Ready, Set, Teach!

This program is from August 2024 – it will be updated before the next session.

8:30 a.m. Registration and light breakfast

9 a.m. Welcome and introductions – Julie Hunt Johnson, Ph.D., Program Manager, Instructor Engagement and Innovation
Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring (CTLM)

9:30 a.m. Refine your course for student learning and engagement – Todd Lundburg, Ph.D., Associate Director, Campus Partner Engagement, CTLM and Mary Thompson, Ph.D., Senior Assessment Manager, Student Learning Assessment

Often, course design starts with what an instructor wants to cover so that they know what they will test so that they can tell students what students need to do in order to learn what will be tested. This session holds space for instructors who are getting ready to teach a course switch up that process. We’ll articulate (1) what learning matters, (2) how students engage in that learning, and (3) what feedback guides students through that learning. Along the way, we’ll test out ideas on one another and build an action plan that captures refinements we want to try out this fall.

10:50 a.m. Break

11 a.m. Enhance Learning with Low-Stakes Writing Activities – Abby Letak, Ph.D.. Associate Director, Writing Across the Curriculum

Low-stakes writing activities serve a number of important roles in the classroom, whether in biology or sociology or mathematics. Writing before, during, or after class can deepen student learning, provide valuable formative assessment, and contribute to students’ sense of belonging. As a form of active learning, low-stakes writing can help students draw connections among course concepts; practice skills in summary, evaluation, and justification; and reflect on gaps or challenges in their learning. In this session, we’ll consider examples of low-stakes writing activities, both incorporating and not incorporating generative AI. You’ll learn how to design low-stakes writing activities that you can add to your active learning repertoire – without adding significantly more labor for you.

12 p.m. Lunch

1 p.m.

• Option 1: Engaging students in large enrollment courses – Julie Hunt Johnson and Cliff Cunningham, M.S., Learning Technologies Consultant, Division of Information Technology (DoIT) Academic Technology – Learn@UW-Madison
  Large enrollment courses can feel intimidating for both instructors and students. In this session, we will discuss (1) how connection and community support learning and engagement, (2) how active learning works and (3) how to make connections, foster community, and facilitate active learning at scale (and with the help of instructional technology).
• Option 2: Engaging students in discussion sections (or smaller classrooms) – Lisa Jong, Ph.D., Teaching and Learning Developer, CTLM
  Most of us have experienced – as a learner or as a teacher – class discussions that are energized and alive with different ideas and voices, as well as ones that fall flat, or involve just a few people interacting with the teacher. In this session, we’ll explore (and experience) some strategies and mindsets that will help you design and facilitate class discussions that lead to deeper learning through a sense of shared responsibility for the classroom environment.

2:20 p.m. Break

2:30 p.m. Lower Barriers for Learners – And for You – with Universal Design for Learning – Thomas J. Tobin, Ph.D., Senior Teaching and Learning Developer, CTLM

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are priorities for all of us. In this session, you’ll discover the “step zero” that makes all of our DEIB efforts possible: access. When we focus our learning interactions on how our students get access to materials, each other, instructors, support services, and the community, we strengthen their sense of belonging as learners. Through the universal design for learning (UDL) framework, you’ll learn concrete steps that you can take tomorrow that help to lower barriers, anxiety, and stress—for your students and for you. Come learn how to take some work off your plate as you engage with your students.

Activities: Identify one “pinch point:”an activity or interaction with learners that doesn’t go as you’ve planned it, over and over again. How might a “plus one” design help to lower barriers or provide more options for engagement, taking in information, or showing what learners know?

3:20 p.m. Next Steps & Closing – Julie Hunt Johnson