5th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference

Conference Theme | Small Changes, Big Impact

April 8, 2022, 12:30pm, via Zoom

This year’s theme focuses on small changes that have had a big impact on your teaching and learning process. We’re asking you to reflect on teaching experiences to date.

  • What small change have you made in your own class or environment that has had a big impact on you and/or your students? How do you know?
  • Alternatively, what have you observed in another class or environment that prompted you to make a change in your own practice? What was the impact on your or your students? How do you know?

Using Inclusive Language with International Students, Dr. Lisa Springer, Provost

"Hit it out of the park", "Make a long story short", "Lend an ear"

These phrases are common American idioms and many of us use them in everyday conversations with our students. But how do our international students make sense of these phrases? In this session, Dr. Springer will share examples and provide strategies on using inclusive language to communicate with our students in a way that is respectful and brings everyone into the conversation.

Connections over Content: Small Sacrifices in Virtual and Pandemic Teaching, Dr. Alex Symons, Assistant Professor, Arts & Sciences

This presentation suggests that it can be beneficial to periodically focus on getting to know students, and striving for depth of engagement, sacrificing some quantity of content covered in a class. These techniques can include reviewing students' previous work and asking them to reflect, collecting opinions from all students in the room, and probing questions which encourage better understanding of student lived experiences and perspectives.

Opening Class time to Discourse, Agassi Nakhapetien, BA, Adjunct Professor, Fashion Merchandising and Marketing

Anxiety is evident in the age group we teach. In this presentation, we will discuss the benefits of dedicating a few minutes of each class session to conversations that touch on politics, social inequities, populism, cultural stigmas which seems to help students reduce some anxiety. Fashion is often called a reflection of culture, but it is also a mechanism for escapism. Students are eager to share, not only to express their points of view, but also to find resonance and reach for root causes. This results in better comradeship, engagement, and a more positive environment. While it is important to break up class sessions into video, oral and classwork periods, it is equally important to step away from curriculum for a few minutes.

Supporting Learning Amidst Student Basic Needs Insecurity, Erica Monnin, MS, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

It is hard to learn when you are hungry, slept on a friend's couch the night before, or miss classes to pick up extra shifts at work. Nationally, higher education faculty and and staff are working to support students' success in college while students navigate basic needs insecurity. In this conversational session, we will discuss how these issues impact our students at LIM College and how faculty and staff can support students' academic success and wellbeing when students are navigating securing their day-to-day basic needs.

Fostering Community and Promoting Student Engagement Using the Features of Canvas, Erin McKinstry, Ed.D. Adjunct Professor, Fashion Merchandising and Marketing and Graduate Studies

Teaching with Canvas can be challenging and impersonal. The presentation will provide tips to promote students' participation and will focus on fostering community within Canvas using some key Canvas tools.