Workshops and breakout sessions
Workshops
Distinguished faculty across Temple who have completed our Provost’s Teaching Academy will be facilitating 60-minute, interactive workshops on day 1 of the conference. The workshop topics will build on the theme of the conference and on the topics presented by our keynote and plenary speakers. In the workshops, you will have the chance to take a deeper dive into select topics and apply what you have learned to your own courses.
Wednesday, January 10th, Workshops
11:00am - 12:00pm & 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Keep Calm and Teach On: Strategies for Incorporating Generative AI Into Your Teaching
Karl Morris
Computer & Information Sciences, College of Science and Technology
Temple University
Steve Ryan
Advertising and Public Relations, Klein College of Media and Communications
Temple University
About this Workshop
Join us for an interactive workshop where we’ll explore the fascinating world of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as versatile teaching and learning tools. Our facilitators will guide you through a series of practical exercises, including a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to help you examine your readiness to use genAI in the classroom. You’ll leave with your own genAI action plan! This workshop is suitable for participants from all backgrounds and disciplines; no previous knowledge of generative AI is needed or expected. Simply come prepared with a course in mind and your current learning goals.
“Cool! Good Work! Meh. Yikes!”: Elevating the Quality of Student-Driven Peer Feedback
Felicidad Garcia
Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Public Health
Temple University
Abby Guido
Graphic & Interactive Design, Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Temple University
About this Workshop
Peer feedback helps students self-diagnose and address patterns of error in their own work, clarify their ideas, and practice giving constructive feedback to colleagues. But students often will give their peers feedback that is at best unhelpful and at worst hurtful. In this session, we will look at how instructors can better use peer review to encourage specific, high-caliber feedback to their peers, thereby increasing their own critical thinking skills and awareness. We will also explore common problems with peer review and brainstorm strategies to make peer review activities more effective. You’ll leave with concrete ways you to implement peer reviews into your teaching and encourage students to develop this crucial skill.
From Evaluative to Educative Assessments: Exploring Meaningful Assessments That Improve Learning
Jaskiran Kaur
Chemistry, College of Science and Technology
Temple University
Deirdre Dingman
Social & Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health
Temple University
About this Workshop
Let’s take a moment to reflect on our assessments. Do we design our assessments primarily to evaluate our students’ performance and assign grades? Can we also design assessments that improve the learning of our students? In this session, we will examine the essential elements of educative assessments that not only assess student understanding but also offer opportunities to enhance the quality of learning. Together we’ll generate a variety of educative assessment techniques along with the “how-to’s” of effective implementation. You’ll leave with ideas for tweaking your current assessments and a “toolbox” of new techniques to try out in your own courses this spring.
Got Goals? How to Create Meaningful Learning Goals to Shape Effective Assessments.
Neela Bhajandas
Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy Practice
Temple University
Sheryl Sawin
Intellectual Heritage, College of Liberal Arts
Temple University
About this Workshop
What’s the point of learning goals anyway? Learning goals are powerful tools to guide the learning that happens in our classes and to connect students to the value of what they will be learning. But we often think about goals in a narrow way—that is, just as a laundry list of content we want our students to learn—and sometimes it can be hard to articulate these goals in ways that make sense to students and that help us actually design class activities and assessments that move students’ towards these goals. In this workshop, you will work with your peers to examine how your current learning goals shape the “story” of your course and revise these goals as needed to better align with your learning assessments and in-class activities. Come to this workshop with the goals from one of your current courses in mind and leave with meaningful goals that help you create significant learning experiences.
From Letters to Learning: Boosting Student Motivation Through Alternative Grading
Alisha Nypaver
Music Studies, Boyer College of Music and Dance
Temple University
Eve Walters
Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
Temple University
About this Workshop
How did you learn the most basic yet important things in your life? What role did feedback and the opportunity to try again play in your learning process? Counterintuitively, learning can take a backseat when students feel pressured to achieve a high letter grade in a high-stakes assessment that can irreversibly impact the final outcome in a course. In this workshop, we’ll explore the role of alternative grading practices on student learning. You’ll be inspired to think about how even small modifications to your grading practices may positively affect student learning without increasing your grading burden. You’ll leave the workshop with practical examples of how you can implement alternative grading structures in classes across a variety of disciplines and classroom modalities.
Metacognition—Not Just Jargon! Introducing a Powerful Tool for Improving Student Learning
Jeffrey Boles
Risk, Actuarial Science & Legal Studies, Fox School of Business
Temple University
Joann Marie Kirchner
Keyboard Studies, Boyer School of Music
Temple University
About this Workshop
Don’t we all wish our students had the tools to improve their own learning? How can we promote self-assessment in our students in order to encourage them to facilitate their own learning? Introducing our students to metacognition (thinking about how one plans, monitors, and assesses understanding) allows them to develop and strengthen their ability to be successful learners. In this workshop, we will examine strategies to incorporate into our classroom teaching that develops metacognitive skills in our students. You will leave this session with a variety of metacognitive activities that can be implemented with relative ease, and lead our students to become self-regulated learners.
Breakout Sessions
These peer-reviewed 45-minute interactive sessions generally include a “mini-lecture” format with activities and demonstrations of teaching methods, as well as guided discussions about the topic at hand. Choose one morning and one afternoon session to attend.
Thursday, January 11th, Morning Breakout Sessions
11:00am - 11:45am
Making “Groupwork” Work: Benefits, Barriers, and Best Practices
Ksenia Power, Health and Rehabilitation Science
Temple University
Sara Kovacs, Health and Rehabilitation Science
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
Collaborative work is key to productivity and success of professionals in any field. It facilitates quality critical thinking and finding practical solutions to existing problems. Thus, we implement cooperative learning techniques to teach students pivotal skills – how to work effectively in groups, achieve common goals, and efficiently deliver quality work.
Orienting Students for Success with AI-Mediated Learning
Ryan Rashotte, Learning Support Services/ First-Year Writing
Temple University Japan
Kyle Cleveland, Sociology
Temple University Japan
Jeremey Chambers, English
Temple University Japan
Henry Curtley, English
Temple University Japan
About this Breakout Session
ESL/EFL students encounter unique challenges and opportunities as AI technologies (including translation programs) reshape academic discourse. This presentation will outline an orientation program that aligns educational protocols with ESL students’ expectations and experiences, helping these students achieve an ethical scholastic understanding of AI usage within a transcultural educational setting.
Setting students up for success with research assignments: an evidence-based practice from two librarians
Megan Donnelly, Libraries
Thomas Jefferson University
Jess Saunders, Libraries
Thomas Jefferson University
About this Breakout Session
Instructors are finding that students are plagiarizing research assignments using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Two librarians suggest ways to reduce AI plagiarism on research assignments that are grounded in evidence-based teaching practices.
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Teach Dental Students Medical Risk Assessment
Shabnam Seyedzadeh Sabounchi, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Medicine, and Surgery
Temple University
Berfin Karatas Jacobs, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Medicine, and Surgery
Temple University
Kelcie Barnts, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Medicine, and Surgery
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
Reviewing patients’ medical history and medications is critical to safely providing dental care. Staying up to date with medications continues to become more challenging, due to constant innovations. Artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly analyzes vast amounts of data which can be used to teach students how to review medical histories.
Can ChatGPT Help You Win Teacher of the Year?
Pete Watkins, Professional Studies
Villanova University
About this Breakout Session
In this informal study, I queried Chat GPT regarding prominent theories and myths about teaching and learning. The responses were alternately insightful, misleading and humorous. We will review the results and discuss the implications of teachers using large language models to increase their understanding of teaching and learning.
Design, Development, Response: Handling ChatGPT/AI In the Classroom
Rob Faunce, English
Temple University
Gabriella Kecskes Mazal, English
Temple University
Whitley Cooke, English
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
This breakout session shares observations, findings, and best practices from First Year Writing faculty to upcycle and scaffold course development, classroom activity, student engagement, and assessment around and in response to the evolving realities of ChatGPT and AI tools.
Thursday, January 11th, Afternoon Breakout Sessions
1:00pm - 1:45pm
Embracing AI Responsibly: Open Educational Practices for Equitable, Inclusive Learning
Courtney Eger, Health Sciences Library
Temple University
Kristina De Voe, Charles Library
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
Negative thinking about how students will use generative AI is unproductive. Let’s flip the narrative to discuss positive ways students can ethically engage AI. In this session, you’ll be introduced to renewable assignments, which allows students to create, publish, and share their own openly-licensed work, discouraging overreliance on AI tools.
Beyond Fake Citations: Equipping Students to be AI-savvy Researchers
Caitlin Shanley, Charles Library
Temple University
Olivia Given Castello, Charles Library
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
New AI tools are changing how students do research for class assignments. This session will empower instructors to help students become AI-savvy researchers. We will highlight AI research tools and give a handy checklist for assessing their quality. Participants will explore teaching practices that help students approach AI critically.
Lights, Camera, Action: Collaborating with Student Actors to Conduct a Simulation Exercise
(Simulation? Let’s Involve the Experts)
Divita Singh, Pharmacy
Temple University
Margaret Miklich, Pharmacy Practice
Temple University
Amina Robinson, Theater, Film and Media Arts
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
Simulation is common in health professions education; however, some programs lack physical or financial access to simulation centers. In this session, participants will learn about how presenters designed a collaborative pharmacy-theater student simulation activity and share the perceptions of participants.
Structurally Supporting Neurodivergent Students in FYW
Jude Miller, Writing Arts, First Year Writing
Rowan University
Donna Mehalchick-Opal, First Year Writing
Rowan University
Catherine Romano, First Year Writing
Rowan University
About this Breakout Session
This session will discuss specialized sections of FYW courses for neurodivergent students as a mechanism for better supporting this population. After explaining the exigence of this initiative, presenters will facilitate a discussion among attendees to consider what such an initiative could look like in their programs–identifying institutional allies, mapping out next steps, and thinking through potential challenges.
AI-Powered Teaching and Learning: Strategies for Success
Dasanj Aberdeen, Engineering
Temple University
About this Breakout Session
This breakout session offers an interactive exploration of teaching and learning in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GAI). It delves into innovative strategies, research findings, and insightful perspectives, providing a roadmap to navigate the evolving landscape of education and harness the potential of GAI to enhance teaching and learning experiences.
Making Room for Good-Enough in Teaching and Learning
Adam Smith, Center for Teaching and Learning
Pennsylvania College of Art & Design
About this Breakout Session
Many institutions pride themselves on supporting excellent, evidence-based teaching. Yet, over the last few years, we’ve seen efforts at improving teaching be complicated by developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of generative AI. While excellence can guide our actions, what do we do when these changes outpace the evidence-base? The concept of ‘good enough’ has found its way into our discourse and provides a meaningful alternative framework that promotes flexibility and compassion in the face of multiple evolving challenges in higher education.