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Spring 2025 UConn ECE Spanish Instructor Workshop

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ECE extends our thanks to the 85 certified Spanish Instructors who joined us at Friday, April 11th’s annual Professional Development conference. The group convened on the UConn Storrs Campus, joined by Professor Oscar Martin, chair for the Department of Languages and Literatures at Lehman College. Professor Martin delivered a lecture entitled “Estudiantes, hay camino y se hace camino al andar” (Translation: “Students, there is a path, and the path is made by walking”). Following the keynote address, instructors had the opportunity to work on a collaborative group project with their peers.

Thank you to all who joined us this past week, especially our wonderful faculty coordinators for ECE Spanish, Gustavo Nanclares, Ph.D. and Celines Villalba Rosado, Ph.D.

We look forward to connecting with you all again soon!

UConn Spanish courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Art Instructor Workshop

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ECE welcomed our Art instructors for a virtual professional development experience this past Thursday, thanks to the tireless efforts of Cora Lynn Deibler, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Art. Attendees got the chance to be in community with two guest speakers, whose information can be found below!

Douglas Degges, Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing, University of Connecticut

Professor Robyn Phillips-Pendleton, University of Delaware

Thank you to all who joined us this past week, and for their continued support of the ECE Art program!

UConn Art courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE LMS Training

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On Thursday, March 27th, our ECE Library Media Specialists met for their semesterly training. Attendees were treated to a number of informative sessions which helped deepend their understanding of the resources that the UConn Library has to offer ECE students and instructors. The day’s schedule is attached below:

  • Government Information @ UConn Library – Kristina Edwards, Electronic Resources Librarian
  • Universal Design for Learning in One-Shot Instruction Sessions – Erica Charis-Molling, Instructional Design and Learning Librarian
  • Acknowledge, Cite, Evaluate: Your Usage of AI – Renee Walsh, STEM Librarian
  • Introduction to Zotero – Rob Walsh, Waterbury Campus Library Director

For all those who could not attend, information and recordings will be uploaded to the ECE LibGuide very soon. Check the link below for more details! Thank you to all who contributed their time, and to all those who attended this past week’s event! We’ll see you in the Fall.

UConn Library resources available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Italian Instructor Workshop

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Some of our favorite professional development experiences are when we get to take our instructors off-campus, to engage with their field of expertise in a more hands-on way. We got that opportunity this past Friday, April 4th, when our Italian instructors convened at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. We extend our thanks to Tina Chiappetta-Miller, Ph.D., our faculty coordinator for ECE Italian, for her tireless work to make this experience happen!

Our instructors were treated to a private guided tour of the museum, followed by a wonderful presentation by Stephanie Barnett, School and Teacher Programs Manager for the Wadsworth. We also got a lot of great photos of the event, which we encourage you to take a look at below!

UConn Italian courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE German Workshop

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On Tuesday, March 25th, we welcomed our ECE German instructors to the UConn Storrs Campus, in collaboration with our ECE Faculty Coordinator for German, Dr. Anke Finger.

Instructors were treated to a tour of UConn’s own William Benton Museum of Art, before a keynote address by Isabel Avens, a PhD candidate in German Studies with a graduate minor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Cornell University. Avens also earned her M.A. in German Studies from the University of Connecticut!

Thank you to all who joined us for an exciting professional development experience.

German courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Allied Health Workshop

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ECE extends our thanks to our Allied Health instructors, who joined us on the Storrs Campus on Tuesday, March 18th, for their annual professional development experience!

Our instructors were welcomed in the morning by Professor Justin Nash, department head for Allied Health at UConn, before embarking on a series of conversations involving working through key challenges in teaching ECE courses, sharing best practices, and establishing a precedent of peer support and collaboration across ECE Allied Health.

We also offer a special thanks to our faculty coordinator, Professor Bruce Blanchard, for his tireless efforts to support our ECE Allied Health community.

Allied Health courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE French Workshop

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On Friday, March 14th, UConn ECE welcomed 37 of our French instructors to the Storrs campus for an invigorating professional development opportunity!

The morning consisted of a lecture on the theme of childhood and its manifestations in French cinema, led by Assistant Professor in French Studies, Dr. Raphaël Koenig. Then, in the afternoon our instructors were given the opportunity to visit UConn’s Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry for a tour and a lecture on puppetry in France and French-speaking countries led by Dr. John Bell, Director of Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and Associate Professor in the Dramatic Arts Department.

Many thanks, as always, to Dr. Florence Marsal, our faculty coordinator for French, for her tireless efforts to support our ECE Allied Health community.

French courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Earth Sciences Workshop

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We’re back from Spring Break, and onto the final stretch of the Spring semester! This past Monday, March 24th, ECE welcomed our Earth Sciences instructors to the Storrs Campus, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Thorson, our wonderful faculty coordinator for ECE ERTH.

This year’s workshop was titled Connecticut’s Sense of Place, and consisted of two educational activities (described below), followed by a brief walking tour of key teaching sites that Dr. Thorson (“Thor”) utilizes to teach his introductory geoscience classes.

A brief overview of each workshop session:

PART A – Our Land

A dialogue slide show featuring ten places in CT that, taken together, provide an solid overview of how the geology influences our sense of place. This approach was summarized in an article in UConn Today by Elaina Hancock titled “Appreciating the Bones of Connecticut’s Landscape.” This article covers a series of ten mini-essays published together in a cover issue of Connecticut Magazine titled Our Land.

PART B – Teachers Responses to Connecticut’s “Sense of Place.”

The teachers were assigned a series of four short essays that collectively narrate how the Connecticut landscape came to be. These are: Part 1 – Making Connecticut and Part 2 – Connecticut’s Glacial Gifts and Part 3 – Exit Ramp Culture and Part 4 – Losing Ground. During this part of the workshop, Thorson highlighted each essay before the teachers shared their responses with each other.

Many thanks to all who joined us for a wonderful morning!

Earth Sciences courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Educational Psychology Workshop

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On Wednesday, March 19th, our ECE Educational Psychology Instructors met virtually for their annual professional development, thanks to the efforts of our ECE Faculty Coordinator for EPSY, Dr. Joseph Madaus.

Instructors had the chance to connect with the Dean of the NEAG School of Education, Dr. Jason Irizarry, before our keynote discussion led by Jonathan Mooney: entrepreneur, activist, and author of The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal.

We encourage you to check out the link above for more information about Mooney’s journey to write his fascinating book.

Thank you to all who donated your time and energy to help make this an incredible opportunity for our instructors to connect and engage!

Educational Psychology courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Animal Science Workshop

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ECE Animal Science welcomed their instructors to the UConn Storrs Campus on Tuesday, March 11 for their annual professional development experience.

The workshop included discussions on course proceedings and assignments, and review of sample syllabi. Additionally, instructors were given the opportunity to observe a life course section of ANSC 1602: Behavior and Training of Domestic Animals. The true highlight of the day was a trip to the UConn Dairy Bar, where instructors got to experience our world famous UConn ice cream, compliments of our UConn dairy cattle!

A special thanks to our faculty coordinators, Jenifer Nadeau, Ph.D and Amy Safran, Ph. D for all of their hard work to support our instructors and their students.

Animal Science courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Digital Media and Design Workshop

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This past Friday, March 7th, our ECE Digital Media and Design instructors met for an engaging professional development experience on the UConn Storrs Campus, under the guidance of ECE Faculty Coordinator and Assistant Professor Kenneth Thompson. Instructors got to experience a digital artistry workshop led by Dennis Recchia, followed by an ever-relevant discussion of AI usage in DMD classrooms facilitated by Luiza Dos Printes Santos. Finally, they were led on a tour of the Digital Media and Design facilities on campus.

A special thanks to our faculty and guest contributors for their hard work on this incredible day!

Digital Media and Design courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Kinesiology Workshop

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Welcome back to Storrs, UConn ECE Instructors!

Our first in-person professional development event of 2025 was held on Wednesday, February 26th, for our Kinesiology instructors, under the guidance of Instructor-in-Residence Allison MacKenzie, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Kinesiology.

Our instructors talked assignment structure and course expectations, before an invigorating talk on social determinants of health and wellness.

Thank you to all who participated, and helped to create yet another enriching experience for our ECE instructors! We are glad to be back for the Spring semester.

Kinesiology courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Spring 2025 UConn ECE Political Science Workshop

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Our ECE Political Science teachers convened virtually on Wednesday, February 26th, marking our first virtual professional development experience of 2025!

The theme of this year’s Political Science Workshop was Bringing Politics into the Classroom. Instructors were treated to two discussion sections, which are described below:

Faculty Discussions: Instructors heard from UConn Faculty from “comparative politics and international relations about the rise and effects of authoritarianism in world politics. With many democratic nations around the globe sliding slowly towards authoritarianism, it is important to help students understand these trends, their consequences, and what they can do.”

Guest Speaker: We extend our thanks to Denise Merrill, “a UConn alum, adjunct political science professor, and former Connecticut Secretary of State”, for serving as our keynote speaker for this event. Secretary Merrill provided an invaluable opportunity for our instructors to be in community with an individual whose career in local and state-level politics has been rich and storied.

A special thanks as well to our ECE Political Science Faculty Coordinators, Oksan Bayulgen, Ph.D. and Evan Perkoski, Ph.D., for their tireless work to support our ECE students and instructors.

Political Science courses available through UConn Early College Experience.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Math Workshop

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On Thursday, December 12th, we hosted our final professional development workshop for Fall 2024! Certified ECE Math instructors met virtually this morning, under the guidance of ECE Faculty Coordinator for Mathematics, Dr. Anthony Rizzie.

For the beginning of the workshop, all instructors convened via Webex for some ECE and Math-related updates, before breaking into groups based on the specific Math courses that they teach. Finally, the workshop wrapped up with a discussion on student preparedness and readiness.

Thank you to all who participated, and helped to create yet another enriching experience for our ECE instructors!

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Anthropology Workshop

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On Friday, December 6th, we hosted a professional development workshop for UConn ECE Anthropology instructors, thanks to the guidance of Dr. Alexia Smith, ECE Faculty Coordinator for Anthropology. Our instructors met in UConn’s Archeobotany lab, and were treated to several informative discussions. Topics are listed below:

  1. National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Competencies
  2. Scientific Archaeology: Transferrable Skills
  3. Exploring Cultural Heritage

This workshop marked our final in-person professional development experience for 2024, so we extend our appreciation to all who have participated and learned with us!

Many thanks to Dr. Smith for her dedication to the ECE community, and for her work in organizing an enriching experience for our instructors.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Chemistry Workshop

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On Monday, November 25h, UConn ECE Chemistry instructors convened on the UConn Storrs campus for their annual professional development conference, under the guidance of Dr. Fatma Selampinar, ECE Faculty Coordinator for Chemistry.

We were joined by Assistant Professor Alexander Askenov, who led a lecture on his research entitled “Introduction to Molecular Community Networking and the Dark Matter of Metabolomics”. Following the talk, instructors participated in an interactive workshop, involving analysis of public mass spectrometry data using the “MCN Approach” (steps outlined below):

– Setting up molecular networks using GNPS

– Use of Cytoscape software

– Displaying molecular structures with ChemDraw

– Exploring antibiotic-focused networks

– Structure prediction and prioritization

Following a short lunch break, the workshop wrapped with a discussion on “Future Applications in Drug Discovery” and closing remarks.

Many thanks to Dr. Askenov for creating an enriching experience for our instructors, and Dr. Selampinar for all of her work to support our ECE Chemistry community!

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Communication Workshop

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On Monday, November 18th, UConn ECE COMM instructors participated in an online professional development workshop organized by Dr. Svetlana Kalnova, ECE Faculty Coordinator for the Department of Communication. The workshop consisted of three parts. It started with the discussion of assessment strategies and speech evaluation ideas. Instructors were given the opportunity to share their classroom experiences, ask questions, and receive feedback from Dr. Thomas Meade, our Comm 1100 faculty supervisor.

Then instructors participated in a hands-on collaborative activity, coming up with acceptable/unacceptable uses of generative AI. The final document was shared with participants after the workshop.

After a short break, instructors were treated to a presentation on “Generative AI uses for creative minds” by Dr. Matthew Worwood, UConn, Digital Media & Design. Dr. Worwood’s research highlights teacher creativity and design thinking inside the context of teaching and learning. The talk focused on how generative AI impacts creativity and affects 21st century skills.

Many thanks to Drs. Meade and Worwood for creating an enriching experience and sharing their expertise with our workshop participants!

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Human Rights Workshop

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On Thursday, November 14th, certified ECE Human Rights Instructors met on the UConn Storrs Campus, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Sandra Sirota, our ECE Faculty coordinator for Human Rights. The day’s main event was a lecture entitled “Creating Change for Children in the U.S. and Around the World”, delivered by Professor Jo Becker of Columbia University. Becker serves as the advocacy director for the division for children’s rights at Human Rights Watch, an organization which bridges research and political action to expose human rights abuses around the world, and fight for policy change to prevent further harms. Additionally, she serves as a founding chairperson for the international Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and helped negotiate a landmark 2011 treaty to ensure labor rights for domestic workers.

Her lecture on Thursday delved into the current state of children’s rights globally, including the fight to end child marriage and child labor both domestically and around the world. Becker ended her talk with several action items for students, including engaging with their local representatives and signing petitions or open letters. This left our instructors equipped with several strategies to encourage their students to join the fight for change.

To learn more about the organization, and Jo Becker’s work, please visit hrw.org, or check out the following UConn Today article detailing the lecture she shared with our ECE instructors!

Investigate, Expose, and Change – Jo Becker on Advocating for Children’s Rights

We are so grateful to Professor Becker for taking the time to share her incredible advocacy work with us. And, as always, thank you to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

UConn Human Rights courses offered through Early College Experience.

 

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Sociology Workshop

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On Friday, November 1st, UConn Early College Experience hosted a professional development experience for all certified ECE Sociology teachers, in collaboration with Dr. Ingrid Semaan, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Sociology. Instructors connected virtually via Webex, and began the day with conversations surrounding their individual classroom experiences. The main event was a panel of three UConn faculty, who discussed their research in the realm of sociology. 

Thanks to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

Contributors:

1) Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs – “New Data Sources for Immigration Resources”

2) Dr. Simon Yamawaki Shachter – Analyzing “how the interrelationships between civil society and the state perpetuate and/or alleviate inequality”

3) Dr. Beatriz Aldana Marquez – “Her research currently focuses on Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) and challenges the frameworks of power that significantly and disproportionally affect Latin American immigrants. Additionally, she investigates the immigration law and courts.”

UConn Sociology Courses offered through Early College Experience.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE SPSS Workshop

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On Tuesday, October 29th, UConn Early College Experience Sustainable Plant & Soil Systems (SPSS) Instructors were treated to a unique professional development experience, in the form of the 12th biennial Symposium for the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG). CIPWG is an organization committed to mitigating the negative environmental impact of invasive plant species, through educating themselves and others on identification and management of invasive plants, as well as replacement of invasive with native species. The topic of the most recent symposium was Real Talk: Making an Impact in Invasive Plant Management, and attendees were treated to a variety of discussions emphasizing the critical role of education in conservation, and rooting the discussion of eradicating invasive plant species in local case studies. Many thanks to ECE’s own SPSS faculty coordinator, Julia Kuzovkina, Ph.D., for her efforts in organizing such an enriching experience for our instructors.

Be sure to check out UConn’s student newspaper, the Daily Campus, for an illuminating article on this event. Linked HERE!

 

UConn SPSS Courses offered through Early College Experience.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Physics Workshop

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On Wednesday, October 30th, UConn Early College Experience hosted a professional development experience for all certified ECE Physics teachers, in collaboration with Dr. David Perry, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Physics. Wednesday’s event was twofold, with instructors first given the opportunity to commune with one another and discuss the ever-important topic of exam design and performance. Then, they were treated to one of the first shows hosted in the newly renovated Cynthia Wyeth Peterson planetarium. Our instructors left excited to potentially bring students back to the facility in the spring, once it opens up for regular displays. Many thanks to the UConn Physics faculty and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for opening up their space to us for this event. We extend even more gratitude to Dr. Matt Guthrie and PhD student Kelcey Davis, for their expertise and creativity in putting on an incredible planetarium show for our instructors!

To learn more about the Peterson Planetarium, we urge you to check out this article from UConn Today:

UConn’s Planetarium Dedication Honors a Physics Pioneer

Thanks to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

 

UConn Physics Courses offered through Early College Experience.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE English Workshop

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Friday, November 1st marked the annual UConn ECE English conference, organized in collaboration with Professor Scott Campbell, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for English. This year’s conference theme was Collaborative Circulation: A Recursive Roadmap, and attendees engaged in a variety of small group discussion sections on several topics (listed below):

  1. Circulation for Brainstorming and Ideation
  2. Circulation of Feedback
  3. Circulation as a Rhetorical Device/Context
  4. Interconnected Circulation: an Activity

The day ended with a panel discussion led by several representatives from the UConn English department.

Thanks to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

UConn English courses offered through Early College Experience.

 

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Economics Workshop

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On Wednesday, October 23rd, UConn Early College Experience hosted a professional development workshop for certified ECE Economics teachers, under the guidance of Dr. Natalia Smirnova, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Economics. This workshop was held on the UConn Storrs Campus, and instructors spent the morning sharing some exciting student success stories (congratulations to Cheshire High School for placing 3rd in their Future Business Leaders of America competition!) and some in-class activities that have worked well in their respective ECE classrooms. Several guest speakers joined us, including Ariel Slonim, curriculum designer for Marginal Revolution University, a nonprofit dedicated to providing everyone and everyone with a “world-class economic education”, and Mary Claire Peate, a Senior Economic Education Specialist from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Thank you to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

Please visit the UConn Economics Website for additional information regarding this event: Linked HERE!

UConn Economics Courses offered through Early College Experience.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Music Workshop

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On Monday, October 21st, UConn Early College Experience hosted a professional development workshop for certified ECE Music teachers, under the guidance of Shannon McAlister, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Music. Instructors convened on the UConn Storrs campus, and spent the morning sharing stories from their own classrooms and teaching philosophies, followed by a guest lecture from visiting UConn professor Dr. Elizabeth Sallinger.  Dr Sallinger’s research interests are focused around orchestration and storytelling in musical theatre, and she treated our instructors to an informative lecture entitled, “Facing the Future: Exploring Education in Popular Music.” Goals for the day included disseminating resources for instructors to utilize in their classrooms, and providing opportunities to compare and discuss classroom experiences, allowing instructors to learn with and from one another.

Thank you to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

 

UConn Music Courses offered through Early College Experience.

Fall 2024 UConn ECE Marine Sciences Workshop

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On Friday, October 18th, UConn Early College Experience hosted a professional development workshop for certified ECE Marine Sciences teachers, under the guidance of Professor Claudia Koerting, our ECE Faculty Coordinator for Marine Sciences. Instructors connected via a hybrid modality; some joined us in-person on the UConn Avery Point campus, while others participated virtually. The morning consisted of updates regarding “what’s new” in the UConn Marine Sciences program, followed by some discussions of ECE course syllabi and university technologies and resources. Professor Craig Tobias, director for the CT National Estuarine Research Reserve (CTNERR) then provided some updates surrounding his research, and included information regarding teacher resources available through the Reserve. The Reserve includes 50,000 acres of land in and around Long Island Sound, Fishers Island Sound, the Thames River and the Connecticut River; the Reserves program works to preserve the land around their many sites, and provides education, training, and research opportunities, working with the rich biodiversity of the area to accomplish these goals.

Before lunch, instructors received a brief presentation on how to obtain funding (from ECE and other sources) to support their students’ learning in and out of the classroom. The final hybrid session delved into UConn’s current research activity surrounding “the relationship between offshore wind farms and marine life”. Finally, in-person attendees were treated to a tour of the Avery Point campus’s research facilities, and a trip to nearby Bluff Point led by Professor Tobias.

 

Thank you to all who joined us for an enriching experience!

 

UConn Marine Sciences Courses offered through Early College Experience.