Teaching Symposium

Dr. Claire Howell Major’s keynote, The New Terms of Student Engagement: Why It Feels So Hard (and What Can Actually Help), explored the shifting landscape of student engagement and the pressures instructors are experiencing in today’s learning environment. She examined the forces reshaping attention, motivation, and participation, and introduced a reframed model of engagement that highlights effort justification and cognitive investment. Her talk offered practical, research‑informed strategies to help faculty support meaningful engagement while maintaining their own well‑being. (Watch YouTube recording).

Dr. Major is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Higher Education at the University of Alabama and Faculty Director of the UA Teaching Academy. Her scholarship focuses on instructional approaches and instructional technology, and she has authored eleven books and more than 40 journal articles. She has shared her work widely through national and international presentations and workshops, and she co‑founded the Cross Academy. Her career reflects a sustained commitment to teaching excellence and innovation in higher education.

AI in the Classroom: Empowering Student Vision without Losing the Human Touch

Generative AI acts as a "creative equalizer" in film education by removing technical and budgetary barriers to imaginative exploration. Students use these tools to prioritize directorial intent and storytelling depth while preserving their unique artistic voices.
Daewon Kim, Assistant Professor of Film Studies and Production (Department of English, Creative Writing, and Film)

AI in a Creative Classroom: Student and Audience Responses and Reflections

A case study of an undergraduate opera production demonstrates how AI tools can serve as ideation partners and rehearsal organizers under faculty mediation. The design emphasizes artistic discernment and clear authorship boundaries between human creators and technology to foster metacognitive awareness.
Drake Dantzler, Professor of Voice (School of Music, Theatre and Dance)

Bridging the Knowledge Gap: Using AI as a Cognitive Scaffold to Foster Deep Learning and Belonging in Cybersecurity

Generative AI serves as a cognitive scaffold to reduce inquiry fatigue and technical jargon overload in introductory technical courses. By separating AI-assisted research from core analytical reasoning, this model fosters a measurable boost in student belonging and objective mastery.
Amartya Sen, Associate Professor (Computer Science & Engineering)

Fashioning Critical Dispositions around Gen AI in the Digital Writing Classroom

Generative AI is positioned as an object of rhetorical and ethical inquiry rather than just a productivity tool. Students use analytic frames like power and justice to develop individualized techno-ethical frameworks and intervene in communication inequities.
Nick Sanders, Assistant Professor of Writing (Department of Writing and Rhetoric)

From Recall to Real Cases: AI-Integrated Exams that Produce Professionally Relevant Deliverables

Traditional exams are redesigned as AI-enabled, case-based evaluations where students use AI as an analytical partner. This model emphasizes the application of course concepts and critical evaluation of AI output through competency-based rubrics.
Douglas Carr, Professor and MPA Director (Political Science)

Learning with an AI Duck

The "protégé effect" allows students to learn by explaining concepts to an AI configured with a specific persona. Tools like Gemini and NotebookLM are used to limit AI knowledge, increasing its pedagogical value as an "explainee" or duck.
Kieran Mathieson, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems (Decision and Information Sciences)

Leading Cross-Border Innovation in Business Education: Implementing COIL between Legal Environment of Business and Consumer Behavior

Virtual collaboration between US and Mexico business students facilitates shared case analysis on ethical decision-making. This model provides global learning access to students who face financial or logistical barriers to traditional study abroad.
Jennifer Cordon Thor - Professor of Management, Legal and Ethical Studies (Management and Marketing), & Agarzelim Alvarez-Milán - Professor of Marketing (Management and Marketing)

Building Accountability and Belonging through Weekly Study Logs and Collaborative Quizzes

Weekly study logs and collaborative quizzes improve student accountability and engagement in introductory statistics. These practices shift the focus from performance to a shared learning process where students take ownership of their habits and learn from each other.
Ervisa Zhamo - Special Lecturer (Department of Mathematics and Statistics)

Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy in Action: Experiential Strategies for Inclusive Higher Education

An anti-oppressive, case-based teaching framework centers student strengths and identities to cultivate psychologically safe learning environments. Strategies include educator self-reflection on privilege and decentering dominant narratives through diverse and intersectional perspectives.
LaShauna Dean, Associate Professor in Counseling (University of the Cumberlands)

Self-Directed Mentorship: A Framework for Building Connected, Equitable, and Engaged Growth

This mentee-centered framework empowers individuals to diagnose their own needs and build personalized mentorship portfolios. By utilizing diverse resources across sectors and digital platforms, this model democratizes access to guidance and creates scalable growth pathways.
Changiz Mohiyeddini - Professor and Course Director (Department of Foundational Medical Studies)

Utilizing Debriefing Techniques for Teaching and Learning across Disciplines

Debriefing is a structured, bidirectional, self-reflective process designed to identify knowledge gaps and bridge theory with practice. Effective facilitators use these techniques across any discipline to optimize student growth through psychologically safe dialogue.
Lisa Daily - Simulation Nurse Educator (College of Nursing, Michigan State University) & Ashley Frost - Academic Specialist (The Learning and Assessment Center Simulation Lab, Michigan State University)

Moving Beyond "Welcoming": Cultivating Belonging through Inclusive Curriculum Design

A strategic course redesign shifts the environment from passive welcoming to active inclusivity through an audit of texts and example work. Faculty assume responsibility for inclusion by curating diverse perspectives that foster a genuine sense of student belonging and persistence.
Sheryl Ruszkiewicz, Special Lecturer (Department of Writing and Rhetoric)

Humanizing Practices to Support Identity Work in the Classroom

Humanizing practices support undergraduate students performing deep identity work and unlearning biases. Communal, reflective, and critical tasks lay the groundwork for a safe learning community conducive to personal growth before students enter their own future classrooms.
Danielle Ligocki - Associate Professor/Chair (Department of Teaching and Learning)

Belonging Through Annotation: Building Community and Critical Thinking in Online Courses

Social annotation via Perusall transforms reading from an isolated task into a collaborative, dialogic experience in asynchronous courses. This approach leverages student curiosity and digital fluency to strengthen peer connection and surface misconceptions early.
Megan Widman, Special Instructor (Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice )

The Connected Classroom: A Framework for Building Belonging in Asynchronous Environments

Practical strategies like "Traffic Light" check-ins and "Micro-Communities" foster engagement in asynchronous online environments. These interventions transform an LMS into a psychologically safe space through a structured communication calendar and peer collaboration.
Hanna Kalmanovich-Cohen, Assistant Professor (Management)

From Awareness to Action: Building Resilient Learners through Trauma-sensitive/Resilience-Informed Practices

NEAR Science and trauma-sensitive strategies build a "culture of safety" that moves students out of survival mode and into learning. The framework also addresses secondary traumatic stress by helping educators develop personalized self-care plans.
Tomoko Wakabayashi - Professor and Chair (Human Development and Child Studies), Canequia Moulder - Graduate Student, Shawna Boomgaard - full-time faculty (Social Work, Oakland Community College)

The Case for Embedded Peer Mentors: Lessons and Reflections from the Embedded Writing Mentors in First-Year Writing Course

Undergraduate peer mentors in first-year writing build student confidence and belonging through relational practices. The program centers student-as-partner models to impact self-efficacy through trust, care, and navigational support.
Nick Sanders, Megan McCool - Assistant Professor (Writing and Rhetoric), Charlie Dawson -  undergraduate student (English and Writing), Maria Mariotti, Shannon O’Connor - Embedded Writing Specialist , Dhara Bhakta

Analyzing AI-Generated Content: A Critical Thinking Framework for Evaluating Artificial Intelligence

A scaffolded critical thinking framework modeled on Lynch and Wolcott’s steps helps students progress in AI digital literacy. It focuses on the student perspective to move beyond simple cheating concerns and toward ethical, metacognitive evaluation.
Andrew Moser -  Educational Development Specialist & Adjunct Instructor (Office of Teaching & Learning at Wayne State University), Christopher Susak

Designing for Digital Accessibility: From Remediation to Culture Change

Moving beyond reactive file remediation, this model explores how to embed accessibility into everyday workflows as a proactive culture shift. Participants learn to leverage tools like YuJa Panorama to make accessible design the default for all new content.
Nic Bongers - Director of Instructional Design (e-LIS)

Taking the Class out of the Classroom with Place-Based Education

Place-based education serves as a tool to improve student outcomes while strengthening the connection between students and the physical campus.
Tom Baranski, Christina Moore

From Probation to Connection: Building a Bridge for At-Risk First-Year Students

A proactive academic coaching program called GrizzFIRE provides high-impact intervention for first-year students on academic probation. By utilizing a cross-campus coalition of coaches, the initiative equips students with growth mindset and time management tools to increase retention.
Jessica Harrell - Director of the Academic Success Center (OU), Amy Gould - Student Success Program Manager (Academic Affairs)

Rekindling Purpose: The BIO Journey as a Pathway to Belonging and Growth

A cross-functional partnership between Biology and Career Services embeds career exploration directly into the academic discipline.
Kelly Dorner - Director of the Central Career and Life Design Center, Gerard Madlambayan - Professor and Chair (Biological Sciences), Denise McConkey

Concept Integration Framework for Co-Teaching Different Disciplines

The SHIFT framework increases the ease and efficiency of horizontally integrating topics across different disciplines.
Akshata Naik - Assistant Professor (OUWB), Jane Newman - Assistant Professor (Foundational Medical Studies, OUWB)