FIN Commons

Dual Commitment: Introducing the Introduction

Introducing the Introduction: In the Umoja classroom teachers make it their mission to invite students to be a part of—and to help create–the learning space. One way to do this is to create introduction exercises that forge a focused connection between teacher and students. In this workshop students will demonstrate the importance that setting a tone of invitation and inclusion can have in helping students become more engaged in the classroom. Student presenters will also integrate an Umoja VI core principle–Dual Commitment—in this workshop.

PRESENTERS: KENDRA HINTON, VICENA HARMON, CHAFFEY COLLEGE (AMAN/AWOMAN) AND TOM DEWIT, CO-CHAIR, UMOJA COMMUNITY

Mixing the Metaphors

Mixing the Metaphors: The use of abstract conventions can play a major part in helping students make conceptual connections inside an active learning classroom. This workshop will examine how the use of the abstract can lead to open-minded learning, creating new pathways in the brain for accessing and understanding information.

PRESENTERS: MALCOLM MITCHELL AND GARCELL ZARDES, EL CAMINO COLLEGE (PROJECT SUCCESS STUDENTS)

Click here for the Mixing Metaphors handout

Here is an example of a completed handout

Homework Assignment

Remix: Relevant by Reinvention

Remix: Relevant by Reinvention: Our favorite songs from long ago are often brought back in new forms for the current generation to claim as their jam. In this multimedia presentation students will begin by offering examples of this phenomenon in popular music and invite attendees to consider the conceptual choices guiding the remixes. Remixing makes old information relevant by reinventing it; we will practice remixing with our classroom and service practices.

PRESENTERS: TYMESHA TAYLOR AND RAYMOND PRICE, CHABOT COLLEGE (DARAJA)

Click here to view the Five Stairsteps video, “O-o-h, Child” used in first in the presentation

Click here for Donnie McClurkin and Kirk Franklin’s version, “Oohh Child”

Click here to Tupac’s remix, “Keep Your Head Up”

Inside the Rhythm of Similarity

Collaboration: Inside the Rhythm of Similarity: Barriers block learning and inhibit both instructors and students from stepping toward each other. This workshop will stress the importance for both teachers and students of establishing Dual Commitment in the classroom. Guided by student presenters, attendees will explore the potential barriers between faculty and students and begin to articulate effective strategies to remove these barriers.

PRESENTERS: CEDRIC ROBERSON AND MO’NIKA BERRY, CHABOT COLLEGE (DARAJA)

Click here to watch Run DMC’s version of “Walk this Way”

Repetition as Understanding

Repetition as Understanding: While many students hear the same information repeated over and over, in many cases the repetition sounds like a broken record. In this workshop student presenters will engage participants in varied uses of media, learning styles and physical movement in order to examine exciting ways Repetition can syncopate, echo and enrich student learning experiences. Participants will practice integrating Repetition with other effective teaching strategies in order make music out of learning.

PRESENTERS: CHAFFEY COLLEGE (AMAN/AWOMAN)

Click here to see a Repetition Recipe

Rhythm in the Classroom

Rhythm in the Classroom: There are many different types of classrooms. This workshop looks into how the entire classroom works together to make the best environment for learning. Pace, timing, and levels will be some of the musical concepts explored in this workshop. Participants will be able to hone in on the “heart beat” of the classroom in a way that will promote an acute and attuned flexibility and balance.

PRESENTERS: LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE (SANKOFA SCHOLARS)

Click here for the Sankofa Scholars Pledge

Rhythm in the Classroom Handout

Sankofa Scholars Rhythm Handout

Cracking the Code

Cracking the Code: One of the fascinating features of pop culture—including Hip-Hop music—is how it creates Insiders and Outsiders. Those in the know KNOW—what a song means, what a particular word denotes. And it can be argued that part of Hip-Hop’s appeal is exactly this Insider/ Outsider dynamic. In this workshop we will explore how the same Insider/Outsider dynamic is found in our institutions and how we might mix strategies from Hip-Hop into our classrooms and offices to provide access to learning across the disciplines.

HANNAH RICHEY, CHAFFEY COLLEGE (AMAN/AWOMAN) and LEONA CANNON, FULLERTON COLLEGE (UMOJA) and SEAN MCFARLAND, CHABOT COLLEGE

Click here to listen to E-40′s “Gasoline.” Can you crack the code?

Cracking the Code Workshop handout

Taking it to the Bridge (By Spinning the Wheel)

Taking it to the Bridge (By Spinning the Wheel): In music the Bridge can serve a number of different purposes: to link separate song elements, to create interesting tension in the song, to allow listeners to reflect on earlier portions of the song. Now if we replace “song” with “classroom”, you can see where this workshop is headed. Student presenters will preside over the “Spinning of the Wheel” as participants compete to create the most interesting Bridge inside their discipline.

CHAFFEY COLLEGE STUDENTS (AMAN/AWOMAN)