Summer Institute 2023 - Presenter Materials

Join Nationally-Recognized Workshop leaders, Dr. Andy Gerhart and Dr. Danica Savonick, along with many of your RIT friends and colleagues, as we build our pedagogical strategies, focusing on small- and large-scale active learning and advanced active learning techniques.

     

Dr. Andy Gerhart
(Lawrence Tech)

     

Dr. Danica Savonick
(SUNY Cortland)

Opening Session with Dr. Andy Gerhart

Materials from Session: Storytelling >

Opening Session with Dr. Danica Savonick

Materials from Session:

Morning session slides: The Untold Histories and Promising Futures of  Active, Student-Centered Learning >
Morning session notes >
Afternoon session slides: Pedagogy Parade >
Afternoon session notes >
 

Using Imagery to Spark Active Learning in the Classroom - Wednesday 9 am
Presenter: Colin R Mathers

Materials from Session: Using Imagery to Spark Active Learning >

A major challenge for instructors who emphasize active learning in their classrooms is getting everyone involved. A picture is worth a thousand words. In my experience, imagery can spark intellectual excitement in just about any student.

The workshop will begin with a slideshow presentation, during which I will demonstrate imagery-based teaching techniques that I have had success with. After the presentation, I will open the floor for Q & A. Next, participants will break out into small groups to discuss possible uses of imagery in their classrooms and any anticipated challenges of doing so. Finally, groups will share their ideas with the rest of the attendees.

Participants will learn about finding images as well as using image prompts in class. They will walk away with ideas about how to apply imagery-focused, active learning strategies to their own classrooms.

Leveraging Active Learning in Project Presentations - Wednesday 9 am
Presenter: Lara Cardoso Goulart

Materials from Session: Active Learning in Project Presentations >

Project presentations hold several learning opportunities that are often unnoticed. Apart from the presenter, the other students passively participate. How might we make presentation sessions an engaging learning opportunity for all the players involved?

In this workshop, you will learn how to effectively apply active techniques in your classrooms to get the most out of project presentations. You will also learn how a midterm or final review session can be a great opportunity to teach your students about feedback, empathy, critical thinking, and soft skills. You will also be exposed to toolkits and digital platforms to use in classrooms to make feedback sessions more engaging and collaborative.

Lara Goulart has originally developed and tested these techniques with design students at Rochester Institute of Technology, but these techniques are flexible and easily adaptable to any discipline.

Learning objectives

1. Understand the power of project presentation sessions to teach your students about feedback, empathy, critical thinking, and soft skills.
2. Learn techniques created and tested by the instructor to promote active learning during project presentations.
3. Explore digital platforms and materials to use in classrooms to make feedback sessions more engaging and collaborative.

"Wandering Minds Want to Know": Designing and Crediting Rabbit Trails - Wednesday 10:45 am
Presenter: Robyn Dean

Materials from Session: Rabbit Trail Handout >

This poster describes "the rabbit trail", a learning and assessment technique developed for a course offered by the presenter in 2018 (an outgrowth of a PLIG grant) and has been used since in several courses with impressive effects.

Most often students are expected to reign in their brains’ wandering and wondering ways but the rabbit trail technique gives students credit for allowing their brains to do what they do naturally. The rabbit trail technique encourages students to take the initiative to investigate further in a multistep, research-like process about what class material piqued their interest. After their investigations (time-limited as in the pomodoro technique) and a series of reflection questions, they are expected to report in class or post to the discussion board. Students, both undergraduate and graduate, eventually see the links between their piqued interests and research questions and between their investigations and research methods.

Examples of its use with undergraduate and graduate students will be provided.

Thinking Beyond the Lecture - Learning to love biology through the eyes of a non-major - Wednesday 10:45am
Presenters: Michelle Weatherell & Emily Coon Frisch

Materials from Session: Thinking Beyond the Lecture >

Provide attendees with a perspective on transforming a large enrollment lecture based course into a more active learning environment. Workshop will provide an overview of past & present pedagogy utilized in the redesign of a non-majors and a sample of hands-on activities with a corresponding mini-lecture or two. Presenters will also provide a run-down on how these active learning methods have helped increase student engagement in the classroom, as well as overall course performance.

Computer Graphics for Better Understanding and Student Comprehension - Wednesday 10:45 am
Presenter: Thomas Kinsman

Materials from Session: Computer Graphics for Better Understanding >

At many universities and institutes graphics and artwork is handed off to the "graphics department" which helps lecturers and presenters create professional looking charts, graphics, and animations. Locally, at RIT, we do not have such a support framework. In this presentation I will describe the software and processes that I use to create visualizations that engage the students, tell the story of the processes, and help the students understand material. Topics may include:

• storyboarding and planning
• managing cognitive load and attention management
• visual retention through transitions
• color choice for contrast
• considerations for students who are colorblind
• software that he uses and other options for you
   

Shifting Perspectives: A Guide for Creating Groups - Thursday 9 am
Presenter: David Neumann

Shifting Perspectives: A Guide for Creating Groups
Breaking students up into groups is often the first step in active learning classrooms. There is one chance to make a first impression that engages students and invites them into engaging in critical thinking, and creativity. Categories is a technique where each student is assigned a word or item and needs to find other students with items from a similar category. This is a simple, yet complicated activity that is versatile and challenges students to communicate, shift perspectives, and engage in energetic problem-solving. This workshop is one that can be applied to classes of all sizes. Participants will engage in the Categories activity and then spend some time learning how to adapt the activity to their own subject areas.

When Social Anxiety Meets Active Learning: Fostering an Inclusive Active Learning Classroom for Students with Social Anxiety - Thursday 9 am
Presenter: Jessamy Comer

Materials from Session: Social Anxiety and Active Learning >

Active learning is often intimidating for students with social anxiety. They may fear that they will be embarrassed if asked to participate in discussions or interact with other students. This fear can lead to decreased class attendance, psychological distress during class, and poor academic performance. In this session, we will discuss strategies faculty can use to facilitate active engagement from students who experience anxiety in the classroom.

We will begin with a brief explanation of anxiety disorders, their key symptoms, and causes. Then we will move into an interactive discussion and demonstration of different techniques faculty members can use to help students with social anxiety engage in their classrooms. I will provide some examples of strategies that I have successfully used in the past to deal with student anxiety, both at the individual level (such as adjusting individual presentation format requirements) as well as at the class level (such as providing advance notice of discussion questions so students can prepare responses before class begins). I will invite other faculty to provide their own examples as well. I plan to end the session by facilitating a group discussion on social anxiety in the classroom.

Teach Smarter, Not Harder: How ChatGPT Can Help - Thursday 10:45 am
Presenter: Garret Arcoraci

Materials from Session: Teach Smarter, Not Harder >

In this workshop, we will explore how ChatGPT can make you a more efficient and effective instructor in higher education. With the help of ChatGPT's advanced language processing capabilities, I will demonstrate how to streamline course preparation, write letters of recommendation, and create course exercises. While there have been concerns about ChatGPT being used by students to cheat, I will focus on the numerous legitimate applications of this powerful tool.

By the end of the workshop, participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of how ChatGPT can be leveraged in their day-to-day work as educators and how to identify potential misuse by students. The workshop will begin with a brief introduction to ChatGPT and its potential educational applications. We will then dive into how ChatGPT can enhance your productivity as an instructor while also discussing how to mitigate the risk of academic dishonesty.

This will include a hands-on demonstration of how to use ChatGPT to create personalized letters of recommendation, generate course exercises, and streamline course preparation through automated research. Throughout the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to engage in group discussions and Q&A sessions, as well as work on their own individual projects with the support of our facilitators. [Bringing your own laptop or tablet is highly encouraged!]

The workshop will conclude with a recap of key takeaways and a discussion of how participants can continue to apply their new ChatGPT skills in their everyday work while also being mindful of potential misuse by students. This workshop is a must-attend for educators looking to streamline their workflows, create personalized learning experiences for their students, and enhance their overall teaching effectiveness while staying informed about potential academic integrity issues.

Discussion to Dialogue: Using Relationships to Drive Learning -  Thursday 10:45 am
Presenters: Daniele Brown & the RIT 365 Team

Materials from Session: Discussion to Dialogue >

After a short introduction to dialogue and its use in the RIT 365 course, participants will practice dialogue through an abbreviated experiential learning cycle (plan-do-reflect). The session will include dialogue about:

• Participants' perspectives and experiences of centering students in the classroom learning process
• Applying dialogue in content based courses
• How dialogue creates a classroom environment where relationships can deepen students' understanding and connection with material.

This session is an introduction to dialogue practice and strives to provide participants with an understanding of whether or not dialogue is a good fit for them and their classes. At the conclusion of the session, additional readings, trainings, and materials about dialogue and facilitation strategies will be shared.

Aiming High: Using higher-order thinking and deep learning to achieve more fundamental course goals -  Thursday 10:45am
Presenter: Michelle Chabot

Materials from Session: Aiming High >

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” 

This workshop will focus on using higher-level thinking skills and deep learning from Bloom's Taxonomy (creating, evaluating, and analyzing) in order to achieve more fundamental learning goals (understanding and applying). That is, even when an idea is introduced, you can immediately design activities that tap into these higher-order skills, thereby allowing students to: 1) More efficiently obtain comprehension; 2) Be actively involved in their own learning process, and 3) Have fun!

In this workshop, examples of activities utilizing creating, analyzing, and evaluating will be given, many of which will require audience participation. The workshop will start with a brief introduction on deeper levels of learning and Bloom’s Taxonomy, followed by activities that are suitable to both large and small classes. Active individual work, small groups, and whole-room gallery walks will be employed to demonstrate some of the activities. No supplies will be needed, just people ready to engage!

The hope is that the audience will walk away with the examples and confidence needed in order to develop their own activities that apply higher-level thinking skills from Bloom's Taxonomy to any of their courses.