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| Making Connections |
Schedule/Activities |
Teacher Feedback |
THE MAKING CONNECTIONS PROGRAM
"Probably the best staff development I have received in
the twenty years I have been teaching."
"I have been able to deal with literacy activities
in my classroom better as a result of ASHP. The resources are
rich and the students have shown great interest in the material
in the project."
"ASHP has consistently helped me to integrate American literature
and history..."
"The A.S.H.P. has brought history alive for me and the
students I teach." |
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What is
Making Connections?
Making Connections is a eighteen-year old
professional development program that brings together New York
City-area middle- and high-school teachers, CUNY faculty, and
ASHP/CML educators to explore social history scholarship and improve
teaching and learning. During the 2006-2007 Making Connections had twenty-three participating social studies and English teachers from nine schools in six New York City school districts.
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Tasha Hintze, Mark Karwowski, and Brenda McBrien, social studies
and English teachers at the High School of Telecommunication Arts
and Technology in Brooklyn, discuss a document during a Making Connections seminar. Karwowski, a longtime
participant in ASHP education programs, believes that "Even
though ASHP has worked with thousands of teachers, I've felt that
it was created for me alone, and that I was meant to be a part
of it."
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| How Does the Program Work?
Making Connections operates at school sites as well as at
the Graduate Center, CUNY. In monthly seminars at the Graduate Center,
interdisciplinary teams of social studies and English teachers do hands-on
work with the acclaimed ASHP/CML Teacher
Resources that they receive as part of their participation in the
program. In the process of sharing ideas with colleagues from other
schools and from ASHP/CML and CUNY, they deepen the collaborative experience
that is a core element of the program. Check out this year's schedule
and activities. CUNY and ASHP "mentors"
extend the collaborative aspect of Making Connections. Mentors visit
participating teachers as they plan and teach their courses and work
with them to integrate the new content resources and teaching strategies
explored in the monthly seminars.
| What is the Approach? |
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Christine
Feliciano, English teacher, Franklin K. Lane High School in Queens.
Active participation and collaboration among participants is a Making
Connections hallmark. |
| Making Connections is guided
by the same pedagogical approaches
that underlie all ASHP education work. The program seeks to revitalize
student interest and achievement through the use of multicultural
and interdisciplinary approaches to the humanities; inquiry- and
technology-based instruction; and primary documents that teachers
can use to foster critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.
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What are the Results?
Independent evaluations as well as
teachers' written feedback have demonstrated
the positive impact of the Making Connections program. Teachers have
praised the program for deepening their knowledge of history and improving
their instructional practices. Evaluation data has shown that ASHP students
earn higher mean scores and pass rates on the Regents history and English
examinations.
How Can I Find Out More?
For more on the program, please contact
Madeleine Lopez
Coordinator, Faculty Development Programs
(212) 817-1976
mlopez@gc.cuny.edu
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