This paper focuses on the teaching approaches or styles in the United States and Ghana. This research will outline a few cultural differences between these countries and how they influence student learning and teaching approaches. Finally, the paper will compare Hofstede's cultural dimensions (individualism and collectivism) to determine which approach would lead to a positive impact on student success and will provide some recommendations to educators. 

Institutions of higher education are like whole new worlds to incoming students who are eager to find community. A college department plays a large role in welcoming students into the fold, establishing inclusive academic spaces, and empowering its students to excel. In our presentation, we will be discussing practices of academic departments and programs that signal welcoming to its students as well as existing barriers to inclusion. We will begin by defining the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has been shown that performance improves when institutions commit to changing organizational practices, supporting explicit inclusive practices (Bernstein et al., 2021). We will then present anecdotal student experiences, related to the inclusive environments they have encountered as well as the barriers they have faced. We will then outline the strategies faculty and staff may use to foster welcoming departmental environments, including curriculum design, classroom environment, faculty training, and community building. This portion of the presentation will function as a tutorial for educators, followed by instruction on how to engage, collaborate, and empower students. We will finish our presentation with a call to action: encourage faculty and administrators to commit to inclusive practices and suggest next steps for collaboration with students. 

As a professor, you are dedicated not only to your discipline but also to the growth and development of your students. You want your role to go beyond delivering content and assessing performance, and you want your students to do more than just survive—completing assignments merely for a grade. You want them to thrive, to be engaged, curious, and inspired by the material they’re learning. You hope to empower them to live purposefully, believe in their potential, and pursue their aspirations with confidence. This session presents strategies grounded in communication research to help faculty foster a strong sense of purpose and self-efficacy in the college students they teach. The goal is to provide professors with practical tools to cultivate an environment where students not only meet academic expectations but also develop a deep sense of personal purpose and the ambition to turn their dreams into reality. 

This presentation tackles the struggle that many students experience in their personal lives, and that affect their academic journey as well. Through the dual-perspective of an aspiring educator, and an individual with my own personal learning struggles, I hope to inform and educate attendees of the battle within oneself. I will use research journals and articles to solidify my claims, including statistics of students who experience drops in their academic worth, and tying in cause-and-effect relationships of mental illness and fear-of-failure, to bring awareness to the severity of my topic. 

We want to give insight into the struggles students face while in school and show different strategies for working with students from different backgrounds regarding their mental health. We want to show that while mental health is a struggle for most, the faculty response can make a difference in how a student feels and responds to their studies and school in general. We will showcase all the resources on and off campus in the area while framing it in a way that isn't repetitive and shows care. We will also highlight how important it is to get students involved on campus to create a sense of belonging, which will help with student wellness overall. 

In this session, I will explore how emerging technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and holograms are set to revolutionize education by transforming traditional teaching methods into interactive, immersive experiences. From virtual 3D models that bring science, history, and art to life, to personalized AR tools that enhance student engagement, these technologies can empower both students and educators to explore content in ways that go far beyond textbooks and slides. We’ll discuss real-world examples of AR and holograms already making an impact in classrooms and examine their potential to break down complex concepts, foster collaboration, and personalize learning experiences. I will also address challenges such as accessibility and data privacy, offering a forward-looking vision of how these tools can reshape the future of education. Join me as we envision a new frontier where students don’t just learn—they experience learning. As a CS student, I think it is very important to know where teaching is going since AI is taking over currently in the world. 

This session introduces the concept of cognitive resets—short, purposeful mental breaks designed to improve student focus, retention, and overall mental well-being. Drawing on research in neuroscience, this session will explore how cognitive overload negatively impacts learning and how integrating brief mindfulness techniques into the classroom can reverse those effects. Participants will experience a hands-on demonstration of mental reset activities, such as guided breathing and visualization, which can be incorporated into any teaching environment. The session will also offer practical advice on customizing these exercises for different course structures and disciplines. Attendees will leave with a toolkit of simple yet powerful techniques that enhance student engagement, promote mental clarity, and reduce academic burnout. This unique approach will equip faculty with easy-to-implement strategies that create a more balanced and productive learning experience for their students. 

An icebreaker is a game/joke that makes people who are unfamiliar with each other feel more relaxed together (Cambridge Dictionary). But what is their real value in promoting rapport in the classroom? Previous research has indicated that icebreaker activities are useful in the classroom. However, anecdotal student opinions on icebreakers vary. We intend to discover ways icebreakers can be used more effectively in the classroom and not feel like forced participation. We present the results from a survey of EMU students on their opinions of icebreaker activity use in the classroom. The results from this survey will be discussed along with ideas for quality implementation of icebreakers in classrooms.  

What do you mean?! Far too often, professors provide confusing, harsh, or bad feedback that does not encourage students to take the next steps toward improving their work. Many professors stress to us the importance of being clear, concise, and kind in the feedback we give in our future careers as teachers, managers, etc. However, their grading often includes vague question marks, random highlights, or harsh critiques. By the time students can provide feedback to professors, the semester is already over and our time with them is done. 

While not all professors are guilty of giving poor feedback and never asking for personal feedback, it is important to help guide professors on how to properly respond to their students. A clearer, more constructive approach to providing feedback will not only help students grow but also improve professors’ ability to connect with and support their students. 

Institutions of higher education are like whole new worlds to incoming students who are eager to find community. A college department plays a large role in welcoming students into the fold, establishing inclusive academic spaces, and empowering its students to excel. In our presentation, we will be discussing practices of academic departments and programs that signal welcoming to its students as well as existing barriers to inclusion. We will begin by defining the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has been shown that performance improves when institutions commit to changing organizational practices, supporting explicit inclusive practices (Bernstein et al., 2021). We will then present anecdotal student experiences, related to the inclusive environments they have encountered as well as the barriers they have faced. We will then outline the strategies faculty and staff may use to foster welcoming departmental environments, including curriculum design, classroom environment, faculty training, and community building. This portion of the presentation will function as a tutorial for educators, followed by instruction on how to engage, collaborate, and empower students. We will finish our presentation with a call to action: encourage faculty and administrators to commit to inclusive practices and suggest next steps for collaboration with students. 

Play and education can go hand in hand. College students face a lot of new experiences at once, and experiencing play can not only make their transition easier, but also improve their academic standing. Play can help enhance engagement, boost creativity, reduce stress, and build communities within a classroom. By understanding the positive impact of play, educators can design more diverse and effective learning experiences for all students, not just younger ones. Join student AnnaBelle Favre for an interactive experience in playful learning that will benefit both educators and students. In this workshop, you will learn practical strategies to enhance student engagement and motivation in your courses, discover how playful activities can promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, explore examples of successful gamified learning activities in various disciplines, and meet with other educators interested in innovative teaching methods. Don’t miss out on the fun! 

So many university instructors have been talking about Generative AI and teaching, whether we are excited about it, fearful about it, or just curious. But, as these discussions occur, students are often absent from the conversations.  Join us for this discussion, featuring five EMU students, to learn more about what the student experience with Gen AI has been - what works, what does not, and what they wish their professors knew from the student perspective. 

This workshop will discuss the benefits of pluralist departments, meaning departments which contain faculty who represent a wide variety of specializations. These benefits exist both for the faculty themselves and for students. Having a variety of specializations within a single department or between departments allows for greater social-procedural objectivity, elevating the quality of scholarship produced. This benefit carries over to students as well who will encounter various approaches to overlapping topics to gain a more objective sense of their field. Students will also gain agency as they are more able to find a niche in their field that they align with rather than being forced to study within a limited number of approaches. Finally, a pluralism friendly department will allow them to engage in disciplinary omnivory and carry forward the knowledge and experience they have from other classes and disciplines in their work. We intend to begin with a presentation outlining our argument and defining our terms, and throughout we will turn to sections of discussion to see how this can be applied to faculty attending the session.

In higher education, grades are an inevitable part of teaching & learning but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop to think about how they’re helping or hurting student progress. We’ll talk about how to structure grading systems so they can more meaningfully assess student learning. We’ll also talk about everything the grade does outside of measuring progress. Grades can motivate positive competition but they can also cause debilitating anxiety, encourage cheating and even laziness. In this session we’ll discuss the many ways to structure grading systems, and pay particular attention to un-grading. This somewhat radical grading structure centers student reflection and progress, shifting their motivation from an extrinsic letter grade to an intrinsic desire to learn. While of course this method isn’t practical for every classroom, this method can be adapted into syllabi in little ways that hopefully can make a big difference. This session will be discussion-focused with some speaking time to explain what un-grading is and briefly go over the history of grading.