We hold in common the following teaching and learning principles, with a commitment to create:
- Interdisciplinary curricula and learning opportunities for students to solve complex problems;
- A culture of collaborative inquiry;
- A collaborative classroom environment where all students participate;
- Integrative learning opportunities that enable students to study and participate/contribute in meaningful ways to New York City and communities they identify as important to them;
- Opportunities for civic engagement and democratic participation to develop and sustain a thriving New York City;
- Consistent opportunities for faculty, staff, and peer mentors to learn from each other by collaborating inside and outside the classroom;
- Opportunities for timely, ongoing, constructive feedback to students that identifies strengths and areas in need of improvement and suggests strategies to build on strengths and improve;
- Curricula that foster inquiry-based learning and build on student knowledge, experience and curiosity while promoting critical analysis of content and creative social action;
- Course content that engages multiple perspectives on historical and contemporary issues;
- Culturally responsive pedagogy that values and affirms students’ diverse backgrounds and lived experiences as a starting point for all learning;
- Content that is culturally relevant and meaningful;
- Student-centered and experiential teaching strategies that promote engagement and active learning;
- Scaffolded and differentiated instruction and assignments to address the needs of a diverse group of students; and
- A culture of academic rigor affirming that disciplines have bodies of knowledge and ways of knowing that are foundational for students in a post-secondary setting.
