2018 Teaching, Research & Technology Workshops Session Descriptions Archive

102: Lateness, Laptops, and Learning: What Course Policies We Adopt and Why

Elizabeth “Betsy” Cohn (School of International Service)

This workshop will address course policies such as: laptops and other electronic devices, late assignments, attendance, participation, office hours, group work, extra credit, and resubmission of graded coursework. While there is no one answer to what the best course policies are, we will examine faculty motivation behind course policies so that you can choose what is right for you.

302: Aligning Course Materials with Learning Outcomes

Cindy Bair Van Dam (Writing Studies Program and AU Core), Brad Knight (AU Core), and Kim Westemeier (Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning)

​Most of us have student learning outcomes for our courses. Whether we’ve designed our own or are expected to meet learning outcomes determined by our department or other specific programs, aligning course materials—readings, assignments, exams, and other projects—with learning outcomes is challenging. Attendees are encouraged to bring learning outcomes and new or existing assignment prompts to work with during the session.

3:30 PM – 4:45 PM – Session Four

801: Working with Undergraduate Students to Document the Challenges of “Diversity”

Salvador Vidal-Ortiz (CAS – Sociology) and Taylor Heath (CAS – Sociology)

Terms like “diversity” are often used uncritically, yet AU students confront their everyday impact in their interaction with other students, staff, and professors, and in places such as the classroom, housing arrangements, and other communal spaces. In this session, we present a 2018 semester-long project (in a Qualitative Research Methods course) based on the conceptualization, design, implementation and preliminary analysis of focus groups with non-White students on campus. We also provide a map for next steps for students, faculty, and administrators. Another goal is to share this pedagogical and practical experience in order for faculty to implement in other courses. 

802: Assessing Participation in the First-Year Seminar

Chuck Cox (CAS – Literature) and Sarah Marsh (CAS – Literature)

A first-year seminar, built on discussion and collaboration, presents challenges even for seasoned faculty. How can we foster active participation that encourages learning for all students? How can we assess participation in a way that is fair and equitable and transparent? How can we create classroom opportunities for students of varied needs and backgrounds? In this session, we will share some strategies and best practices for making best use of class participation in a first-year seminar, such a Complex Problems. We will also hear from experts about the roles of accessibility and equity in class participation.

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM – Session One

901: Simple Approaches to Tough Conversations: Civil Discourse in the Classroom

Lara Schwartz (SPA-Government and Director, Project on Civil Discourse) and Amanda Nannarone (SPA 2017/WCL 2020, Research Coordinator, Project on Civil Discourse)

Faculty increasingly face significant challenges in facilitating intellectually-rigorous classroom conversations. Norms of civility have eroded; students don’t always know the difference between bias and expertise, or objective truth and opinion; and social media often leads to ad hominem attacks.  Bias incidents and controversial speakers add fuel to the fire. This talk will explore practical ways to build a classroom experience where civil discourse thrives.  It will introduce the Project on Civil Discourse and the resources available to support faculty.

902: Mindfulness in Education:  Authentic Teaching & Optimal Learning

​Elissa Margolin (CAS – Health Studies)

Given the overwhelming levels of stress and anxiety among students today, including at AU, evidence shows that mindfulness practices are providing many solutions.  Learn the role of mindfulness to: inspire more authentic, present teaching; cultivate deeper receptivity to learning; bolster the foundation for more courageous dialogue and enhance values of tolerance and inclusiveness; create more meaningful connections in the classroom; alleviate stress; and optimize the learning environment for all.  Experience practical tools that you can implement for yourself and share with your students.

903: Self-Created Videos: Enhancing the Learning Experience with Kaltura

​Library Staff (Library)

This session introduces you to the video tool Kaltura and will prepare you to use the Kaltura CaptureSpace software 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.

11:00 AM – 12:15 PM – Session Two

1001: Applications of Classroom Technology for Active Learning

Katie Kassof (Library)

​We often put a lot of focus on virtual learning spaces, but much of your interactive time with students is in a physical space: the classroom.  Throughout the past few years, AU has modernized most of the classrooms so the installed technology can enable different pedagogical strategies.  This workshop will explore what is available in classrooms around campus, offer ideas for different learning activities that take advantage of the installed technology, and look at options that you can bring into your classroom to facilitate active learning.

1002: Canons Under Fire: Struggles in Decolonizing University Curriculum

Garrett Graddy-Lovelace (School of International Service), Malini Ranganathan (School of International Service), and Núria Vilanova (CAS – World Languages and Cultures)

​This session provides an informal forum to connect, continue, and deepen conversations underway around campus regarding the call to decolonize higher education core curricula. What does it mean to incorporate colonial history, postcolonial studies, and decolonial theory into general education, across the disciplines and units of AU? What do we at American University have to learn from this debate–and opportunity–as it unfolds across the US, and in South Africa, England, Mexico, etc?

1003: Your Life is About to Change: The New Library Search

Avery Boddie (Library) and Donna Femenella (Library)

​Over the summer, AU Library has been engaged in a major project to upgrade the library system we have had for twenty years. The result is a system that integrates all of our internal processes capped by AU Library Search, a “next generation” research tool that replaces both SearchBox and the Library Catalog. Come to this session for a first look at this system. We’ll show you how to access all the library resources and services you know and love plus new features in this streamlined search environment. 

12:30 PM – 1:45 PM – Lunch Session

Introducing the New CTRL

Hurst Hall, 2nd Floor

Come meet the CTRL staff in the remodeled CTRL space in the second floor of Hurst Hall! Lunch will be served.

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM – Session Three

1101: Active Learning: Sparking Discussion and Getting Students Out of Their Chairs

Terra Gargano (School of International Service), Kathryn Walters-Conte (CAS – Biology and CAS Science Coordinator), and Jesse Meiller (CAS – Environmental Science)

​Long gone are the days of the “sage on the stage.”  Be they in a course covering international politics or neuroanatomy, today’s students look forward to stimulating discussions, kinesthetic activities and peer learning.  Incorporating multiple perspectives and innovative ideas, and infusing sense-making into knowledge and skills through active learning creates a student-centered and engaged class.  In this workshop, we will practice various active learning techniques to initiate and sustain meaningful classroom experiences.