KCC Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning

 

KCC Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning 

 

Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIGs) and Reading Groups

Reading Group: The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching  by Annette Vee, Marc Watkins, Derek Bruff

Facilitator: Jessica Corbin

Dates: October 7, 21, November 11, December 2 | 3pm-4pm

Additional Information: The Fall 2026 FIG will focus on Part One of the book, “Planning an AI-Aware Course.”  Part Two, “Teaching an AI-Aware Course: Activities, Assignments, and Assessments” will be done in Spring 2027.

 10/7: Introduction, Chapter 1,

10/21: Chapters 2, 3

11/11: Chapters 4, 5

12/2: Chapters 6, 7

Jessica Corbin is currently serving in her ninth year as a full-time Lecturer at Kingsborough Community College, teaching in both Music and Theatre Arts. In addition to her teaching and music-directing work at Kingsborough, she is active as a songwriter, singer, pianist, and music director in New York City and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.

At Kingsborough, Jessica is very excited to be the new Fellow of AI & Digital Platforms in the Kingsborough Community College Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning and is looking forward to working with the KCC Academy to develop programming in these areas for the faculty and staff of KCC. She currently serves on College Council at Kingsborough and is Secretary of the Facilities Committee, and she is a member of the Advisory Board of the KCC Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning. She has received a PSC-CUNY Research Award and has served on numerous faculty search committees and the Library Committee.

Jessica previously served for four years as Region 1 Chair of Musical Theatre for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Before becoming Chair, she served the region as Vice Chair for Musical Theatre, Vocal Coach, and Accompanist.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Duquesne University and a Master of Music in Music Theory from Indiana University.

Reading/Inquiry Group: Classroom Activity Made Public (CAMP)

Facilitators: Gabrielle Kahn

Dates: (In-Person) Session 1: Thursday, 10/1, 3:00-4:00 pm; Session 2: Thursday, 11/5, 3:00-        4:00 pm; Session 3: Thursday, 12/3, 3:00-4:00 pm.

(Virtual/Zoom) Session 1: Friday, 10/2, 10:00-11:00 am; Session 2: Friday, 11/6, 10:00-      11:00 am; Session 3: Friday 12/4, 10:00-11:00 am

Description: Not enough time to consider the effectiveness of what you’re doing in class? You’re not alone. Come to CAMP to talk about your teaching, reflect on your practice today, and work towards publicizing aspects of this activity more widely. Sessions use the open-access book The SoTL Guide: (Re)orienting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and concepts such as a pedagogy of kindness, as a starting place for viewing your experiences through a scholarly lens, which may include developing a question, attending more closely to a particular assignment, or examining a way your identity has been changing in recent years. Bring a cup of coffee to Zoom and join our collegial conversation and working group about innovation and meaning in our teaching.

Gabrielle Kahn is honored to help build the fellowship community at KCC’s Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning with a focus on Innovative Pedagogy. Her work at Kingsborough since 2006 has been grounded in active and collaborative teaching and learning practices as member and administrator of Kingsborough’s learning communities. A Professor of English and graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University with an EdD in Applied Linguistics, she has been privileged to partner with interdisciplinary faculty from across the college to explore high-impact practices in community college education, in her team teaching and in her scholarship, which examines students’ language and the social construction of new knowledge. Her commitment to working to create relational spaces to meet the individual needs of students and faculty members has deepened through her experiences in KCC’s classrooms, and as editor of the journal Learning Communities Research and Practice, ESL Program director, and Faculty Inquiry Group facilitator at KCTL. She looks forward to continuing to explore the complex and dynamic activity of teaching and learning with her colleagues to inspire one another in their pedagogy and cultivate students’ development as lifelong learners.

FIG: Developing & Fostering Research and Writing Projects

Facilitators: Elizabeth Dill and Jason Van Ora

    • 10/8, 3:00-5:00, Getting a Writing Project Started and Developing a Manuscript
    • 10/22, 3:00-5:00, Qualitative Research: Interviewing
    • 11/12, 3:00-5:00, Qualitative Research: Thematic Analysis
    • 11/19, 3:00-5:00, Getting Published

Modality/Location: In-Person

Description: TBD

Elizabeth Dill: I am a literature and sex and sexuality studies scholar and a devoted community college teacher of writing and literature courses. I also work with graduate students and teach a dissertation writing course at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Writing Center.  My philosophy as a teacher, colleague, and scholar is grounded in creating critique-free spaces in which we grow our work together. This philosophy carries into my mentoring life as well. For me, mentoring is a mutually beneficial space of collaboration and support.

Jason Van Ora: I am thrilled to be serving as a KCC Mentoring Fellow, alongside my brilliant colleague Dr. Elizabeth Dill. A social and personality psychologist by training, I've worked as a psychology professor at KCC since Fall 2008. My research explores identity through narrative, as well as the lives, motivations, and wisdoms of community college students. Over the years, I've mentored in a variety of capacities, always with a focus on helping colleagues recognize the importance of their ideas, communicate them effectively across a range of outlets, and find the joy in exploring and creating new knowledge. My approach is gentle and encouraging, and I'm available for mentoring at every stage of the research process. I can be especially helpful with writing literature reviews and methods sections, developing interview protocols, conducting qualitative data analysis, and thinking through the implications of your findings. I also write for broader audiences and welcome the chance to work with you on more personal and public-facing writing as well.

FIG: Game-Based Learning

Facilitators: Grace Axler-Diperte

Dates: TBD

Description: Link to GBL page.

Grace Axler-DiPerte is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Kingsborough Community College and previously received her Ph.D. from NYU, where she studied Microbiology. Since 2017 her work has included educational game design and facilitation of the Game Based Learning Faculty Interest Group, where she shares game development principles and strategies with colleagues throughout CUNY. She is also a member of the CUNY Games Network Steering Committee.

FIG: Faculty Initiative on Teaching Reading

Facilitators: Joanna Agnello and Joanna Maulbeck

Dates: 9/25, 10/23, 11/20 | 10am-11am

Description: Link to FITR-FIG page

Joanna Agnello, LMHC-D is a Lecturer in Psychology at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY, and a CUNY Beyond Faculty Fellow. Her teaching, faculty development, and scholarship focus on belonging, identity development, equity-minded pedagogy, and career-connected learning in the community college context.

Professor Agnello facilitates, designs and leads professional learning experiences focused on innovative, inclusive, and student-centered teaching practices. Her facilitation work explores how faculty can create classroom environments that foster connection, vulnerability, academic confidence, and meaningful engagement across difference. Professor Agnello is currently a co-facilitator for The Faculty Initiative for the Teaching of Reading.

Her Scholarship of Teaching and Learning examines identity, multimedia expression, interdisciplinary pedagogy, and the use of “silent conversations” to build belonging and empathy in diverse classrooms. Through her teaching, research, and faculty leadership, Professor Agnello is committed to advancing transformative educational practices that center student voice, strengthen faculty practice, and expand opportunities for student success.

As a CUNY Beyond Faculty Fellow, Professor Agnello contributes to institutional efforts to integrate career-connected learning, identity, and students’ academic and professional development across the college experience.

Talking Teaching Series (coordinated by Ryan)

    • September: Title II & Creating Accessible Material for Your Students (Natasha & Althea)
    • October: Thinking in Public: Making Student Reasoning Visible in an AI-Aware Classroom (Robert Nelson)
    • November: Feedback Models for In-Class Presentations (Ryan)
    • December: Faculty & Staff Dialogue Space (Ashwini Kadave)
    • March: Use of IF/AT Cards and Just-In-Time Feedback to Students (Grace)
    • April:
    • May:
    • May/June:

External Speaker Workshops

    • Fall Workshop: Derek Bruff (University of Virginia) | Norton Guide to AI- Aware Teaching
    • Winter Workshop: TBD
    • Spring Workshop: TBD