Home 9 Commonwealth Connections: Instructor Days, Fall 2023

Commonwealth Connections: Instructor Days

On August 9th and 10th, join colleagues from the Penn State Commonwealth Campuses to energize for the upcoming semester.

The event will explore topics related to engaging and supporting students; assessment; diversity, equity, and inclusion; emerging technology trends; and more! Hear from your faculty colleagues as they share strategies and tools for success. Be sure to bring your questions and any stories of success you care to share.

When

Wednesday, August 9th
12:00PM – 4:00PM EST
Thursday, August 10th
9:00AM – 1:00PM EST
Commonwealth Connections Instructor Days save the date! August 9th and 10th.

Session Recordings & Resources

Student Engagement with Top Hat and Poll Everywhere

Student Engagement with Top Hat and Poll Everywhere

August 9, 2023 at 1:00 PM

In this session, faculty colleagues will discuss their use of 2 student response systems: Top Hat and Poll Everywhere. Dr. Yang will discuss her uses of Top Hat for class polling, student self-introductions, and group discussions. Dr. Taherian will discuss his use of Poll Everywhere for in-class quiz competitions in multiple courses to get students excited and engaged.

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Using Library Resources to Innovate Sustainable Assignments and for Citation Strategies

Using Library Resources to Innovate Sustainable Assignments and for Citation Strategies

August 9, 2023 at 1:00 PM

This session highlights the use of library resources! The first is an innovative and sustainable assignment using the ProQuest database, where students create a letter to the editor based on opinions found in a major newspaper column. This second will provide foundational citation information and related tips for works produced through artificial intelligence.

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Facilitating Difficult Questions Emphasized on Racial Equality, Social Justice, and Sexuality

Facilitating Difficult Questions Emphasized on Racial Equality, Social Justice, and Sexuality

August 9, 2023 at 2:00 PM

This session will incorporate the theme of discussing difficult but important questions based within undoing preconceived notions of race, social justice, and sexuality aspects. The faculty presenters will discuss assignments they use in their classes to take a deeper dive into conversations that many of our students experience every day.

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Teaching Shapes: What, Why, and How to Start One on Your Campus

Teaching Shapes: What, Why, and How to Start One on Your Campus

August 9, 2023 at 2:00 PM

Instructors are often isolated and left to meet the challenges of teaching alone. Teaching Shapes is a peer-to-peer, formative teaching observation program that encourages community building, idea sharing, and self-reflection. In this interactive session, the facilitators will share experiences from Penn State Scranton and Penn State Behrend, and provide you with a resource kit for establishing a Teaching Shapes program on your own campus.

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Exploring Best Practices for Assignment Creation and Effective Assessment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Exploring Best Practices for Assignment Creation and Effective Assessment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

August 10, 2023 at 9:00 AM

Join this session to explore how two instructors address assignment design in light of artificial intelligence. Learn how one instructor is meeting ChatGPT head-on using a collaborative assignment. Another instructor will explain the best practices that promote academic integrity and effective assessments regardless of whether artificial intelligence is available for student use or not.

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Active Learning Strategies

Active Learning Strategies

August 10, 2023 at 10:00 AM

There are many ways to engage students with active learning. Join us as Lori and Hannah describe activities that have proven to be quite effective at getting students involved and producing deeper learning as a result, and active learning also moves the accountability for learning more explicitly into the students’ hands.

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Meeting Students in a New Reality: Dealing with Accessibility, Engagement and Technology for Immersive Experiences in Virtual Reality Across the Curriculum

Meeting Students in a New Reality: Dealing with Accessibility, Engagement and Technology for Immersive Experiences in Virtual Reality Across the Curriculum

August 10, 2023 at 10:00 AM

Immersive experiences provide great platforms for learning but implementing them in courses can sometimes be difficult. Virtual Reality technologies can help alleviate some of those issues and provide students with the ability to travel around the world and interact with places and objects in ways we only dreamed of as students.

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Can We Share a Secret? Spotlighting Some Little-Known Tools Available at Penn State

Can We Share a Secret? Spotlighting Some Little-Known Tools Available at Penn State

August 10, 2023 at 11:00 AM

Join us to hear how we created WestLaw video tutorials using Kaltura Capture to record user-friendly guides, and Canva to design a research poster on peer support for Math word problems. Both Westlaw and Canva are little-known resources at Penn State that help student and faculty research.

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Promises and Dangers of the Unknown: Generative AI and the Classroom

Promises and Dangers of the Unknown: Generative AI and the Classroom

August 10, 2023 at 12:00 PM

In the spring of 2023, a group of Penn State faculty and researchers conducted a study on Penn State faculty and student perceptions of AI and generative technologies. In this session, the research team will discuss the summary of their findings. Using those results, they make several recommendations for instructors.

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Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Jen Wagner at jlw83@psu.edu at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.