Upcoming Events

Employing active learning techniques does not automatically produce high quality learning, nor does it necessarily contribute to a productive academic mindset in students. While a large body of research shows that incorporating active learning techniques into the classroom can significantly improve student achievement of learning outcomes, how can we use it to produce a productive academic mindset as well? In this workshop we will explore how we can create productive academic mindsets by engaging students in ways that really make a difference. Specifically, we will consider three components identified in the research that teachers can influence student mindset in the classroom: emotional engagement, cognitive-emotional engagement, and behavioral engagement.

This webinar addresses how performance criteria can be used to help learning objectives (which can sometimes seem static and impersonal in nature) come alive in the classroom. Performance criteria are the expectations given to learners before a performance that define the characteristics which make up a high quality performance related to achieving a learning objective. Participants attending this webinar will be able to articulate the value of writing and using performance criteria, practice using a methodology for writing performance criteria, and assess performance criteria to improve quality.

We must intentionally think about where we want students to go in order to help them get there. Teaching with purpose requires us to first identify our course goals and objectives and create assignments that are aligned. Often we, as instructors, know why were doing certain things in our courses, but it might not be apparent to students. This workshop will explore the Transparency Framework (of purpose/task/criteria) developed by Mary-Ann Winkelmes, as it relates to assignment creation. We will introduce the framework and apply it to redesigning an assignment you currently use in your course.

Have you taught a class where students are highly engaged and are outperforming your expectations? What is so special about that class? How can you document what is happening so you can reproduce that impact in the future? In this workshop we will discuss the components of conducting scholarly action research in the classroom. We will also study several examples of successful applications for Institutional Review Board approval that you may be able to adapt to your own classroom research. Participants will leave with the beginning of an action plan to turn what started as a successful class into a scholarly paper as well.

Even though the book is five years old, Selingo’s analysis is still relevant. From his experience as an editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, he traces problematic administrative practices that took hold in the first decade of the millennium (building debt and promoting a customer mentality with regards to students). Together with unforeseen societal changes, such as economic crises and disruptive technologies, these practices have exacerbated the college dropout problem and made students question the value of a college degree. Join us for this chat to discuss what of his analysis resonates with your experience, the likelihood of the future he predicts, and the applicability of the strategies he suggests.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) focuses on investigations of teaching practices and student learning within a discipline or across disciplines in higher education. If you are curious about your students’ learning and want to explore the intersection of teaching and scholarship, join us for this interactive webinar, where you’ll gain practical suggestions for any stage of the SoTL research process, from generating initial ideas to presenting or publishing the research. Webinar link and information will be emailed to participants a few days before the webinar.

This workshop is designed to help participants choose and use a variety of tools and techniques for assessing student learning in STEM courses that can help us better understand our students’ performance in the classroom, and also contribute to assessment needed for specialized accreditation such as ABET or NAAB. We will discuss important concepts underpinning successful classroom assessment of student learning, describe a variety of tools and techniques for STEM courses, and note connections to helpful literature. During the session each participant will have an opportunity to select several potential new assessment tools or techniques for their own course, and plan for potential initial implementation for one or two of those tools and techniques.

What do we want students to remember from our courses? This interactive webinar prepares us to think about our goals for the last class of the semester. Perhaps we want to reinforce the course goals, create opportunities for reflection, connect student learning to future classes or employment, affirm the value of continuous learning, or inspire our students. Join this webinar to share and to learn about purposeful strategies to wrap up our last class in a meaningful way for ourselves and our students.

This interactive workshop will identify how mental health disorders present themselves in the classes we teach. Best practices in teaching in this context will be presented and faculty will work together to consider how to apply these practices to multiple cases.