for myself. I keep a Will It Float? journal and, I have written many personal poems, yet I -- Arthur Haas, pagc 4 always have a vague, amorphous "reader" in my mind. Writing, like teaching, is a form of cornm unication. When The Importance of Clinical Experience I write, I want to communicate my thoughts and experi- -- Carole Barkley, page 4 ences in the most cogent and the most strikingly beautiful way that I can. When I teach, I want to communicate a On-stage! Off-stage'? On-Stage! structured body of material in the most cogent and stimu- -- Angelo Zuccolo, page 5 latingway that I can. Both the viriter and he teacher want to communicate something to others which they earnestly Learning Outside the Classroom: believe others should know. Student Club Membership -- Barbara Nilsen, page 6 In teaching, as in writing, I want to provoke, stimulate, shock, and impress with the intcntion of making my Why I Teach thoughts and feelings or knowledge and experience part -- Elaine Q)rts, pagr! 1 of the consciousness of others. What distinguishes teach- -- Leon Mosher, pe ( Continued on page 2 ) Corts (from page 1) Information Exchange ing from writing is the immediate reactions and feedback the teacher constantly receives. This is very different from The Information Exchange welcomes your ques- writing and something I often find troubling, frustrating,tions and answers. Please send them to The Teaching and even painful, but always stimulating and inspiring. Resource Center.

I have to make time to write or I will lose my sense Q. Does the campus have facilities to make high of self, yet, now I often have many thoughts and feelings Iquality color slides? want to express--about my students, about myself, about language, about literature, and about ieaching. A..John Scaturro (Institutional Advancement), Dean Reilly (Business Division), John Young (Photographer), In a perpetual va-et-vient, teaching induces thought,Wanda Johnston (Director of Learning Resource Cen- which gives rise to writing, which, in turn, brings aboutter) and Nathan Walz (Business) were consulted for this new ways of teaching.One process feeds the other,answer. Our AudioVisual department is not equipped to working together in a strained, symbiotic tension. create presentation materials for faculty. John Young can take color slides upon special request. He usually shoots Why I Teach? in black and white so you need to provide the 35mm color Leon Mosher, Humanities slide film and assume costs for developing. Requests for photographic services should bc made through the office The reason I teach does not come from a great desireof Institutional Advancement. John notes that he has had for the "job security" that pertains to a part-time adjunctsuccess taking slides from high-definition computer position, nor do I teach for the money (not that anyonescreens (i.e. the SUN work stations), but finds standard does), nor do I savor the long hours of correcting andPC's "un-photogenic". At this time the college does not lesson-plan making that occupies a truly motivatedhave the equipment to make slides directly from a com- teacher's every waking hour. puter image. If you want to go off campus for this service, Slide Effects, at 700 Harry L. Drive, is recommended (but I teach simply because I LOVE teaching. I desire tocostly!). share what I know, and the simple fact that I have the ability to do so is almost an obligation. My desire to teach In order to coordinate a shoot around his schedule stems from good experiences that I have had while teach-and yours, John Young requires one month lead time and ing. My first experience teaching was as a volunteer withneeds to know what you want photographed, where and the Girl Scouts at the age of fifteen. At that time, I waswhen the people/object can be found. teaching self-defense (Kung-fu) and the computer language BASIC. It was an indescribable feeling to explain As an aside, it should be no !that the college and be understood. From then on, I was also fortunateencourages departments to develop pxsentations for enough to have been surrounded almost continuouslyevents like the Tech Fair and high school college fairs but with a very long list of supportive teachers who affectedfeels it is inappropriate for departments to take recruiting my life in such a positive way that they made me want to be presentations directly to high schools. a teacher. Corny as it may seem, I really believe that teaching is by far the most noble profession. Teachers Q. How doesa faculty member get funding to attend have the unique opportunity to share their experiences,conferences and seminars out of town? teach a subject, reach into someone's life, and enrich that person's outlook. Teachers can make low self-esteem A.There are two main funding sources available to disappear by getting to know the unique gift that hidesfaculty: departmental funds and Foundation/Faculty Stu- inside each of their students. Discovering the gifts anddent Association (FSA) Professional Development As- abilities of each student is very difficult (impossible atsistance Program Funds. Departments usually set aside a times), but well worth the effort. small portion of their budget for travel, which is distributed to faculty. Allocation practices vary, discuss this with Not only do teachers get to enjoy the act of teaching,your department chair. The major source of funding is the but they also get to see the immediate results of satisfac-Foundation/FSA funds, designed to provide at least par- tion and joy that come when a student understands andtial funding for approved professional development/re- learns. At the beginning of each, semester, a fog usuallysearch activities. Tenure-track faculty, support staff and exists that clouds the understanding of a new subject in aadministrators who are full time or adjunct/temporary student's mind, but little by little, with time, patience andwho have completed 6 semesters of full time teaching are experience, the fog moves away, and the student begins toeligible for a m:4ximum of $600 per year assistance. The

( Continued on page 7 ) ( Continued on page 7 ) 2 b The Why of Biology Field Trips or Continuing toward the opposite shore a male red- Experiential Learning wing, perched, flaTes out it's flaming orange-red, yellow Dave Sterling, Biology edged epaulets. "Wow, neat bird" a few exclaim! Then comes the call which Mr. Biology clumsily emulates, A cold spring morning, temperature 32°F, a stiff"Beeeurrrp!" with imitative arm gestures. Chuckles all little breeze, a few snow flurries, but the field trip boundaround. students in Biology 112 are happy for a respite from four weeks of having their noses over formalin soaked fetal Then comes the call which Mr. Biology pigs. The van pulls away from the campus visible to those clumsily emulates, "Beeeurrrp!" with imi- plunked in their lecture seats. "What can bc garnered on tative arm gestures. such a day?" Next stop, a beaver pond along Cafferty Road in First stop: a wetland marsh off route 12. "There!",Sanitaria Springs.The protected valley allows some the prof points, "Amale red wing blackbird." The grey daycomfort outside the van. Mr. Biology holds forth a com- silhouettes the bird. No color is visible. From the anony- parison of the survival value of instinctive behavior versus mous bowel of thc van a question, 'Mr. Biology', whyintelligence. "Beavers don't go to school to leirn how to would anyone be interested in one small bird?" Privately,build beaver dams. It's an inborn behavior pattern that is newly dubbed, "Mr. Biology" muses "I really have myimmediately adaptive. A naive beaver will build dams work cut out for me with this group!", and then vocally,without ever having seen one.The "culture" of the "This is one of your fellow planetary creatures. I'm tryingbeaver, dams, ponds, canals, and cutting areas fosters a richness of wildlife in their newly created environment." "Mr. Biology" why would anyone be inter-1 No beaver are seen but a pair of muskrats scramble up ested in one small bird'? over the dam. to show you how thesc male redwing blackbirds have their Back in the van the journey continues up the road. territories set up around the perimeter of this pond. TheySuddenly a pair of bluebirds flit across the road. Mr. perch, call, and display their colors hoping to attract a Biology cautiously positions the van for a better view. The hefty harem of ferlales to their particular territory. On a pair are investigating a nest box in the back yard of a better day it would bc more obvious, but with this snappy handsome Victorian farmhouse. The dusty blue color 01 breeze, most birds are down in the cattail reeds". the male is breathtaking. One newly enthusiastic student surveys the others about their next class commitment. The students are reminded of an earlier winterPerceiving none, the students initiate a fantasy of spend- ecology trip when there were no redwings. On that daying the rest of the day on a prolonged field trip. Happy to they hiked across the ice following mink track tracery inhave achieved this small victory, Mr. Biology suggests a snow. Some had then exclaimed in amazement as theygroup spaghetti supper at his housc after viewing the realized they had never before walked on natural ice. spectacular evening mating display of the male woodcock.

Driving further along the causeway, using the van as Reality returns as another student regretfully re- a portable blind, today's group watched a newly returnedports the need to submit a paper at noon. Mr. Biology is phoebe aerobaticly flit from partly flooded twig to partlyrelieved at not having had to terminate the fantasy. flooded twig. "Notice how the tail twitches as if its losing its balance and how it deftly lands on vertical twigs." The group finally arrives at the farm of Rudi and Inga Klenke. They are a retired couple, fugitives from One student derisively relates an uncle's suggestionpost WWII Germany and subsequently Brooklyn, who that his family get binoculars and a bird book, and checkproduce all of their own vegetables, eggs, meat, and cheese off birds seen around their home. "Why would anyoneon their seven acre farm. From the road thc students are want to do that?" Mr. Biology's retort with ihe old sawintrigued by white goats and geese as well as brown "What a tragedy that youth is wasted On the young" ischickens and a holstein calf. Maples surrounding the pert greeted with reflective silence. farmhouse are taped with hoses draining maple sap. Garden terraces cut the hillside. The phoebe's flitting becomes hypnotic as it is often beautifully reflected. "Why is it so fat'?" "It's feathers are For several minutes thc group studies some close at fluffed out to insulate against the cold." Some conjec-hand juncos and house finches at several bird feeders. tures are made about the bird's energy budget and the Redwing blackbirds and evening grosbeaks hover nearby. likelihood of finding enough insects on such a cold day to The hillside sprouts numerous bluebird houses on steel stay alive. posts. Eventually the Klenkes trudge up the hill to join Continued on_p_a e 6 3 ri 7 Will It Float? The Importance Of Clinical Experience Arthur Haas, Civil Engineering Technol .gy Carole Barkley, Student, Physical Therapist Assistant Program

The Civil Engineering Technology Student Club I have two clinical affiliations as a Physical Thera- has participated in concrete canoe racing since 1985.I pist Assistant and, this being my last, I ask myself why they have been the faculty advisor to the club since then andare so important. Just when you think you know every- have found the design and construction of the canoe to bething from class and labs and are sure of yourself, you get a great educational opportunity. Students become activeput to the test. An overwhelming feeling comes over you participants in a valuable learning experience outside theas you enter the last clinical facility and are faced with the classroom. realization that now you are responsible for what you have learned, and must apply that knowledge in the next six The races are hosted by a participating college andweeks. include as many as 15 entrants representing two and four year colleges from around the northeast. In addition to On my first day, I am introduced to staff, get a tour cometing for fastest canoe in the various heats, awardsof the hospital, visit the cafeteria and am given a book are also given for best design, technical paper, oral pre-about the procedures of the Physical Therapy depart- sentation, and the canoe's appearance. It's a fun day for allment. The patients start arriving around 8:30am and I am involved but the students gain a great deal more from the introduced as a "student" from Broome Community Col- experience than a field trip to the races.This is anlege. Am I supposed to be proud or should I quit and run? opportunity for them to take an engineering project from I smile or at least I try to, after all this is my last chance to concept to field performance test in less than a year. prove I can make it. I am then assigned several patients for the day and told to request help if I need it. So far so good, Building a concrete canoe involves a lot of planning,or so I pray. I am familiar with the treatments: ultrasound designing, testing, and teamwork. Each year the studentsand hotpacks. The rest of my first day is not as bad as I have the benefit of learning from last year's imperfections.thought it would be. Basically the out-pants are total Our first canoe, at 250 pounds, was far from the sleek,knee replacements who need an exercise pn Tram, some lightweight canoes of today. That 1985 model was slow,MVA's (motor vehicle accident) who need ultrasound to heavy, and rough. But it did float and it really performedthe neck and hot packs, and patients who injured their in the final race of the day - the demolition derby. Theback at work need the same. Eight hours of this is tiring canoe under construction for this year's race is expected tofor the first day. Is that all there is? weigh in at about 125 pounds. By the second week I am given more responsibility It is a constant challenge to Ond the right combina-and a feeling of inadequacy starts to overcome me. For tion of strength and durability in our concrete mix, whileexample, I am given an 89 year old patient and told to put keeping the weight at a minimum. The students applyhim in a whirlpool and apply sterile dressings to his legs. much of what they learn from their Civil EngineeringThat's easy.I can do that.I remember everything the Technology courses. Much time is spent making trialinstructor taught us about sterile procedure and start the batches of concrete and testing them for weight andwhirlpool with the cholorazene treatment, lay out the compressive strength. This gives the students an oppor-sterile utensils and gloves, gauze, ointments, and I am tunity to conduct a small scale research project. The basicready. In comes my patient in a wheelchair, being pushed ingredients in the mix (cement, aggregate, and water) areby a relative. He pulls his trouser legs above his knees and, varied in each trial batch. Some batches also incorporateto my surprise and shock, I realize this patient's skin some of the newer high tech chemical mixtures designedcondition is much worse than I had imagined. I help him to improve properties of concrete. into the whirlpool and run to the restroom to breathe some fresh air and get my thoughts together.I must Once the best mix is chosen the students must deviseexplain that this is not a typical procedure that a Physical a practical method of forming the shape of the canoe,Therapist Assistant practices in the classroom. It can only applying the concrete, and providing appropriate curingbe experienced in the clinical setting. conditions so that the concrete can achieve its maximum strength. This is a chance for the students to use their Clinicals are important because they allow us to creativity combined with their technical knowledge. practice and gain confidence and experience in the field we have chosen under the direct supervision of a Physical Producing a boat that floats is not the only result ofTherapist. We work with a wide variety of patients who the students' efforts. Over the years, I have seen a grouphave joint pain, strokes, birth defects, heart attacks, am- of people who did not know one another very well becomeputations and the list goes on. Everyday is a learning a team. A common bond also grows between the studentsexperience which helps us become a skilled health care worker. ( Continued on page 5 ) ET]

4 5S On-stage! Off-stage? On-stage! Angelo Zuccolo, Theatre During this process, I constantly underscore the necessity for the student-actor to preserve two truths: the Oliver Goldsmith, speaking of the great Englishtruth of the emotions of his or her character and the truth actor, David Garrick, observed: of the emotions of his or her personal life outside the theatre. The difficulty occurs while working with the On the stage he was natural, simple, affecting;theatrical method called "substitution". 'Twas only that when he was off he was acting. RETALIATION... Oliver Goldsmith For example, if thc actors playing Romeo and Juliet have a real antipathy toward each other off.stage, and Of all of the challenges encountered in workingwithcannot create the sensitive, caring quality of the charac- theatre students outside the classroom/studio, one of theters on-stage, they might "substitute" the genuine emo- most fascinating is sharing with them the means of con-tions which they feel for another and project them toward trolling the tremendous power of being able to producethe co-starring actor's character. Some actors, unable to potent emotions on demand. In "real life" most individu-find such an emotion within their inventory of emotions als have a measure of skill in manufacturing emotions inabout others, might "substitute" their feelings toward order to influence a pertinent situation or person. Actors,their pet dog or delicious lasagna recipe or cozy feeling of by reason of their training, have the capacity of raising thisstaying-in-a-warm-bed-till-two-in-the-afternoon! In any skill to a fine art! case, we advise our student-actors to learn to use "substitution" in the samc manner as an automobile ignition key, The power to makc audiences cry and laugh andi.e. to use it to quicklystart up the emotions of the shout and ache or rejoice in their deepest hearts is ancharacter and then to let it go....to let the engine of the enormous ethical and moral responsibility within thecharacter's own emotions propel the play forward. To context of a stage performance. It is even more the casedrive with the key still on is badly counter-productive. when tempted for use beyond the theatre doors. After a time, our student-actors become amazed at Not long ago, a student-actor mentioned that histhe power which they can exert with and over emotions girlfriend would have nothing more to do with him afterwhich, in many cases, they did not even know existed seeing him in a show. He had apparently played a lovewithin themselves. At this point, thcy are able to stretch scene with such consummate skill that she doubted thetheir wings and experience the joy of soaring in the rar- sincerity of the private tenderness he manifested towardefied atm!' ptere of the actor's constellar lights. her, since it was couched in the same soft voice and giving glances which had made thc aforcmentioned scene so With time, training and experience comes the self moving. My caveat was one of the tenets of the actor'sassurance which gives the student-actor not only the on- code, i.e. "Don't ever bring your lover to see you in a lovestage confidence, but also inner strength, which, like scene!" Ravel's Bolero, builds inexorably to the awareness, performance and celebration of a myriad of one's talents. Fortunately, most of our student-actors recognize Student-actor-technician William McKercher succinctly and accept the purpose of their performance training,summarizes the beyond-the-classroom experience in stat- with the realization that resulting off-stage problems are ing: "To turn a simple piccc of wood into a form of scenic frequently the problems of the beholder. The idea, forart, or a written line into feeling and compassion, is an example, of using acting as some form of psycho-therapyexperience which creates a warm glow inside of me....a is quickly and summarily dismissed in early preparationssense of satisfaction and accomplishment...I love it!" The professional actor knows how to distance his personal life from his role ... Haas (from page 4) for character analysis. In this sense, the student-actor who wishes to play a character in a play about divorce, becauseand the faculty.This closeness is one of the special hc or she is going through an actual divorce situationbenefits we as teachers gain from having the chance to whether personally or within the family, will be alerted towork side by side with the students on projects like this. the inherent dangers of such casting. Certainly, such an actor could bring insights into the role, but at significant This year race day is April 11 at Cornell University. cost to that actor's ability to submcrge oneself into theExpectations are high and morale is even higher. What- subjectivity of the play. The professional actor knows however happens and whoever wins is not really what matters. to distance his personal life from his role, however muchAvaluable learning experience has taken place and friend- they might approximate. The student-actor is learningships that have formed will last well past the students' how to do this. years on campus.

5 9 Sterling (from page 3) extract milk from a goats udder.Inga talks about the the group. Mr. Biology feels guilty that the elderly couplewonders of caring and living with goats and the nutritional must climb to them but grateful that his old friends arcuniqueness of their milk. All the young men embarrass- happy to talk to these novice birders about bluebirds iningly decline an opportunity to milk a goat. "No way!" their lives. Rudi distributes a few color pamphlets about bluebirds. Tkie groups' return route takes them past the D & H Railway tunnel at Tunnel, N.Y. Mr. Biology offers that With ruddy cheeks thc Klenkes cheerily joke with the students should hear John Young's narration of the the students. They obviously love birds and love tellingfamous fracas that occurred there in the 1800's when othcrs about the plight of the bluebirds. The EnglishGould and Fiske of the Erie R.R. attempted to steal the Starling introduced by a Shakespeare enthusiast in thethen Susquehanna and Albany R.R. Line back in the days 1890's nearly exterminated the eastern bluebird by aggres-of "Saratoga Trunk." sively driving bluebirds out of nest holes. Now only the provision of nest boxes having a hole diameter no greater Several other beaver ponds are noted along the way than 1 112 inches saves the species. as well as a vety interesting contemporary underground house where the owners mow their roof. A discussion While Rudi details the dimensional requirementsensues about the energy saving and advantages of such a of bluebird houses, Inga questions Mr. Biology abouthousc against the higher costs of concrete construction to some unusual local duck sightings.The Klenkes aresupport an earthen roof. These modern cave dwellers happy at their task of a eating converts to environmental-dangle numerous Mid feeders above the "cave" entrance. ism e.g. sensitized, caring, aware young ecologists and lovers of bluebirds.Rudi jokes in German accented' Finally back at B.C.C. the next class waits patiently English about his plan to build no more bluebird houseswhile the returning Biology 112 students stow their bin- this past winter, but alas, he built more than ever before,oculars and pick up their bookbags.This provides a 127, bringing his long term total to over 6(X). captive audience for the now effusive Biology 112 students' comments about serendipitous happy happenings Rudi leads the group down to thc pole barn for aof their just completed field trip. Mr. Biology enjoys a hands on meeting with the goats.One brave youngsmall moment of education elation. woman, following Inga's example and instruction gets to

Learning Outside the Classroom: Student thcir learning by attcnding workshops and meetings and Club Membership at the same time broaden their perspectives of career Barbara Nilsen, Early Childhood Education options within the profession. For campus meetings, whcn students have reponsibility for selecting their own "Good Beginnings Never End" was the nationaltopics, they can augment classroom subjects through their slogan last ycar for the National Association for theown i nitiatives and basedecisions on self-evaluation rather Education of Young Children. It can beapplied to college than the instructor's agendas. This empowers them to students who during their preparation years join andself-directed learning. participate in a career-related organization. Our Early Childhood students are given the opportunity to learn Belonging to a career-related organization acquaints outside thc classroom through organizing and participat-them with the profession and provides contacts within the ing in their campus organization BECA (Broome Earlyfield to act as mentors and role models as well as future Childhood Association), which is a student affiliate of theemployment networks. Studies have indicated that stu- local, state and national affiliates of NAEYC. From mydents who belong to professional organizations during reading and contact with other campus groups I believetheir college years tend to begin their first jobs at higher thcse good beginnings are not unique to our club. wages and stay longer, perhaps because of these contacts made and more realistic expectations of the work. This efBelonging to a campus club can bring ben- participation in thc organization usually continues after its academically, professionally, socially graduation eliminating the isolation many feel upon en- and personally. tering their profession.It provides a support system, a L network of information exchanges and opportunities for Belonging to a campus club can bring benefits aca-further development. demically, professionally, socially and personally. It has been documented that participation ip a campus club The peer relationships established on campus raises retention rates and academic aver of collegethrough the club can provide social interaction and a students. It provides opportunities for stu.....nts to expand ( Continued on page 7 ) 6 Mosher (from page 2) problems within our society that stem from the fact that a good percentage of our youth are receiving a poor educa- see the point clearer. Only with this type of dedication, tion. This, in part, motivates me to give every ounce of my will reachable students receive the skills they need. When energy to my students, often using some very unorthodox these students reach this clarity stage, with it comes a methods, but still reaching them as best I know how. feeling of pride and self-worth that is shared not only by thc student, but by the teacher as well. I do not believe To finish, I would just like to say that teaching is another profession exists that allows this type of person- more than a profession for me, it's a way of life. There are ally uplifting experience several times a week. certain characteristics that accompany a "teacher". My good teachers "bent over backwards" to make me a better Although not everyone can teact', :IA therefore not student and person. They made sure that I understood the everyone should, explains one Ji the problems in the subject well enough to teach it.They taught me that educatio nal system today: people are teaching that should teaching or explaining a course to someone is the only not be. Teaching is not a passive occupation, one has to sure way to tell whether you have grasped the idea your- "jump in with both feet" and dedicate a large portion of self.I owe it to them and to my students to be the best one's time and energy to invent imaginative ways to make teacher that I possibly can. If you do not enjoy the job, the the class interesting as well as instructional. I am also a students can tell and it affects their performance. I only firm believer in pushing the class to its full capacity for hope that every teacher has as much fun as I do and shares learning (Spanish or whatever subject you happen to be in the same experiences of pride and joy that I receive from teaching thcm).If the class understands the material teaching. If they do not, I really feel sorry for them because easily, then one has to expand that understanding as they are missing the whole point. totally as possible, pushing the class to their full potential. The object of the class is to teach the student with the Information Exchange (from page 2) If the class understands the material easily, first step to qualify for Foundation/FSA funds is to com- then one has to expand that understanding plete a professional development growth plan, and file it as totally as possible, pushing the class to with Francis Battisti, the Coordinator of Professional their full potential. Development. Once the plan is on file, you may apply for funding for specific events. A peer review committee lowest ability as much as possible while still testing the reviews applications for assistance and recommends fund- smartest and most gifted students.This attitude anding. The Professional Development Plan forms and Ap- dedication is not hereditary, one has to really want toplication forms are available at the Teaching Resource teach to put that much time and effort into a profession.Center and the offices of departmental chairs, directors, I remember when I was in twelfth grade, I had a teacheracademic deans and the Coordinator of Professional De- named Mr. Newton for engineering and mathematicalvelopment. Es sciences. He used to give us incredibly hard exams that even the best students in the class could not pass. These types of exams tested the whole class, no matter at what level thc student progressed, it pushed them.I believe that this approach to teaching is far better than the "bellNilsen (from page 6) curve" or the "I will get them with this question-revenge" method of exam writing. A semester is a short time period sense of camaraderie helping the student to feel a -iart of and we need to teach the students as much as possiblewith cami, as life. Relationships formed with others wi n simi- the highest retention rate. Good retention is only pos-lar interests can form bonds that last a lifethr The sible through the understanding of a subject, not throughleadership skills developed in a campus chlb 'mot be memorization. minimized either. Planning and leading 5, con- tacting and introducing speakers, fund rai. jolicity, ...the shortage of qualified teachers or "lack working cooperatively with others are skill'vwill be of good teachers," obligates the ones who valuable in the workplace. Building organizalional skills, can teach to share their gift. working within systems, exercisingresponsibility, tact and volunteerism dre valuable characteristics gained by Because of the great cost to a teacher professionally,student leaders that are difficult to teach in a classroom. personally, and mentally, a shortage of people exists with this kind of "give all" attitude. However, the shortage of The benefits to the student, the campus and society qualified teachers or "lack of good teachers," obligatesfrom professional organization membership are truly the ones who can teach to share their gift. We have many"good beginnings that never end."

61 Austin (from page 1) proved to be one of the most valuable lessons of the the material. What may be difficult to examine is thesemester. The focus is not on me, but how the client can insight gained by the learner. be helped. This help was not only to make sure that the services needed were provided, but also to ensure that the Many professors, wanting to enrich their students'client was treated as an individual. The person before me learn ing experiences, have used group projects as a part ofwas not a carefully laid out case study that was to be their course. Much of the preparation occurs outside ofanalyzed and a list of treatments given. This was a person the classroom. Research is gathered by the individualsin real need.I quickly realized the coldness of my ap- and is brought back to the group. Data must be collected,proach. After the interview, I had to examine not only the organized and interpreted. A learning process goes onmechanics but the motives. Was I seeing the interviev within the group structure that is semi-independent of thefrom the client's perspective. How would I feel if I was classroom. being interviewed? What would be some things that would make me feel more at ease in this situation? In Often what may or,ur is the AH HA! phenomenon. asking these kinds of questions, the AH HA! phenom- The learner begins to digest the material and use it forenon came into play. I could recall class instruction and more than testing. Applications to experiences, previousdiscussions concerning the subject.In combining the courses and outside readings are woven into the informa-academic with the actual, insight began to take place. tion. The process of own ing the material is deepened. TheAlthough the methods of interviewing were taught, they student has not only learned the academic principals butwere not learned until used. begins to see the application. The story of the novice musician asking the virtuoso Another approach to learning outside the class-"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" with the later reply- room is the internship.Such an experience providesing "Practice, practice, practice." comes to mind on a opportunity for application o f theory an d concepts learnedregular basis. In the setting of the internship I am allowed in the closed environment of the classroom. It is in vivoto make mistakes and learn from them w. tout severely experience and not the neat little term paper where every-negatively impacting clients. The mentors will offer ad- thing fits together perfectly. vice and direction to improve and understand. The "new" is then incorporated into the "practice". While I am a As a second year student in the Mental Healthlong way off, I can see progress in the right direction. This curriculum, my courses have had a heavy concentration in kind of learning is limited within the classroom setting Psychology. The tendency of wanting to analyze andand I am grateful for this field experience. diagnose is at times very strong. A casual observation made of Mental Health students is that they appear to The impression that the internship has made on me have their own language - "psychologese". The academicbrings to mind what Sophocles said "Knowledge must concentration is on terms and concepts. While that iscome through action...". I would substitute wisdom for useful, it is distinct from the much needed practical side ofknowledge in his statemP Knowledge is the foundation the science. The skills that are a part of the helpingthat wisdom builds on. Wisdom is developed through profession go beyond being a good diagnostician. Thesetime and experience and I feel that the internship contrib- interpersonal skills can be examined and explained in theutes toward this development. textbook (as in Brammer's The Helping Relationship and Corey's Issues and Ethics in Helping Professions) but °ming Next Issue they are not truly learned until one applies and makes it a part of their being. The last issue for this semester will be a continuation of the topic of education outside the classroom. Starting an internship at the Department of Social Writers include: Dave Walsh, Carolyn Pierce, and Services was a shock to my system. The statistics that are Deborah Spanfelner. so easily thrown around now had faces. My ability to diagnose and define terms was not all that helpful. What Center Stage is published monthly in co( peration with I needed to learn (and continue to learn) was the "people the Teaching Resources Center. skills". Theory had to move into the realm of reality. Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: For an example, let me share my first attempt at interviewing a client applying for emergency food stamps. Paul O'Heron I thought I was being a proper student prepared with my Mathematics Department, T-215 list of questions.There was more concern over the Phone : 778-5(XX), ext.5232 mechanics of the interview than the actual need of the E-Mail : OHERON P (All-in-One) client. Even though I did not do well in the interview, it 8 Center Stage A Platform for the Discussion of Teaching/ Learning Ideas Broome Community College -- Binghamton, New York 13902

Volume 2 Number 9 May 15, 1992

This is the last issue of Center Stage for the year. The Evergla les' Classroom Inside you will find thc continuation of last month's topic Dave Wish, Biology "Education outside theclassroom", articles detailing how Mathematics is used to thc benefit and enrichment of I'm certain many of you, particularly those attempt- society, and thc annual summer reading list. ing to reserve a college van, know the Biology Department is big on out of classroom educational experiences. Our The librarians have put together a potpourri ofmost ambitious credit offering is BIO 200 Ecology: The interesting titles, along with a synopsis of what to expectEverglades developed by Rick Firenze and myself. underneath.They did a nice job under sudden time constraints. If you are one of the sixteen or seventeen students .epted as a participant in the As you read this issue, please take timc to reflect on course, shortly after Christmas you will find the fact that there have been seventeen issues of Center yourself packing all your personal needs Stage published since the inaugural issue in October 1990. There have been approximately onc hundred au- into one backpack... thors, including faculty, students and administrators, almost entirely from this campus. In each case these people If you are one of the sixteen or seventeen students took time to tell us how they felt, and why what they wereaccepted as a participant in the course, shortly after doing was important. Christmas you will find yourself packing all your personal needs into one backpack for a ten day camping experience As we all know by conversations with friends, ac-in the Everglades National Park. A definite exercise for quaintanws, and people around town, BCC is somethingcritical thinking. Next you hop in a college vehicle for a special. I'll take up a little space to say that its the peopletwo day drive which ultimately concludes with a mid-night here that make it special. You have been wonderful torendezvous with what will become the most feared beast work with as readers, writers and critics. (Okay, I'm lyingin the Everglades - the mosquito. Try as you may you will ( Continued on page 7 ) eventually make a donation to the cause being actively incorporated into the Everglades' food chain. You are Contents : now an official trophic level in the transfer of energy through an ecosystem. The Everglades' Classroom Perhaps the above scenario provides a brief glimpse -- David Walsh, page 1 of the value of moving the classroom beyond those sacred four walls. It presents that good ol' teachable moment, a Nursing Education Off-Campus little nugget of time when a student has been personally -- Carolyn Pierce, page 3 affected and really wants to know. The challenge for the teacher is to pick up on those moments and make the most The Library, A Classroom With Limitless of them. Opportunities for Lifelong Learning -- Debbie Spanfelner, page 4 By and large, biology happens outside so we imply go where the action is.For a microcosm of biological Summer Leisure Reading List concepts, there is no place in the world like the Everglades -- Jane Rawoof, offering more teachable moments than you have "House" -- Ann Repasky members writing latex checks. Debbic Spanfelncr -- Suzanne Sullivan Your ten days will be filled with field trips - morning -- Greta Wingate, page 5 (some as early as 6:(X) AM), afternoon and night (some concluding well after midnight), hikes through pine for- Mathematics and the Environment Maruja I ,ander, page 8 ( Continued on page 2 ) Walsh (from pa,., 1) Information Exchange ests, saw grass prairies, desert like coastal prairies, wad ing411...INIMMUNII in Florida Bay, slogging around in a cypress dome, canoe- The Information Exchange welcomes your ques- ing through a mangrove swamp and even bicycling alongtions and answers. Please send them to: Center Stage c/o a main water flow. There is only one strategy for successthe Teaching Resource Center. in the Everglades. You must take your time, observe and think, for the Everglades is a subtle place richly rewarding QWhat will happened to Center Stagenow ',,hat Paul patience and curiosity. The more you ask yoursel f whv theO'Heron is stepping down as Editor? more the magic of the biological world will unfold to you. A The Teaching Resource Center Advisory Board Facts and phrases in the traditional classroom be-shares your concern about this and have been seeking come an unforgettable experience when you live them.volunteers to take over the editing tasks. Requests have Much of the biological world is adapted for night timeappeared in FOCUS, first for an Editor-in-Chief and activity (nocturnal). We, on the other hand, are day timemore recently for monthly editors. To date we have seven critters (diurnal). It takesonly a few seconds tostate thesevolunteers: E. Beamish, A. Soya, G. Higginbottom, L concepts in a standard classroom setting and they areMapes, M. Akins, R. Williams & C. Ligeikis-Clayton. diligently filed away to be forgotten for the exam. How-Faculty are still needed to edit the April and May issues. ever, when you are sitting alone in a dense stand of vegetation called a hammock listening to the night sounds, What is involved in editing an issueof Center Stage? nocturnal takes on a new meaning. When the leaves rustleThe job responsibilities for editor include selecting a and a few twigs break you quickly realize just how unpre-theme for the issue, soliciting articles, editing them and pared you are to cope with the night while gaining newsubmitting them to the Teaching Resource Center for respect for nocturnal adaptations. (Note: students arepublication. The Editor's work is done the month before safe and most survive.) the issue will be published. If you'd like to edit, but can't come up with a theme the TRC advisory board can suggest In as much as BIO 200 is a biolog course it is also a Ifyou'd likeediting but not recruiting writers (or vice psychology course - an exercise in group dynamics. Theversa) perhaps you would consider sharing the job as co- success of the psychological dimension dictates the suc-editor. Completed articles are sent (electronic copies via cess of the biological aspect. In short, if the student is aE-mail, handwritten, typed or diskette copies dropped off comfortable part of the group he/she has the mentalor mailed) to the TRC where they are processed and freedom to learn. prepared for publishing. The author is asked to review the final copy and the completed issue is sent to the Copy think it is critical in a course of this nature Center for duplication. to be so well organized and structured that If you're one of the people that eagerly you are actually flexible. awaits the arrival of this publication... we Fourteen days of close q ua rter fivingcan test anyone's need yout help. mettle resulting in the real person emerging somewhere If you're one of the people that eagerly awaits the along the line. Rick and I try to pick students with thearrival of this publication.., we need your help. We would right blend of en thusiasm and temperament and plant thelike to continue to bring you the quality service that you unity theme early in our pre-trip sessions. As we tell thehave so enjoyed. If Center Stage is important to you, then students, our goal is not to live in the Everglades for tengo to your telephone and dial 5354. No Visa card or days but to live with the Everglades for ten days. You callcheckbook is required. Make a pledge of support today! that coexisting, so if we are to coexist with the "Glades",(Apologies to WSKG.) we must first learn to coexist with each other. What any one student can get from the course is directly propor- tional to the unity of the group. One of the most reward- QAre copies of the Faculty Handbook available? ing aspects of the course is to see a group of strangers leave for Florida and a group of close friends return. AThe Teaching Rtsource Center is currently in the process of revising the book, which will be available for I think it is critical in a course of this nature to be sonew faculty orientation in August. If you didn't have a well organized and structured that you are actually flex-copy of the handbook and would like one contact the ible. You must realize from the onset things will never go Center, we would be happy to send you one when they are exactly as planned so you are continually altering yourfinished. plans on the fly and sliding things in as they fit.It may

( Continued on page 7 ) ( Continued on page 7 ) 2

4 Nursing Education Off-Campus valuable to reinforce principles and as a foundation for Carolyn Pierce, Nursiiv, further more complex principles. For example, students learn from an early point the importance of meticulous A significant and vital portion of educating theskin care to prevent complications. During clinical expe- nursing student occurs outside of the traditional class-riences, they have the opportunity to see first-hand the room and nursing laboratory in off-campus clinical as-outcome of various efforts to prevent skin breakdown and signments. This clinical component is an integral part ofthe successes and failures in a variety of settings with many educating nurses who are prepared to provide qualitydifferent types of clients. nursing care in a variety of settings following graduation from Broome Community College. The off-campus clini- In addition to the scientific principles, students cal experience provides the nursing student with the op-develop psychomotor skills with hands-on practice in portunity to apply theory gained in the classroom in realmany complex situations. Instructors and studentsalike situations.Students also practice psychomotor skillscan evaluate students' progress toward masteryof com- presented in the nursing laboratory in a typical environ-plex skills in the increasingly high-tech health care envi- ment under supervision of a clinical instructor. ronment.Students often fear performing potentially painful procedures such as insertions of catheters or A major tenet of the philosophy of BCC's giving injections. Practicing on a dummy in the nursing nursing education is that nursing education laboratory does not replace giving an injection to your should progress from simpler to more com- first "real" client! plex principles. Students can try new and creative ways to A major tenet of the philosophy of BCC's nursing solve problems... education is that nursing education should progress from simpler to more complex principles. Therefore, off-cam- Nursing students apply principles of the nursing pus clinical assignments extend across a widevariety ofprocess to real clients in real situations.Students develop health care facilities in tandem to content presented in thea comprehensive Nursing Care Plan, dePier the care they classroom. Early in the program, nursing students havehave planned, and then evaluate the effectiveness of their opportunities to practice simple skills such as vital signs,plan and delivery. Students can try new and creative ways hygiene and basic health assessments in local nursingto solve problems and use their analysis of outcomes to homes and hospitals. As the program progresses, nursingprovide better care to subsequent clients with similar students are assigned to increasingly more complex situ-problems. ations in the hospitals, as well as Binghamton Psychiatric Center and Broome Developmental Center. Some stu- Another valuable part of the clinical experience is dents opt to spend a day with a local hospice worker or aobservation of expert nurses and other health care provid- public health nurse. At the conclusion of the educationalers in actual client care situations. Students find thisis a program, students will have hands-on practice in avarietypowerful adjunct to the scientific principles when learn- of settings including pediatrics, obstetrics, psychiatry,ing how to react to all types of health care situations. critical care, surgery, geriatrics, and complex medical-Students also see first-hand how experienceil nurses re- surgical settings. spond to various intangibles that occur frequently but cannot be anticipated. Along with this is the opportunity BCC's clinical instructors are registered nurses withfor students to observe what it is that nurses really do in a advanced educational preparation and a working knowl-variety of health care settings, and they can make in- edge of clinical nursing role. The instructor serves toformed decisions about the area where they chose to work guide and facilitate the students by assigning appropriateafter graduation. Some also may find that nursing is not learning experiences. Development of critical thinkingwhat they wish to do after such observations and make skills is a major consideration of the instructor in theappropriate career changes. clinical setting, and conferences before and after clinical serve to foster group and individual analyses of theclinical Nursing students learn to communicate with all experiences. types of persons in a wide variety of real-life situations. Students are actively involved in health care delivery in The value of off-campus instruction lies in manyvaried and frequently pressurized situations and gain areas as previously mentioned and is especially valuableinvaluable understanding of therapeutic communication as students apply newly acquired scientific principles to techniques with each involved person, whether they are actual client care situations. Instructors have the oppor-clients, family members, physicians, or other health care tun ity to check students' understanding of principles taughtproviders. in the dassroom, thus validating their effort or indicating a need for changes. Students find this application process ( Continued on page 7 ) The Library, A Classroom With limitless gested Objectives foe Library Instruction," RQ 25 (Win- Opportunities for Lifelong Learning ter 1985): 195-96. Deborah L. Spanfelner, Library In addition to formal group tours and B.1., instruc- I see the Library as an extension of the classroomtion is made available through supplemental resources where learning becomes even more interactive.Thisenhancing curricular offerings as well as point-of-use and provides the student with the opportunity to become anindividualized reference assistance. The microfilm and active partner in the education process. The Library hasfiche reader/printers present information in the various developed an extensive instruction program which hasformats which students are encountering in such careers tripled from 53 classes in 1987-88 to an average of 161as Office Technology and the Medical Technologies. Stu- classes mi,* academic year. dents also have access to information in videotape, audio

The librarians here at BCC have adopted various The microfilm and fiche reader/printers methods and media for imparting library skills to its present information in the various formats patrons. There are general library tours and bibliographic which students are encountering in such instruction (B.I.) sessions which integrate the goals and careers as Office Technology and the Medi- objectives of the discipline. The most successful B.I. cal Technologies. classes are those in which the librarian and instructor work closely regarding curriculum design and assignmentcassette, slide, and filmstrip formats and the correspond- goals. The assignment is closely aligned with the materialing equipment on which they run. They provide for one- taught in class. It serves as reinforcement for the libraryon-one learning which enables the viewer or listener to lecture and tour. proceed at a speed which is comfortable for his level. It's an opportunity for the students to take responsibility for Instructors are also given the choice of presenting atheir education. Think, for example, how much more generic videotaped orientation to their students. Thestimulating it is to look at a paramecium on a slide videotape can be used when it becomes difficult to sched-projector screen in addition to reading about it in a ule a library class due to conflicting schedules.Thetextbook! videotape is very well done, but is not meant to be a substitution for the "in vivo" library class. The handouts rack in the library contains "poi nt-of- use"guides as well as bibliographies and pathfinders. The Different media and methodologies may latter refer the patron to the va" S information re- be employed in a [bibliographic instruc- sources for a particular topic, L.,,ng with appropriate tion] session in order to accommodate the subject headings to use for searching. The "point-of-use" varied cognitive learning styles. or "how-to-use" guides have been placed by each print index to aid the more timid library patron in using these Different media and methodologies may be em- indexes. ployed in a B.I. session in order to accommodate the varied cognitive learning styles. For example, the CD- The reference interview conductec by the librarian ROM Program, Periodical Abstracts Ondisc (PAO), isteaches thestudent how to define his topic and the first introduced with a series of transparencies whichexecution of more effective search strategies. Students present Boolean searching, set logic, and sample screens.get to work with the information professional in adopting The CD-ROM workstations provide a unique outlet forskills which empower the students to be lifelong learners information.The students tend to spend more timeand independent users of information. thinking through their search strategies. Once the cita- tion appears on the screen, they then proceed to utilize The role of the librarian as instructor is their critical thinking skills to assess what they have more important than it has ever been. found. According to guidelines developed by the Refer- ence and Adult Services Division of ALA in 1985, B.I. Both individual reference service as well as B.I. should have as its four major objectives: classes have been affected by the information age and technology. For example, CD-ROM programs for end To know which online systems are available anduser searching and Online Public Access Catalogs present what each system represents; to analyze each informationa challenge for librarians teaching B.I. classes. The con- need and to develop a search strategy appropriate to tht tent of the class must now include the new technology as need and the system; to operate the system in an efficientwell as print sources. Since the average B.L class lasts 50 manner; and to understand how to interpret the searchminutes, it requires that the librarian present the infor- results and how to obtain the needed information. Dennismation as concisely and clearly as possible. The role of the Hamilton. "Library Users and Online Systems:Sug- ( Continued on page 7 ) 4 CC Summer Leisure Reading List, 1992 Jane Rawoof, Ann Repasky, Debbie Spanfelner, Suzanne Sullivan, Foxworth, Jo. Boss Lady. New York: Crowell, 1978. Greta Wingate, Library HF5500.3.U54F68. The author's description of her position in an advertising Once again we have compiled a list of books for youragency illustrates a woman's effort to succeed in the. field summer reading pleasure. The books which our Libraryof her choice. She vividly portrays her struggle to rise owns, are followed by a call number. ENJOY! at we the office politics that were used to manipulate and coerce her to perform certain tasks because she was a Brow, H. Jackson Jr. Life's Little Instruction woman. Foxworth learned the business so well that today bo.A. Tennessee: Rutledge Hill Press, 1991. she has her own advertising agency. (ar) This book began as a gift from the author to his son as he was beginning his first year in college. It provides 511 tipsFrontero, Vincent. What's Free and Cheap in New on how to live a happy and rewarding life. It has been quite York. New York: Penguin Books. popular as a gift item. (dls) REF F128.18.F76 1991. This book is a "must" to take along with you if you're Carreras, Jose. Singing From the Soul. 1991. going to the Big Apple. (dls) MIA20.C2566A3. This is the autobiography of the famous operatic tenor. I found this book in the stacks while weed- The first half is especially interesting and inspiring. He ing the collection this spring. explains how he deals with his leukemia and undergoes a bone marrow transplant in the U.S. Now he is completelyGann, Ernest K. Fidd!er's Green. New York: Sloane, recovered and is back on the operatic stage. Through his 1950. PS3513.A56 F6. experiences, he has learned the true priorities of life--I found this book in the staks while weeding the collec- one's dependence on God and the importance of one'stion this spring. Since this is the title of a folk tune, I had family. Or) to read the book. The title refers to the imaginary Elysian field of "sailors and vagabond craftsmen...where Ither's] Chacour, Elias. We Belong to the Land. 1990. many a lass and glass,...and never a stormy sea." The book D113.7.C495. is about professional fishing where the thought of alba- A Melkite (Eastern Rite) priest arrives in a small Israelicore "lured him far to the sea to the blue-green water. village to take up his duties at a new parish. AbunaThen the madness that could draw him to such an occupa- (Father) Elias works a miracle: old animosities are over-tion is understandable." (ss) come; the three major Arab subgroups work together for the good of all.Under Abuna Elias' leadership, theGershon, David and Gail Straub. Empowerment: The villagers' efforts result in the Prophet Elias High School Art of Cmatirm Life as You Want It. New York: for the village. (jr) Dell Publishing, 1989. Money, miracles, creative visualization, spiritual paths, Cipriani, Arrigo. The Harry's Bar Cookbook. New York:falling in love. Lots of exercises and space to write. You Bantam Books, 1991. TX723.C562. may end up writing a book about yourjourney! Mr. Cipriani shares recipes as well as the history and(Uncataloged) (ss) background of the world-famous bar and restaurant located in Venice, near Nana, San Marco. The recipes areHoffman, Alice. Seventh Heaven. New York: easy to follow. This critic especially favors the homemade Putnam's Sons, 1990. Orzetto--a barley soup. (dls) This is a tale of life in a suburban community in the 1950s in which you will feel immersed and at home. Light Theoretical and practical information for fiction. (ss) new instructors; helpful review for any college teacher. Krause, Corinne Azen. Grandmothers, Mothers, and Daughters. Boston: Dwayne Publishers, 1991. Flood, Barbara J. and Joy K. Moll. The Professor HQ1410.K73. Business: A Teaching Primer for Facul Three generations of women of the Jewish, Slavic, and Medford, New Jersey: Learned Information, Italian nationalities describe their lives showing the dif- 1990. FRR LB2331.F56. ferences in society and technology during each of their Theoretical and practical information for new instruc-lifetimes. The grandmothers who emigrated from their tors; helpful review for any college teacher.Includesnative lands recall their bittersweet memories of adjust- classroom management and faculty responsibilities. Forment problems. The mothers portray life during the all college faculty (community college as well as univer-Great Depression which was followed by World War II sity). (gw) ( Continued on page 6 )

5 Summer Reading (from page 5) Ross, Anne and Don Robins. The Life and Death of a and the daughters whose lives are much different today Druid Prince: The Story of Lindow Man, an from their mothers and grandmothers give their views. Archeological Sensation. New York: Summit, 1989. (ar) DA 690.L6R6. Recounts the 1984 investigation into the history of a body Magliozzi, Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Car Talk. 1991. found in an English peat bog. Lindow Man was a Druid TL152.M214. priest who was ritually murdered. Good archeological "Click" and "Clack" (regularly heard in this area onand historical background. (gw) WSKG-FM Sundays at 1 p.m.) present an amusing and witty guide to the anatomy of the car for the layperson. Recounts the 1984 investigation into the Interspersed with the text are actual on-air questions from history of a body found in an English peat callers and the brothers' knowledgeable and humorous bog. responses. (jr) Sanford, Linda and Mary Ellen Donovan. Women and May le, Peter. A Year in Provence. New York: Self-esteem. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. Vintage Books, 1989. HQ1206.S24. The reader is taken through one year in the life of PeterAn inspiring self-help book that offers hands-on exercises May le and his spouse. This couple moved from Englandwhich the author refers to as "Blueprints for Change." to rent a 200 year-old stone farmhouse in Provence,Ms. Sanford presented a workshop on the topic in Bing- France. Mr. May le vividly describes the frosty mistral,hamton, New York recently. (d1s) French cuisine, and customs. It makes the reader feel as if he is really there. It won the British Book Awards' "BestShevardnadze, Eduard. The Future Belongs to Travel Book of the Year" in 1989. This author also wrote, Freedom. New York: The Free Press, 1991. Toujours Provence. (dls) DK290.S54A3. The former foreign minister portrays his early career in Morse, Melvin and Paul Perry. Cl:_se_r_to. Soviet Union politics.He also describes his role in New York: Villard Books, 1990. BF.1045.N4M67. "perestroika" which helped the Soviet Union in its for- Paul Perry and Melvin Morse, who is a doctor, gives theeign relations with other countries. His close friendship results of his interviews with children who had near-with Gorbachev reveals his participation in the recent death-experiences. He finds that the young children whodownfall of Communism in the Eastern European coun- do not possess an adult vocabulary are capable of express-tries. Shevardnadze was a political figure who wanted to ing their near-death-experiences very well. Ten yearsbring about change in the Soviet Union and thereby give later, he returns to interview these same children tothe people a better life. (ar) comp= with his previous findings. (ar) Simmons, Thomas. Escape from Archangel. 1990. Osterud, Nancy Grey. Bonds of Community: The Lives D810. T8S48 of Farm Women in Nineteenth Century New York.During World War II, an American merchant seaman on Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991. the Murmansk run of convoy ships (northern Soviet HQ1438.N57 088. Union), after missing curfew, is detained and imprisoned The research is based on the diaries of people living in theby Soviet authorities. He escapes and makes his way Nanticoke Valley. Even men kept diaries--"Lucy Ann hasacross Finland to freedom. (jr) been up to Bert's all afternoon and is gone again this evening to Stay 311 night leaves us all alone Seems lone- A classic. some Wish this world was not so full of Cares and trials as it is...Feb. 3, 1881." (ss) Tuchman, Barbara. The Zimmerman Telegram. 1966. D511.T77 Patent, Arnold M. You Can Have it All. Piermont, A classic. A secret telegram to a high German official is New York: Celebration Publishing, 1987. intercepted and decoded by the British.It was a major The universe is perfect. You will believe this after readingfactor in America's entering World War I on the side of this book. There is no right and wrong.Releasingthe Allies from her position of neutrality and possible judgement of a person or situation releases the discom-negotiator, when she learned of the start of U-boat war- fort as well. Perceiving the situation in a different way,fare and of the Kaiser's promise to restore the Southwest changes the experience. This is a quick-read-feel-good,and Texas to Mexico. (jr) ED with minor shocks that change your perceptions to--JOY. Enjoy! (ss) Walsh (from page 2) Pierce (from page 3) sound easy but you really must have your act together to Also BCC nursing students develop higher level pull it off. cognitive functions such as organization, independence, and leadership skills in the clinical setting. Students are Another key component in this course is a compat-expected to take on increasingly more difficult and com- ible colleague. Rick Firenze and I have a certain chemis- plex roles as they progress throughout the program. Be- try fueled by humor which permeates anything we docause the majority of BCC nursing students are non- together.It is a vital ingredient which puts students attraditional students with a wide variety of I ife experiences, ease, seems to create a sense of trust, and mostcertainlymany have significant aptitudes in these areasand find defuses the unexpected. The tighter the situation gets thethis easier than expected. more we resort to humor and on occasion - well, the Marx ...the majority of BCC nursing students are Brothers would be proud. non-traditional students with a wide variety Finally, when students catch fire and are ready to of life experiences ... learn on their own, get the heck out of the way and let them go. When I sec our students in action in the "Glades,"it Education of the nursing student is augmented dur- is always a refreshing reminder of just how good many ofing the off-campus clinical experiences in innumerable them are. They can compete with anyone at any level andand immeasurable ways. We can be very proud of the more importantly they are just great people. It makes you quality of the BCC program and the abilities of our believe the future is in good hands. graduates to function as they join the nursing profession upon graduation. ir

Spanfelner (from page 4) Info Exchange (from page 2) librarian as instructor is more important than it has ever been. The skills that students gradually obtain are rein- QAre Summer Mini-Grants available this year? forced through the individualized instruction received from the reference librarians. A Yes. The College will provide a limited nutnber oi stipends to faculty this year, however, the focus and pro- The BCC Library will be exnerimenting with twocedure is somewhat different than previous years: trial CD-ROM Programs for refer. nce service. Readers' Guide Abstracts produced by the H.W. Wilson Company, First, because of budget uncertainty, the process is presents- citations which are accompanied by summariesstarting late. of the articles. InfoTrac produces the Academic Index which indexes scholarly and popular journal articles as Second, this years projects will focus on improving well as the last few months of the New York Times. Hereteaching and learning and developing curricula and cur- at BCC, we look forward to the changes which the newricula material. Acceptable projects include Multi-Media technology bri ngs and we are rising to meet the Applications, Utilizing Technological Resources, Class- room Research, Classroom Assessment,Collaborative AMA. Learning, Alternative Teaching Styles, Ceneral Educa- tion Goals, Outcomes Assessment and Campus Theme Editor's Commentary (from page 1) Related Activities (1992-93 "The Dynamics of Discov- about the critics part. But thanks for keeping me posted on the typos.) The enthusiasm I have seen from writers has refreshed .ne on many occasions, while their novel Third, the composition of the screening committee perspectives have allowed me to expand my horizons. has changed. Two faculty members from the Teaching Resource Center Advisory Board and two members of the I would also like to thank John Callahan and the rest Professional Development Co mmi ttee will join the VPAA of the folks in the Copy Center for their patience eachand four divisio... Jeans on the Screening Committee. month as I strolled in with "ANOTHER 10 PAGESI919?!" of this publication. They always took a great deal of care Cover sheets for proposals are available from your that each issue looked professiona land was done promptly. Academic Dean's Office, the Teaching Resource Center, The Professional Development Office (13-002) and the In a short while it will be time for summer and aVPAA's office. Proposals are due as soon as possible and chance to recharge the batteries for the new faces in the no later than May 26, 1992. Enjtw your students and enjoy the summer! ed.

7 f;;i Mathematics and the Environment ing to develop mathematical descriptions that are used to Maruja Lander, Mathematics understand, inform and resolve environmental problems.

What does Mathematics have to do with the BCC For example: theme for this year: Science and Technology for a Sustain- 1) Differential equations describe the bouncing able Society? This was the first question I asked myselfmovement of a weight that is suspended by a mattress several months ago.I decided to asked some of myspring, the oscillations of an electrical current in a radio colleagues in the Math Department; all of them hadand the movement of a solitary water wave in rivers, lakes, wonderful ideas. and oceans.

Greg Sliwa showed me a statistical method called A mathematical model for the northern "captured and recaptured" to estimate the population spotted owl population in the Pacific North- size of endangered species, for example, the number of west hi s already been created. blue v. hales in the oceans 2) A mathematical model for the northern spotted Dan Dodway explai led very enthusiastically howowl population in the Pacific Northwest has already been parabolic arcs are models of thrown objects and watercreated. fountains and elliptical arcs are patterns of orbits of planets and comets. We can model honeycombs with 3) Mathematical models are also one of the tools hexagons, while other mathematical shapes describe crys-available to understand what doses of pollution different tallinestructures. There are also mathematical models toparts of the human lungs will receive when breathing describe the sp iral of the chambered nautilus, the spider'sdifferent concentrations of pollutants. web, the bands on pine cones, the patterns of buds on trees, the number of rows on an ear of corn and the shapes 4) Interval graphs are used to time traffic lights and of galaxies. reduce the pollution from automobiles by reducing the idling of automobile engines. There are...mathematical models to describe the spiral of the chambered nautilus, 5) Mathematics and statistics are used to deal with the spider's web, the bands on pine cones, other environmental issues like predicting the growth of the patterns of buds on trees, the number of herds of deer in urban areas, depletion of the ozone layer from the use of chloroPuorocarbons as propellants, the rows on an ear of corn and the shapes of effect of emission from factories and vehicles on the galaxies. acidity of rain, etc.

Paul O'Heron told me that we could easily incorpo- I knew that Math was essential to any technical arca rate environmental and social problems into most of ourof study, including Sciences, Engineering, Business, Eco- basic mathematics courses. He used game theory tonomics, Sociology etc. Now I have found out that it is discuss with his class the inevitability of the Persian Gulfessential for the proper development of the emerging and War. urgent area of Environmental Studies. 11 applications of mathematics to environmen- Caning Next Issue tal ques,ns do not require a high level understanding of the field. In fact, new text books and many mathematics The next issue will be September 1992. Anyone professors, including those at Broome, are now starting to interested in writing an article should discuss their idea use models of natural phenomena and environmental with Alice McNeely, ext 5354, in the Teaching Re- issues to illustrate basic mathematical concepts. sources Center.

Mathematicians' interest and concern for the envi- Center Stage is published monthly in cooperation with ronment was demonstrated this past January at a national the Teaching Resources Center. conference in Baltimore devoted to "Mathematics and the Environment". It was also the theme for the national Send correspondence and contributions to the editor: observance of Mathematics Awareness Week, which began April 26th, the Monday after Earth Day. Paul O'Heron Mathematics Department, T-215 Mathematicians are currently helping in environ- Phone : 778-5000, ext.5232 mental research by building models of the natural world. : Of IERON P (All-in-One) They use graphs, equations and their own abstract think- ERIC Clearinghouse--or 8 Junior Colleges 70 JUN 1 9 1992