Speaking Topics.

some popular topics that could be presented in either keynotes, virtual or interactive workshops for a variety of audiences.

Small Teaching Online: Practical Strategies to Increase Student Engagement and Learning

Whether you’re new or experienced online faculty you can make small but impactful adjustments that significantly boost student engagement and learning. In this talk, we’ll discuss brief learning activities, minor course design modifications, and simple changes to your interactions with online students based on the approach outlined in Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes (2019). Those teaching in blended and face-to-face formats also will gain Learning Management System strategies that enhance the in-class experience. Together, we’ll discover how rewarding online teaching and learning can be.

Answering the Call: New Motivation for Online Teaching Excellence

The flexibility of taking classes online enables students to pursue a college degree or credential to improve their lot in life. Yet myriad challenges can make it easy for students and faculty to lose faith, grow fatigued, give up. To reinvigorate our online teaching, we’ll consider the call to improve the undergraduate educational experience, identified as National Priority One in a report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Its authors remind us that education is at the heart of the American dream: “every person, from every background, can succeed inAmerica when given the proper training and preparation” (TheFuture of Undergraduate Education: The Future of America, 2017).Let’s explore ways of answering this call by reinvigorating our online teaching, motivated by the highest ideal: educating our citizenry toward a brighter future for all.

Toward Effective Assessments in Online Environments

Logistical considerations such as how to effectively proctor a remote exam only examine part of the experience: how do we know that we’re tracking and assessing the right metrics in an online class? What role do qualitative interactions and experiences take? What best practices exist or expert guidance exists on the topic? We’ll explore different methods for evaluating student learning and engagement, acknowledging that assessments may require modifications to suit specific needs and contexts.

Fostering Connections and Community in Online Classes

Online courses are often characterized by a feeling of disconnect for both students and faculty. And research from spring 2020 shows that students learning remotely felt very disconnected. Yet we know that feeling connected to the people in our classes can help students engage, persist and learn in any context. This talk offers practical strategies to strengthen students’ social and cognitive connections, which improve online teaching and learning experiences for all.

"Fabulous session! Great resources and easy to implement strategies! Several faculty that expressed their nervousness about teaching online attended this session and reached out to say they gained lots of practical strategies that they are going to adopt."

Emily C. Goodwin

Bridgewater College

Faculty and Student Wellbeing Online: Self-Care and Meaningful Engagement in Virtual Spaces

Does online teaching feel draining? Less than rewarding? Not like“real” teaching in person? Do you feel tired from spending too much time online? Connecting with our students can help us--and them--engage, persist, and succeed in any teaching and learning context. We’ll explore some of these challenges, consider self-care course design and teaching strategies that help all of the people in our classes (including ourselves!), and reinvigorate our online teaching with small, practical ideas to support both our and our students’ success. You'll leave with renewed energy and ideas to enliven your class interactions online.

Emotional Presence in Online Teaching for Increased Student Engagement, Persistence, and Success

Online classes have a reputation for being dry, boring, and unengaging. Both faculty and students struggle to create and participate in highly interactive online learning experiences,which in turn negatively impacts engagement and motivation to persevere for all involved. Emotion science offers a powerful tool to address this challenge. We’ll explore the literature on how emotion and cognition work together, consider five ways emotions enhance learning, and explore practical strategies for putting emotions to work in our online and remote teaching to enhance social connections and improve students’ motivation,focus, memory, and overall learning.

Facilitating Lively and Meaningful Virtual Discussions

When our questions are met with silence from students—whether in a classroom setting or video conference—we’re missing an opportunity to cultivate a deeper, richer learning experience.You’ll likely encounter the same introverts and extroverts in your courses; the medium, however, can serve as an unintended stumbling block for all. And while some principles do transferfrom in-person to online teaching, there are research-based strategies that specifically enable equitable participation and thoughtful interactions. Together, we’ll discover feasible approaches that encourage greater online engagement through lively student discourse—ideas which you can implement next week or next semester.

"You are wonderful as a facilitator, and your session was really enthusiastic and motivating.We hope this will help us to think differently about online teaching. The teaching staff along with management praised your effort and helpful gesture to spend this quality time with us."

Md. Ejaj-Ur-Rahaman

Institute Daffodil International University (Bangladesh)