KCC Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning

 

KCC Academy for Excellence in Teaching & Learning 

 

 Faculty Fellows 

Jessica Corbin, Faculty Fellow on AI and Digital Platforms

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.

Gabrielle Kahn, Faculty Fellow on Innovative Pedagogy 

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. 

Elizabeth Dill,  Co-Faculty Fellows on Mentorship and Scholarly Activity

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, Co-Faculty Fellows on Mentorship and Scholarly Activity

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.

Elizabeth Dill and Jason VanOra are available to support faculty through all phases of writing and research projects. These projects can include research studies and proposals, applications for grants and fellowship leave, literature reviews, teaching and research statements, graduate school applications, personal and memoir writing, op-eds and other public-facing writing, book proposals, conference abstracts, the creation of reappointment, tenure, and promotion portfolios, and scholarly (and other) presentations. 

We're happy to support this work wherever you are in the process, from brainstorming initial ideas through drafting, submission, and revising based on feedback from journals and editors. If you're stuck and having trouble getting started, we can also "shut up and write" with you during these sessions. 

If you'd like us to read something before you come to office hours, please send it to us at least 48 hours in advance. 

Please note that these hours are available to all instructional staff at the college. We hope to see you this semester! 

Office Hours: 

Thursday, Oct 1, 3-5pm 
Thursday, Oct 15, 3-5PM 
Thursday, Oct 29, 3-5PM 
Thursday, November 5, 3-5PM 
Thursday, December 3, 3-5PM 
Thursday, December 10, 3-5Pm