Workshops and Events

Reviving Classroom Discussions with AI: Implementing Breakout Learning in ORG3310
Hanna Kalmanovich-Cohen (Management & Marketing)

Fostering meaningful discussions in online courses is challenging. To address this, I integrated Breakout Learning into my Introduction to HRM course, replacing traditional forums with AI-facilitated, team-based discussions. This approach enhances student engagement, deepens learning, and provides real-time AI-driven insights, fostering a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.
Using Breakout Learning, I developed structured weekly discussions aligned with course learning objectives. The platform’s AI evaluates student contributions and provides analytics on discussion quality, ensuring all voices are heard. Students engage in scenario-based conversations that mirror real-world decision-making, strengthening critical thinking. This method creates a space where all students can participate actively and develop their ideas in a supportive, inclusive setting.
This presentation will showcase how Breakout Learning transformed my course, demonstrating its impact on engagement and learning outcomes. Attendees will gain insights into leveraging AI-powered discussions to promote inclusive, meaningful dialogue in online and hybrid courses..

Starting College During COVID: Examining Whether Summer Bridge Programs Translate to a Remote Environment
VaNessa Thompson (Organizational Leadership)

This dissertation investigates the experiences and outcomes of students who participated in remote summer bridge programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years. The study aims to evaluate the impact of these programs on overall student persistence. Student persistence is the participants’ attributions, retention, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging. The remote summer bridge program cohorts will be compared by in-person cohorts in years previously and following. Utilizing a sequential mixed-methods approach, the research examines quantitative data on retention rates and GPAs, alongside qualitative insights into students’ personal growth, confidence, and sense of belonging. The findings reveal that remote summer bridge programs enhanced students’ preparedness for college-level work and fostered strong social connections and community despite negative attributions about the remote facilitation. Lastly, recommendations are provided for incorporating remote learning into future summer bridge programs and suggests longitudinal assessments to evaluate the long-term impact on student success.

Innovative Pathways to Inclusive Global Learning: Enhancing Accessibility and Intercultural Competence through COIL VE
Hana Moudallal (DIS/SBA)

Financial, logistical, and social barriers limit student access to global education. Collaborative Online International Learning Virtual Exchange (COIL VE) offers an inclusive and scalable solution by leveraging digital tools to connect students and faculty worldwide. COIL VE fosters intercultural competence, digital literacy, and collaboration, preparing students for success in a globalized workplace. COIL VE embeds virtual exchange within existing courses and offers a learning process where faculty members from various disciplines use online technology to facilitate sustained student collaboration to increase intercultural competence. It promotes peer-to-peer learning that is broadly accessible through low-tech, low-cost options, providing opportunities for profound cross-cultural learning. The COIL VE module is co-designed and co-taught by faculty from different countries and is supported by digital tools. 

Research evidence demonstrates the success of the COIL VE model in improving accessibility, increasing engagement, and strengthening global collaboration. While challenges such as technological disparities and time zone coordination exist, these can be mitigated through clear communication protocols and technical support. This session examines COIL VE’s integration into curricula to enhance engagement, accessibility, and equity in international education. Participants will explore synchronous and asynchronous collaboration models, institutional challenges, and student participation strategies.  COIL VE is a transformative high-impact teaching practice that advances equity and accessibility in global education and offers inclusive study-abroad alternatives. During times of crisis, it ensures continuity in global education through structured virtual collaborations. COIL VE is rooted in experiential learning that enhances cultural sensitivity, critical thinking, and teamwork.

Eradicating Racism through Community-University Partnerships
Danielle Ligocki, Greg Bartley (Teaching & Learning), Robert Martin, Chaunda Scott (Organizational Leadership)

The purpose of this short talk is to make clear the inclusive futures that are possible when campus-based antiracist professionals partner with community-based antiracist professionals. The Initiative for Eradicating Racism (IER) based in the SEHS joined forces with the Pontiac Collective Impact Partnership (PCIP) to further the community work of the PCIP that was focused on undoing racism. The PCIP’s programming was focused on antiracism education and community activism, which mapped onto the work of the IER, which was focused on eradicating racism. Together, the two organizations worked together to further dialogue in the Pontiac community, working toward engaging political leaders, community members, and school stakeholders to co-construct an action plan. This collaboration allowed for a feeling of fellowship, while also sharing knowledge and information which helps both groups move forward in their efforts. The three-part series of events included an in-person community forum in Pontiac, a virtual town hall, and an intergenerational luncheon and discussion held at Oakland University. 

No Textbook Required: Converting courses to no-cost course materials
Julia Rodriguez (OU Libraries)

The high prices of textbooks impact student success. The Student Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has released numerous reports documenting how textbook costs affect students, finding that 66.6% of students decide not to purchase a textbook because of cost despite knowing that not buying it will impact their grades. 

Converting a course to utilize no-cost materials or open educational resources (OER) has benefits beyond saving students money. (OER are defined as teaching, learning, and research resources in any medium released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others.) Research has shown a correlation between using OER  and lower DFW rates, greater credit accumulation, and same or better grade obtainment. OER has also been shown to be an important tool to support diversity, equity, and inclusion by reducing financial barriers and giving traditionally underserved students equal access to high-quality learning materials. 

Converting a course allows faculty to purposely incorporate more inclusive updated content, decolonize the knowledge, collaboratively build syllabi with students, and utilize innovative open pedagogical approaches.

This presentation will introduce attendees to different approaches to replacing a required textbook, provide guidance on locating OER and free content, and discuss utilizing AI tools to edit and create new materials. It will also share examples of collaborative, student-centered, active learning strategies and non-disposable assignments that increase student engagement. 

During the presentation, attendees will have a hands-on opportunity to interact with resources and tools. They are encouraged to bring a laptop and a sample course idea. 

From Static to Dynamic: Elevate Your Moodle Course with H5P
Nic Bongers (e-Learning and Instructional Support)

What can you do to make your Moodle course more interactive?

H5P's Interactive Content is an activity type in Moodle. While you can manually create content, OU IDs can collaborate with you to use a new Smart Import feature. Smart Import is a powerful tool designed to streamline the creation of interactive content using your existing content and advanced AI technology. OU's Instructional Design Team imports your existing content such as text documents, audio, video files, and URLs (e.g., YouTube, Wikipedia) to generate dynamic H5P activities like interactive videos, quizzes with feedback, crossword puzzles, interactive books, flash cards and more.

The Smart Import engine excels in processing declarative knowledge, making it ideal for educational materials that involve explicit facts, concepts, and principles. This feature significantly reduces the time and effort required to develop high-quality educational resources, making it a valuable asset for educators and content creators.

This session will showcase various H5P elements designed to enhance interaction with your current learning content. It will also cover teaching strategies and the creation timeline. These insights will inspire you to develop new interactive practice or graded materials, keeping your students engaged with your course content.

Reimagining Accreditation: Faculty-led Strategies for Moving Beyond Compliance
Virgina McMunn (SEHS)

Accreditation is often framed through a paradigm of quality assurance, accountability, and improving outcomes - disconnected from the best practices of teaching and learning rather than leveraged to support them. Yet, when intentionally designed, accreditation can be a powerful tool for faculty-driven change, shaping educational institutions that are inclusive, student-centered, and research-aligned.

This workshop challenges the burdens and tensions of accreditation, introducing a theory-to-practice framework that aligns accreditation with faculty teaching values, disciplinary priorities, and scholarship. Using real-world exemplars from two universities, we will explore strategies for embedding accreditation with meaningful continuous improvement, strategic planning, and institutional learning work. 

Participants will engage with four structured shifts that reposition accreditation from compliance to a meaningful, faculty-led process. Attendees will leave with practical tools and concrete next steps to integrate accreditation into their departments and units in ways that foster collaboration, cohesion, and student success. 

Learning Outcomes: By the end of this workshop, participants will:
- Reframe accreditation as an opportunity for faculty agency rather than compliance.
- Use a theory-driven lens to explore four actionable shifts in their accreditation practices.
- Explore real-world exemplars that integrate accreditation with strategic planning, continuous improvement, and transformative change. 
- Develop a personalized plan for embedding accreditation work into their teaching, research, and strategic initiatives.

Creating a Community of Learners through Reading
Greg Allar (Political Science)

Reading is an integral part of our courses.  For many students, however, comprehending a complex text is a challenge.  Research shows that learning retention increases the more one is actively engaging and interacting with texts.  When students annotate in physical textbooks, on digital articles, or take notes, they can move from passive consumption to active engagement.  Annotating directly on a text creates what scholars call an “anchored context for conversation”. (Tate, T. & Warschauer, M. 2022) In other words, the discussion is literally anchored in the source material.  
This presentation highlights two interconnected strategies, namely, employing the annotation software Hypothes.is, coupled with instructor feedback to evoke a deeper understanding of assigned readings.  
Students interpret learning in finite terms i.e., grades. Our assessments, however, may not provide the student with the opportunity to demonstrate what each has learned, or better, what each needs to do to improve their understanding of course materials.  Pivoting away from grades to individual feedback allows students to focus on the task, and not the assessment.  

References:
- Adams. B. & Wilson, N.S. (2020). Building community in asynchronous online higher education courses through collaborative annotation. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49(2).
- Brown, M. & Croft, B. (2020). Social Annotation and an Inclusive Praxis for Open Pedagogy in the College Classroom.  Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2020(1), 8. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/jime.561
- d’Entremont, A.G.& Eyking, (2021). Student and Instructor Experience Using Collaborative Annotation via Perusall in Upper Year and Graduate Courses. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACEG) Conference.55(3), 1367-1382.

Data Talks: Evidence That Current Online Assessments Lack Integrity
Charlene Hayden (Chemistry)

Many instructors teaching high enrollment in-person courses choose to incorporate online quizzes as part of their course assessment both to reduce the grading workload and save precious class time for more essential tasks.  In the past, strategic use of software settings (e.g., one-way navigation, choosing questions from a pool, scrambled order of questions and answers, etc.) was sufficient for maintaining reasonable academic integrity without the need for expensive proctoring.  Recent data from high enrollment sections of General Chemistry II (2 sections with 120 students each) suggest that these methods are no longer sufficient.  The current data shows there is essentially no correlation between online quiz scores and in-person exam scores.  Averages for online quizzes have increased 15-20% over previous years for similar (not identical) assessments.  The most likely causes are: 1) increasingly easier access to AI tools, 2) the prevalence of solved problems available on websites such as Chegg, and 3) the ability for students to collaborate via group messaging apps.  The implication is that online assessments either need to be improved, eliminated, or given less weight in final course grade calculations than in the past.

Transparent Teaching in Three Simple Steps
Molly Gustafson (Management, SBA)

Have you experienced students missing the prompt for an essay, trailing off during a presentation, or viewing assignments as a series of unconnected ideas? One approach that can make a big difference in students' success is to make the teaching process explicit through three simple words: task, purpose, and criteria. Teaching students "how to learn" is a life-long skill worth developing. A more transparent approach to teaching helps ensure equity in educational quality, motivates students, and helps students connect the dots and succeed.
After five years of using this technique, I've seen its benefits for both students and faculty across a variety of course formats.

2024 Teaching and Learning Symposium

Cultivating Inclusion Through Connectivity

The 2024 symposium brought together teaching and research faculty, graduate students, and staff to explore strategies for fostering student connections with their community, classroom, and campus. The event featured engaging keynote presentations, insightful faculty talks, and discussions on inclusive and innovative teaching practices.

Keynote Highlights:

• Dr. Julie Dangremond Stanton: Shared research on metacognitive development and the academic experiences of underrepresented students in STEM.
• Birook Mekonnen: Discussed his work as a health services officer and contributions to public health emergency preparedness.

Faculty Presentations:

• How to Train Your Algorithm: Responsible AI in the Classroom — Dr. Bridget Kies
• Promoting College Readiness in Low-SES Learners — Dr. Kyeorda Kemp
• Interviews as a Learning Activity — Dr. Helena Riha
• Campus Farms: Teaching STEM Through Food and Farming — Dr. Fay Hansen

For recordings, session slides, and additional resources, view the Symposium Handout.

2023 Teaching and Learning Symposium

Friday, May 5, 2023

Over 70 people joined us throughout the day to reflect on teaching, learn about the engaging teaching work happening on our campus, and evaluating our assessment and grading practices. If you missed part or all of the day, or would like to revisit a talk or activity, look through our symposium handout, which includes links to a YouTube playlist of the day’s events plus resource documents and slides associated with each event.