Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conferences: A Gateway to Enhanced Pedagogy

Like conferences in your discipline, pedagogy conferences offer more than just the sessions you attend. They present a valuable opportunity to connect with others who share your passion for teaching and learning. These conferences foster connections and spark inspiration through diverse ideas exchanged in informal conversations. Just as you might be the only person in your department with your disciplinary specialty, you may be the only one engaging in SoTL. Conferences are a way to find others engaged in this work like you.

Navigating the Landscape of Pedagogy Conferences

The list of pedagogy-related conferences can be overwhelming. To choose the right conference, consider exploring the available resources and reaching out to your center for teaching and learning. They can help you identify the best conference based on your specific goals.

Featured Presentations and Workshops

Here's a glimpse into the diverse topics and approaches presented at a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning conference:

Co-Teaching in Teacher Education: Elementary Math and English Language Learner Professors Co-Designing and Modeling Equity

Molly Riddle, Ph.D., and Kelli Bernedo, Ph.D., from Indiana University Southeast, shared a research-based framework for effective and equitable co-teaching practices. Their presentation focused on how EPPs can co-design, model, and measure outcomes for teacher candidates. As elementary Mathematics and English Language Learner (ELL) methods teacher educators, they provided an overview of how they co-designed and modeled equitable co-teaching structures for their teacher candidates to accommodate the unique needs of PreK-12 ELLs. The session aimed to open a dialogue about their experiences and facilitate a group discussion on co-designing, consciously updating, and modeling co-teaching structures, incorporating Honigsfeld and Dove’s collaborative instructional cycle and Gorski’s equity literacy framework to better prepare teacher candidates for the growing ELL population.

Unleashing Potential: AI Tools in Writing Instruction for Second Language Learners

Xin Chen, Ph.D., from Indiana University Bloomington, explored the transformative potential of AI tools in academic writing for second language (L2) learners. This presentation delved into the impact of AI tools, specifically ChatGPT, on the writing proficiency of L2 students. The session aimed to equip instructors with actionable knowledge, offering insights into the challenges and advantages of integrating AI tools into writing pedagogy. Participants gained practical strategies tailored to the specific needs of L2 students and uncovered the dynamic interplay between AI tools and L2 learning. This session provided concrete strategies for instructors eager to embrace transformative technology in their teaching contexts.

Improving Equity in Your Classroom

Lamia Scherzinger, M.S., from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, discussed practical ways to promote equity in the classroom. The presentation emphasized the importance of conscious effort to respond to the level of diversity in the classroom, helping remove barriers so all students can succeed. Participants learned small, but impactful ways to promote equity in their class and shared resources that participants had a chance to actively try out and find some that fit their particular classes.

Three Innovative Grading Solutions to Empower Teaching and Learning

Dawn Wisher, M.A., Joe Morgan, Ph.D., and Joe Packowski, M.A., from Indiana University Bloomington, presented alternative grading systems to address the problems associated with traditional grading. The panel shared their experiences with Specs Grading, Semi-Specs Grading, and Ungrading, implemented in Business Communication and Professional Skills curricula. They discussed the research that led them to try these strategies, how they implemented them, the data they collected, and their plans for the future. Accepting failures as part of learning and non-authoritarian teaching are some of the big takeaways that they are excited to share with their participants.

Bite-Sized Problem-Based Learning

Dede Wohlfarth, PsyD, from Spalding University, presented a workshop on using bite-sized Problem-Based Learning (PBL) activities to improve student motivation and learning. Participants engaged in a single-class PBL activity focused on an ethical dilemma for psychology students and brainstormed possible PBL activities for their own classrooms. Project-based learning (PBL) is a proven active learning strategy that not only increases long-term retention of content but also encourages critical thinking and enhances student motivation. The ultimate goal of PBL is increasing student learning of important knowledge and skills by asking a messy, real-world problem through sustained inquiry, student choice, collaboration, and reflection.

An Improved Hybrid Teaching Approach to Maximize Student Learning and Success While Minimizing Cheating

Suparna Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D., from Indiana University Southeast, discussed strategies for maximizing student learning and minimizing cheating in hybrid courses. Hybrid courses ensure that a student has the traditional college experience by engaging in face-to-face interaction for part of the course while also having the flexibility to explore content remotely at their own pace. With proper training and peer review faculty can create an integrated hybrid learning environment which maximizes student learning, offers more flexibility and options to support a diverse range of learners. Although it may be difficult to prevent cheating entirely, faculty can certainly implement a multitude of tools to minimize it and to reduce its impact on student learning. As educators it is also our responsibility to instill moral values and ethics in our students who will be a part of this online world for years to come. The presenter engaged faculty using a whiteboard in Zoom, allowing them to share their personal experiences and difficulties in hybrid teaching.

Building Purposeful Connections in Online Classes: Practical Strategies for Student Engagement

Linda Christiansen, J.D., and Rebekah Dement, Ph.D., from Indiana University Southeast, shared practical strategies for building meaningful connections with students in an online environment. Grounded in research and based on experiences in a range of classes (from 100-level to graduate courses), this presentation shared practical strategies for building meaningful connections. Participants gained effective approaches that don’t require a lot of extra time and work, tested methods for meaningful connection, techniques not reliant on advanced technology, and strategies to translate classic in-person concepts and tools in the online environment. They discussed methods for establishing credibility and building rapport, tools for conveying transparency in teaching methods, strategies for course customization and student buy-in, and long-term effects of meaningful connection.

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How Students Like an Automated Case Assignment

Oi Lin Cheung, Ph.D., from Indiana University East, demonstrated how students like a win-win teaching approach in a foundation finance course. Automating the traditional case teaching method in an online course (which can also be applied to face-to-face classes) not only increases students’ confidence and enjoyment of their learning but also reduces instructors' consultation and grading workload. Providing the opportunities to check instantly their calculation work bit by bit (intermediate answers in the calculation steps and final answer) without the fear of making many mistakes before proceeding further in the assignment will help engage students to work on the assignment and, in turn, in the course. This approach can be applied to courses in accounting, statistics, marketing research, and any course in which assignments call for/allow specific formats or highly standard structures.

Embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Classroom: Practical Application and Assessment Tools

Lynn Gilbertson, Ph.D., Cody Marie Busch, M.S., and Jonathan Spike, M.A., from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, discussed integrating AI technology into classroom assignments and helping students critically evaluate AI output. As AI becomes more ubiquitous and accessible, there is a call to promote awareness, implementation, and evaluation skills among AI users. In an effort to support students’ technology fluency, the current project asks students to evaluate the functionality of different AI platforms. Students will be asked to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and accuracy of the AI output in consideration of discipline-specific criteria. Participants of this presentation had access to examples of AI related syllabus language, assignment descriptions, and assessment tools that they can modify for their own application. Participants practiced using an AI chat platform (ChatGPT), an AI image generator (Leonardo.ai) and an AI presentation generator (CANVA) to generate output and then utilize the assessment tool for evaluation of their output.

Using Gamification to Increase Student Engagement

Aycan Kara, Ph.D., and Lisa Russell, Ph.D., from Indiana University Southeast, explored the use of gamification to increase student engagement. Real world application projects promote higher level thinking skills such as create, design, develop, defend, evaluate, judge, and select. The term gamification is relatively new in education (2008); it combines elements such as rewards, points, badges, story, challenge, sense of control, decision making, and sense of mastery to increase both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The field of entrepreneurship is particularly well-suited to leverage these two concepts. Cases, real life application projects, and consultation projects can be turned into competitions that involve gamification elements. Real-life application projects that include gamification components can enhance student engagement. Attention must be paid to the composition and interactions within the group. Expectations for respectful and professional exchanges must be upheld consistently. The needs of students with learning disabilities must also be considered.

Keys to Successful Implementation

For those looking to implement new teaching strategies, the presenters offered valuable advice:

Prepare: Allocate significant preparation time, especially when running a competition for the first time.
Collaborate: Partner with local businesses, businesspeople, and institutions to bring outside perspectives to students.
Be Flexible: Anticipate unexpected issues and be prepared to adapt your plans.

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