Eberly Center

2019 Agenda:

All sessions will occur in Rangos & McKenna-Peter-Wright, CUC.

12:30 - 1:20 PM Lightning Roundtables
Coffee and pastries provided

1:30 - 2:50 PM Plenary Speaker: Isis Artze-Vega, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valencia College 
“Toward Equitable Learning Outcomes in Gateway Courses and Beyond”

3:00 - 3:50 PM Quickfire Talks on Teaching Innovations

4:00 - 4:50 PM Spotlight on CMU Teaching: TEL Demo & Poster Session
Technology-Enhanced Learning Demos 
Teaching as Research & Teaching Innovation Posters
Appetizers and beverages provided 

4:50 - 5:00 PM Closing Remarks

12:30 - 1:20 PM

Lightning Roundtables
Lightning Roundtables showcase the interesting things instructors do in their course, whether a “wicked, cool assignment” or fun in-class activity, and highlight the ways someone could potentially adapt for their context. Participants will rotate between tables of their interest every 10 minutes. Presenters give a brief (5 min max) spiel about their topic, and then for the remaining time attendees can engage in conversation with them. A visual aid (sample class material, 1-page summary, poster, etc.) is recommended.

Coffee and pastries provided

1:20 - 2:50 PM

1:30 PM

Welcoming Remarks & Plenary Introduction
Marsha Lovett introduces the plenary speaker, Isis Artze-Vega.

Interactive Plenary & Workshop with Isis Artze-Vega, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valencia College

Title: Toward Equitable Learning Outcomes in Gateway Courses and Beyond

Description: This plenary session will begin by introducing the construct of educational equity and asking participants to consider how it relates to Carnegie Mellon University’s –and perhaps their own—commitment to diversity and inclusion. Gateway (or introductory) courses will serve as a reference point as they are often the sites of immense inequities. Performance gaps associated with frequently underrepresented minorities can be as high as 20% in gateway courses, leading to issues of retention and perpetuating notions of student deficit. A growing body of research suggests certain types of course-level interventions, as active learning, increased scaffolding, and the cultivation of supportive classroom climates, can reduce the gap. However, scholars have noted that such diversity and inclusion efforts often fall short because individual instructors have not had opportunities to become sufficiently aware of themselves and the role each of us plays in this work. The session will therefore connect the broader construct of equity to instructors’ identities, guiding participants through a brief process of reflection on various facets of their social identities. Finally, attendees will explore strategies for navigating issues of identity to maximize efficacy of teaching strategies. Because building trust is a foundational competency in equity-minded teaching, hands-on activities will introduce practical strategies for establishing rapport with students and securing (and maintaining) their trust. Through guided roundtable discussions, participants will collaboratively workshop how to transfer these strategies to CMU contexts. Participants will be seated by school/college to facilitate discussion of common ground with colleagues.

3:00 - 3:50 PM

Quick-Fire Talks (QFTs) on Teaching Innovations
How have CMU instructors innovated to improve learning? This segment features 4-5 invited speakers, each with one or more transferable elements one could adopt or adapt across teaching contexts. In this high-octane session, each presenter has 15 slides, each of which auto-advances after 20 seconds (i.e. a 5-minute presentation), to present the essential features of their innovative, effective teaching strategy. There will be a brief Q&A session following.

4:00 - 5:00 PM

Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Demos & Poster Session

Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Demos. 
Demonstrations feature how CMU faculty, graduate students, and staff use instructional technology home-grown at CMU or developed elsewhere. Demos may include students showcasing their work or experiences using the technologies. 

Teaching as Research (TAR) Posters. 
These posters feature qualitative and/or quantitative data on student learning outcomes. Data can come from: (1) courses or classroom research at CMU; (2) assessments of educational programs at CMU; or (3) learning science research targeting undergraduate, graduate, pre-K, or K-12 students.

Teaching Innovation Posters. 
These posters showcase new and creative approaches being implemented in CMU courses and programs (e.g. assignments, classroom activities, tools). Come hear about and discuss these innovative strategies strategies with colleagues!