Spring 2023 Faculty Academy Sessions

Spring 2023 Faculty Academy Archived Sessions

9/13/22

Navigating Positive & Accountable Classroom Practices

Yvonne Montoya, Ph.D., Associate Professor Communication & Information Design 

Christine Rochester, Ed.D., Professor of Human Movement

Karen Yescavage, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology

Higher education is leading the way for creating positive learning environments where students are engaged, have personal goals and reflect in healthy and safe ways. Higher education faculty and preK-12 educators are being asked to dig deeper than ever to recognize stereotyping and grading policies that can harm students and turn them off to their own learning.  This session focuses on three core issues that educators will explore 1) Who benefits or is penalized when behaviors are assessed?, 2) What are the pros/cons of grading vs content proficiency and 3) How do we validate marginalized students without stereotyping?  Faculty discuss current trends and create new knowledge around these areas. Based on research and best practices.  

View Session Participant's Posters

Dive Deeper

• Validation Theory (Enrollment Management Journal Special Issue): Validation Theory Rendon_EMJ-Issue.pdf 

• Strengths-Based Approaches: 

  • Promoting a Strengths Approach

  • Promoting student engagement by cultivating curiosity.pdf 

• Alternative Grading:

  • Self graded homework Some empirical tests of efficacy 

  • Grading for Growth_ Using Sliding Scale Rubrics to Motivate Struggling Learners.pdf

References

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., & Lovett, M. C. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Staats, C. (2016). Understanding implicit bias: What educators should know. American Educator, 39(4) 29-33.

Steele, C. M. (1998). Stereotyping and its threat are real. American Psychologist, 53(6), 680–681. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.53.6.680 

Tomlinson, C. A. (2015). Being human in the classroom. Educational Leadership, 73(2), 74-77.

https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/being-human-in-the-classroom

Quinlan, D., Vella-Brodrick, D.A., Gray, A. et al. (2019). Teachers matter: Student outcomes following a strengths intervention are mediated by teacher strengths spotting. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20, 2507–2523. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0051-7 

10/6/22
Alternative Grading Practices

Carla Zimmerman, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Rachel Zimmerman, Assistant Professor of Art History 

In this faculty academy session, we will discuss alternative grading practices - what they are, how they work, and personal experiences with three types of alternative grading - specifications grading, completion-based grading, and self-assessed grading. Alternative grading practices can encourage student motivation, learning, and reduce stress for students and faculty. They can also foster equitable learning environments. We will provide resources for learning more about each practice and examples of how to incorporate each into a course.

Read More: Overview of Grading Practices, Research, and Resources

10/6/22
Alternative Grading Practices

Do the “Write” Thing: Probing Through Plagiarism

Michael Briscoe, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Criminology, and AnthropologyRufina E. Butler, Lecturer, Communication, Writing & Rhetoric

Our presentation addresses the issue of plagiarism. We review what plagiarism is and how we respond to it with several scenarios. Then we discuss its prevalence and why it is happening. Finally, we discuss ways to reduce plagiarism, both intended and not.

The key learning objectives of our presentation are:

• Gain deeper understanding of student motivations for and frequency of plagiarism.

• Develop an actionable plan to reduce plagiarism and student strain/stress.

• Help students identify differences between their own original writing and ideas versus the use of others.

12/1/22
Motivational Syllabus & Free Quiz Apps

Join us to prepare for the next semester’s classes. We will compare Nearpod, Class for Zoom, and Zoom polling as options for engaging students via in-class quizzes. Also, we will learn about how to use the syllabus as a motivational tool to engage students and promote a growth mindset. Your syllabus language, content, and length can reflect your diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. 

 Sesison Objectives:

• Develop a draft of a motivational course description, instructor information, and assignment rationale.

• Determine where the syllabus and student motivation converge by including useful suggestions and insights from research studies on the tone, language, substance, and length of the syllabus.

• Compare three different online quizzing platforms in terms of the relative time commitment, ease of administering, ease of recording, and effectiveness of providing feedback to the instructor and students.

Resources

Christine Harrington, Ph. Slideshow Motivational Syllabus: https://www.wpunj.edu/provost/Motivational%20Syllabus%20January%202021%20William%20Paterson%202%20hour%20webinar.pdf

Syllabus Tone, More Than Mental Health Statements, Influence Intentions to Seek Help: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/0098628321994632 

Students’ Perceptions of Course Syllabi: The Role of Syllabi in Students’ Perceptions of Course Syllabi: The Role of Syllabi in Motivating StudentsMotivating Students: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1908&context=ij-sotl

Example of an online motivational syllabus: https://view.genial.ly/5f4184782865a00d5a7c922e/vertical-infographic-idh-1931-syllabus 

Nearpod polls: https://nearpod.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360049150732-How-to-use-a-Poll-activity-in-a-Nearpod-lesson

Zoom polls: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/213756303-Polling-for-meetings 

Class for Zoom: https://www.class.com/