Carlena Ficano

Professor of Economics
229 Golisano Hall
Hartwick College
Oneonta, NY 13820 ficanoc@hartwick.edu

Phone:607-432-1676

Background Information

I am a Professor of Economics at Hartwick College, a small liberal arts institution in upstate, New York. I received my BA from Lafayette College, graduating with majors in Economics and Sociology, and completed my MA and PhD at Cornell University. Prior to beginning graduate work, I spent three years working at an adult education center in Jamaica Plain, MA, where my interest in both teaching and public policy took shape. I have completed research on childcare policy, the economics of higher education and localism as a means of economic development.

Much of my training in Team-Based Learning has been informal. In 2010 I began attending workshops given by colleagues at my home institution on team-based learning and flipped classroom pedagogy that piqued my interest in these alternative teaching and learning strategies. In January, 2012, I elected to team teach an interdisciplinary course with a colleague from the department of Biology who is recognized in her discipline as an expert on experiential and collaborative pedagogy. Working in this capacity gave me direct experience with and guidance on using team-based learning and flipped classroom teaching structures. Finally, in 2015 I restructured my Introductory Microeconomics course to incorporate flipped classroom methodologies and in-class team-based learning. I have maintained this model in my introductory course and am now working to adopt it in my upper level classes as well.