2024 Symposium Program
2024 Symposium on Innovation in Teaching & Learning
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Schedule at a Glance
| 9:00 – 9:15 AM | Registration and Breakfast (Keches Room, Sargent Hall) |
| 9:15 – 9:30 AM | Symposium Opening and Remarks from President Kelly (Keches Room, Sargent Hall) |
| 9:30 – 10:30 AM | Keynote by Tracie Addy: “Enhancing Inclusive Instruction” |
| 10:30 – 11:00 AM | Coffee and Conversation Break |
| 11:00 – 11:45 AM |
Morning Concurrent Sessions (Select One)
|
| 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM | Lunch (Smith Commons, Sargent Hall) |
| 1:15 – 2:00 PM |
Afternoon Concurrent Sessions (Select One)
|
| 2:00 – 2:10 PM | Break |
| 2:10 – 3:00 PM |
Closing Activities and Reception (Smith Commons, Sargent Hall)
|
Detailed Schedule
Keynote: Enhancing Inclusive Instruction
9:30 – 10:30 AM
During this interactive keynote session we will explore actions that instructors can take to enhance inclusion in their courses. Participants will hear highlights from our work on what inclusive instructors do, as well as more recent scholarly efforts centering student voices.
Coffee and Conversation Break
10:30 – 11:00 AM
Enjoy some time with your colleagues to discuss your takeaways from the keynote.
Morning Concurrent Sessions
11:00 – 11:45 AM
You are invited to join one of our concurrent sessions facilitated by Suffolk faculty and staff.
From Classroom to Research: Strengthening Teaching Through Inquiry
Sarah Schendel, Law
Haley Schiebel, Environmental Science
Robert Smith, Marketing
Can we improve our teaching and deepen our passion for teaching by researching and writing about our experiences in the classroom? In this session, we’ll talk about research we recently published that arose from the problems and opportunities we encountered in our classes and the solutions we explored and tested with our own students. We’ll also share how our teaching has changed and grown as a result of these projects. We’ll offer practical tips on how to begin such research projects, how to collect data involving students, and how to build productive collaborations with other researchers.
Teaching & Learning in Virtual Reality, Across the Disciplines
Melanie Berkmen, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Environment & Physics
Katy Lasdow, History
Sean Solley, Art & Design
What do we mean by virtual reality, and what does it look like to teach and learn using virtual reality? During this panel discussion, you will hear from faculty who have integrated virtual reality into their teaching, across a variety of disciplines, and see their examples of the kinds of learning experiences that are possible using virtual reality. The panelists will offer insights about the process for implementing virtual reality in their classes and offer advice about how to get started if you are curious about exploring virtual reality in your teaching.
Lunch
11:45 AM-1:00 PM
Afternoon Concurrent Sessions
1:15 – 2:00 PM
You are invited to join one of the concurrent sessions facilitated by Suffolk faculty and staff, or an invited guest.
Redesign Learning Experiences Using Interactive AI-Roles
Erin Trauth, English
Rizwan Rob, Office of Institutional Research & Assessment
Amanda Patel, Management & Entrepreneurship
Laurie Levesque, Management & Entrepreneurship
This workshop kicks off with survey results of Suffolk students’ use of, and attitudes about, AI and their thoughts on faculty use of AI to teach. We then show you how to modify course deliverables and activities (e.g. case studies, team projects, role plays, etc.) by incorporating different AI roles as an interactive component for learners. Building on work by Mollick and Mollick (2023), you will learn how AI can adopt the roles of mentor, tutor, coach, teammate, student, simulator, or tool to facilitate individualized learning in ways that would be burdensome if done by the instructor. Resources and references will be available.
Difficult Dialogues: Handling Disagreements in the Heat of the Moment
Melissa Berry-Woods, Director of Student Diversity and Success; Associate Teaching Professor in English, Northeastern University
Disagreement, while vital to life and learning, can be downright dangerous today. For many BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and women, honest expression of values or beliefs in class requires a highly structured dialogue. Purposes shift, from transmitting knowledge or winning arguments to
- expressing values and beliefs in ways others can understand–whether or not they agree,
- creating a reciprocal exchange of thoughts and experiences,
- expanding beyond typical boundaries of difficult conversations, and
- asking open, honest questions to which you do not know the answer.
Take away practices to control your responses in hot moments, defuse personal hostility while making room for discomfort, and faciliate criticism of perspectives not people for a vigorous yet respectful exchange.
Reflections, Provost’s Presentation of the Innovative Teaching Award, Closing Reception and Raffle
2:10-3:00 PM
Join the CTSE and your colleagues in a reflective moment to capture our takeaways and ideas for next steps. Then we will present the finalists for the 2024 Innovative Teaching Award before Provost Sandell announces this year’s recipient. We conclude the day with a reception featuring appetizers, drinks and raffle prizes!