On Tuesday April 12th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for German, Prof. Anke Finger met with certified UConn German Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The group discussed Art in the German Language Classroom and German Instruction during and after COVID-19.
UConn German courses offered through ECE.
On Thursday, April 7th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Biological Sciences, Dr. Tom Abbott, and Lab Coordinator Dr. Chris Malinoski, met with certified BIOL 1107: Principles of Biology I and BIOL 1108 Principles of Biology II Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The group shared how they are teaching the courses in their high schools this year and covered general ECE business discussing texts, labs exercises, exams, and grading. Later special guest, Dr. Morty Ortega, from UConn’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment shared his research on “Socioecology and evolution of the South American camelids" in an interactive presentation with teachers.
UConn Biological Sciences courses offered through ECE.
On Thursday, April 7th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Classics, Prof. Sara Johnson, met with certified ECE Classics Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The group shared how they are teaching the courses during during pandemic times. All participants received a copy of "Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths" Kindle Edition by Helen Morales which was discussed for the reminder of the meeting.
UConn Classics courses offered through ECE.
On Tuesday, April 5th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Geosciences, Robert (Thor) Thorson, met with certified “GSCI 1051: Earth's Dynamic Environment” Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The group shared how they are teaching the course in their high school settings this year. Later Thor discussed the upcoming change from GSCI to ERTH, sits visits, text books, the Climate Underground Podcast and NSF ECE Recruitment. Also discussed is UConn’s Geopath’s initiative and how Early College Experience offering UConn’s GSCI 1051 fits into the greater plans for fostering interest in high school students to continue their post-secondary education in the geoscience field.
UConn Geosciences courses offered through ECE.
On Monday, April 4th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Human Rights, Assistant Professor in Residence, Sandra Sirota, met with certified ECE Human Rights Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The Keynote presentation was given by Nancy Flowers – “HRE: Building on the Past, Looking to the Future”. Nancy Flowers is a writer and consultant for human rights education. She has worked to develop Amnesty International’s education program and is a founding member of Human Rights Educators USA, a national human rights education network. As a consultant to governments, nongovernmental organizations, and UN agencies, she has helped establish national and international networks of educators, develop materials, and train activists and professionals in many countries. She is the author and editor of many articles and books on human rights education.
ECE Faculty Coordinator, Sandra Sirota also shared a presentation and led a discussion on Human Rights advocacy from the classroom and instructors had time to share resources and discuss the courses they are teaching (or plan to teach) as well.
UConn Human Rights courses offered through ECE.
On Monday, April 4th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for EDCI, Associate Professor, Michele Back, met with certified “EDCI 1100: If you Love It, Teach It” Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
Dr. Michael Dominguez, Assistant Professor, San Diego State University led a conversation incorporating critical and decolonizing approaches to the course. He shared ideas on how to make the course more culturally sustaining, relevant, and engaging for students, as well as how instructors can instill these ideas in their students’ perceptions of themselves as future teachers.
UConn Education courses offered through Early College Experience.
On Friday, April 1st, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Latin and Latino American Studies, Dr. Anne Gebelein met with certified LLAS Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
Presentations included:
UConn LLAS courses offered through Early College Experience.
On Friday, April 1st, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Italian, Dr. Tina Chiappetta-Miller met with certified Italian Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The day included:
UConn Italian courses offered through Early College Experience.
On Thursday, March 31st UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators from English, Profs. Scott Campbell and Jason Courtmanche, and GA Kari Daly met with certified English Instructors for their professional development conference.
The group discussed what’s new—particularly UConn’s ENGL 1007: Seminar and Studio in Academic Writing and Multimodal Composition course. Topics included, the studio experience, designing studio activities, and designing course inquiry. Instructors worked in small groups throughout the day connecting and learning from each other as we prepare for the shift to ENGL 1007 for 2022-2023.
UConn English courses offered through Early College Experience.
On Thursday, March 24th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators for Animal Science, Dr. Jen Nadeau and Dr. Amy Safran met with certified Animal Science Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
Drs. Safran and Nadeau went over guidelines for all ECE instructors including sample syllabi with course descriptions and philosophy, required books, and grading policies. The group also discussed how their courses are going this year before a short break and then visited an ANSC 1602 Behavior and Training of Domestic Animals course where they heard from a representative from Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
UConn Animal Science courses offered through Early College Experience.
On Thursday, March 24th, UConn Early College Experience and colleagues from UConn’s Babbidge Library met with ECE Library Media Specialists from our partner high schools for their spring professional development training session.
Presentations included:
On Tuesday, March 8th, 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 Jonathan Mooney, author of “The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal” who spoke to the group which included a group of EPSY 1100 Students from Erika Boutote’s classroom at Waterbury Career Academy. This text is used in the EPSY 1100 course.
UConn EPSY courses offered through ECE.
On Wednesday, February 23rd, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Environmental Science, Prof. Morty Ortega met with certified NRE Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
Guest Lectures:
*slide from Dr. Ward's presentation
The group also discussed their UConn NRE 1000E courses they are offering in their high schools with Dr. Ortega.
UConn Environmental Science courses offered through ECE.
On Tuesday, February 15th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for HIST 1300, Prof. Sherri Olson met with certified History Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
Dr. Olson spoke with the group about the courses they are offering in their high schools and then they discussed Stephen D. White’s article: “Proposing the Ordeal and Avoiding It: Strategy and Power in Western French Litigation, 1050-1100,” from Thomas N. Bisson, ed., Cultures of Power: Lordship, Status, and Process in Twelfth-Century Europe (UPenn Press, 1995): pp. 89-123.
UConn History courses offered through ECE.
On Monday, December 20th , UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Math, Dr. Anthony Rizzie met with certified Math Instructors for their annual professional development conference. Dr. Rizzie spoke with the group about their courses, schedules, expectations and other updates.
Later in the morning, the Instructors broke into groups to discuss best practices and teaching strategies for 1030Q and 1131Q/1132Q. After discussing the courses, the group transitioned to discussing the text Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker which was provided to all Instructors in advance of the workshop.
UConn Math courses offered through ECE.
On Tuesday, December 7th, UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Physics, Dave Perry met with certified Physics Instructors for their annual professional development conference. Dr. Perry spoke with the group about their courses and exam formats.
Later in the morning, Kevin Segar, EastConn’s Community Arts Connection After School Program Coordinator spoke to the group hands on activities for common-core science project and how physics can be incorporated to such activities. The main project Kevin spoke about is brush pile microhabitats and Dr. Perry spoke about how physics students can incorporated in such projects.
UConn Physics courses offered through ECE.
On Tuesday, November 30th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Sociology, Prof. Mary Bernstein met with certified Sociology Instructors for their annual professional development conference. Prof. Bernstein spoke with the group about their courses and how the semester has been going.
Later in the morning, UConn ECE Library Liaison Shelia Lafferty spoke to the group about the library resources available to ECE instructors and their students. Instructors also received a copy of “The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors Conservatives” by Jen Schradie prior to the meeting and discussed the book as a group at the end of the morning.
UConn Sociology courses offered through ECE.
On Friday, November 19th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Music Megan Lyons met with certified Music Instructors for their annual professional development conference. The Instructors checked in and introduced themselves to Megan and spoke about the courses they teach in their high schools. The group also spoke about modernizing music curricula and provided examples citing diversity initiatives and current events.
The Keynote presentation “Building Towards Culturally Responsive and Just Futures in the Music Classroom” was given by Karen Cueva who discussed culturally responsive and engaging teaching techniques in music.
Karen Cueva is a Peruvian-American violinist, educator, and arts administrator, who believes in the power of creative youth development as a vital part of social infrastructure and cultural production. Karen is currently the Assistant Director for Learning and Engagement Programs at Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. There, she oversees professional development for music educators working with youth across the country, both in schools and community music programs. She is also a Knowledge and Strategy Associate for The Lewis Prize for Music, a foundation that partners with leaders who create positive change by investing in young people through music. Karen has earned degrees from The Juilliard School and Harvard University.
UConn Music courses offered through ECE.
On Wednesday, November 10th, UConn Early College Experience and colleagues from UConn’s Babbidge Library met with ECE Library Media Specialists from our partner high schools for their fall professional development training.
The morning included the following short presentations:
After a short break, librarians selected breakout sessions directed to their interests. They included:
Profile: https://lib.uconn.edu/about/directory/steve-batt/
Profile: https://lib.uconn.edu/about/directory/zach-claybaugh/
Profile: https://lib.uconn.edu/about/directory/kelsey-brown/
Profile: https://lib.uconn.edu/about/directory/hilary-kraus/
On Thursday, November 4th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Chemistry, Associate Professor in Residence Dr. Fatma Selampinar met with certified Chemistry Instructors for their annual professional development conference.
The keynote speaker was Assistant Professor Dr. Kerry Gilmore, UConn, Department of Chemistry who shared his presentation “Green Chemistry – Making Medicines and Chemistry in the Classroom”. Part of the abstract for his talk is below:
“ A longstanding goal in chemistry is the replication and improvement of natural processes for the synthesis of molecules. One of the most efficient processes in the natural world is the conversion of light into chemical energy. While photochemistry has been an active area of research over the past 100 years, it has only been in the last 15 years or so that we have seen an explosion in the capabilities and applications of photochemistry. This is in part due to the introduction of continuous flow technology, allowing chemistry to be performed in processes more akin to assembly lines than the big buckets currently used.
In this seminar, we will talk about this more green and efficient means of production and it’s facilitating impact on photochemistry. We will then showcase the power of this approach for the generation and use of singlet oxygen and discuss how chemistries can be performed in the classroom, and open up the discussion for collaborative work in this area in the development of new processes, screening natural catalysts, and bringing advanced chemical processes to your classrooms.”
Later in the morning, Dr. Selampinar spoke to the instructors about their UConn courses and provided updates about the program.
UConn Chemistry courses offered through ECE.
On Wednesday, October 27th UConn Early College Experience, and the UConn ECE Faculty Coordinator for Economics Dr. Natalia Smirnova met with certified Economics Instructors for their annual professional development conference. Dr. Smirnova spoke to the group about ECE Accreditation Requirements “What you need to know about course comparability: syllabus, assessment, and grading”. Later Diego Mendez-Carbajo, Senior Economic Education Specialist from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis spoke to the group about “Highlighting Diversity and Inclusion with FRED® Data”.
After a short break, the group reconvened to hear from Scott A. Wolla, Economic Education Coordinator at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis share his talk “Monetary Policy Has Changed. Has Your Instruction?”. Finally the group heard from UConn’s Sheila A. Lafferty, Information Literacy & Social Sciences Librarian who shared information with the instructors about UConn’s Library Resources.
For more information about the day see Dr. Smirnova's blog.
UConn Economics courses offered through ECE.
