10:10 AM - 10:50 AM | Session 1

• Come as You Are: Trauma-informed Teaching and Learning by Dr. Ann Green, English.

Given the visibility of the global pandemic of racism and the year of quarantine caused by Covid 19, “trauma-informed” teaching has become more visible as a strand of social justice pedagogy. This session will hold space for reflection on this last year of teaching and model some principles of trauma-informed pedagogy. Given the losses, both big and small, among our students and ourselves, how do we provide students with the tools they need to learn? How do we encourage “self-care” in the radical way proposed by African American feminist Audre Lorde, as necessary for our work against systemic racism and other forms of injustice? If trauma affects body, mind, and spirit, how do we teach holistically? “Come as you are” is an invitation and a hope. Show up however you need to: cameras on or off, sharing as you wish or not at all.

• 360 Degree Alumni Panel: Alumni Reflect on Pandemic Teaching by Dr. John Yi, Decision and System Sciences, Dr. Aubrey Wang, Educational Leadership, and Dr. Peter Norberg, English

  • Alumni:

    • Dr. Khadijah Bright, alumnus of SHSE, Principal, Kennedy C. Crossan School, School District of Philadelphia

    • Mr. Bill Morrison, alumnus of HSB, Data and Reporting Manager at Woodforest National Bank / Founder at Coexistence

    • Mr. George Frattara, alumnus of A&S, JD candidate at Notre Dame Law School

• Teaching Practices to Retain, Post-Pandemic by Dr. Jeff Hyson, History, Dr. Alfredo Mauri, Management, Dr. Usha Rao, Chemistry

As we look to the next academic year, many faculty members are eagerly awaiting a “return to normal,” a chance to get back to familiar teaching practices rooted in face-to-face, non-distanced interactions with students. But before we put “pandemic teaching” in the rearview mirror, we should consider whether some of the techniques that we have employed in 2020-21 might actually be worth continuing in more “normal” times. Panelists will share examples of teaching practices they have used during the past year that they plan to incorporate into future courses; attendees will be encouraged to offer their own stories of successful pedagogical changes that could be adapted for a post-pandemic classroom.

• Creative Cloud Curious: Why (and How) We Teach Disciplinary Skills in Digital Spaces

by Dr. Steven Hammer and Dr. Rachael Sullivan, Communication and Media Studies

If you’ve thought of trying Adobe Creative Cloud applications in your classes, you might be Creative Cloud Curious. But is Adobe the right software for your pedagogical purpose? Will you and/or your students find it too difficult to use? In this session, we describe our experience teaching digitally-based multimedia projects to students, focusing on both the theoretical (why) and practical (how). We share our approaches to teaching audio and video production as well as visual design projects, emphasizing the importance of mindfully choosing composing technologies, from hardware to software to distribution platforms. Dr. Hammer will discuss some ways that his courses bridge the gap between traditional academic knowledge and contemporary genres of communication, and the ways that we can meet our students halfway through multimodal projects. Dr. Sullivan will focus on considerations related to teaching complex software applications, including common Adobe pitfalls and issues, research on student troubleshooting strategies, and techniques for positioning yourself as a “non-expert” technology learner.

11:00 - 11:40 AM | Session 2

• Emergent models of interdisciplinary teaching by Dr. Susan Clampet-Lundquist, Sociology, Dr. Julia Lee-Soety, Biology, Dr. Alfredo Mauri, Management, and Dr. Aubrey Wang, Educational Leadership

A new reality facing higher education today is the blurring of disciplinary boundaries with a growing demand for graduates who can solve complex and often open-ended problems by drawing from interdisciplinary knowledge, skills, and tools. This session intends to share insights and tools on the practice of delivering interdisciplinary teaching currently practiced by our colleagues across all three schools. Each presenter will describe the way they facilitate the learning of interdisciplinary knowledge, skills, and problem solving skills.

• Best Practices for Engaging our First Gen Students by Dr. Nancy Komada, Student Transitions, Dr. Elizabeth Lee, Sociology, Dr. John Yi, Decision and System Sciences, Natalie Walker-Brown, Inclusion and Diversity Educational Achievement

An introduction to better understanding our First Gen Students, and how best to engage them in class.

• Introduction to Media Relations and Social Media by Gail Benner, Marketing and Communications; Gabrielle Lacherza, PR Manager; Nicole Glueckert, Senior Associate Director of Social Media.

An introduction to news media relations and social media resources and tools at Saint Joseph’s University. Learn about University support available and best practices.

• Yellowdig, a Tool for Engagement and for Building Learning Communities by Drs. Robert Daniel and Kristin Burr, Modern and Classical Languages, Andy Starr, OIT

Yellowdig is a social-media-inflected discussion tool that gives students greater control over threads than do discussion boards. The Yellowdig platform can be integrated into Canvas and it includes an automated system for awarding points (that is, “grading”). In our experience, this digital tool enhances student engagement with course content and helps build a sense of community / shared learning across different course types. We will talk about our experience with this tool, showing some anonymized examples of student production, and suggest different ways in which the tool may effectively be used to meet a variety of learning objectives.

11:50 AM - 12:30 PM | Session 3

• Using Technology to Support Advising your Students by Drs. Kim Allen-Stuck and Dan McDevitt, Student Success, Dick Wisenbaker, Institutional Effectiveness, Marita Hurst and Tim Higgins, Academic Advising)

Join this session to learn how different technology systems (DegreeWorks, Starfish, Gmail) can help streamline processes for faculty during the Advising Cycle with their students.

• Mindfulness and Contemplative Pedagogy by Dr. Stephen Porth, Management, Dr. Grace Wetzel, English, Dr. Aubrey Wang, Educational Leadership

As teachers, we have observed that when we integrate mindfulness and contemplative pedagogy into our courses, our students (whether they are business, humanities, or social science undergraduate or graduate/doctoral students) learn to use these practices to pause, reflect, experience, and act. For instance, in Aubrey’s course, her third-year doctoral students who are current K12 and higher education leaders shared that the mindfulness practices have helped them to mentally take a break from their high-pressure jobs, reminded them of the importance of breathing, and helped them to be present---which meant being able to focus on their curiosity for writing and finishing their dissertation proposal. We invite you to join this session and learn how each of us integrates mindfulness/contemplative practices into our courses!

• Academic Integrity: Covid and Beyond by Dr. Catalina Arango, Biology; Dr. Jeff Bone, Management; Dr. Elaine Shenk, Modern & Classical Languages; Dr. Patrick Garrigan, Psychology; Andy Starr, OIT

In this panel discussion, we focus on collective efforts to promote and facilitate academic integrity both during and beyond the pandemic. The session will include proactive strategies relevant to multiple teaching modalities, including F2F, hybrid/blended, hyflex, and online. It will also cover some technological resources available to faculty (with pros/cons), as well as some common pitfalls that faculty and students may encounter regarding issues of academic integrity. At the end, we will offer a time of open discussion to share ideas that have worked well (or not so well) in your classroom to promote academic integrity.

• Disability Services Response to COVID-19: Survey Results by Dr. Christine Mecke and Patricia Gregg, Office of Student Disability Services

The Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) conducted a survey in April, 2021 to gauge how students with disabilities fared during the pandemic. This session will share the results of this survey and briefly discuss and compare two other national surveys that were carried out during this timeframe. We will provide an opportunity for faculty to respond to the survey and ask any questions they may have related to the Office of SDS.