CLS Curriculum Conference (2025)

Session 1A, Service-Learning Opportunities for Liberal Arts Courses: Linda Cox, Brinda Roy, Louisa Spaventa, Alex Watkins, and Christopher Rzigalinski

• Service-learning builds strong communities, inspires curiosity and hope, and helps students develop career skills through in-person, on-campus, and remote experiences. Presenters will share tangible ways students explore liberal arts topics through collecting oral histories, developing multimedia and sustainable projects for nonprofits, creating videos on gender issues, and publishing in college magazines. 

Session 1B, Ain't Afraid of No Ghost(writers): Can Professional Writing Inform How We Teach Student Writing?: Amanda Hoppe

• Facilitated by a dual-credit instructor who lives a double life as a professional ghostwriter, this workshop explores how the techniques of professional writing, editing and book coaching show up in our CLS curriculums, and how we might leverage these sexy skills to make English a sought-after major. 

Session 1C, Teaching Students How To Do Research: Jason Eisenmenger; Meagan Hoff and Amaryllis Castillo

• Many students struggle with the research process which integrates students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. This session is twofold. First, we will explore teaching research and critical thinking using conspiracy theories. Second, we will share practical strategies to teach students how to do research in the composition classroom and beyond.

Session 2A, Cancelled

Session 2B, Empowering Learners: Writing Adventures and Metacognition: Sarah De Villiers, Suchitra Rathnam

• What if there was a museum of words where students were both curators & tour guides? What if pen pals were the last refuge from AI writing, & research required a sense of humor? "Writing as an Adventure" explores assignments that get students thinking critically & creatively as they navigate an upside down world. 

Session 2C, Civic Engagement in a Divided Country: Becky Villarreal, Cassis Fitzgerald and Linda Cox

• In November 2024, ACC was chosen from 150 community colleges for exemplary voter engagement efforts and was awarded a free GOTV concert for students. Despite the college's advocacy, after the general election, 57% of US college students surveyed said their voices and votes matter little. This panel will discuss the ACC Votes collaboration, which included five parades to the polls, voter registration, and education, and ACC's initiative in promoting Join the Club and Red Bench events to foster civic engagement and community building.

Session 3A, Back to Basics: Outwitting AI Shortcuts: Wendy Elle and Amber Clontz

• Increase authentic intellectual engagement and reduce student reliance on AI through slight changes to in-class instruction, assessments, and assignments. 

Session 3B, Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and the Power of Voice: Kim George and Justin Dykes

• AI and the collective trauma of COVID have altered discussions of writing instruction. When faculty help students find their voice, students rely less on AI. In addition, by providing students opportunities to give voice to their experiences, including their traumas, students find ways to own their stories and develop resilience. 

Session 3C, Globalizing Curriculum 101: Equipping Students to Navigate and Thrive in Diverse Societies: Amy Cunningham and Heidi Juel

• This session explores the value and methodology of developing a curriculum that promotes belonging, diversity, and empathy, while developing critical thinking and global citizenship skills. Special emphasis is placed on empowering participants to amplify the marginalized voices of Indigenous people and those stigmatized by diagnoses and disabilities. We seek to build communities and to inspire students to engage as global citizens.