Conference Plenary Session
Tuesday, May 16
“The Ultimate Course is Not an Illusion: Creating Courses of Excellence” with Dr. Christy Price
Clearly there is no one secret recipe for creating the ideal course. Different disciplines and different student learning outcomes may perhaps call for different course designs and methods. However, the current research related to how the brain learns, combined with the literature on high impact instructional strategies, provides a valuable guide for ideal course design, methods, and assessments.
During this workshop we will outline the key elements of excellent courses. The shift from teaching to learning will be emphasized along with the idea that student learning must drive the learning environments we create and the methods we choose. Open-ended questionnaires and check-lists which summarize the literature will be utilized in order to create action plans for embedding the elements of excellence in our courses.
Learning Outcomes for Workshop Participants
1. describe the current research related the most effective instructional practices.
2. assess the extent to which their courses and methods are aligned with the current research on on effective instructional practices.
3. reflect on how they might alter their methods in order to enhance student achievement of outcomes.
Dr. Christy Price
A professor in both the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Health Professions, and the founding Director of the Center for Academic Excellence at Dalton State College, Christy Price has been teaching at the collegiate level for 25 years. She is a nationally recognized authority on innovative teaching techniques to engage millennial learners and was chosen by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as the Outstanding U.S. Professor for 2012 in the Baccalaureate Colleges category. Dr. Price also won the 2010 Carnegie Foundation Outstanding Professor Award for the state of Georgia. She was honored by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition as an Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate for 2009. Dr. Price won the University System of Georgia Teaching Excellence Award in the Two & Four-Year College sector for 2008/2009 and the Excellence in Teaching Award at Dalton State in 2007. Dr. Price’s awards are, in part, a result of her use of innovative strategies in assisting students to achieve learning outcomes. Her dynamic and interactive style make Dr. Price a favorite as a professor and presenter. She regularly presents as a keynote speaker and has led faculty development workshops and retreats at over seventy institutions across the United States and abroad. As a recipient of an institutional foundation grant award, Dr. Price has studied teaching techniques that influence student motivation. Her most recent research focuses on engaging Millennial learners and preventing incivility in the classroom. She has served in various administrative roles leading campus-wide initiatives on the First Year Experience, Student Success, Retention & Completion, and Learning-Centered Course Redesign. Christy has completed post-doctoral work in educational psychology from Georgia State University. She holds a doctorate in community health from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and a bachelor’s degree in social services from Northern Illinois University.