Making Data Science the New Normal (Hayes Hall 109)

Chris Orban, The Ohio State University Marion

Kelsey Badger, The Ohio State University Libraries

Although there is significant demand for data science jobs, students heading into every occupation will need some foundation in visualizing and analyzing data to succeed in a data driven workforce, whether it is in fields like healthcare or business or engineering. Data science skills are increasingly being integrated into subject matter courses and in general education requirements. In this session we will highlight examples where data science and spreadsheet skills are being integrated into introductory level courses serving students heading towards health and engineering careers. These activities are connected to the STEMcoding project (http://YouTube.com/STEMcoding) which began in 2017.

Making Videos Interactive to Better Support Learning Outside of Class (Tomsich Hall 101)

Kathleen Koenig, Alexandru Maries,  University of Cincinnatti

Robert Teese, Rochester Institute of Technology

The use of videos to support student learning has become more common, particularly post-COVID. Instructional videos can play an important role for supporting students who miss class, are less prepared academically, or to supplement flipped or online courses. Unfortunately, videos often involve passive learning. This workshop will showcase the use of freely available software, Vignette Studio II, for creating interactive video-enhanced tutorials (IVETs). IVETs by design include videos interspersed with branching multiple-choice questions to better engage students. IVETs may also include feedback and hints for both incorrect and correct student responses, offering more personalized instruction. Participants will learn the nuts and bolts for creating their own IVETs as well as how to implement them using weblinks or LMS SCORM packages. See compadre.org/ivet for access to the software, 30+ IVETs we developed for promoting problem-solving in introductory physics courses, and research outcomes for use of IVETs over video alone. Supported in part by NSF DUE-1821391 and DUE-1821396.

Writing Prompts for Classroom Creativity (Samuel Mather Hall 201)

Chris Gillen, Drew Kerkhoff

Kenyon College

Writing in response to prompts encourages students to engage actively with course content, to approach it from their own perspective, and to connect it to their personal interests.  Moreover, writing during class may become particularly valuable as AI writing tools become more prevalent. In this hands-on workshop, we will examine how writing in the science classroom can foster creativity, deepen learning, improve communication, and promote inclusion.

Members of Kenyon College’s Science and Nature Writing initiative will share writing prompts and associated classroom strategies that can be adapted to a variety of disciplines and learning settings. These writing activities require only small chunks of class time, so can be put into practice without major course redesign.

The workshop will provide opportunities for participants to explore how writing prompts might work in their classrooms.  We will practice writing in response to sample prompts; we will develop new prompts for use in our own teaching and mentoring; and we will exchange ideas and feedback with each other.

Developing Critical Thinking and Communication Skills (Samuel Mather Hall 215)

Edwin Meyer

Baldwin Wallace University

The two most desirable skills for which employers are looking are teamwork/communication and problem solving/critical thinking.  Two courses have been developed at Baldwin Wallace University (the first for-credit Problem Solving courses offered at any university).  The course have virtually no content.  The students work in groups on NEW, CHALLENGING problems; problems that require mental strength and mental stamina.  In this presentation I will present many challenges from this class and cover solutions to the pitfalls associated with teaching it.