Scholarly Teaching Symposium

Coffee and Check-in 

University Library Lower Level Lobby

Lilly Auditorium (UL 0130)

Welcome
Randy Newbrough, Interim, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
Anusha S. Rao, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching and Learning

Lilly Auditorium (UL 0130)

Opening Panel Discussion - A Conversation with Curriculum Enhancement Scholars on their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Projects 

Moderator: Ellise Smith, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Division of Student Affairs, IUPUI

CEG Scholars - A'ame Joslin and Larry Ruich, Division of Education, IUPUC; Chris Dobbs and Michael Drews, School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI; Kyra Reed, IU School of Medicine, IUPUI; Allison Scully, School of Dentistry, IUPUI; Amy Shay, Janet Fulton, Mary Mueller, School of Nursing, IUPUI; Carrie Sickmann, School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI

Ellise Smith will engage a panel of CEG Scholars in a conversation about the success and challenges they encountered in their DEI-focused CEG projects and offer some directions for participants to pursue stronger student-instructor connections.

Note: This session will be livestreamed in the Lilly Auditorium. Zoom link will be sent to registrants the day before the event.

Concurrent Session I

Faculty Crossing (UL 1125, 1st level)

Why so serious? Giving students permission to be silly
Hilary Florian, Chemistry and Physics, Franklin College
Allowing students to have fun and be themselves during class time has the benefit of not just creating engagement but also making students more comfortable in their environment. Doing this has allowed me to develop more meaningful connections with my students and has resulted in increased attendance during office hours, more active participation in class, and improved attitudes towards chemistry.

Peer Algebra Tutoring for Students Impacted by the Pandemic
Peter Tupa, School of Sciences, IU Kokomo
We assumed that incoming freshman for the Fall 2021 semester experienced learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hoped that by identifying students with weak mathematical backgrounds and assigning a personal tutor for one-on-one sessions, this program would promote student success, measured by increased passing rates. This presentation will address what we learned from this program.

Lilly Auditorium (lower level)

Assessment of Strengths-Based Interventions on First-Year Medical Students
Linnette White, Arts and Sciences, IU Northwest
Astin's (1993) research is still relevant today and provides an in-depth examination about the impact developing relationships amongst peers, staff, and faculty has on an individual's decision to depart early from a higher education institution. A quantitative study determined the impact training first-year medical students using the CliftonStrengths assessment would have on resiliency, self-efficacy, and academic performance.

Dynamic Student-Instructor Driven TA Sessions to Improve Student Success
Robyn Fuchs, Katelynn Toloday, Alyssa DeJoan, Kendall Kropp, Kelly Lentsch, and Kristen Metzler-Wilson, School of Health and Human Sciences, IUPUI
Students and instructors collaborated to create a dynamic TA program for students enrolled in a 2-semester Clinical Pathophysiology course. TAs are selected to represent a balanced approach to teaching complex concepts based on different learning styles and methods they used to be successful in the courses. TA sessions are modified weekly based on input from the TAs and instructors, which allows for immediate adaptations of course content and class activities. Online surveys are used to identify learning strategies and activities that improve student learning and retention.

The Ashby Room (2nd level)

Engaging Students and Equalizing Contribution Through a Design Thinking Project
Kevin Jones, Academic Affairs and Division of Business, IUPUC
In W430 Organizations and Organizational Change at IUPUC, we apply a Design Thinking framework to develop multiple student competencies that are transferrable to the workplace. In this session, we review ways to develop important work-related competencies by applying a “creative” problem-solving approach. Participants review a flow chart of Design Thinking activities and dialogue about ways this approach can enable their students to develop various competencies.  The session leader reports on observations and assignment results that demonstrate student competency development and proficiency subsequent to the learning experience. Participants dialogue about ways the Design Thinking approach can “strengthen student-instructor connections.”

Secrets from a psychologist: Build connection in 7 minutes
Beth Trammell, Humanities and Social Sciences, IU East
Because it can be challenging to connect with students in the online classroom, and because we know that students' sense of belonging matters a lot to their success, this presentation uses principles from counseling psychology (notably building rapport) to deepen online students' connection to both the instructor and the course – the “7-minute check-in” requirement in early weeks of online courses.
This practically-oriented presentation will share the specific questions of the 7-minute check-in (and example responses and what meaning we could draw from common responses), as well as logistics to setting the assignment up that are simple and user-friendly. 

Room UL 1126 (1st level)

SCORE Strategy for Success - Conquering Your Next Goal
Paula Reiss and Betsy Holtel, School of Nursing , IUPUI
Capstone programs provide students the opportunity to experience the "real world". The benefits of capstone experiences are many. The difficulty is the faculty's inability to guide a student in real-time through the challenges of entry into the work world. To address this opportunity to improve, we successfully introduced a strengths-based, goal-oriented guided (SCORE) reflective practice assignment.

Building Classroom Connection By Creating A Student Spotify Playlist
Amy Vaughan and Gracie Thompson, School of Health and Human Sciences, IUPUI
It can be difficult for students to connect with other students and their instructors in the classroom. Students want to make connections but are unsure how to do so. By creating a student-generated Spotify music playlist and playing it in the classroom prior to the start of class, students' sense of connection increased. It is evident that a sense of connection has been established by students' comments as they hear their own song playing and as they talk to other students in class about the other songs playing.

Lower level lobby

2021 Curriculum Enhancement Grant Scholars Poster Session and Reception  

Join us for a poster session and reception that will showcase and celebrate the accomplishments of the 2021 Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG) Scholars. The posters will focus on the design, implementation, and results of the 2021 CEG projects led by faculty from IUPUI and IUPUC. 

The CEG initiative supports faculty projects designed to improve student learning and success, enhances the conversation about scholarly teaching, and increases the practice of SoTL.

Concurrent Session II

The Ashby Room (2nd level)

Ethical Frameworks: Global South, Global North, and Reciprocity
Kathi Badertscher and Ahmed Alamine, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI; Megan Knight, IU School of Medicine
The program will explore the redesign of Applying Ethics in Philanthropy to increase the diversity of global perspectives, both Global North and Global South.  For many U.S. and Western students, learning about the Global South was new. For others, it was a way of life that they take for granted. Group discussions were animated and rich.  One discussion group concluded we could establish a program that connects global NGOs and Western NGOs to mentor and learn from each other, thus building a more robust international nonprofit sector as a whole. I evaluated the impact on student learning based on discussion group posts, answers to exam questions, and both direct and anonymous student feedback.

Critical Pedagogy: Teaching Inequity Through Storytelling Assignments
Aimee Zoeller, Division of Liberal Arts, IUPUC
In this short presentation, I will share techniques for creating high impact assignments anchored in critical pedagogy, such as story telling and story sharing. Students develop research skills, articulate course concepts, and examine the value of storytelling methodology as a form of personal transformation and social activism.

Lilly Auditorium (lower level)

The Power of Authentic Connection Inside the Classroom
Jervai Dumas and Erin Weiss, School of Social Work, IU Northwest
As a society that is shifting from a traditional learning to technology based we as instructors must also shift how we present information. As an adjunct, my goal  has been student centered with an effort to authentically connect with each student. In an effort to create a culturally safe environment, allowing students to be active voices in their own learning experiences has proven to be beneficial. Authentically connecting with students, individually, allows them to feel empowered, motivated, and actively engaged in their learning journey. This is the key to strengthening student instructor connection.

Building Student Connections Through Shared Empathy for Humanitarian Challenges
Emily McLaughlin, School of Engineering & Technology, IUPUI
It is more important than ever to provide students with opportunities to build relationships in the classroom. Realizing common empathy for others who are less fortunate provides an opportunity to connect.  Using disadvantaged community partners in the classroom has proven to be successful as students complete pre- and post- reflections about the impact this method has on learning and fellowship.

Room UL 1126 (1st level)

Honoring Student Voices: Feedback on a Midterm Evaluation
Leslie Miller, School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI
This presentation will examine how I respond to an anonymous midterm evaluation that encourages student success. Immediately after this evaluation, I collate students’ responses and highlight themes. I take these to the classroom to discuss the topics they have raised. They are motivated when they see that I have taken their ideas seriously and am willing to make reasonable changes.

Accountability Measures for Note-Taking and Strengthened Student-Instructor Connections
Ryann Workman, Tyler Deneve, James Mitchell Todd, and Sara Heavrin, School of Science, IUPUI
Student engagement was critically low for post-pandemic traditional MATH 153 classes. Passive learning prevailed during lectures. Accountability measures were put into place requiring students to take notes, recopy notes, and then submit for points. These measures fostered a lively, engaged classroom climate with improved student-instructor connections. Impact on student learning was determined by comparing current test scores with past scores.

Virtual Keynote Address (Zoom link will be sent to registrants day before the event)

Note: This session will be live-streamed in the Lilly Auditorium

Strengthen Student-Instructor Connections by Teaching Students How to Learn

Saundra McGuire, Director Emerita, Center for Academic  Success and Retired Assistant Vice Chancellor & Professor Emerita of Chemistry, Louisiana State University

Today’s students come to college with widely varying academic skills, approaches to learning, and motivation levels. Faculty often lament that students are focused on achieving high grades but are not willing to invest much time or effort in learning. This disconnect leads to exasperated faculty and frustrated students. 

This session will focus on the importance of helping students acquire simple, but effective, learning strategies based on cognitive science principles. We will engage in interactive reflection activities that will allow attendees to experience strategies that significantly improve student success by transforming students’ attitudes about the meaning of learning.