The Academy Experience: A Plan for Integrated Education

Imagine: Students aren’t just enrolled at a community college. Students are members of Queensborough academies.

The world of higher education has traditionally been called academia or academe or the academy, the place of scholarship and dissemination of learning to new generations of students.

At Queensborough, academies are cohorts of students by curriculum.

Each academy has three dimensions: An educational philosophy An educational philosophy A place for learning A place for learning A community of learners A community of learners

The Academy has an The Academy has an educational philosophy: An integrated educational experience incorporating academic and social connectivity to their curricula, the college community, and their peers will enable students to develop and apply critical lifelong learning skills.

The Academy The Academy is a place: is a place: The designated space for the academy is the focus for academy activities, where faculty, students, and academic support staff can engage one another in learning.

The Academy The Academy is a community of learners: is a community of learners: Curricular cohorts of students partner with faculty and academic support staff to achieve learning objectives and to enable the completion of degree requirements.

In a QCC academy, students are actively engaged in the literature and discourse, underlying fundamentals, and overarching philosophies specific to their own discipline: In a QCC academy, students are actively engaged in the literature and discourse, underlying fundamentals, and overarching philosophies specific to their own discipline: Engineering Tech Process Analysis Sciences Scientific Method Business Numeracy / Comparative Thinking Biology / Nursing Vocabulary Building / Interpersonal Skills Mathematics Numeracy / Problem- Solving Education Socratic Method Liberal Arts Critical Analysis / Interpretation

A degree from the Academy means: Students have demonstrated both fundamental and more specialized competencies in preparation for the world of work or the continuation of their academic pursuits.

How does the Academy prepare students for their careers or for higher education? Through the Integrated Education model.

The blueprint for, and archive of, students’ academic planning Academic support outside the classroom: tutoring, and information and technology literacy The doorway to partnership in the academy experience An online gallery highlighting student benchmark performances Writing-to-learn as a critical thinking mechanism Linked courses reinforcing students’ identity in their Academies Establishing a solid foundation for coping with academic rigors CETL WAC / WI e-Portfolio Campus Learning Center Learning Communities Remediation / ST100 Advisement / MAP Learning Academies What is Integrated Education? Exploration, assessment, and modification of best practices in the teaching/learning partnerships

1.Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking. 2.Use analytical reasoning to identify issues and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions. 3.Reason quantitatively and mathematically. 4.Use information management and technology skills effectively. Through the integrated education model, students will be able, at graduation, to: 5. Integrate knowledge and skills in students’ programs of study. 6. Differentiate between and make informed decisions about issues based on multiple value systems. 7. Work collaboratively in diverse groups to accomplish learning objectives. Competencies

Q: What is the role of e-Portfolio in students’ Integrated Education experience? experience? CETL WAC / WI e-Portfolio Campus Learning Center Learning Communities Remediation / ST100 Advisement / MAP Learning Academies Integrated Education

A: In the academies, students will experience and document formative achievements that build toward and culminate in a major curricular project. MilestoneCapstone Credits: Cornerstone e-Portfolio

MilestoneCapstone Credits: Cornerstone Project-based learning tasks uploaded to students’ e-Portfolios can mark Cornerstone, Milestone, and Capstone achievements.

Therefore, e-Portfolios evolve as students evolve as learning partners in their respective communities.

Our Institutional Challenges How can we implement the plan for Integrated Education so that it appears transparent and seamless for students? How can we implement the plan for Integrated Education so that it appears transparent and seamless for students? Challenge 1:

Our Institutional Challenges How can we ensure that the 8 Integrated Education initiatives have established learning objectives corresponding to the General Education objectives? How can we ensure that the 8 Integrated Education initiatives have established learning objectives corresponding to the General Education objectives? Challenge 2:

Our Institutional Challenges How will we ensure that these General Education objectives can be demonstrated and assessed through Cornerstone, Milestone, and Capstone experiences? How will we ensure that these General Education objectives can be demonstrated and assessed through Cornerstone, Milestone, and Capstone experiences? Challenge 3:

Our Institutional Challenges How will we ensure that these Cornerstone, Milestone, and Capstone experiences become artifacts of each student’s e-Portfolio? How will we ensure that these Cornerstone, Milestone, and Capstone experiences become artifacts of each student’s e-Portfolio? Challenge 4:

Imagine the Possibilities! Members of Queensborough academies don’t just meet credit requirements: They acquire unique, discipline-specific They acquire unique, discipline-specific perspectives perspectives They apply these perspectives and critical They apply these perspectives and critical analyses in Cornerstone, Milestone and analyses in Cornerstone, Milestone and Capstone e-Portfolio presentations Capstone e-Portfolio presentations and… They achieve proficiency in They achieve proficiency in 3 critical literacies… 3 critical literacies… Numeracy / Mathematical Literacy Information LiteracySocial / Interpersonal Literacy

Imagine This Result! QCC students leave the academy better prepared for global citizenship as they transition to the workplace or continue their academic pursuits.