There has been a lot of talk in Higher Education recently about the potential of active learning strategies to improve student engagement, satisfaction, retention, and overall learning.  But — is “active learning” just the latest educational fad, or something more? Participants in this workshop identified some basic principles of active learning pedagogy, discussed the facts and fictions about using active learning in higher education, assessed some of the benefits and limitations of an AL approach, and began the process of building a consortial database of active learning ideas.

Advising and mentoring are often thought to be important for students – both in terms of their satisfaction in pursuing degrees and in their persistence in college. What is the difference between advising, mentoring, and supervising and what are strategies that faculty may employ to be better advisers and mentors? Participants in this workshop learned how the advising/mentoring needs of students differ from their first year to the final year in their undergraduate or graduate degree programs; discussed the ways in which advising activities may be linked to faculty service, scholarship, and teaching, and how advising can be affected by department (and college structures) and the kinds of support faculty may need to be most effective, and begin the process of developing one’s own advising strategies and pedagogies.

This workshop was Step 1 in the Pedagogy Beyond the Classroom Pathway (more here).

Please RSVP for other workshops in the path here: https://goo.gl/forms/AR3UUr4PLj7w8ZMD2

This workshop discussed what a supportive classroom looks like, how it benefits students and some examples on how to create an inclusive space for your students.  Participants in this workshop identified some basic principles of Inclusive Classrooms, discussed attribution theory and stereotype threat and how they affect student performance, discussed classroom interventions that can help alleviate these effects; and worked with peers to develop interventions they can implement in their current courses.

This workshop was Step 1 in the Creating an Inclusive Classroom Community Pathway (more here).

Religious Bias and Anti-Semitism

The Claremont Colleges Chaplains share what they know about our students’ experiences with religious bias and anti-semitism. A light lunch will be served

This workshop was the second in our WYSWYTK lunchtime presentation series.

According to a UNLV study on transparent teaching, ”students’ learning outcomes improved when they understood how and why instructors had structured their learning experiences in particular ways” (Winklemes 2013).  Connecting the “how” to the “why” is particularly important when we design assignments, and doing so has been shown to not only improve learning outcomes but decrease resistance, increase motivation, and positively impact faculty and student satisfaction about student work.  In this workshop, participants reviewed some of the key principles of transparent teaching, applied the UNLV / TILT “Purpose-Task-Criteria” approach to sample assignments and our own class work; and evaluated some of the benefits and limitations of transparent assignment design.

This workshop was Step 1 in the Transparent Teaching Toolkit Path (more here)

Active learning techniques are easy to implement in a variety of classrooms and with a diversity of teaching approaches, and have been shown to encourage deep, connected learning and improved content retention.   In this workshop, participants learned at least ten different active learning techniques that could be implemented in many classroom settings; evaluated the class time and preparation necessary for various techniques, considered which might be the best fit for their classes and teaching style, and continued to build our database of active learning techniques together.

This workshop was Step 2 in the Active Learning Path (more here)

Developing Cultural Competencies

We heard from our colleagues from the Chicano Latino Student Association as they shared our student’s perspective on cultural competence in the classroom. A light lunch will be served.

This workshop was the third in our WYSWYTK presentation series.

Becoming a better advisor is what many faculty members (and staff) strive to do, but it can be difficult finding helpful strategies to improve our interactions with students. What are strategies that faculty may employ to be better advisers and how does one develop a pedagogy around advising?

Participants in this workshop looked at advising as a teaching and learning process for students, considered the main goals of advising in particular contexts; Discussed the relationships with classroom teaching pedagogy and advising pedagogy, and started the process of drafting one’s own advising strategies and pedagogies.

This workshop was Step 2 in the Pedagogy Beyond the Classroom Path (more here)

Faculty feedback on student work has the potential to encourage and challenge learners, but also to frustrate and create mistrust.  In this workshop, participants considered concrete ways to make formal and informal feedback more inclusive, productive, and timely.  Participants also began developing a strategy for giving feedback on a future assignment.  

This workshop was Step 2 in the Transparent Teaching Toolkit Path (more here)

Affordable Course Materials

Jennifer Beamer, head of Scholarly Communications in the Library, Jessica Davila Greene, Director of Digital Technologies, and Charlotte Brun, Social Science Library, shared information on the importance of affordable course materials. This workshop was the fourth in our WYSWYTK presentation series.