Progressive Junior College of New York

1. Progressive Junior College of New York 710 ETAP Road Malta, New York 12020 1-800-PJCNY4U Where The LearnerComes First Presented to you by: Jennifer Boisvert, Liza Cope, and Shelli Failing

2. Table of Contents Mission Statement……………………………………..…………………..……...3 Our Vision…………………………………………………….…………………………4 Our Philosophy…………………………………………………….....……………..5 Our Purpose……………………………………………………………….…………..6 Demographics Location………………………………………………….……………...7 Students………………………………………………...……………....8 Faculty…………………..……………………………….…..………….9 Curricular Framework…………………………………………………………..10 Goals…………………………………………………………………………………….11 Overview of Courses………………………………………………………..12-13 Partnerships………………………………………………………………………….14 Exemplar of IntegratedLesson Part I (Description)………………………………………………..15 Part II (Activity)……………………………………………………..16 Reference List…………………………………………………………….….17-19 More information may be found by visiting our website.

3. Our mission is… …to inspire, challenge, and educate life-long learners through a rich and responsive curriculum that focuses on the individual, the community, and the world. We believe that by integrating mathematics and science as a part of career development students will be challenged to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. In creating a diverse learning community, partnerships will be created and conflicts resolved in a manner that will benefit the student as they venture into a culturally diverse world. These abilities to think critically, problem solve, resolve conflicts, and form partnerships will ensure their success as they venture into an internship position, and ultimately, their career. Table of Contents

4. Our vision is… …that the Progressive Junior College of New York (PJCNY) willbecome the mostrespected junior college in the United States. Our graduateswilldemonstratehighlevels of academicachievementthrough admission to four yearschools and/or gainfulemployment. Wewillstrengthen the region's social and economicvibrancy. Wewill have strong local and global partnershipswith business, industry, labor and the public making the College a respectedcontributor to communityvitality.  Our facultywillberenowned as educators and scholars, therebyincreasing the value of ourstudents’ degrees. Table of Contents

5. The values and beliefs that guide the Progressive Junior College of New York in all activities and serve as our basic foundation are: *A learner-centered curriculum that enhances critical thinking skills, has real world applications, includes cross curricular connections, and provides our students with a choice in what they study, the method of study, and how they are assessed. *Well-planned and executed, andragogically* sound classroom, laboratory, and outdoor educational activities. *Life-long learning that is modeled by our faculty through their history of being professionally active and productive scholars in their perspective fields. *Research and internship opportunities that allow students and faculty to create new knowledge and to apply prior knowledge learned in the classroom. These experiences will also build students' proficiency in critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and communication. * Andragogy refers to the methods or techniques used to teach adults (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/andragogy) Table of Contents

6. Whatisourpurpose? • The purpose of the Progressive Junior College of New York is to provide young adults with the skills and knowledge that they will need to meet their personal and professional potential in the 21st century.  At the Progressive Junior College of New York learners have the opportunity to choose their courses - from our college's mathematics, science, and career preparation departments – and to explore research interests within the parameters of the science/math/technology course in which they are enrolled. Each course's title and description are springboards, not boxes for the curriculumof the course. None of our courses are taught as isolated subjects. Rather, every course incorporates cross curricular connections and real world applications, and therefore, technology is an integral component of all of our courses. Table of Contents

7. Our Location http://www.aecinfo.com/1/pdcnewsitem/01/54/99/Great-Seneca.jpg • Our school is located in the Luther Forest Technology Campus, just minutes from New York State’s capital city of Albany. We chose this location for our school due to its proximity to many large companies (GE and Knowles Atomic Laboratories) as well as being minutes from some of the largest nanotechnology companies in the industry (Sematech and Global Foundries), a field which is rapidly expanding. The relationships that PJCNY has made with these, and other, companies will provide many opportunities for students during and after college. • In addition to the partnership opportunities, this location in the County of Saratoga is in the heart of New York’s Tech Valley. Saratoga County is rich and diverse in its offerings to its citizens and its visitors. From the season of horse racing to winter festivals to spring garage sales, each season has a life of its own and is welcomed by all. By choosing this location for our school we are able to offer our students safe housing in close-knit communities and short travel distances to stores, shopping malls, and various forms of transportation-train, plane, and bus. Table of Contents

8. Our Students Our school prides itself in its diversity. Our enrollment currently includes students from 47 of the 50 U.S. States, Puerto Rico, and over 100 other countries. We have a student body of 500 students, with 150 of them falling into the “exceptional senior category.” Due to the small student body size the administrators and faculty are able to gain personal knowledge about each of their students. The students here at PJCNY truly form a unique learning community due to their motivation to work collaboratively and to learn from each other and about each other’s differences. Table of Contents

9. Our Faculty Our faculty is the heart of our college. Our faculty is well blended due to the fact that they come from almost as many diverse backgrounds and training as our students. Our professors have taught at every level of school-elementary, middle, and secondary-both in the private and public sectors, and most have taught at many different college levels. Eighty-two percent of our faculty possesses a doctoral degree in their field of expertise, 12% are currently working towards their doctorate degree, and the remaining 6% hold at least one Masters degree. Our faculty model life-long learning through their requirement to obtain a minimum of 50 hours of professional development every two years (not necessarily in their field of expertise) in order to ensure that they remain current with the most up-to-date instructional techniques and ever-changing technological advances. Table of Contents

10. Curricular Framework Curriculum should be engaging to the students and should not be designed in a step-by-step framework, but instead should consist of generative topics that are multi-disciplinary (Blythe, 1998). Once the concept is revealed to the students, a discussion should follow about how that specific topic relates to each student individually (Applebee, 1996). From there, students will be able to guide the instruction. Although the teacher acts as a facilitator in this type of learner-centered framework, the teacher is still responsible for the knowledge that each student gains through the discussions and investigations into the topic, therefore the role of the teacher is also to lead the students in the right direction through scaffolding. The direction may take different paths to the same endpoint, however, and that is where the true learning occurs. A goal of the learner-centered curriculum is that of self-realization. As a curriculum goal, self-realization implies that “the school experience should be such that each individual has the freedom and opportunity to aspire to what he or she dreams of becoming” (Ellis, 2003, p.41). The curriculum at PJCNY allows students to choose their own unique path of learning that will prepare them for their culminating activity of completing an internship and submitting a portfolio of their learning experiences. Table of Contents

11. Our Goals… • to offer coursework and active learning experiences appropriate to the prerequisites of a baccalaureate program, • to offer coursework appropriate for employment related to departmental majors or minors. We will utilize the wealth of business and educational institutions in the Capital Region by requiring all students to spend their final semester engaged in an internship experience, • to offer well-planned and andragogically sound learning exercises in courses and in research projects, • to provide coursework and research opportunities that include opportunities to use technology, • to recruit faculty with theoretical and practical experience, reward good teaching, encourage faculty to conduct funded research and publish results, and to participate in professional organizations. Table of Contents

12. Course Overview Our courses are designed by our faculty to be integrated with at least one other course that a student is taking each semester. For example, our exemplar allows students to connect similar ideas across the different disciplines by integrating the following courses: Pattern: An Interdisciplinary Course in Textile Design and Elementary Group Theory,Nanoscale Science and Chemistry I, and Technology of the 21st Century. Our faculty understands that PJCNY allows “learner-generated” curriculum and instruction therefore they question each student about other classes they are enrolled in and the faculty works together to create “well-planned learning experiences” that integrate the various courses.For this reason, the same course will never be taught in the same manner over different semesters-the material is always new, current, and meaningful to each student. Through our accreditation, we are able to remain current with the ever-changing world of education for the benefit of both our students and faculty. By being accredited PJCNY is constantly reviewing the programs offered, the mission statement, purpose, and philosophy to be sure that we are in-line with the global changes taking place. Table of Contents

13. Course Overview (continued) Our faculty understands that students have hectic lives and our courses are designed to facilitate learning, not hinder it. Therefore, each of our courses are offered in three different formats: online, traditional, and hybrid (a combination of online and traditional styles). Here at PJCNY we also feel that a student’s ability to express themselves is one of the most important attributes an individual can possess. For this reason, our students are required to take at least one writing intensive course each semester and since all of our courses are offered as writing intensive, this requirement is easily achieved. Although the Humanities are not covered as individual topics, every class offered in the Applied Mathematics Department connects math to the various humanities disciplines. As a culminating activity, each student must create a portfolio that is reflective of the learning process and knowledge they gained over their two years spent at PJCNY. While taking the course titled Progressive First Year Experience in their first semester students are taught to maintain a journal. This journal will be the basis for their portfolio due to the fact that each student will be required to reflect on each course throughout the four semesters that they attend PJCNY as well as their internship experience. Table of Contents

14. Partnerships PJCNY understands that companies require their employees to possess specific skill sets to ensure the continued success of each company. PJCNY feels that technical companies are looking for employees who will create the next bigger, better, faster, item for them. Our students are encouraged to research whatever interests them (lipstick, cancer, sneakers) and connect it to their in-class instructional learning objectives. In our courses, students are free to do research on topics that interest them within the parameters of the course’s main topic of study, therefore, the experiences are “learner-generated,” but within parameters. We are also affiliated with the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education and once a year we hold an open house to collaborate with representatives from the companies that we have partnerships with (new companies are also invited). This collaboration allows PJCNY to better serve our students and allows us to get first hand knowledge of what companies are looking for in an employee, which allows us to strengthen our partnerships. Table of Contents

15. Exemplar of Integrated Lesson Part I Table of Contents

16. Exemplar of Integrated Lesson Part II Table of Contents

17. Reference List Applebee, A., (1996). Curriculum as Conversation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. • Albany Nano Tech. (n.d). Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://cnse.albany.edu/ • Blythe, T., (1998). The Teaching for Understanding Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Bucknell University. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www.bucknell.edu/x5184.xml • Dartmouth College Math Department. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from http://www.math.dartmouth.edu • Definition of Andragogy. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/andragogy • Ellis, A., (2003). Exemplars of Curriculum Theory. New York: Eye. • Excelsior College. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2009, from http://www.excelsior.edu • Freelayouts [Software]. Available from http://www.freelayouts.com/templates/Green-Forest?preview=true Table of Contents

18. Reference List (continued) • General Electric. (n.d.) Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.ge.com/ • Hewlett Packard. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.hp.com/#ProductLogo Ease. Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.logoease.com/ Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://www.podnetwork.org/. • Rensselaer Nanotechnology. (n.d). Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.rpi.edu/research/nanotechnology/index.html • Robert Half International Incorporated. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.rhi.com/SeaMonkey (Version 2.0 ) [Software]. Available from http://www.mozilla.org/St. Charles Community College. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.stchas.edu Tessellations Information. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.tessella.com/about-us/what-are-tessellations/ Table of Contents

19. Reference List (continued) Tessellations Lesson. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/math/printable/3523.html?detoured=1Tessellations in Chemistry. Retrieved November 19, 2009, from http://www.chemistry.co.nz/crystals_defined.htmTesselMania. Retrieved November 19, 2009, from http://www.tessellations.org/tesselmania0.htmThomas College. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www.thomas.edu/partnerships/default.asp Sage Colleges. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2009, from http://www.sage.edu/sca/resources/advisementcareer/careerplanning/internships/InternshipCoursesSCA/ The American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges (2009). Retrieved November 4, 2009, from http://www.amatyc.org/Crossroads/CROSSROADS/V1/index.htm Toyota. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.toyota.com/ University of Detroit Mercy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2009, from http://www.udmercy.edu/cec/resources/courses/index.htm Table of Contents