Full Program
Wednesday, August 12th
Session One – 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
101: Leveraging Surveys with Qualtrics for Teaching, Research & Learning
Presenter: Eric Schuler (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning)
Qualtrics is a powerful and customizable survey platform that every member of the AU community has access to. This session introduces the basics of survey design and distribution via Qualtrics. Then, several ways to use Qualtrics in the classroom will be explored, including using Qualtrics to: gather original data to analyze with your students, demonstrate how to construct randomized experiments, collect student feedback throughout your course, and collect data for your own research.
102: First Day of Class: Engagement and Inclusivity in Online Classes
Presenter: Elizabeth “Betsy” Cohn (School of International Service)
We are facing new challenges, after a summer of social upheaval and social distancing. How do we set the tone for engagement and inclusivity on the first day of class when students will be online? How can we get to know our students and respect privacy? This will be an interactive workshop, so please bring your ideas and questions.
Session Two – 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Presenter: Lindsay Studer (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning)
This workshop is designed as an introductory course for Zoom users. Lindsay Studer from CTRL will walk participants through the functions and tools available to faculty in zoom as well as the process for setting up a meeting and hosting.
202: Seeing Diversity-Equity-Inclusion in a New Light
Presenters: Krisztina Domjan (School of Professional & Extended Studies), Albert Van Landuyt (School of Professional & Extended Studies), MJ Park (School of Professional & Extended Studies), Ozge Cakmak (School of Professional & Extended Studies)
When integrated mindfully, technology can effectively boost one’s cognitive skills providing greater access to course material and the retention of it. As lifelong learners, we invite you to embrace assistive technology and constantly seek what works to ensure that our learners are able to participate and complete our courses with success.
Luncheon – 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Presented by CTRL
Session Three – 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Presenters: Maya Brown (Department of Literature), Cynthia Miller-Idriss (School of Education) & Sarah Trembath (Department of Literature)
Join a discussion on the book our incoming first-year students are reading this summer: Eli Saslow’s Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist. Hear how faculty have used the book in their courses and brainstorm ways to use it in your own.
302: Strategies for Community and Metacognition in Complex Problems
Presenters: Chuck Cox (CAS/WSP & Faculty Director of Complex Problems) and Lydia Fettig (CAS/WSP & Online Faculty Developer for Complex Problems)
Metacognition – awareness of one’s own thinking processes – is crucial to learning, especially in online environments where students report too much “busy work” and not enough connection. This interactive session will offer advice for building community and encouraging metacognition in inquiry-based learning classes like Complex Problems seminars.
Session Four – 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Presenters: George Koors (University Library) & Melissa Becher (University Library)
The Library now offers Credo Instruct to supplement or replace existing information literacy content, including librarian-led instruction. Credo Instruct is a set of short videos, tutorials, and quizzes that can be integrated into Blackboard or Canvas. Attend this session to get ideas for incorporating Credo Instruct into writing studies learning goals and student learning assessment.
402: Accessibility and Accommodations in the Online Classroom
Presenters: Lindsay Northup-Moore (Director Disability Support) & Nicole Nowinski (Associate Director, Disability Support)
This session will give some tips on creating accessible online learning environments to enhance all student’s learning. The session will also provide guidance about how to implement approved disability-related accommodations.
Thursday, August 13th
Session One – 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
501: Antiracist Pedagogy, Gaining Inspiration from How to be an Antiracist, by I. Kendi
Presenters: Amaarah DeCuir (CTRL Inclusive Pedagogy Fellow, School of Education) & Samantha Cohen (Executive Director of EdD Program, School of Education)
Our session will model the structure of a Faculty Learning Community by incorporating interactive discussions of select portions of How to be an Antiracist and using those portions to define and describe antiracist pedagogies. Participants will work as a learning community to identify strategies for implementing antiracist pedagogies across multiple academic disciplines.
*Participants are asked to read Chapters 1, 3 and 7 of How To Be An Antiracist to engage in the brief book discussion as a component of this session.
Presenter: Instructional Continuity Team
This workshop is designed to introduce Canvas to faculty who have never used it before. It will also serve as be a good refresher for those you who haven’t used it in while. This workshop will examine and explore the most common tools, features, and techniques used in Canvas, with the goal of getting you up and running and teaching with Canvas quickly. You will leave this workshop with the basic knowledge to begin designing and building your course in Canvas. This workshop is taught by AU staff.
Session Two – 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
601: From Soloists to Colleagues: Collaborative Assignments and Assessment
Presenters: Lara Schwartz (Department of Government) & Felicia Hernandez (Class of 2021)
Although most of us recognize the value of collaborative learning, faculty and students alike are often concerned about how to incorporate and assess it fairly. This session explores ideas for building a collaborative mindset into a course, designing projects and assessments that involve dialogue across difference, and assessing group work.
602: Open-Source Statistical Options for Teaching and Research
Presenter: Eric Schuler (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning)
The ability to utilize data to make decisions is an important skill. Commercial software is expensive and can create barriers for access during and after school. In this workshop we will discuss alternative open-source statistical programs that can be accessed by anyone at any time for no cost.
Luncheon – 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
What is the Universal Design for Learning?: Implementing UDL for a more inclusive classroom.
Presenters: Robin Adams (Director, Educational Programs & Training, CDI), Alida Anderson (School of Education), Sarah Irvine Belson (School of Education) & Ashley Rozendaal (Director, Student Success & Student Athlete Program, UEAS)
As we pivot to online learning, we can offer support to our learners through the implementation of Universal Design for Learning that ensures an inclusive learning environment. In this talk, we will explore two different modalities of teaching—synchronous and asynchronous—and uncover opportunities for inclusive teaching within each.
Session Three – 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
701: Curiosity, Equity, and Education
Presenters: Christina León (Princeton University), Arjun Shankar (Georgetown University), Perry Zurn (Department of Philosophy & Religion)
What is curiosity anyway? And how do we facilitate it equitably in the classroom? Addressing issues of racism, mental health, and student protest, and drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship, this session explores pedagogical techniques that support curiosity as a practice of liberation.
702: Scholarly Communication, Power, and Pedagogy: An Introduction to Critical Information Literacy
Presenters: Hannah Park (University Library) and Symphony Bruce (University Library)
This workshop will introduce American University faculty to the concept of Critical Information Literacy (CIL) and invite a discussion of the ways power and privilege present themselves within scholarly communication. Presenters will begin by introducing the tenets of CIL as a frame of thinking and as a pedagogical practice. Because CIL works to unveil the power structures behind the creation and dissemination of information, the presenters will then lead a discussion, asking participants to consider existing forms of oppression our students engage with, how this is reinforced in the classroom or in research practices, and ways to design the classroom experience to be a more democratic, collaborative, and transformative space
Session Four – 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Presenter: Instructional Continuity Team
This workshop is designed to introduce Canvas to faculty who have never used it before. It will also serve as be a good refresher for those you who haven’t used it in while. This workshop will examine and explore the most common tools, features, and techniques used in Canvas, with the goal of getting you up and running and teaching with Canvas quickly. You will leave this workshop with the basic knowledge to begin designing and building your course in Canvas. This workshop is taught by AU staff.
802: Active Learning Techniques for the Habits of Mind Online Classroom
Presenters: Jenny Axe (CTRL AU Core Faculty Fellow, Department of Chemistry), Mike Cabot (Department of Literature), Asia Ferrin (Department of Philosophy & Religion) & Michele Lansigan (Department of Chemistry).
Active learning is an important part of creating an engaging online learning environment. In this session, a panel of faculty will demonstrate a variety of active learning techniques and tools that they have successfully implemented in their classrooms, such as Zoom polling, breakout rooms, Kahoot, and Google tools among others. Attendees will have a chance to try some of the techniques and discuss how best to incorporate them into their online classes.
Wednesday, August 19th
Session One – 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
901: Student Team Projects (virtually now) – AHHHHH!!!!
Presenter: Tommy White (Department of Management)
Employers consistently state the ability of recent graduates to work in teams successfully as one of the top three required attributes. Yet we professors (and, of course, students) struggle mightily with team assignments! Everything that can go wrong probably has. Help is on the way! In this lively discussion (who doesn’t have a team-gone-haywire anecdotal to share?) we will explore 3 – 4 techniques that have been used both successfully and failed miserably in the design and implementation of team projects and (hopefully) provide a pathway to more effective team projects. Let’s work together to get closer to the ever illusive, “perfect team project”!
Presenter: Lindsay Studer (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning)
This workshop is designed as an introductory course for Zoom users. Lindsay Studer from CTRL will walk participants through the functions and tools available to faculty in zoom as well as the process for setting up a meeting and hosting.
Session Two – 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Presenters: Marcy Campos (Center for Community Engagement and Services), Amanda Choutka (Department of Literature) Evert Finger (Community-Based Learning Center for Community Engagement and Services), Jolynn Gardner (Department of Health Studies)
Learn about the pros and cons of remote/virtual service learning at AU! We’ll be discussing Spring ’20 faculty members’ experiences, reviewing community partner feedback, and showcasing students’ dedication to their coursework and service sites. We will also share tips, best practices, challenges, and resources to better accomplish and foster CBL relationships, particularly virtual CBL moving forward.
Presenters: Instructional Continuity Team
This workshop is designed to introduce Canvas to faculty who have never used it before. It will also serve as be a good refresher for those you who haven’t used it in while. This workshop will examine and explore the most common tools, features, and techniques used in Canvas, with the goal of getting you up and running and teaching with Canvas quickly. You will leave this workshop with the basic knowledge to begin designing and building your course in Canvas. This workshop is taught by AU staff.
Luncheon – 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Facilitating Difficult Dialogues in the College Classroom: Responding to Racism and Racial Violence
Presenters: Brian McGowan (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning) and Shari Watkins (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning)
Students and faculty internalize the racism and racial violence that occurs on campus and in the broader society. With culturally relevant/culturally responsive pedagogy and antiracism in mind, this session offers information about how faculty should consider prioritizing and facilitating classroom discussions on racism and racial violence regardless of the course.
Session Three – 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Presenters: Symphony Bruce (University Library), Donna Femenella University Library), Derrick Jefferson (University Library), Stephanie Ko (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning) & Hannah Park (University Library)
Panelists will explain and discuss the roadblocks for making print and electronic resources, including textbooks, available for classes in the COVID-19 era as well as available resources for fall and beyond. Open Educational Resources (OERs) will be introduced in response to issues of equity and access, including how faculty can use them for classes.
1102: Self-Created Videos: Enhancing the Learning Experience with Kaltura
Presenter: Instructional Continuity Team
This session introduces you to the video creation and streaming software Kaltura and Kaltura Capture, and will prepare you to record mini-lectures, video feedback, weekly summaries, presentations, and more. You will learn not only the technical aspects of the software, but also how to effectively integrate this technology into your class and how to use it as a teaching tool.
Session Four – 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
1201: Student Engagement in Synchronous Class Sessions
Presenter: Erin Horan (Center for Teaching, Research & Learning)
Ample research cites the importance of engaging students to optimize learning. This workshop will discuss and implement instructional strategies that you can use to keep your students engaged in a synchronous session.
Presenters: Ashley Roccamo (University Library), Luis Alvarado (AU Learning Design Team)
Recognizing that course design is a critical component of teaching excellence, the AU Learning Design team has created the Eagle Online Excellence Initiative. This presentation provides an overview of resources to design your online course, as well as information on the formal review process for online excellence in collaboration with an Instructional Designer.