The Center for Teaching Excellence welcomes the start of the spring 2022 semester! The CTE acknowledges IUP faculty’s commitment to professional development by highlighting last week’s 2022 PASSHE Virtual Conference on Teaching Learning, which took place on January 11–12.
This professional development event offered over 50 hours of live content and interaction, with tracks centering on sharing innovative resources and scholarship based on instructional technology, student engagement, instructional design, and assessment and evaluation. The conference, hosted by Slippery Rock University's Center for Teaching and Learning, featured presentations by faculty from across the state system, including eight presentations by IUP faculty. The Center for Teaching Excellence commends these faculty for contributing to teaching excellence across the state system.
The following sessions were presented by IUP faculty:
Are Preservice Teachers in Western Pennsylvania Digital Natives? Evaluating and Enhancing Technology Competence and Social Media Use
Presented by
Crystal Machado, Professor (Professional Studies in Education)
Farheen Mahmood, Doctoral Candidate
Abstract Excerpt:
Machado and Mahmood presented “a synthesis of the literature that describes preservice teachers' use of instructional technology and social media to improve teaching and learning. They discussed the benefits of using a pre-session survey to evaluate technology competence and design instruction that meets the needs of learners. The presenters also gave an overview of the ISTE Standards for Educators and the Diffusion of Innovation Theory, and how these theories can inform the design of synchronous, asynchronous, and bichronous learning activities.”
Building and Maintaining Student Engagement Through Collaboration in Online Instruction
Presented by
Marjorie Zambrano-Paff, Professor (Foreign Languages)
Christina Huhn, Associate Professor (Foreign Languages)
Abstract Excerpt:
“As our educational context shifts, one of the concerns about teaching languages online is that online classes do not naturally offer the essential socio-cultural environment valuable for developing language proficiency. From their work in teaching Spanish conversation online, two experienced instructors developed interactive and collaborative tasks that mirrored the essential interaction in a face-to-face language classroom. This session presents strategies for engaging students in online courses in all disciplines through the use of collaborative and pair work. Students engaged in activities with each other and with the instructor, resulting in a highly effective blended course model.”
Enhancing Learning and Teaching Through Vlogging
Presented by
Ragia Hassan, Doctoral Candidate (Curriculum and Instruction)
Abstract Excerpt:
Hassan presented “a systematic review of the literature on the role of educational vlogging in enhancing learning and teaching outcomes. This systematic review aims to describe the inconsistent findings and contradictory perceptions about vlogging in the education.”
Integrating Food (and Food Studies) into Upper-Division Majors Courses
Presented by
Christopher Kuipers, Professor (English)
Loren Stephenson, Doctoral Candidate
Abstract Excerpt:
“One way to build student engagement with any majors course is through food. Inspiration for this strategy comes from practical experience gained while using food as a teaching and engagement tool in an English majors course in Bible as Literature. In a broader context, using food in coordination with existing course material fits well with the broader interdisciplinary field of food studies, which can be integrated into course planning in a host of ways, depending on the home discipline. Participants will be invited to brainstorm an initial plan for incorporating food (and also food studies topics, if appropriate) into a specific course offering from their own department.”
International Doctoral Students Describe their Positive Experiences and Challenges while Taking Classes Online During the Pandemic
Presented by
Farheen Mahmood, Doctoral Candidate
Lizoon Nahar, Doctoral Candidate
Ronald Nyanzi, Doctoral Candidate
Crystal Machado, Professor (Professional Studies in Education)
Abstract Excerpt:
In this presentation, international doctoral students “present on the positive experiences and challenges they had to face while taking online classes during the pandemic. The presenters used Herrington, et al.’s (2010) Model Constituent Hybrid Elements of Authentic Learning Settings and discussed how this model can be modified to design online teaching and learning activities for an inclusive class.”
Local X Change
Presented by
Sean Derry, Associate Professor (Art and Design)
Sharon Massey, Associate Professor (Art and Design)
Abstract Excerpt:
Professors Derry and Massey present a “new approach, Local X Change, [that] combines a faculty/student collaborative experience with the original research of the CUREs [Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience] model for use in introductory studio art courses. Publicly-presented learning modules are planned by the instructors, but the students are asked to design and create original contributions. The resulting collaboration is widely promoted and presented in public with an open invitation for community members to attend.”
Pandemic Pedagogy: Faculty Experiences with Teaching and Learning across Instructional Modalities
Presented by
Matthew Baumer, Professor (Music)
Diane Shinberg, Professor (Sociology)
Abstract Excerpt:
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, university faculty faced the need to rapidly shift their teaching modalities and technology use with little time to prepare or develop their practices.... As members of IUP’s Academic Computing Policy Advisory Committee (ACPAC), we wanted to capture data about faculty experiences in this time of change. We believe our findings can inform future decisions and recommendations regarding distance learning and academic technology.”
Sketchnoting in the English Classroom
Presented by
Sascha Skucek, Doctoral Candidate (Composition and Applied Linguistics)
Abstract Excerpt:
In this presentation, Skucek describes engaging “students in the practice of visual notetaking—or sketchnoting—during literary discussions of text. Initially, he felt that this was a multimodal approach to learning, giving students something to visualize on paper what they would otherwise conventionally hear and speak about in the classroom; however, his dissertation focuses more on how drawing can strengthen the rhetorical conventions of silence and listening.”