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Fall 2023 UConn ECE Environmental Science Workshop

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Fall 2023 UConn ECE Environmental Science (NRE) Workshop

On Thursday, October 12th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Natural Resources & the Environment, Prof. Morty Ortega met with certified NRE Instructors for their annual professional development workshop. The workshop was held at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area in Burlington, CT. Presentations by the Sessions Woods staff included:

  • The private life of bears – Melissa Ruszczyk (DEEP)
  • The private life of bobcats – Jason Hawley (DEEP)
  • Habitat – Peter Picone (DEEP)

The presentations were well received by the teachers, and they had many questions for each of the presenters.

UConn NRE courses offered through ECE.

Fall 2023 UConn ECE Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems (SPSS) Workshop

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Fall 2023 UConn ECE SPSS Workshop

On Wednesday, October 11th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for SPSS, Julia Kuzovkina met with certified ECE SPSS Instructors at this professional development workshop at Southington High school.  This year the group implemented a different approach: instead of UConn faculty developing a program, the teachers designed their own workshop to provide them with relevant experiences.

The workshop included diverse activities: during a field practicum Brian Bostrom explained how to analyze the soil for specific purposes (photo 1); a representative from academia Nick Goltz provided a recent update on plant diseases; an owner of a landscape company Nicole Ali described new trends in the landscape industry;  a presentation by Dustyn Nelson, past president of the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Industry, discussed  students preparation for future careers in the Green Industry (photo 3). In addition, there was a Hands-On Floral Workshop, run by a practitioner Paul Lumia from Nyren's of New England, where teachers were introduced to beautiful fall arrangements which can be introduced in the ECE Floral Art courses at schools (photo 2).

Photo 1  

Photo 2

Photo 3

UConn SPSS courses offered through ECE.

Fall 2023 UConn ECE American Studies Workshop

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Fall 2023 UConn ECE American Studies Workshop

On Wednesday, October 11th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for American Studies, Laurie Wolfley met with certified ECE AMST Instructors at this professional development conference.

Instructors received a copy of Ann Petry's The Street which they read beforehand. Shawn Salvant, Professor of English and Africana Studies (UConn) shared his presentation "Ann Petry's The Street: Revisiting a Classics" and discussed how curriculum can be designed around the text.

Later groups of Instructors worked together to develop lessons, gather resources and share teaching strategies. Materials will be posted to the ECE American Studies HuskyCT site for reference.

 

   

UConn American Studies courses offered through ECE.

Fall 2023 UConn ECE English Conference

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Fall 2023 UConn ECE English Conference

On Friday, October 6th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for English, Profs. Scott Campbell and Jason Courtmanche, and GA Adam McLain met with certified ECE English Instructors at this professional development conference.

The theme was “Salutations, Congratulations, and Critiques”

The conference built on the work of Deonna Smith on joy and the anti-racist classroom, Gholdy Muhammad on cultivating genius and unearthing joy, and Felicia Rose Chavez on the anti-racist writing workshop in a series of workshops that brought together the community of ECE English teachers to share in the delights and failings of giving feedback.

For additional details see: https://ece.english.uconn.edu/fall-2023-conference/.

 

UConn English courses offered through ECE.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE LLAS Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE LLAS Workshop

On Thursday, May 22nd UConn Early LLAS (Latino and Latin American Studies) Instructors met on the Hartford campus with UConn ECE LLAS Faculty Coordinator, Anne Gebelein for their annual professional development workshop.

Instructors heard from guest speaker, Dr. Rodolfo Fernandez on "Liberalism and Neocolonialism in Latin America 1870-1920". After lunch ECE Instructors Bonnie Nietupski (Glastonbury High School) and Dan Marak (Manchester High School) shared resources with the group. Bonnie spoke about Developing Latin America-centered Curriculum and Dan spoke about Tobacco Cultivation and Latin American Migration. Prof. Gebelein also shared additional materials with the group for teaching about Caribbean migration and Tobacco.

UConn LLAS courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE EDCI & EDLR Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE EDCI & EDLR Workshop

On Thursday, May 18th UConn Early College EDCI (Education Curriculum and Instruction) and EDLR (Educational Leadership) Instructors met virtually with UConn ECE EDCI and EDLR Faculty Coordinators, Tom Levine and Danielle Derosa for their annual professional development workshop.

Instructors discussed the concept of justice as it relates to equity, within education specifically, and society broadly. In preparation for this portion of the workshop, instructors read “Justice a Short Story” by Mariame Kaba and engaged in a restorative justice workshop as a group. Later in discipline specific breakout sessions, instructors discussed effective instruction specific to the course taught.

UConn Education courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Statistics Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Statistics Workshop

On Wednesday, May 10th UConn Early College Statistics Instructors met with UConn ECE Statistics Faculty Coordinator, Prof. Nalini Ravishanker for their annual professional development workshop.

The day included STAT 1100 content and problem discussions with presentations by fellow ECE Instructors. After a break the group took part in a virtual presentation by Dr. Bonnie K. Ray, VP of Data at Chartbeat: "Using statistics to measure engagement with the news". Dr. Ray provided examples of fairly basic statistical procedures that are used in the Chartbeat product to identify spikes in engagement on a story, benchmark engagement, and other factors.

  

UConn Statistics courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE HDFS Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE HDFS Workshop

On Tuesday, May 9th UConn Early College Experience Human Development and Family Sciences Instructors met with UConn ECE HDFS Faculty Coordinator, Shannon Weaver and ECE HDFS GA Jessie Gentilella for the Spring UConn ECE HDFS Workshop.

The day included a celebration of past year successes, program updates, and a keynote presentation:

“Covid Three Years Later: Implications for Individual and Family Development and Well-being from a Longitudinal National Study and Human Development”

  • Shannon E. Weaver, Ph.D., Associate Professor Human Development & Family Sciences, University of Connecticut
  • Carol A. Johnston, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
  • Eboni Baugh, Ph.D., Associate Professor Human Development & Family Science, East Carolina University
  • Dana Weisser, Associate Professor Human Development & Family Sciences, Texas Tech University

After a break, the group reconvened to share ideas for teaching challenging topics in their classrooms and a panel discussion.

“Learning from Our Experience: Veteran Instructor’s Answers to Common Course Questions and Issues” occurred.

The panel included ECE Instructors:

  • Rebecca Daddio, Cheshire High School
  • Diane Richards, Trumbull High School
  • Martha Goldstein-Schultz, Ph.D., Coordinator for Youth Development, Education, and Language and Literacy Programs, Student Activities Community Outreach, University of Connecticut
  • Amanda Stirgwolt, Ph.D. University of Connecticut

UConn Human Development and Family Sciences courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE French Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE French Workshop

On Friday, May 5th Early College Experience French Instructors participated in their annual professional development workshop. The day included the following sessions:

Podcasts in French: UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for French, Professor Florence Marsal, spoke to teachers about different podcasts in French, and brainstormed ideas for activities in the classroom. Examples of interesting podcasts: « L’Heure du Monde », « une vie une œuvre », « French voices », « pile ».

Multimedia Medievalisms, Elisabeth Buzay, Visiting Assistant Professor in French: Elisabeth talked contemporary adaptations of medieval stories in a variety of media, and how they can be integrated into the second language classroom.

“La laïcité” Mary Beth Allen, Visiting Assistant Professor in French: Mary Beth talked about the concepts of secularism and multiculturalism in France.

“Booktube”, Nada Elshabrawy,Teaching Assistant - Graduate Student in French: Nada talked about the differences between Booktube channels in the US and in France, common topics found on Booktube, and how to employ Booktube/Booktok techniques in the French language classroom.  

Participants also received e-copies of “La bande dessinée” by Annie Baron-Carvais, and “Le Multiculturalisme” by Patrick Savidan.

UConn French courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Biology Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Biology Workshop

On Thursday, May 4th Early College Experience Biology Instructors visited the Storrs campus for a professional development workshop. Instructors worked with UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator, Dr. Tom Abbot, Dr. Chris Malinoski, and Rebecca Newcomer on a laboratory exercise where Instructors received hands on experience. Instructors performed a colorimetric assay allowing them to observe the activity of the mechanism that yeast use to import maltose.

 

UConn Biology courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Allied Health Sciences Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Allied Health Sciences Workshop

On Tuesday, May 2nd Early College Experience Allied Health Instructors visited the Storrs campus for a professional development workshop. After a welcome by Allied Health Sciences Department Head, Dr. Justin Nash, the group introduced themselves and discussed AH 4092: EMT Training, AH 1100: Introduction to Allied Health Professions, and AH 2001: Medical Terminology in roundtable sessions discussing best practices and strategies for engaging with students.

UConn Allied Health Sciences courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Earth Sciences Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Earth Sciences Workshop

On Wednesday, April 26th UConn Early College Experience Earth Science Instructors met with faculty from UConn’s ERTH Department. ECE Faculty Coordinator for ERTH, Dr. Robert Thorson led a walking tour around campus. After leaving Rowe, they headed east to Augustus Storrs Hall, the oldest masonry building on campus, which set the precedent for the campus layout in 1906 to follow the glacial grain. Crossing Swan Lake, they examined in sequence: the Stone Pavilion, a rubble of glacial slabs, the local bedrock (the Paleozoic Hebron Gneiss), and ended the walking tour with a walk up to experience the view from Horsebarn Hill. Returning to the center of campus, the group stopped in Beach Hall—home to UConn’s Earth Sciences Department. They toured the building, visited teaching labs for introductory geoscience courses, research labs, and met with Department Head, Tracy Frank.  After lunch the group engaged in presentation by Prof. Thorson on the Connecticut Landscape. Thor shared an article from CT insider that he wrote and highlighted the Climate Underground podcast.

UConn Earth Sciences courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Art Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Art Workshop

On Wednesday, April 26th, UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Art, Prof. Cora Lynn Deibler, met with ECE Art instructors for their virtual professional development session. Dr. James J. Hughes was invited to speak with the group about AI in the art world. Dr. Hughes is an American sociologist and bioethicist. He serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and as Associate Provost at UMass Boston. He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future, co-edited Surviving the Machine Age, and writes and speaks often on topics of bioethics, technology, and Buddhism. Dr. Hughes holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago, where he served as the assistant director of research for the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Dr. Hughes lives in Willington CT with his wife, UConn professor of art Monica Bock.

The group listened to Dr. Hughes’ presentation and engaged in a lively conversation discussing the rise of technological art-generating tools that use artificial intelligence. While students are interested in new AI tools, established artists are skeptical – even fearful. The group discussed strategies for talking about, contextualizing, and using or discouraging use of AI artmaking in our classrooms.

 

UConn Art courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Environmental Science Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Environmental Science (NRE) Workshop

On Tuesday, April 25th UConn Early College Experience Environmental Science Instructors met with faculty from UConn’s NRE Department. ECE Faculty Coordinator for NRE, Dr. Morty Ortega invited Dr. Cynnamon Dobbs to share her talk, “Urban Forests for a Resilient Future” with the group.

Dr. Dobbs is an Assistant Professor in Urban and Community Forestry with University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on urban forest ecosystem services and its link to the sustainability and resilience of urban areas. She uses quantitative data from biophysical and social factors to distinguish drivers of change, and to produce evidence for improving urban decision making. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Ecology at the University of Melbourne, Australia; her MS degree at the University of Florida; and her BS at the Universidad de Chile, Chile. Dr. Dobbs has a large number of publications in scientific journals, book chapters, and extension journals. As a teacher, she has instructed courses such as Forest and climate change, Urban ecology, Landscape ecology, and many others.

After the presentation, the group discussed class activities to teach about Urban Forest and their courses as they are dealing with post-covid student behavior and other struggles.

UConn NRE courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE English Conference

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE English Conference

On Tuesday, April 18th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for English, Profs. Scott Campbell and Jason Courtmanche, and GA Maddie Gehling met with certified ECE English Instructors at this professional development conference.

Topics for the day included, reading in ECE English, using UConn library resources, and building text into the course inquiry. After a working lunch a brief Q&A period occurred before the day concluded.

For additional details see: https://ece.english.uconn.edu/spring-2023-conference/

UConn English courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Medieval Studies (HIST 1300) Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Medieval Studies (HIST 1300) Workshop

On Monday April 3rd, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for HIST 1300, Prof. Sherri Olson met with certified ECE History Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

Guest speakers: Professor John Sexton, Bridgewater State University and Professor Andy Pfrenger, University of Mississippi presented to the group on “The Viking Sagas – and Board Games”.  They spoke about the game hnefatafl and its history and place in Viking culture and the sagas. Later the group learned how to play using gameboards and pieces.

After lunch, Prof. Olson led a discission on the stories of Ragnar Loðbrok with focus on the folkloric elements of Ragnar's saga; the historical elements embedded in the text (and how to read such a text for historical reconstruction); the place of hnefatafl in the story; and some of the historical details buried in the stories, especially the Krakumal, a poem supposedly recited by Ragnar at his death c. 900.

To learn more about Profs. Sexton and Pfrenger and their podcast Saga Thing see: Saga Thing | a podcast by Saga Thing (podbean.com). 

UConn History courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Educational Leadership Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Educational Leadership Conference

On Tuesday, April 4th, UConn Early College Experience and the faculty from Educational Leadership met with EDLR 2001 Contemporary Issues in Sport Instructors for a virtual professional development meeting. UConn Adjunct Faculty member, Doug Glanville, discussed contemporary issues in sports and held a short question and answer period with participants. Later the group discussed EDLR 2001 and course updates.

UConn Educational Leadership courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE English Workshop: Infographics in ENGL 1007

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE English Conference

On Wednesday, March 29th, UConn Early College Experience English Instructors and faculty from the English Department met for a virtual professional development workshop. The topic was “Infographics in ENGL 1007”.  Infographics can be a powerful tool for remediating one’s original written work, can be used to interpret data or other textual information, or can stand on their own as a way to present information to the audience in an engaging way. Visual design is a broad topic, and infographics can include anything from maps and graphs, to illustrated recipes, to collages! The group discussed these diverse examples and what tools/platforms can be used to design infographics, the affordances, and limitations of visual genres, and what it means to do visual in the composition classroom.

UConn English courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Political Science Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Political Science Workshop

On Wednesday March 29th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators for Political Science, Department Head and Associate Professor Oksan Bayulgen and Assistant Professor Evan Perkoski met with certified ECE Political Science Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

After introductions, a panel of UConn Political Science Faculty spoke with the group about "Challenges and Opportunities of Teaching Introductory Political Science Courses”. Panelists included Associate Professor Thomas Hayes, Professor Jeremy Pressman, and Associate Professor Fred Lee.

After lunch the group engaged in an interactive conversation with Professor Tom Deans on “AI in Academic Writing”.

 

UConn Political Science courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE German Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE German Workshop

On Thursday March 23rd, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for German, Professor Anke Finger met with certified ECE German Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

The group discussed Intercultural Literature in the German Classroom and discussed their UConn courses.

UConn German courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Classics Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Classics Workshop

On Tuesday, March 21st, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Classics, Associate Professor Sara Johnson met with certified ECE Classics Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

Associate Professor Roger Travis spoke with the group about UConn’s CAMS 1103 course and discussed the process for certification to teach the course in a partner high school. Teachers must audit Prof. Travis’ course and work with him to develop a version of the syllabus that works in the high school classroom.

After a short break, the group discussed “Circe” by Madeline Miller.

 

UConn Classics courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Anthropology Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Anthropology Workshop

On Thursday, March 10th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator from Anthropology, Dr. Alexia Smith and Dr. Noga Shemer, Assistant Professor-in-Residence of Anthropology at UConn met with certified ECE Anthropology Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

This workshop focused on practical strategies for teaching anthropology today. The focus was on some of the recent changes within the field, “hot topics,” participation agreements, accessibility issues, and engagement modalities.

Dr. Alexia Smith serves as an Associate Professor of Anthropology, the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Anthropology, and the ECE Anthropology coordinator. She regularly teaches Anth 1500 Great Discoveries in Archaeology which includes ongoing discussions of cultural heritage.

Dr. Noga Shemer served as a guest facilitator for the workshop. Dr. Shemer is an Assistant Professor-in-Residence of Anthropology at UConn, where she also serves as an Affiliate faculty member of El Instituto (Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies) and as an Assistant Director of Faculty Development at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. She is a cultural anthropologist who has many years’ experience teaching Anth 1000W, a writing intensive version of Peoples and Cultures of the World, Anth 2000W Social Anthropology, Anth 3152 Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism, Anth 3029 Caribbean Cultures, and Anth 3251 Psychological Anthropology. She provides workshops across the university focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and has published journal articles focusing on her use of person-centered ethnographies to build empathy.

The group explored “Teaching Anthropology Today” through guided discussions, interspersed with mini-presentations/responses from Dr. Shemer. The workshop concluded with a more open-ended discussion regarding teaching experiences and questions from the instructors.

UConn Anthropology courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Italian Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Italian Workshop

On Thursday, March 9th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator from Italian, Prof. Tina Chiappetta-Miller met with certified ECE Italian Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

After welcoming remarks by UConn Early College Experience Director, Christopher Todd, the group discussed their courses and ideas for student events with the faculty, and ECE Assistant Director Jessica Dunn. Later the group heard a presentation by Melina Masterson, Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at UMass Amherst (and a graduate of UConn's ILCS Ph.D. program) who has recently co-authored and published an OER text of Italian called Tutt* a tavola!. She spoke about the experience of writing the text, what it has to offer, and why OER is important.

UConn Italian courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Spanish Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE Spanish Workshop

On Friday, March 3rd, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators from Spanish, Profs. Urios Aparisi and Nanclares met with certified SPAN 3178 and 3179 Instructors for an in person professional development conference.

After welcoming remarks by UConn Early College Experience Director, Christopher Todd, the group discussed their courses with the faculty and later heard from special guest speaker: Maria Lourdes Casas, Professor in the World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department, Central Connecticut State University with her talk 'Less is more'/'Menos es Más.'

UConn Spanish courses offered through Early College Experience.

Spring 2023 UConn ECE Educational Psychology Workshop

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Spring 2023 UConn ECE EPSY Workshop

On Thursday, March 2nd, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Educational Psychology, Prof. Joe Madaus met with certified EPSY 1100: Special Education Instructors for their annual professional development conference.

Dr. Jason Irizarry, Dean of the Neag School of Education welcomed the group and then Dr. Madaus spoke to the instructors about the courses they are teaching in their high schools. Later in the afternoon we were joined by Patricia Wood, author of “Lottery: A Novel”: who spoke to the group. This text is used in the EPSY 1100 course.

UConn Education courses offered through Early College Experience.