Posted 30 Oct 2013 / 0
My Dean, Andy Barnes, recently published an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the role of smaller institutions like Pratt in the age of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). He is sponsoring a roundtable discussion on the topic, and I will be one of the participants… A roundtable discussion on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and their Read More
A Minor Post, Higher Education, Learning Management Systems, Pratt Institute, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Teaching, Teaching Tools
Posted 30 Sep 2013 / 2
It is a ritual that most academics hope to be able to participate in, but that does not make it any less excruciating. Where else but academia do we get the chance to argue for our own permanent employment? Where else but academia is the process so exhaustive and complicated? Where else is there so Read More
A Major Post, Department of Mathematics & Science, Higher Education, Pratt Institute, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Survival
Posted 27 Sep 2013 / 0
It’s the beginning of another very exciting Fall semester and one of my regular duties — as club advisor to Envirolutions — is in full swing. This has been an exceptional semester so far, as our veteran leaders in the club have become extremely well-versed in what it takes to bring more sustainable practices to our Read More
A Minor Post, Envirolutions, Pratt Institute, Sustainability
Posted 19 Sep 2013 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “‘Farm to Brain’: Locavore Education vs. MOOCs” What I really appreciate about this piece (full disclosure: it was written by my current Dean) is that it makes clear that the MOOC model is simply the extensification of the big research university model of education. It is no wonder that these educational Read More
A Minor Post, Higher Education, Pratt Institute, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Teaching, Web
Posted 26 Jul 2013 / 0
At the end of every semester there is an important ritual that I participate in. In my department, this ritual is initiated by Margaret, our indispensable Assistant to the Chair. She sends out a message requesting that all untenured professors schedule a ten-minute period during each of their classes during which course evaluations can be completed by Read More
A Major Post, Assessment Methods, Course Evaluations, Higher Education, Pratt Institute, Teaching
Posted 22 Jun 2013 / 0
Jennifer Verdolin, Dylan Moore, and I created the fieldTest simulator several years ago. This individual-based simulation allows virtual animals with the potential to form social groups that defend territories to interact on landscapes containing different patterns and abundances of resources, and is part of my larger research into group territorial behavior. We presented our results at the 2009 Read More
A Major Post, Behavioral Ecology, Competition, Concept Mapping, Department of Mathematics & Science, Ecological Modeling, Group Territorial Behavior, Individual-based Models, Information Design, Spatially Explicit Modeling
Posted 21 Jun 2013 / 0
I am proud to report that The Sustainable Use of Fisheries, one of the teaching tools that I have developed, is available on the EcoEd Digital Library. Provided as an educational outreach project of the Ecological Society of America, EcoEd provides teachers with a variety of different lesson materials for planning lectures, laboratories, and other classroom activities. Read More
A Major Post, Ecological Society of America, Pratt Institute, Teaching Tools, The Sustainable Use of Fisheries
Posted 14 May 2013 / 0
Pratt celebrated its 124th commencement ceremony at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013. I always try to make it to graduation to honor the hard work of our graduating seniors. Although there are usually a few students graduating who I worked with closely, mostly I go to see the many students Read More
A Major Post, Pratt Institute
Posted 29 Mar 2013 / 0
During this year’s Green Week celebration, Envirolutions club members brought their Room for Improvement campaign to the campus, asking members of the Pratt community to identify where the campus has the most “room to improve” in terms of sustainability. Two enticements incentivized participation: those who filled out a survey could grab a snack and pick out their own Envirolutions button to Read More
A Major Post, Envirolutions, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy
Posted 21 Feb 2013 / 0
This week, students in Pratt’s Envirolutions club launched their newest campaign for on-campus sustainability. Called “Room for Improvement”, the campaign seeks to lower the environmental footprint of the school caused by resource consumption. The posters that advertise the campaign are themed around iconic “warning” posters: Envirolutions will also be tabling during Green Week on Thursday, March 28th to Read More
A Major Post, Envirolutions, Pratt Institute, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy
