Monday 15 May 2023
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Pre-Conference Workshop
Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy? The New “R”s for Engaging Modern Learners
Dr. Christy Price
Description
What factors influence student motivation and desire to learn? Obviously, there are some influences beyond the professor’s control, but research in educational psychology suggests one thing we can do to increase student engagement is to create learning environments that are in some ways linked to, and supportive of, the current student culture. During this participatory session, we will briefly review the literature regarding the culture of the student of today and apply the findings of the presenter’s research regarding modern learners. We will specifically discuss the characteristics of ideal learning environments for modern learners, their preferences regarding assessments, their perceptions regarding the characteristics of the ideal professor, and their ideal institutional practices.
Throughout the workshop, participants will engage in activities that will require them to reflect on their own teaching methods and/or institutional practices. Open-ended questionnaires, check-lists, and video clips of faculty and students will be utilized in order to facilitate discussion regarding practical steps we can take to meet the needs of modern learners.
Learning Outcomes for Workshop Participants
1. recognize the characteristics of modern learners and consider how these characteristics impact teaching & learning.
2. identify the characteristics of ideal learning environments for modern learners.
3. analyze how well the learning environments they create at their own institutions meet the needs of modern learners.
4. describe modern learner preferences regarding assignments and assessments.
5. examine the assignments and assessments they utilize based on modern learner preferences.
6. discuss modern learners’ perceptions regarding the ideal professor.
7. assess how well they meet modern learners’ criteria for the ideal professor.
8. reflect on how they might transform their teaching methods as they apply the findings of the research on modern learners.
Tuesday 16 May 2023
8:00 am - 8:45 am Registration & Coffee
Registration & Coffee
8:45 am - 8:55 am Welcome Session
Welcome Session
9:00 am - 9:50 am Morning Session 1
Culturally sustaining androgogy: Indigenous students transforming literacy instructional practices
Wendy Farkas: NMU
For educators who want to integrate culturally sustaining instructional practices into their teaching, the process can be daunting. Culturally sustaining andragogy is not one-size-fits all--it should be specific to students in which we teach (Paris, 2012). I applied for a DIJE Grant through MCTE to transform, with students leading the way, literature circles into a culturally sustaining instructional practice. Because society often views teachers as the “expert” in the room, it is often natural for educators to want to “know all” or be the leading voice in the classroom conversation. However, as educators, we need to recognize lived experiences from dominant culture differ from Indigenous culture. Therefore, we (white educators) cannot claim Indigenous lived experience as our own, nor can we use our position of power in the classroom to play the expert when it comes to Indigenous practices. We must step back in order for Indigenous people to be the centered voices in the classroom and in the pedagogical resources we use, while actively combating the role of white supremacy in education through our actions, words, and instructional practices. As educators, we are not there to “save” oppressed populations, because that insinuates we will continue to hold the power. Instead, as allies, we can work together with oppressed populations for a more equitable, culturally sustaining future. In this presentation, I will describe my work (and colleague's contributions) and participants may use the process described to outline their ideas for facilitating their students in transforming an instructional practice of their choice.
Immersive virtual reality as a bridge for superior success
Jaimee Gerrie & Sheree Weems: LSSU
Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) is an innovative, engaging learning technology that offers the opportunity to bridge the gap between traditional and non-traditional classroom settings. While bringing together teacher and student in an engaging experience VR gives students an opportunity to immerse themselves in a safe environment (Zaho et al., 2021).
Used as a tool by educators to improve students level of knowledge, learning is enhanced while at the same tie reinforcing their learning processes (Khodabandeh, 2022). In the virtual setting students are given the opportunity to fully engage in the classroom. As a result they increase their decision making, planning, and prioritization skills. Students report in research that this method of learning increases motivation and engagement (Lege & Bonner, 2020).
VR also has the ability to promote peer interaction, improve participation, and inspire students through the experience (Khodabandeh, 2022). This tool has the ability to link theory to practice, improving student transition from education to real-world application of knowledge and skill (Chen et al., 2020)
When a minifigure becomes an introduction: A proposal to incorporate LEGO bricks in postsecondary writing instruction
Tucker Nielsen: MTU
LEGO bricks have potential to reinforce writing/communications skills for post-secondary students in writing centers. This theory of LEGO bricks in composition instruction derives from metonymy (as defined by George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, and David Chandler), deconstruction (from Derrida and Heidegger), toy rhetoric (Gilles Brougère), theories of play restricted by society (Brian Sutton-Smith), rhetorical education (James Brown, Jr. and Nathaniel Rivers), and the rhetoric and principles of LEGO bricks and their play (Philosophy of LEGO).
Metonymy allows for the LEGO bricks to transform into their needed writing forms; this creates a deeper connection to students through association. Deconstruction and reconstruction are natural processes with any systems. Derrida’s concept of centerless systems justifies the reimagining of LEGO into other objects. Gilles Brougère presents theories as to what makes a object an educational toy. From there, Sutton-Smith’s theories of play explain why play can help adults learn. It is then stressed how rhetorical education can get hung up with traditional rhetoric and has to adapt to remain useful inside and outside the classroom. With the Philosophy of LEGO, the bricks themselves are addressed, with the paradoxes, challenges, and constraints that students and instructors should be aware of and embrace in order to make this method work. All of these concepts contribute to the argument for LEGO bricks to be utilized as writing educational tools in universities.
Sparking curiosity about the world through South Asian Children's and Middle Grade Literature
Emera Bridger: NMU
Extending Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's analogy of books as mirrors and windows (Bishop 1990), I will argue that diverse and globally-minded children's and middle grade books can be used to build bridges between cultures. I will give examples of the ways in which recent books about South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the South Asian diaspora) can be used to spark curiosity about the geography, history, cultures, and languages of the region and foster greater cultural understanding. These books capture the cultural specificities of the region, but also reveal the human universals that connect us, allowing students to learn both about themselves and others and to inspire them to continue learning.
Furthermore, drawing examples from over 10 years of collaborations with education and social science faculty, K-12 teachers and librarians, and public librarians, I will discuss how these texts can be used as foundation bring K-12 educators and higher education faculty together to collaborate on meeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals and internationalizing the curriculum. While this is important across the United States, it is even more important in rural and underserved communities where students and their families may not have first-hand experience with a wide range of cultural diversity in their communities.
Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, and you: How teachers can understand copyright and help their students, too
Kevin McDonough & Catherine Oliver: NMU
United States copyright law can be confusing and intimidating. Is it really built around Mickey Mouse? Does Sherlock Holmes having feelings violate the law? What exactly does “fair use” mean? In this presentation, we’ll discuss how teachers can help students follow copyright law and can ensure that they are following it themselves. We’ll begin with an overview of some common questions and misunderstandings that students and teachers have about U. S. copyright law, then move into an overview of common student assignments that might involve copyright questions. We’ll outline some best practices, discuss the principle of “fair use,” and talk about how copyright affects what can be shown and done in the classroom. Finally, we’ll talk about the future of copyright law. How will the growth of “remix culture” shape how we teach and learn past works, and what role will copyright play in that?
Creating a growth mind-set classroom
Mahbubul Alam and Jody Rebek: Algoma University
Individual students usually hold a believe about their own intelligence and ability. A teacher also develops individual student level believes about their intelligence and ability. These beliefs have significant implications for students' learning and achievement. Researchers have distinguished two categories of assumptions or believes concerning students' intelligence. They might have a fixed mindset that regards intelligence as a fixed characteristic: some pupils are intelligent, and that's that. A growth mindset, on the other hand, holds that intelligence may be developed through a variety of methods, such as effort and proper instructions. Studies demonstrate that having a growth mind-set is especially important for students who are laboring under a negative stereotype about their intelligence and abilities. Adopting a growth mind-set helps those students remain engaged and achieve well, even in the face of stereotypes. The proposed session will provide practical suggestions on how to create growth mid-set in a class. Through various activities of short lecture, individual and group exercises, and class discussion, the participants will learn how to: 1) create awareness on the importance of growth mind-set; 2) identify personal mind-set 3) how to deal with personal believe about students of diverse backgrounds 4) how to provide growth mind-set feedback on students’ work 5) how to create a culture of growth mind-set in the class. These takeaways will help participants to change their perspective on students’ intelligence and provide with tools and techniques to develop growth-mind-set classrooms.
10:00 am - 10:50 am Morning Session 2
Building a highly flexible bridge to success: Implementing HyFlex
Matt Smock, Heather Isaacson, Rebecca Estelle, Christi Edge & Caroline Krzakowski: NMU
The pandemic forced faculty and students into new and unconventional teaching and learning models. While everyone is happy to have moved past “pandemic teaching,” many students would like to continue having flexible learning options. Courses that implement the HyFlex teaching model allow students to choose the learning modes (in-person, synchronous online, and asynchronous online) that fit their availability, ability to get to campus, and learning preferences.
This moderated panel presentation features members of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) that is midway through a two-year interdisciplinary exploration of HyFlex. Each HyFlex FLC member is participating in professional development on HyFlex and implementing HyFlex in at least one course.
In this session, panelists will share the challenges they’ve faced in implementing multiple teaching modes simultaneously, lessons learned about student expectations and preferences, how technology helps bridge modes . . . and where it falls short. In addition, they will share how their experiences and related SoTL research may guide future HyFlex implementation. The panel moderator will also seek input from attendees on their own HyFlex experiences, concerns, and plans.
Helping people: Bridging the gap between knowledge and application through Human-Centered Design techniques in the classroom
David Leach & Masoud Zarepoor: LSSU
EGME141 Solid Modeling is a core first-year computer-aided design (CAD) course that serves majors within Lake Superior State University's School of Engineering and Technology. Traditionally, a well-defined final project was given to the students that represented an automotive assembly application. During the fall semester of 2016, we started offering a Human-Centered Design (HCD) project, where the students can employ a Design Thinking approach to product development, with the end goal of helping a community or person in need. Early in the semester, the students walk through a series of design thinking steps as they develop their final project.
The first step in the HCD process is to select a community or person in need and describe them: where they live, their unique characteristics, and what challenges do they face in terms of social, environmental, or economic issues. The second step is to identify key 'opportunities' within the community. The top 3 issues or problems that need to be overcome by the community are identified and researched. Next, at least one community member is chosen, either real or fictitious, and a persona document is developed for them. In the fourth step, students synthesize the data and brainstorm at least 30 product ideas that would help the community based on key opportunities. The product ideas are then narrowed down to 5, then 3, then 1. In the final step, the students create the product design, test it, then implement the product for the community and marketplace (theoretically). A poster presentation is given during final exam week.
EGME141 is taught by David Leach and Dr. Masoud Zarepoor, LSSU faculty in the School of Engineering and Technology. It is offered both fall and spring semesters. In summary, a human-centered design project could be implemented in any discipline, at any level, using simple materials for prototyping. The story is almost as important as the product. During the assessment process, we have found that students gain additional interest in their program of study while realizing they can directly apply skills and knowledge learned in the classroom to help a person in need.
Strategies for engaging students' empathy: An interdisciplinary approach
Mitchell Klett, Jaime Crabb & Lori Nelson: NMU
In 2020, Mullen discussed the popularization of the concept "Maslow before Bloom" in some education circles. The concept is premised on how Maslow's ideas are used to communicate how humans need their basic needs met before academic learning can be fully embraced. Mullen (2020) postulates the concept that basic physiological and safety needs must be met before a student can attempt even the first and most basic cognitive step. If a goal of teaching is to become a more effective teacher, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is an important tool that can help to think with empathy and use your skills to develop empathy is students. This presentation will present and model active pedagogical approaches to help establish empathy in students.
Exploring how to leverage the affordances of various types of instructional videos
John Gruver & Alicia Gonzales: MTU
Our session will focus on the exploration of how three types of instructional videos can be used to generate rich discourse in post-secondary classrooms. The first, expository videos, features a single expert presenting an exposition of material. The second, question-answer videos, mimics tutor sessions. In these videos, a learner is seen posing questions that are then answered by the teacher. The third, dialogic videos, contains a pair of students authentically engaged in a mathematical dialogue. By considering the dominant model of instructional videos, expository, as well as alternatives, participants will be given opportunities to explore how readily available videos could be used effectively as well as reimagine what is possible with video. Furthermore, considering several types of videos will offer opportunities for participants to reflect on the relative affordances of each type of video and begin to think about features they would like to have in the videos they use in their classrooms. In our session, we will begin with a brief introduction to research on instructional videos, discuss various types of videos, have participants sketch lesson plans that leverage the affordances of various types of videos in small groups, and facilitate a whole group discussion where we reflect on how different lessons made use of the relative affordances of different video types.
Educators as change makers: Decolonizing the classroom through inclusive teaching and practics
Sierra Ayres & Sarah Carlson: NMU
The institution of higher education has a reputation for being very inaccessible. Barriers around financial aid, distance, family responsibilities, cultural differences, inflexible teaching methodologies and general lack of support within academia are just a few of the issues that arise when students pursue higher education.. Mino-Bimose’idiwag, through the NMU Social Work Department, works closely with community colleges and Tribal victim service programs to prepare students to work within Tribal victim services. More broadly, the program aims to identify and support barrier-free pathways to higher education for community college and Native students. Many steps have been taken to support this goal, including interviewing Indigenous stakeholders within Native communities and Tribal community colleges, incorporating Indigenous teaching practices into the coursework, and the creation of an online BSW program. A theme throughout the work of this program has been both practical and cultural accessibility for students. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions of higher education were able to successfully deliver online programs and courses, many of which continue to allow students to complete their degrees from their home communities. Even further, in order to maintain student success in the classroom, educators must consider decolonizing their teaching practices and curriculum delivery. Through a short presentation and workshop, this session aims to increase motivation and strategies to adopt online programs and courses across higher education and calls educators to begin the process of decolonizing teaching practices, in order to increase accessibility for Native and other students who would benefit from these culturally inclusive changes.
Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language
Gary Stark & Steven Edelson: NMU
"Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language". This famous quote by Dale Carnegie (1936, "How to Win Friends and Influence People") sums up the importance of knowing others' names. Most of us strive to make connections to our students rather than treating them as nameless vessels to be filled with knowledge. Intuitively, we know this is important. The session leaders will present research and concepts that demonstrate the importance of names. Then, they will lead a discussion that draws out the many ways the session participants learn their students' names. Finally, using the ideas gathered, we will lead session participants in brainstorming additional ways to learn students' names.
11:00 am - 11:25 am Morning Session 3
Students don't do optional
Jen Gorman & Patrick Gorman: LSSU
As educators we often know what it takes for students to succeed in a class: actually come to class, do homework, ask questions, use office hours, etc. These actions are largely left up to the students to do on their own and with little immediate incentive. In this session we will talk about ways to take these tasks and embed them into your course, since students rarely do optional work(even if it would help them!). We will share various structures we have used over our teaching careers to help students learn how to take charge of their learning and set them up for success not only in their current course but in future courses as well.
Chatbots to drive engagement and reflection
James Bittner & Matt Barron: MTU
Engagement in a university environment quickly extends beyond the end of the workday in a digitally connected world. Thoughtful and responsive engagement encourages the formation of a strong sense of belonging. Chatbots are a scripted interactive experience that simulates a text message exchange between a student and a fictitious identity. Chatbots can provide a personalized feel to standard educational activities such as surveys, tours, and interactive assignments. In our most recent work, we deployed a multimedia chatbot to replace a traditional digital survey on student motivation and compared the results in participation and values of the submissions. Additional work has begun on integrating a fictitious character identity into the deployment of our extra curricular community challenges. Our findings suggest potential for dynamic positive engagement while allowing multifaceted active learning pathways in large course settings.
Engaging your students with Near Peer Mentors
AJ Hamlin, Susan Liebau & Amber Kemppainen: MTU
Student support programs that utilize near peer mentors have been shown to better engage students in classroom learning. These programs have helped to facilitate active learning components within classrooms, even within larger classrooms where active learning is not easy to implement. Rather than increasing the number of professors needed to accommodate larger courses, near peer mentoring models increase the numbers of experienced students in a facilitation role. Three such models will be discussed in this session: Supplemental Instruction (SI), the Learning Assistant model (LA), and the LEarning with Academic Partners (LEAP) program.
This session will provide an overview of these three near peer mentoring models and provide examples of how facilitation can be accomplished in different classroom layouts. Participants will have an opportunity to explore how near peer mentors could be utilized in their courses.
New faculty orientation: Slow and steady wins the race
Thu Nguyen: LSSU
The onboarding process at academic institutions varies from institution to institution with many schools using online modules, online certifications, or one or more days of in-person orientation at the start of the fall semester. On the first day of orientation, new faculty (with or without teaching experience) are often overwhelmed by the amount of information being thrown at them. As much as they want to absorb all of the policies and procedures of their new institutions, learning about advising, or how to enter in assessment may be the furthest thing from their minds. This presentation will discuss a year-long approach to new faculty orientation. The year-long format allows newer faculty to learn the information just before they are likely to encounter it during the semester. We will discuss the structure of the orientation, topics we cover, feedback from faculty having gone through the yearlong program, and ways to engage new faculty in self-reflection and growth.
11:30 am - 12:50 pm Lunch/Plenary
The Ultimate Course is Not an Illusion: Creating Courses of Excellence
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.
Poster Sessions
Bridging Authority Gradients Using Personal Dogs in the Education Setting
Charlotte Kostelyk & Lori Oliver-LSSU
We already know that dogs are very therapeutic in many settings such as long-term care, mass casualty incidents, and mental health settings. Recently, Lake Superior State University has become "pet friendly" for the students, thus providing an opening to more student/pet interactions in other settings such as professor offices. The intent of the presentation is to appreciate the value added to the interactions between the students and professors as well as to understand the limitations or situations where the presence of a dog is not a good idea.
AI-generated Content in the Classroom: Challenges, Responses, and Opportunities
Jonathan Robins & Jeff Toorongian-MTU
This poster will present the results of a workshop (February 16 2023) designed to familiarize faculty with AI content generation tools and discuss pedagogical approaches that can adapt to and take advantage of AI tools. The workshop has three primary aims. First, we will review the current landscape of AI-powered tools available for use in and outside university classrooms. This includes commonly-used services like Grammarly and Turnitin that have wide acceptance among teachers and students as well as newer, more controversial tools for writing essay responses, completing code, or creating images. In the second section of the workshop, we demonstrate how real assessments from faculty perform against AI content-generation tools and collect faculty feedback on the performance of AI tools, as well as the potential for academic dishonesty and faculty perceptions about the current rate of use of AI tools among students. Finally, we will present ideas that emerge out of the workshop for responding to AI tools, including productive classroom uses that further student learning.
Building a Phylogeny of Michigan's Freshwater Sponges: a C.U.R.E. for integrating undergraduate students into the research process
Stephen Kolomyjec-LSSU
Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are a high impact approach to increasing student engagement in STEM fields by involving students in research of interest to external stake-holders within the context of a traditional course. Implementing a CURE in the Fall 2019 - 2021 Genetics Classes has allowed Dr. Kolomyjec to successfully involve students in his research on the genetics of Michigan's freshwater sponges. This talk will discuss findings in terms of both student learning outcomes and biological research results.
Let's Get to the Heart of the Matter
Bonnie Speas-LSSU
This presentation focuses on how to find and use primary source documents in your instruction and encourage students to use them as part of their work. It emphasizes the value of using items created by participants at the time of an event. The presentation will mainly focus on resources available through the Library of Congress, but will touch on other sources such as Gov Docs, National and Local Archives.
Pre-Service Teachers' Mathematical Identities in Reflective Writing
Joni Lindsey-LSSU
In mathematics education courses, it is necessary for pre-service teachers to reflect on what it is to learn and teach mathematics. Using reflective writing, pre-service teachers have the opportunity to introspect the roles they play as a student and a teacher.
How Mathematics Self-Efficacy Develops, Changes, and is Related to Achievement
Bridgette Russell-CMU
Mathematics self-efficacy (MSE) is defined as students’ beliefs about their ability to learn and be successful in mathematics, which can help predict future academic & career achievement. However, there can be a mismatch between students’ MSE and their performance, which we will call incongruous mathematics self-efficacy (IMSE). Here I present the results from my study in which some intermediate algebra students’ global and task-specific MSEs were compared to their performance on related mathematics exercises. Results show participants with higher global MSE solved more problems successfully than students with lower global MSE, which aligns with previous research. However, instances of task-specific IMSE were identified in most participants, as well as instances of task-specific under-confidence in students with high global MSE and instances of task specific over-confidence in students with low MSE.
Cutting the Digital Curb. A Pathway to Accessibility.
Joseph Mold-Bay College
Bay College offers a 4 week peer -to-peer Web Accessibility Certification Course (WACC) in Blackboard that has been customized to offer web accessibility training to Bay College faculty, staff and student workers. This course material was developed from Creating Accessible Course Content, a course developed by @ONE, a project of the California Community Colleges and is an Open Educational Resource (OER). Learn how Bay College facilitates this course to cut the digital curb allowing access to success and how your college can adopt this WACC OER.
Using AI Software Tools to Support Coding Teaching: A Double-edged Sword
Miguel Garcia-Ruiz-Alogma University
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) software tools have supported code development in the software industry and more recently in computer science schools, helping professional programmers and learners to conduct more efficient software testing, developing user interfaces (UI) faster, and helping code debugging, among other applications, avoiding tedious and repetitive coding tasks. However, ChatGPT, a natural language processing tool driven by sophisticated AI technology, could be used by students to cheat in their coding assignments and projects. This online application generates code automatically for them by conducting simple conversations with it. ChatGPT can produce remarkable code examples that may look human-made. This technology is not 100% foolproof (yet), although this AI software is greatly improving over time. The question is, should we ban this AI technology in all educational coding activities, or just embrace it? If so, how? As with other technologies, ChatGPT can be a powerful tool if it is used correctly, with the right planning, testing and monitoring.
In this session, we will describe an overview of AI software tools for supporting code learning, their advantages, disadvantages and limitations. AI used for supporting coding is here to stay and is an important asset in the professional environment that should be carefully taught in higher education. We will also discuss ethical dimensions and implications of AI in learning code, and how AI tools such as ChatGPT could be successfully used in other educational areas.
1:30 pm - 1:55 pm Afternoon Session 1
Using concept map podcasts to promote student engagement: A Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) project
Terry Delpier: NMU
Before students can develop higher level thinking skills to discuss a case study, they must first understand the basic information associated with the case. Having students engage, using an active learning strategy may enhance learning for students (Fink, 2013). One such active learning strategy is using concept maps. Concept mapping is a teaching strategy that encourages students’ engagement through the construction of visual maps that represents the concepts and their relationships. It is a method designed to actively engage students and encourage students’ abilities to remember new knowledge (Candela, 2012). The presentation will describe the basics of concept maps and how they may be used. Information will include developing video-taped concept maps using lightboard technology. Student feedback, both pros and cons will be shared. And student outcomes will be explored.
References
Candela, L. (2012). From teaching to learning: Theoretical foundations. In D.M. Billings, & J.A. Halstead. Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (4th ed., chapter 13, pp. 202-243). St. Louis MO: Elsevier, Saunders.
Fink, L.D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses (revised and updated). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand.
Multiculturalism and anti-racism in college composition class: Pedagogical potential of native student-international instructor's context
Eugene Brown Agyei & Ayodele James Akinola: MTU
First-year composition is one of the most important preparatory grounds in professional communication training for students, especially in the United States. For most of them, their ability to engage different texts and improve their writing and analytical skills, outside the composition classroom, and outside the classroom in general, may depend on how much they get from the course. Just like the American society, the composition classroom has a lot of diversity. Aside from students coming from different racial, social, and cultural backgrounds, there is also diversity in their personal identities such as gender, sexuality, and religion, as well as instructors who came from different backgrounds among others. Given the culturally diverse nature of the college classroom, there is a great amount of pressure on first-year composition teachers in finding effective ways to teach students who come from different backgrounds and experiences (Chisholm, 1994). Our paper provides an empirical perspective to the understanding of the impact of multicultural classrooms and examines how these differences can be utilized for teaching and learning, as well as identifies the importance of diversity for an anti-racism curriculum.
Quality guitars
David Wanless: MTU
I wanted to share what I have done with my Advanced Quality Techniques class as it has taken several years and it is working quite well. In this class we cover a large amount of material. From basic quality management principles all the way through advanced supplier quality management. Each lecture a new tool was introduced, a usable and practical device or philosophy that can be used to help resolve quality problems. In each lab section we tried put the tools to use, by using the concept from the lecture in practical way. That is what I used to do.
About 10 years ago I began adopting project-based learning strategies because I wanted to improve student engagement, and it has helped considerably. Early on it was a challenge because it was difficult to find a project that was complex enough to allow all of my students to make a valuable contribution and finding sponsors willing to fund a project was always an issue. After a string of frustrating semesters, I found a solution. Over the past two years I have been building guitars with my class during lab sections and it has been fantastic way of bringing the materials from lecture to life.
Collectively my students are charged with developing a functional Quality Management System that details our organization (class) as we manufacture guitars. Literally, every tool that is introduced in the lectures is incorporated into our processes and into our Quality Management System.
Improving the synchronous learning experience - Classroom technology & strategies
Marc Boucher, Jody Schopp, Ali VanDoren & Jen Gorman: LSSU
LSSU Received a USDA Distance Learning Technology grant to increase the capacity and engagement in our synchronous learning classrooms. The presentation will present what changes have been made to the classrooms along with some pedagogical changes to maximize engagement amongst all students. The presentation will include discussion of the continuous learning process that was used (and is still ongoing). Both advantages and disadvantages to the process we followed will be examined.
Advising matters to students – Do you realize your potential impact?
Joseph Susi, LSSU
Faculty advisors can have an impact on student success in multiple ways, beyond the baseline of academic scheduling. Students come to college with various levels of preparedness which require the advisor to be adaptable to the students’ needs. The purpose of advising and various strategies of advising will be discussed in this session to help you better serve your students.
2:10 pm - 3:00 pm Afternoon Session 2
Building bridges: Creating pathways for superior engagement through active learning
Christy Wenger, Tyler Dettloff, Becky Davis & Bryan Fuller: LSSU
Covid 19 has been a catalyst for higher education teaching and has encouraged us to examine longstanding student participation practices and traditional understandings of engagement. Student engagement is a necessary bridge between teaching and learning: it is directly tied to academic outcomes and success; disengagement is a leading factor in attrition. The Colleges of Education and Liberal Arts and Criminal Justice and Emergency Responders at LSSU have worked together to promote inclusive, cooperative and active learning in our classes in order to create cultures of student engagement in all content areas. Not only are we working to retain students, we are also improving students’ learning environments by deploying active learning pedagogies. These active learning pedagogies help develop student leadership, promote belonging, and close the achievement gaps between the diverse students who may be differently prepared for the rigor of college-level studies upon acceptance to LSSU.
Our panel will share insights from three faculty across campus and one dean who have transformed their classrooms with active learning pedagogies. We will provide data to support the effectiveness of these pedagogies. The panel will together overview specific, actionable strategies for the audience to deploy in their own classes.
Taboo talk - End of semester course evals: The ugly, the bad & the good
Rebecca Estelle: NMU
Semester is done. All grades are in the record books. Let’s take a nice relaxing, refreshing break before we dive back into preparing; looking forward to the next exciting semester of curriculums, objectives, instructions, activities and service plans! Pah!
NOT SO FAST! … Your end of semester course evaluations have arrived in your email box… Do you open them immediately? Do you pin them, to read after you return from your well-deserved break? What if there are negative criticisms? Where do you go when the ugly, the bad and not so favorable evaluations loom? Where can we go to share; if we dare?
This collaborative ‘lounge’ idea is to introduce a safe place for educational faculty to glean ideas from one another on how to paddle thru turbulent, or unfavorable, evaluation waters in order to save-face and regain any lost confidence in order to continue moving forward to the refreshing calms of the Superior.
I invite you join me in sharing the realities of course evaluations, sharing ideas to help each other climb over the ‘deflated moments’, perhaps humbling points in our journey, to rise up, dust off, gain our bearings and continue on a forward journey. Pah!
Assumption dismantling: Using "false friends" as pedagogical moves in the classroom
Dany Jacob & Maria Bergstrom: MTU
This session builds on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) pedagogy and applies it to any course where students may be challenged by their assumptions about previous knowledge. In SLA, the instructor’s role is to create bridges between the first language (English, mainly) and the target foreign language. Sometimes, however, a situation known as “false friends” occurs: words that might look like cognates that have the same meaning in both languages, but in fact actually mean two separate things. Encountering “false friends” forces students to question their initial assumptions about new material and to realize that there is more knowledge to be gained by digging deeper.
We believe that the concept of “false friends” can be a useful metaphor for the work of helping students in any course become aware of and dismantle their own assumptions as they encounter new material. This process requires instructors to build trust with learners and give them space to be “wrong” in ways that promote reflection and a willingness to reconsider assumptions. Rather than understanding the initial dismantlement as “failing” at the task, the students are encouraged to build bridges across their own knowledge and to learn new coping skills that promote learning.
Using examples from second language courses and writing courses, we will demonstrate some examples of “false friends” pedagogical activities. We will also invite participants to reflect on the possible “false friends” students encounter in their own disciplines and courses.
What's my grade in this course?
Rob Kipka: LSSU
Grades are essential markers of success in a course and of preparedness for subsequent courses. What should they mean? How flexible should they be? Without claiming to have the answers to these questions, we will explore them in the context of standards-based grading, describing the successes and failures of one year of standards-based grading in a remedial mathematics course.
Standards-based grading provides students with fine-grain measurement of their current understanding of the learning objectives for the semester. Consequently, it affords a shift in focus from "what's my grade" toward "what do I still need to master?" It also affords greater flexibility in the pace at which students learn material, providing a high-risk group with multiple opportunities to recover from early semester missteps.
In addition, we present a technological innovation used to support this grading scheme in the form of an in-house OER textbook with embedded lightboard videos.
This grading scheme is not without its challenges. In the spirit of openness, we will present a year's worth of lessons learned from using a standards-based scheme and lead a discussion comparing this scheme to more traditional schemes based on points or percentages. Advantages and disadvantages will be visible.
Building bridges: Cultivating a path from academy to industry
Lucy Johnson, Walker Derby & Carol Johnson: NMU
This presentation will discuss how collaborating across campus with student support services will foster a cohesive transition as students prepare for life beyond graduation. Focusing specifically on partnering with Career Services within the confines of an upper-level business communications course, presenters will discuss how job portoflio preparation contributes to professionalizing students to succeed post-graduation within the workforce in addition to embodying the mission statement within the college which stresses mentoring and empowering students for successful careers in business. Attendees will learn best practices about how to implement job portfolio preparation within their own academic programs through successful partnerships across campus.
Robots are doing your homework (and they can do yours too)
Shane Oberloier: MTU
With the oncoming proliferation of easily accessible AI tools, the landscape in which we all do work will rapidly change. People will use AI tools to generate cover letters for job applications, only to have the recruiter use their own AI tool to reduce the letter down to a summary. Teachers will use AI to generate new homework problems, only to have students solve them using the same tool. We, as educators are at a cross roads - do we shun the technology, or embrace the fact that our students are headed into fields where these tools will become more and more common?