Changing Lives in a Global City

2004 AAHE Learning to Change Conference

LaGuardia Community College/CUNY J. Elizabeth Clark, Maureen Doyle,

Bret Eynon, Nancy Gross, and Nakiso Maodza

Background on LaGuardia 12,000 academic students; 20,000 continuing

education students Dizzying diversity: 39% Hispanic-American,

18% African-American, 20% Asian-American, and 16 % white. Also, 66% of the student body is foreign born, of these students, 49% have been in the U.S. for fewer than 5 years

21st Century Lower East Side

Background on LaGuardia, continued 3rd largest number of graduating Hispanic

students More than half of the college’s students

speak a native language other than English, for a total of 108 different first languages

The college’s students are largely 1st generation college students and are poor and working-class—over 64 % have annual household incomes of $25,000 or less, and 45% of new students have jobs, with 63% working more than 20 hours per week

Teaching and Learning Diversity Multiple definitions of diversity Multiple definitions of difference Multiple definitions of identity Multiple definitions of success Moving toward the 21st century means finding

new definitions of inclusivity and democracy

Connecting @ LaGuardia CollectCollect:: Students collect their work

Select:Select: Students choose samples of work that demonstrate evidence of their learning

Reflect:Reflect: Students identify & articulate their educational growth

Connect:Connect: Students use the web to share work w/ family, friends, employers, etc.

Need to assess learning & program effectiveness

Create a richer picture of student learning Prepare for Middle States Review Overcome failed attempts Create a faculty-led planning process

Assessment and ePortfolios @ LaGuardia

Connecting the Whole Student

How does diversity affect student relationships? How does diversity change

teaching? How does diversity

transform classrooms? How does diversity inform

institutions? How does new technology

allow us to think about authority and authorship in different ways?

Democratic Transformationsand Diverse Classrooms

Sample Student ePortfolios Kyoung Kang (1st ePortfolio): Kyoung is a Fine Arts major working

towards her A.S. degree. Her interests in Art Therapy and traditional Asian medicine have led to an desire to become an Art Therapist. She also holds a B.S. (Biology) from the University of In-Je in Pusan, Korea. Kyoung previously worked as a researcher in an institute for traditional medicine and as a mathematics teacher for middle school students in Korea. (Most Recent ePortfolio)

Yvonne Jahn: Yvonne is a Human Services major focusing on Mental Health. As a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Yvonne credits her interest in reading as being instrumental to her success as a student. Upon completion of her Associates degree, Yvonne will pursue a Bachelors degree in Social Work at a four-year college.

Violeta Khaimova: Violeta is a recent immigrant from Uzbekistan. She arrived in New York City with her parents and siblings, just ten days before 9/11. She began college in fall 2003 as an ESL student. She is now taking freshman composition along with other college courses. Violeta wants to be a Physical Therapist. She is a young woman with many interests and a true zest for living. Her experiences, this past fall, in her Learning Community cluster of courses helped bring many concepts together for her and provided her with the context for genuine intellectual engagement.

Education in the 21st CenturyPublishing my work and my reflections on the Web has

been very exciting.  And it has changed the way I think about my writing.  Throughout my life I’ve been asked to write about my future goals. After a while, my response became routine; I would answer within minutes, without much thought. This all changed when I wrote a reflective essay for my ePortfolio.  My essay would be read not only by my professor, but by a much broader audience. I couldn’t be so facile; now my life, my self-perception and my goals would be showcased for everyone.

As I tried to write this essay, days passed and I found that I was still staring at a blank screen. I believe words are powerful and can be used for negative or positive motives. Words can help you attain respectable positions; they can give us incentive to get up and try again. Sharing my dreams and visions with the world, my words would gain in significance and impact.