Welcome & Opening Panel Discussion – Instructor Days, Fall 2023

Join us for the plenary session in which 2 of the recipients will discuss their use of effective, active, and engaging pedagogy, their passion for teaching and students’ learning, and their approaches to teaching and learning activities.

Inclusive Teaching Meets Students Where They Are

In this session, we explore strategies that foster greater inclusion and belonging for students while enhancing learning through effective approaches to feedback.

Student Engagement with Top Hat and Poll Everywhere

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.

Using Library Resources to Innovate Sustainable Assignments and for Citation Strategies

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.

Strategies for Incorporating Immersive Technologies

Using virtual reality (VR) in the classroom can be engaging and effective for student learning, and the preparation can be easier than expected! Join Stefani and Joie to learn about their experiences using VR in their classes and hear about the results they’ve seen with their students.

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

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.

Transforming and Innovating with Open Pedagogy

This session will approach open pedagogy through projects or assignments which have the characteristics of engaging with students as creators of information rather than simply consumers of it, and inviting […]

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

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.

Leveraging Peer Support for Learning

Effective facilitation in education requires a focus on student engagement and finding diverse ways to enhance learning experiences. One such approach is leveraging peer support, where students collaborate on assignments and engage their peers.