Innovations in Teaching & Learning Conference Proceedings

SHOWCASE: Transparency in Your Course and Assignments: Making the “Hidden Curriculum” Visible (90 mins)

Colleen Sweet — 2021-09-02

Building transparency into course assignment design not only helps set students up for success, but can also make our courses more inclusive and make higher education more equitable to our students. This session will introduce the benefits and techniques for building more transparency into course assignments, as well as highlighting examples and experiences from Mason instructors. Participants will have the opportunity to begin working on creating a new assignment or revising a course assignment for their own teaching.

Conveners: Colleen Sweet, Monisha Tripathy

Panelist Speakers:

Carla Burns (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Janet Ha Poirot (College of Humanities and Social Sciences—School of Integrative Studies)

Ariel Goldenthal (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Debra Stroiney (College of Education and Human Development)

WORKSHOP: Supporting Active Learning in Gateway Courses through Multigenerational Teams (90 mins)

Jessica Rosenberg — 2021-09-02

Studies across the STEM disciplines have shown that active learning improves student engagement, retention, and understanding, with the largest impact on women and previously low-achieving students. Embedding active learning into large enrollment gateway has the potential to improve outcomes for thousands of students every year, but effecting large-scale change across multiple instructors, sections, and courses is challenging. As part of an NSF-funded project, we are building and supporting multi-generational teams consisting of faculty, graduate teaching assistants, and undergraduate learning assistants to help make active learning a more integral part of the classroom experience in gateway courses. The goal of this session is to share different models we have used to build and support these teams and open a discussion about how other units might create and support teams to bring active learning to more Mason classr

SHOWCASE: Incorporating Mindfulness and Well-Being Into Your Courses (90 mins)

Bweikia Steen — 2021-09-02

Creating space for well-being and mindfulness activities in learning environments have been shown to enhance student success. In the first part of this session, a group of panelist speakers will engage in a facilitated discussion exploring what we mean by mindfulness and well-being, as well as the role of mindfulness and well-being in promoting self-care and learning. In the second part of the session, a second group of panelist speakers will briefly describe the specific activities and strategies they use in their teaching. This session will also engage participants in mindfulness practices throughout the session. Participants will leave with simple, concrete ways to engage their students in mindfulness activities in their courses and ways to frame the value of these exercises when presenting to students.

Conveners: Bweikia Steen, Darlene Smucny

Panelist Speakers:

Supriya Baily (College of Education and Human Development)

Jackie Brown (School of Business)

Lauren Cattaneo (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

David Powers Corwin (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Kimberly Daly (College of Education and Human Development)

Al Fuertes (CHSS-School of Integrative Studies)

Jennifer Lewis (College of Science)

Sophia Marshall (School of Business)

Alison Melley (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Katherine Miscavige (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Christy Pichichero (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Elizabeth Schierbeek (College of Science)

Shannyn Snyder (College of Health and Human Services)

Nick Tatum (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

SHOWCASE: Teaching Sensitive Topics and Managing Politically Charged Class Conversations (90 mins)

Helen McManus — 2021-09-02

As political polarization looms large, how might instructors make their classrooms welcoming (virtual) spaces where students can explore their ideas on controversial questions, and participate in politically charged conversations that contribute to their learning experience here at Mason? This showcase session takes its title from and builds on Yasemin Ipek’s presentation from ITL 2020, bringing additional faculty and graduate student voices to the (virtual) table. Our five presenters will share strategies they use to prepare themselves and their students for classroom conversations about sensitive topics. Participants in this session will be invited to reflect on the place, possibility, or desirability of neutrality in the classroom; list steps they can take early in the semester to cultivate an inclusive classroom environment for all students; discuss approaches to facilitating productive discussions about sensitive topics; and identify strategies for navigating hot moments during classroom conversations.

Conveners: Helen McManus, Tom Polk

Panelist Speakers:

Kimberley Daly, Coordinator, Project E-Ignite & Adjunct Professor, Teaching Culturally Linguistically & Exceptional Learners Program/APTDIE

Aayushi Hingle, Graduate Teaching Associate, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Communication

Yasemin Ipek, Assistant Professor, Global Affairs

Patricia Maulden, Associate Professor, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Christy Pichichero, Associate Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Modern and Classical Languages, French Section

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Asynchronous Online Peer Assessment: Advantages and Limitations (90 min)

Larisa Olesova — 2021-09-02

Peer assessment is an effective way to help students learn and save instructor time spent grading written work. Two instructors will share their experience of how they designed, implemented, and facilitated the self-regulated learning by using the tool called Self and Peer Assessment in Blackboard.

SHOWCASE: Managing Group Work Activities and Collaborative Student Projects

Laura Poms — 2021-09-02

Instructors often hear a collective student groan when they announce that a course includes a group project. Students flashback to group projects that went awry and ended in poor grades and extra work for the conscientious among the group. Nevertheless, teamwork skills are in high demand among employers and is often a skill set noted as lacking in today’s graduating students. This session focuses on how instructors can better facilitate group interactions and increase student accountability and engagement in group activities and collaborative projects by focusing on the process as well as the outcome. Speakers will present lightning talks on their solutions to these challenges. The panel will discuss the pros and cons of each solution and will share their observations on the evolution of the method in their classes. Participants are invited to discuss their challenges and consider how the solutions presented might apply to their course. By the end of this session, participants will be able to easily apply a new method of managing group activities and collaborative projects, across any modality – face-to-face, hybrid or on-line.

Conveners: Laura Wheeler Poms, Ala Showers

List of speakers:
• Steven Harris-Scott, PhD, INTO Mason and Department of History and Art History, College of Humanities and Social Science, “Scaffolding group assignments to focus on group dynamics in a fully-online course”
• Sophia Marshall, MHR. Business Foundations, School of Business, “How to use accountability methods to make teamwork more meaningful”
• Jihye Moon, PhD, Modern and Classical Languages, College of Humanities and Social Science, “Adapting collaborative projects for different course modalities”
• Jill Nelson, PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Volgenau School of Engineering, “Short Collaborative Activities as Formative Assessments”
• Laura Wheeler Poms, PhD, Global and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, “Using peer and self-evaluation to improve accountability and performance”
• Shannyn Snyder, MAIS, Global and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, “Using low stakes collaborative assignments as building blocks for higher stakes projects”
• Shvetha Soundararajan, PhD, Computer Science, Volgenau School of Engineering “Using ‘sprints’ to improve student accountability and project management”
• Elaine Viccora, MSW, Business Foundations, School of Business, “Building connections to foster teamwork and collaboration”
• Patrice Winter, DPT, Global and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, “Using individual assignments to facilitate group assignments”

SHOWCASE: Strategies for Non-Exam Assessments, Grading, and Providing Feedback (90 mins)

Cathy Ross — 2021-09-02

Assessment is an important part of the learning process. Grading and giving feedback can be time intensive activities, which have historically resulted in the overuse or misuse of multiple-choice style exams. The goals of this session are to present, discuss, and model the essential components of non-exam assessments, grading and feedback.

Part 1-Participant Prior Knowledge

The first part of the session will begin by asking participants why they think non-exam assessments and feedback are important in teaching. Then they will be asked to write on a whiteboard examples of non-exam assessments and feedback they have given in the past and what makes these assessments and feedback effective.

Part 2-Case Studies and Small Group Discussion

The goal of the second part of the session is to give participants the opportunity to put these ideas into practice. They will do this by examining some samples of course material that presenters have taught and coming up with appropriate ways to assess students’ understanding of the material. Participants will examine samples of assignments with or without rubrics and discuss the most effective and fairest ways to grade such assignments. Participants will also examine samples of students’ assignments and practice giving feedback on these assignments. The second part of the session will be conducted mainly in breakout groups of 4-5 participants led by one of the speakers who will record key take-aways on a shared document for their group.

Part 3-Whole Group Discussion

We will wrap up by asking speakers to share highlights from the small group discussions and ask participants to share any additional key take-aways that they learned about strategies for non-assessment exams, grading and feedback via a virtual whiteboard or in the chat.

Conveners: Cathy Ross, Laura Todd

Panelist Speakers:

Melissa Brockelman-Post (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Lydia Figueroa (Norfolk State University and Mason Partner)

Timothy Leslie (College of Science)

Patricia Maulden (Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution)

Debra Stroiney (College of Education and Human Development)

Patrice Winter (College of Health and Human Services)

Steven Zhou (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

SHOWCASE: Online Class Meetings: Activities and Strategies to Engage Students (90 mins)

Nathan Kathir — 2021-09-02

The purpose of this session is to make the attendees have increased confidence in teaching classes online and listen from experts that it can be fun, educational and engaging as well. Motivation for the talk is what happened to all of us in March 2020. Although select course have been delivered remotely before the arrival of pandemic in March 2020, all of us were required to teach online with a very short notice starting after the spring break in 2020. For many of us, this was the first time teaching remotely and had to learn the technical means of how to deliver the courses successfully and at the same time, to engage the students to stay attentive. Attendees in this session will hear from those who have had experience and mastered the online delivery of courses. The speakers will share lessons learned and activities designed to engage students to stay attracted to virtual classes.

SHOWCASE: Pandemic Pedagogy: Lessons Learned and New Models (90 mins)

Jacqueline Serigos — 2021-09-02

The global pandemic brought rapid change to most classes taught at George Mason. Moving to an online platform brought many challenges and offered new insights for many educators. In this session, we will hear from ten faculty members about the insights they gained and changes they made to their teaching, including the specific tools and resources they make use of to transform their teaching, such as the Zoom white board for peer-review and interactive activities, the Padlet tool to create reciprocity circles, and group discussion forums for timed-essay assignments. This session will give you time to reflect on your own teaching, engage in interactive activities, learn for short talks and ask questions during the Q&A portions.

Conveners: Alison Melley, Megan Stutesman

Panelist Speakers:
Eric Anderson (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Gabriele Belle (College of Science)
Yvonne Demory (School of Business)
Saiid Ganjalizadeh (School of Business)
Ariel Goldenthal (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Andrea Landis (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Xin Li (School of Business)
Kevin Rockman (School of Business)
Alla Webb (School of Business)
Alexandria Zylstra (School of Business)

STEARNS CENTER SHOWCASE: Documenting and Sharing Your Teaching by Creating Open Educational Resources (OER) (90 mins)

Steve Brown — 2021-09-02

TBD

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Teaching about Societal Problems: Strategies for Engaging and Supporting Students (90 mins)

Lauren Kuykendall — 2021-09-02

Classes that promote awareness of societal problems (e.g., racism, poverty, sexism) can motivate students to contribute to a more just society, yet they can also evoke intense sadness, pessimism, and disillusionment. This panel and roundtable discussion will highlight the importance of being aware of students’ reactions to material in these classes. Panelists will discuss strategies they have used to support students’ processing of their thoughts and emotions in these types of classes and facilitate a group discussion for participants to share their relevant challenges and strategies.

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Pluriversal Designs: Creating Anti-racist communities of practice (90 min)

Shelley Wong — 2021-09-02

Faculty members from CEHD and invited faculty members from other universities use their study of two books Arturo Escobar’s (2018) "Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds" and Ibram X. Kendi’s (2019) "How to be an Antiracist" as a springboard for discussing the transformation of their teaching. Each panelist shares challenges from their own experiences in teaching sensitive topics as they address antiracism in their teaching of undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of Sports, Teacher Education in Technology and Curriculum Design, and Critical Discourse Analysis an Advanced Research Methods course for doctoral students.

SHOWCASE & WORKSHOP: Documenting and Sharing Your Teaching by Creating Open Educational Resources (OERs; 90 mins)

Crystal Anderson — 2021-09-02

As a result of the pandemic, open educational resources (OER), including free and openly licensed teaching materials, have gained more attention and interest. With an increase in students undertaking online instruction, these materials proved to be more accessible to students and beneficial to instructors looking for a broader array of materials that more closely suited their needs. Further, with students having limited access to on-campus materials during the pandemic, OER can ensure materials are accessible to students no matter where they are learning from. As we transition into more teaching modes, including face-to-face and hybrid/blended courses, OER can play an essential role in instruction. This interactive session will provide an overview of OER as learning materials and a mode of faculty development. During the first part of this session, participants will learn more about the OER opportunities at Mason and hear from two faculty members who actively create and use OERs in their teaching. During the second part of the session, participants will work with their own educational materials, focusing on alignment with student learning outcomes, transparency concerning purpose, and function in their overall teaching practice. Participants will leave with OER development resources and a start on creating their own.

Conveners: Crystal Anderson, Jade Geary

Panelist Speakers:

Steve Brown (College of Health and Human Services)- will share how he has used Open Education Resources in his Health Administration courses and discuss how they can be used effectively with competency-focused disciplines or courses.

Sang Nam (College of Visual and Performing Arts) will share [coming soon]

SHOWCASE: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Showcase (90 mins)

Kelly Schrum — 2021-09-02

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Showcase is designed for faculty engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning to share their results and discuss SoTL methodologies as well as for faculty interested in learning about evidence-based practices and SoTL work at Mason. The session is organized as a series of lightning talks followed by opportunity for conversation with presenters. This year's session is facilitated by Kelly Schrum, Ph.D.

Speakers List:

1. NSF National Research Traineeship Program at Mason’s Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions

Siddhartha Sikdar, Volgenau School of Engineering, Bioengineering

ssikdar@gmu.edu

The Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions (CASBBI) is the home for Mason’s first NSF-funded National Research Traineeship (NRT) program. The NRT is NSF’s flagship program for innovations in transdisciplinary graduate education. This 1-year traineeship program at Mason is designed to cross-train graduate students from across the university using a community-engaged design thinking model. The first cohort of 11 trainees started in summer 2020, and the second cohort of 14 trainees started in summer 2021. Cohorts are comprised of graduate students from diverse disciplines, including basic science, engineering, humanities, health and computing. The students work in interdisciplinary teams on a year-long design project with the close collaboration of community stakeholders. Trainees are tackling the opioid use epidemic, mental and behavioral health disorders, and Parkinson’s disease among other projects. The learning outcomes of the traineeship are knowledge integration, procedural learning, transfer learning, communication skills, and team science.

2. Exploring Graduate Student Perspectives on Teaching Innovations

Sophia Abbot, CEHD, Higher Education

sabbot@gmu.edu

This session will describe the research process of an ongoing 4-VA grant study, Reimagining the History of Higher Education in the Digital Age. The study has taken a qualitative case study approach to exploring student’s experiences completing a newly designed final course project. I will share how we collected data for our study and a few examples of the kinds of information we have been able to learn from our research process. This showcase session will offer a grounded example of qualitative research in the scholarship of teaching and learning that may support others as they embark on their own SoTL projects.

3. Embedding Experiential or Community-Engaged Learning Projects Into Your Courses Susan Hirsch, shirsch4@gmu.edu Agnieszka Paczynska, apaczyns@gmu.edu

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

In this presentation, we focus on embedding engaged learning in a course. Hirsch will discuss her decision to involve a class of MS students in a county-led initiative to study and reform Arlington County’s police practices. Although mounting class projects that involve community engagement can be risky, a set of lessons learned helps to create a smooth process when the benefits of engagement are especially compelling. Paczynska will discuss best practices for embedding and developing a variety of role playing and simulation actiities for both in-person and online instruction models, including how to adapt experiential exercises developed for an in-person format into a virtual setting.

4. Re-imagining Collaborative Discussions to Bolster Cognitive Learning in Online Courses Graziella McCarron, School of Integrative Studies, gmccarro@gmu.edu

The 2020 New Media Consortium Horizon Report noted that institutions should adjust curriculum to meet the demands of new industries and an evolving workforce. This reality, in tandem with the COVID-19 pandemic and other social upheavals, prompts us to acknowledge the essentiality of new approaches to education that transcend time and place for both learning and practice. This transformational shift provides educators with an opportunity to “think outside the box” and create innovative, digitally-driven approaches to education. In this talk, we will share results of a Mason-based study in which cognitive learning markers (e.g., synthesis, application, creation of knowledge) were examined for one fully online, asynchronous undergraduate leadership studies class over the course of three semesters offerings (fall 2018, fall 2019, fall 2020). We explore how students’ representations of cognitive learning in collaborative online discussions changed as well as potential contributors to enhanced cognitive learning. Teaching tips will be shared from the instructional design and faculty lens.

5. Developing and Validating Learning Modules for Strengthening MS Graduates’ Applied Research Skills Ioulia Rytikova, Information Sciences and Technology irytikov@gmu.edu

Associate Professor, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies

Our team investigated the effectiveness of a novel approach intended to address the challenges experienced in a rapidly evolving workplace. Recent reports on graduate STEM education have placed additional emphasis on the need to use student-focused teaching to provide curricular support for graduate research experiences while emphasizing a need to diversify the process and purposes of these research experiences. The team explored and developed a collaborative multidisciplinary research environment for graduate students that utilizes inquiry-based and active learning methods across three courses that are currently used in two master programs. We developed and evaluated three generic learning modules and their adaptation and implementation in three domain specific courses. These modules introduced graduate students to research activities gradually, consistently, and systematically, with the goal of developing collaboration, innovation, and creativity skills. While transforming our current graduate courses into research and innovation-oriented courses, we also documented our experiences and developed guiding materials to facilitate the application of the learning modules in similar domains and how to adapt them in new domains. Our team designed and developed three reusable research methodological modules that can be integrated into any course that uses the Blackboard LMS (Bb) either for the initial introduction of how to perform research or for a quick review of fundamentals of research practices in more advanced research-intensive classes.

6. Facilitating Groups Projects in a Virtual Environment: Lessons Learned for In-Person and Online

Cara Frankenfeld cfranken@gmu.edu Associate Professor/Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Global and Community Health Affiliate Faculty, Microbiome Analysis Center and Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

While group work has established benefits and is often required for particular types of projects, it is often a disliked part of students’ academic careers. Such projects can take on many forms, such as short-term vs. long-term and low stakes vs. high stakes. Based on experiences in-person and online, there are key guiding principles and steps that professors can take to facilitate a productive and meaningful group work experience. This presentation will cover key guiding principles, illustrate their use during 2020 virtual learning, and provide tips for using for in-person or virtual learning environments.

7. Inclusive Teaching Practices Sharrell Hassell-Goodman, shassel3@gmu.edu

CEHD, Higher Education

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important considerations for university teaching. Today’s students expect faculty to be knowledgeable around these topics and incorporate inclusive teaching practices in their classrooms. Likewise, faculty want to find ways to integrate inclusive teaching methods and practices but have limited time with numerous responsibilities around teaching loads and research. This lightening talk will review the results of a website content analysis research study of inclusive teaching practices implemented at various universities. Participants will have the opportunity to explore inclusive teaching practices and examine implications for student learning and developmental readiness, classroom expectations and participation, syllabi, assignments, and assessment construction. As a result of this session, participants will have the opportunity to begin to think about how they can prioritize and interrogate their own teaching practices to create a more inclusive teaching approach.

8. Classroom Engagement Tools in a Large Lecture Class and a Moderately-Sized Class

Steven Harris Scott sscott4@gmu.edu

Classroom engagement tools have increased in usage over the last decade. Harris-Scott began using the Top Hat classroom engagement tool in his large lecture class, HIST 125: Introduction to World History, in 2017 as a way of increasing engagement in this 80- to 120-student class. Then, in 2018 when he began teaching a 45-student HIST 387: Global History of Disease class, he wrote a short, interactive e-textbook on the Top Hat platform. Dr. Harris-Scott will provide a brief overview of the Top Hat tool and how he uses it along with some early takeaways on student satisfaction with the tool, how it has worked, what problems it has solved, and how it could work better. Dr. Harris-Scott is in the very early stages of writing a SoTL article on this topic.

9. Drinking out of the Firehose: Preparing GTAs as they Begin their Teaching Careers

Jessica Rosenberg, Physics and Astronomy, COS

In the department of physics and astronomy, we have been running a weekly seminar for GTAs to help them as they transition into their new roles as instructors for the past two years. These GTAs mostly teach in a laboratory environment in general education astronomy courses or the introductory physics sequence. The seminar was developed as part of an NSF grant to shift introductory STEM courses towards an active learning format. The curriculum of the weekly seminar ranges from navigating university structures to basic classroom management and

teaching pedagogy to active and inclusive teaching practice. I will discuss what we have learned about some of the key elements and challenges for building a program to support graduate students as they transition into a teaching role.

10. How the Learning Assistant Experience Impacts Learning Assistants as Students

Ben Dreyfus, COS

Learning Assistants (LAs) are undergraduate STEM students who participate in a pedagogy course and facilitate active learning among their peers in a variety of courses. Much of the existing research on LA programs focuses on the impact on the students taking courses with LAs or on course transformation. In addition to this, we look at the impact on the LAs themselves as students. We asked LAs in the College of Science to reflect on how their LA experience has affected them through interviews with fellow LAs and free-response surveys. We analyze these qualitative data to identify emerging themes. LAs found that their LA experiences had impacts on their conceptual understanding, metacognition, time management, confidence about public speaking and working with fellow students, and relationships with professors.

11. Using Empirical Evidence in SoTL: A Pathway to Engagement and Exposure Delton Daigle, ddaigle@gmu.edu, Schar School of Policy and Government

Associate Professor, Director of Online Learning

In many disciplines the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is permeated with personal experience and anecdote as to what works best to produce student outcomes. While it is not my contention to dismiss the value of real lived and learned pedagogical experiences, it is my contention that SoTL needs to also be a place where the claims we make about effective innovations are supported by rigorous empirical evidence. Drawing on evidence from two studies I conducted while a professor here at George Mason University, I will describe how empirical evidence creates large interest at both the level of your host institution as well as among international conference audiences. Moreover, I will discuss how intentional research design can provide a pathway to publishing in flagship journals.

SHOWCASE: Mason Instructor Resources Roadshow and Resource Fair (90 mins)

Sharon Doetsch-Kidder — 2021-09-02

Mason has a wealth of resources that can help your students reach your course goals, such as the library, Writing Center, Communications Center, Data Services Center, Office of Academic Integrity, Center for the Advancement of Well-being, Women and Gender Studies Center, First-Gen+ Center, LGBTQ+ Resource Center, Disability Services, Learning Support Services, Global Education Office, OSCAR, Harmonize, Blackbooard, and more. For the first 45 minutes, come hear instructors explain how they have used a range of campus resources in their courses. For the next 45 minutes, chat with representatives from various offices about how you might incorporate them into your classes.

Lightning talk presenters:
Jennifer Ashley (College of Humanities and Social Sciences) – will discuss DiSC classroom instruction and workshops
Katie Clare (CWB)- will discuss the resources from the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being
Janet Ha Poirot (CHSS-School of Integrative Studies) – will discuss Learning Services
Anna Habib (English) – will discuss the Writing Center
Steven Harris- Scott (History & INTO Mason) – will discuss GEO study abroad option added to World History course
Esther Namubiru (INTO Mason) – will discuss integration of library services
Bonny Paez (INTO Mason) – will discuss OAI

Breakout rooms:
BREAKOUT ROOM #1: First-generation and Undocumented Students at Mason
Amber Holton-Thomas (First-gen+ Center)

BREAKOUT ROOM #2: The Communications Lab
Briana M. Stewart (Communications)

BREAKOUT ROOM #3: The Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum
Tom Polk (WAC)
Courtney Massie (University Writing Center)
Susan Lawrence (Writing Center)- will discuss the Writing Center
This session will highlight resources for teaching and learning to write that are available to both students and faculty at Mason. With a primary focus on students at all levels, the Writing Center provides individual consultations, workshops, writing groups, and written resources, along with specialized support for multilingual and advanced graduate writers. With a primary focus on faculty and curriculum, the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program offers workshops, learning communities, and consultations to support the instruction of writing in all disciplines. The WAC Program also supports faculty writing productivity and wellness through its Faculty Writers Community programming.

BREAKOUT ROOM #4: Disability Services and Assistive Technology Initiative
Naomi Martinez-Jones (Disability Services)
Korey Singleton (Assistive Technology Initiative)

This session will highlight the resources in place to support faculty, staff, and students with disabilities in the Mason community. This includes but is not limited to common student accommodations, how to implement accommodations, inclusive design strategies, digital accessibility resources (e.g., Blackboard Ally, captioning/transcription, document remediation), and more.

BREAKOUT ROOM #5: University Libraries, Digital Scholarship Center, and Discipline Librarians
Alyssa Fahringer (DiSC) will describe the services and resources the Digital Scholarship Center offers
Kimberly Macvaugh (University Libraries) will represent the Subject Librarians

BREAKOUT ROOM #6: Learning Services
Vicki Dominick (University Life)

Learning Services assists students with “learning how to learn” in order to achieve their academic goals. Many students find that learning and studying at Mason is different than what they were accustomed to in high school or community college. The staff provides a variety of free services to empower students to study effectively, manage assignments, and prepare for exams. In this breakout room, we will discuss how instructors can refer students to our services, including Academic Success Workshops, individual academic coaching, online academic success videos, and the tutoring resource list. In addition, instructors will learn how to invite an Academic Coach to visit their class to talk about study strategies.

BREAKOUT ROOM #7: Office of Academic Integrity
LaShonda Anthony (OAI) will discuss general challenges and share approaches to embed and promote integrity in the classroom, including an examination of assessment materials.

BREAKOUT ROOM #8: OSCAR
Karen Lee (OSCAR)
Jesse Guessford (Office of Undergraduate Education)

We will discuss the resources available at OSCAR, the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research that faculty can use to increase opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in research, scholarly, or creative projects. We will also discuss other resources available through the Office of Undergraduate Education.

BREAKOUT ROOM #9: Center for the Advancement of Well-Being
Katie Clare (CAWB) will discuss resources from the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being to support the Mason community as we work toward Goal #7 around thriving and well-being. A university that is thriving around well-being must see this work embedded throughout the campus culture, not limited to CAWB.

BREAKOUT ROOM #10: Career Services
Elena Chiru (University Career Services)
Rachel Lindsey (University Career Services)

BREAKOUT ROOM #11: Women and Gender Studies Center
Anu Aneja (Director)
David Corwin (Associate Director)
This session will highlight the resources in place to support faculty, staff, and students in the Women and Gender Studies Program and Center. These include but are not limited to our library, guest presentations, Intersectionality 101 training, gender-related expertise consultation, and a variety of programs your students can be involved in.

BREAKOUT ROOM #12: LGBTQ+ Resources Center
Josh Kinchen (Director)

BREAKOUT ROOM #13: Harmonize Online Discussion, Chat & Q&A Platform
Ramelle Riley, VP of Partnerships
Nicole Baldassarre
Michael Hakkarinen

Created in response to educator and student feedback, the Harmonize platform seamlessly integrates with learning management systems to create an engaging, collaborative community for dynamic academic discussion, creative and analytical thinking, and in-depth feedback that drives improved learning outcomes. To learn more about 42 Lines, visit 42lines.net. To learn more about Harmonize, visit harmonize.42lines.net.

BREAKOUT ROOM #14: Classroom Technologies and Learning Support Services
Crystal Clemons (Learning Support Services)

BREAKOUT ROOM #15: Blackboard
Lisa Andion, Senior Solutions Engineer
Lisa Clark, Senior Client Experience Manager
Zeina Habal, Regional Vice President
Leslie Kent, Client Experience Manager

ON DEMAND: Graduate Assistants supporting active learning in graduate classrooms

Rebecca R.G. — 2021-09-02

Starting in Fall 2020, the Department of Mathematical Sciences initiated a program to expand and build on our Learning Assistant Program (previously only for undergraduate classes) to our core graduate classes as well. This new initiative titled Graduate Learning Assistants (GLAs) consists of a cohort of graduate students that have advanced to PhD candidacy working with graduate students who are taking core courses, to facilitate their learning individually or in small groups. By aiding in active learning within the course and running review sessions for the PhD preliminary exams (both done in a synchronous online format), GLAs promote student discourse and help students develop a deeper understanding of the foundational concepts and connections inherent in the course content they are learning. Since the material of graduate courses is at a very different level from the large undergraduate classes, the method of presentation and interaction is necessarily quite different. In this presentation, the GLAs will explain the pros and cons, what works and what does not, for peer mentoring of graduate students in taking graduate courses and preparing for their PhD prelims. Faculty organizers will also be involved to answer questions about how the program was established and implemented. We hope that this new GLA initiative can serve as a model to enhance and strengthen PhD programs in other disciplines.

ON DEMAND: Communicating Science - How to Teach a TED Talk

Kate Thomas — 2021-09-02

This video will describe a course that I wrote and delivered to undergraduate students called "Translational Research Writing for the Social Sciences." I will highlight the purpose of the course and go into detail on some of the course activities, including designing and delivering a TEDx talk.

ON DEMAND: Drawing on students’ work experience to facilitate in-class and out-of-class learning

Ioannis Bellos — 2021-09-02

In graduate and professional courses, a significant part of student learning happens through in-class participation and out-of-class networking. In-class participation allows students to share their views on topics and case studies discussed in class by drawing from their own experiences. Similarly, out-of-class networking allows students to share their experiences and discover commonalities and professional opportunities in domains that previously appeared to be outside their comfort zone. The pandemic has affected significantly both learning mechanisms. To counteract this, last Fall I implemented two initiatives in my core MBA course (three sections; two delivered F2F and one via Zoom). Specifically, during each session, I asked students if they would like to volunteer to give a short, informal presentation on how the topic covered in class that day relates to their experience, to be presented in class the next week. There are two main benefits of these presentations: students get better acquainted with each other and they learn the practical applicability of the concepts from class, making the material more relatable and, thus, more memorable. Right after each class, I would also ask students to share their “Aha” moments on the discussion board in Blackboard, which I did not grade so they did not feel this is busy work but rather a means to express themselves. I will discuss how these two initiatives were received by the students as well as the main implementation challenges.

ON DEMAND: Assessing Assessments: Delving into the Inaugural Pilot Review Process of Academic Annual Assessments

Sheena Serslev — 2021-09-02

In an effort to model promising assessment practices and provide formative feedback to academic programs, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) in collaboration with the Mason Academic Assessment Council (MAAC) implemented a holistic review process of the academic program submission to Mason’s Annual Assessment. Each council member engaged in a small group and peer-driven process. Each group was assigned academic programs to review utilizing a co-developed rubric that included each component of a program’s submission to the Mason Annual Assessment: an organizational mission, curriculum map(s), student learning outcomes, measures, results, and improvements. Recognizing the disciplinary expertise of faculty, the reviews focused not on disciplinary content but on the assessment process itself and members engaged with the spirit of providing positive formative feedback. As a pilot and iterative process, we learned both about how best to engage in these discussions and about how we can evolve this process to support program improvement and student learning. OIEP hosted sessions in January to frame the feedback, clarify the role of the reviewer, and share themes from the feedback.

Our video presentation will illustrate the connection between course level teaching and learning with annual program assessment. We will share findings from a meta-analysis of 200 academic program submissions at George Mason University and highlight institutional steps towards building a sustainable culture of assessment.

ON DEMAND: An Example of Authentic Assessment: Building career readiness through online professional networks

Sanja Avramovic — 2021-09-02

The connection between a student’s education and their future career is a key for many students because their career is often a motivation for and goal of their education. There are several ways to bolster career readiness in online classes. One is through Mason's Career Services Office, which provides tools to guide students through activities to identify and articulate their career-readiness skills. We implemented another step as an alternative/authentic assessment. In the beginning of the semester, all students create their own LinkedIn page, as is suggested by Mason’s Career Service Office. After that, they also should post the link to the discussion board, and classmates would all use this to form mutual contacts. In this way, the class is building connections between a student and the other classmates, instructor, and students who have finished the class in the past. This strategy has shown itself to be easy to implement. At the same time, it is very successful in enabling students to build a strong online community through online professional networks. This strategy also develops a bridge between students and industry. In one example, a previous student shared a job posting from their company asking whether anyone from the class was interested in internships. Previous students have also shared valuable information about jobs, resumes, the skills desired in the field, and the most common mistake that freshly graduated students usually make when applying for a job. In some instances, former students have shared some of the current industry challenges that their companies are facing, which stimulated current students to analyze and contemplate solutions in their class projects. In internal evaluation of one of the courses which employs this strategy, 75% of students indicated that they believe that it will positively impact their career. Seniors are especially interested in this interaction. The interaction has proven motivating for current students and is not restricted to online classes.

ON DEMAND: Classroom Video for Lectures, Learning Media, and Examinations

Jason Kinser — 2021-09-02

Multi-purpose video usage in the classroom has been accelerated by the pandemic, and a plethora of tools are becoming available. As the resources improve, so do the opportunities to use videos for delivery of information, organizing student resources, and providing a new avenue for student assessment. This project is participating in the Stearns Center Assessment Redesign program.

This presentation will have three components. The first component is the use of technology to create lecture videos from lecture material. Creating videos is a time-consuming process, and this presentation will review the methods used their construction for CDS 411 (Modeling and Simulation II). The second component is born from the recent increase in student honor violations seen after the pivot to online teaching. CDS 411 replaced traditional examinations with student-created video presentations. The first attempt at this method did have some successes and some need for improvements. The third component is spurred by the fact that students in the sciences tend not to read the textbook, but the read only the summary and problems at the end of the chapters. CDS 411 is developing an investigator approach to presenting the course material through multiple mediums, which organizes the information in a linked tree, allowing the students to dive into various depths of the lessons in the same manner in which they use textbooks.

ON DEMAND: Leading for Change: A Customizable Writing Experience

Joyce Johnston — 2021-09-02

"Leading for Changes" addresses any faculty or staff member who will use writing and visual presentation skills to empower students to identify social or professional issues that are important to them, learn more about those issues, then focus on practical ways to affect change. “Leading for Change” provides assignments, skill builders, readings and short videos to effect change on a significant social or professional issue important to each student. One Composition Program assignment + 1 research project + 1 visual presentation + 2 support activities = five customizable components that can be adapted to fit multiple disciplines and variable time constraints. The five major components are (1) analyzing personal traits, values and ethics, (2) conducting investigative research on stakeholder groups that students can join upon graduating from George Mason (3) applying for employment or acceptance by a selected group, (4) combining models of professional and leadership skills to function effectively in that context and (5) visually presenting the selected leadership model(s) that will most effectively advocate for social or professional change from within. The presenter provides multiple suggestions for combining and recombining the components, teaching materials as above and coordination of the modules to Mason Impact, Mason Core, and the proposed ARIE course for Fall 2021, Foundations for Building a Just Society.

ON DEMAND: Maximizing Engagement in Live Virtual Activities

David Eifert — 2021-09-02

Have you ever assigned a task or activity for your learners to complete individually or in a virtual breakout room? Maybe you assigned a series of discussion questions that were supposed to lead to a deliverable or a task that required using a virtual collaboration space and everyone ended up confused. As an instructor or trainer, you cannot be everywhere at once—particularly in virtual environments. So, how do you maximize activity engagement and avoid confusion during live virtual classes and trainings when you cannot be in every breakout room at the same time or reasonably field questions from numerous individuals or groups? A simple solution can be ensuring effective modeling of the activity before you start. Sometimes clear instructions are simply not enough. Effective modeling ensures that the assigned live virtual activity runs smoothly and does not leave you scrambling or your learners confused.

In this video, participants will be shown various ways to virtually model an activity prior to starting it. Strategies will also be shared on how to check for understanding of live virtual activities before they begin, and how to evaluate their success upon completion. Lastly, participants will be encouraged to apply what they have learned to their role as an instructor, trainer, or anyone leading a virtual meeting.

ON DEMAND: Engaging Students in Synchronous Hybrid Environments: What We Can Learn from HyFlex Teaching

Evelyn Tomaszewski — 2021-09-02

Mason degree programs have been challenged with honoring COVID-19 safety protocols while also honoring the commitment to student – centered learning that flourishes within inclusive, engaged, and lively classroom discussions. In fall 2021, as part of Mason’s Safe Return to Campus, allowable in-person classroom capacity was at 50% of course enrollment. After a literature review, the Social Work Department chose to expand the synchronous hybrid format (e.g., all students meet on-line, or all meet on-campus) to use HyFlex strategies. In order to address classroom size limitations and to allow for synchronous learning, the department piloted a HyFlex model in which students were divided into two sections. Each week half the class could attend on-campus while the other half attend virtual/on-line; the two sections “switched off’ weekly so that all students could attend (up to half) the weekly classes in person/on-campus.

Faculty modified their teaching to address technological challenges such as online audience disengagement, limited microphone range, and audio lag; as well as teaching strategies that allowed for full participation in lectures and in skill-building exercises from a bi-located student attendee. This video presentation will present an overview of the HyFlex strategy, and highlight lessons learned and techniques implemented over Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. Examples of lessons learned include establishing clear classroom participation norms, utilizing a Zoom assistant to monitor chat, and adjusting physical and online small group activities for the split environment.

Participants teaching a synchronous hybrid course will be able to utilize classroom management strategies that maintain student engagement for both audiences. They will apply techniques that address the challenges this format presents.

Should Mason Want to explore other modalities for combining on-campus and on-line synchronous sections (for outreach to underserved or distanced students), these techniques could be a guide or beneficial.

ON DEMAND: A Conceptual Approach for Teaching Students How to Evaluate the Credibility of Information Sources

Matt Theeke — 2021-09-02

The ability to evaluate the credibility of information sources is an important information literacy skill that students rely on to access the knowledge needed for learning. However, many students fail to develop this capability and scholars have called for new approaches to develop students’ information literacy skills. In contrast to existing credibility evaluation approaches, which often ask students to apply lists of questions to determine if information sources are credible, this presentation proposes a conceptual approach that can be used to teach students how to evaluate the credibility of information sources. This presentation integrates prior research to develop a conceptual framework to evaluate the credibility of information sources. This presentation also discusses an instructional technique for implementing the credibility evaluation framework in coursework using an enhanced bibliography. By asking students to show how they use the framework to make decisions to include or exclude information sources, this technique allows educators to provide process-oriented feedback that considers both gullibility errors (including information that is not credible) and incredulity errors (excluding credible information).

ON DEMAND: Adult Student Success - beating the national trend of graduation rate

Kurt Lazaroff — 2021-09-02

The challenges to adults returning to complete a 4-year degree extend beyond the basics of academic skills. Research on adult student retention points to multiple factors affecting adult student success. The Bachelor of Individualized Studies (BIS) program has developed and piloted a 3 credit course focused on helping adult students prepare for these challenges and is structured using the tenets of universal and backward design. Now in its 4th semester, BIS 301 is applicable to any adult returning to complete a degree. Key learning outcomes include: Professional goal setting, personal goal setting, academic skill assessment, and developing new personal identities and sense of community. The presentation will explain these key structures, learning goals, classroom/student activities, and share student work and reflection on how the course has created a positive mindset of competency and confidence.

ON DEMAND: Jammin' Right Along: Using Google Jamboard to Engage Students Online

Kayla Gourlay — 2021-09-02

For instructors who traditionally teach in-person, the pandemic has presented new challenges, particularly how to engage students online. The presenters, who are teaching librarians and adjunct faculty members, primarily taught in-person before the pandemic and had to quickly adapt their in-person toolkit to the distance learning environment. Over the past two semesters, they have experimented with different tools and platforms for engagement, including digital whiteboards, which allow students to share ideas, demonstrate understanding, and collaborate with peers. During this session, they will focus on Google Jamboard, a collaborative digital whiteboard which presents an exciting alternative to Zoom or Blackboard Collaborates’ whiteboards. The presenters will detail how they have used Jamboards to facilitate synchronous learning activities such as concept maps, brainstorming sessions, reflections, and more. All participants will receive the Jamboard templates for the activities showcased in the video, which can be easily adapted for any class or presentation.

Key Takeaways:
1) Participants will be able to describe Google Jamboard features and tools for student engagement.
2) Participants will be able to identify at least one Jamboard activity or feature to use in their own context.

ON DEMAND: "Anti-racist pedagogy” in practice: Sifting through racist constructs of truth in course and assignment development

Anna Habib — 2021-09-02

“This Ain’t Another Statement! This is a DEMAND for Black Linguistic Justice!” (2020) was written in the context of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests. These protests, in the name of George Floyd and several other African Americans murdered by police across the U.S. in recent years, have drawn further attention to systemic racism in the U.S., which the authors of “This Ain’t Another Statement” point out does not exist only outside the gates of the university or the doors of the classroom. Their demands, along with April-Baker Bell’s (2020) book on linguistic justice for speakers of Black English (BE) and Green and Condon’s (2020) epistolary book chapter subtitled “Anti-Racism and the Teaching of Writing”, demonstrate a new urgency among scholars and educators to promote anti-racist pedagogy, legitimize Englishes of all types, both inside and outside the classroom, and to advocate for multiply marginalized students across the board.
With this urgency as a backdrop, a small team of GMU Composition faculty and library scientists will share a video presentation on the anti-racist writing course they developed that centers the multiply-marginalized student and focuses on the promotion of linguistic justice and information literacy in a world of fake news and market-driven algorithms.

During the 15-minute video presentation, presenters will walk through the syllabus, focusing on the course’s rationale, pedagogical principles, and major assignments and units. Participants will walk away with one concrete example of what the oft-cited phrase “anti-racist pedagogy” looks like in practice.

ON DEMAND: Cumulative Writing Assignments: Benefits for Students and Instructors

Jennifer Wood — 2021-09-02

How often have students exclaimed in exasperation, “I hate writing!”? Writing can provoke high anxiety-levels among our students, especially in the wake of the pandemic and/or when a large percentage of their final grade hinges on a single writing assignment. This is particularly, though certainly not exclusively, the case for Mason’s international/multilingual student population. This brief presentation will explain the rationale for assigning cumulative writing assignments that culminate in a final paper students build throughout the semester, and will offer example assignments that can be tailored to specific courses. Having the opportunity to draft, workshop, revise, and expand ideas not only demystifies the writing process—it also cultivates a generative, explorative learning environment by allowing students to experiment with ideas in drafts without fear of receiving a lower letter-grade. The rationale for such writing assignments derives from the principle that when anxieties are mitigated, students are able to learn more effectively. Furthermore, this approach offers a manageable workload for instructors: completion grades can be offered for smaller-stakes components (outlines, lists of evidence, bibliographies), while more comprehensive commentary and letter-grades can be provided on elements like thesis statements, and peer-review can be employed for early drafts. Although scaffolding a writing assignment is not original in itself, some innovative process-based activities this presentation will offer include: the use of new technologies, like Hypothesis, to assist students in brainstorming ideas; suggestions for collaborative support activities, including in-class debates where students assess each others’ evidence to support their thesis statements and pre-final-draft conference-style presentations, where students have the opportunity to present their writing and answer questions from their peers about their final writing projects before they complete the final draft. While I will use a brief example of a cumulative writing assignment from my Shakespeare courses as a case-study, the assignment I outline in this presentation is easily translatable to any course or topic that involves a major writing project as part of its curriculum—and to courses as wide-ranging as online (synchronous or asynchronous), hybrid, or face-to-face, and even spanning undergraduate to graduate levels. Participants will be able to create meaningful writing assignments for their students with a workload that doesn’t overwhelm either students or instructors.

ON DEMAND: Reversing Roles, Expanding Mindsets: A Close Reading Activity

Ana Pugatch — 2021-09-02

How can we get our students to discuss and write about texts in more depth? As instructors, we can kickstart this process by taking a backseat and giving our students the autonomy to shape their conversations with one another. This video describes a student-led close reading activity which can be conducted in an in-person or synchronous online course. Genres of text which can be analyzed include primary/secondary sources, literature, scholarly articles, criticism—any complex text that requires deeper digging. The class is broken up into two roles, speakers and writers; while the speakers bring their thought-provoking questions to the table, the writers type up their own reflections on their peers’ dialogue, which they will subsequently post on the discussion board. The two groups then switch roles, giving everyone the opportunity to speak and to write. As the instructor, you merely serve as an organizer and listener throughout. One of the ultimate objectives is to show students how to be proactive in the construction of knowledge in the classroom. The activity draws on a combination of preexisting pedagogical tools, including Jim Burke’s three levels of questions, the Socratic method, and the “fishbowl” format. I have also incorporated my grading methods and personal experiences as an instructor who had to adapt the activity when we moved our classes online during the Spring ’20 semester.

ON DEMAND: Using “Carrots and Sticks” to Promote Student Collaboration and Enhance the Team Experience

Elaine Viccora — 2021-09-02

We know that collaboration deepens learning, produces better outcomes, and results in fewer headaches for students and professors alike. However, students typically view group assignments as a chance to “divide and conquer;” they work independently before coming together to assemble their individual efforts into a patchwork project, often lacking cohesion.

Did you know that professors have the ability to foster collaborative learning by using a combination of carrots (team-building activities) and “sticks” (accountability measures)? We teach “Developing Your Professional Skills I and II,” required classes designed to help students advance their teamwork skills through a variety of group assignments. After teaching these courses for four years, we realize the unique power we have as instructors to both encourage and require that students take steps toward collaboration, boosting the team experience.

During this video, we will showcase the strategies we’ve used in our classes and provide tips based on our lessons learned. For the “carrots,” we will explain how/when you may want to use team-building activities and offer a menu of suitable activities (e.g., discussion prompts, sharing activities, fun collaborative tasks, games, and shout-outs) that can be used in both the online and face-to-face environments. Regarding the “sticks,” we will share our accountability model and provide examples on how it can be used to expand student interest in creating positive team experiences.

ON DEMAND: How Social Annotation Brings Back Close Reading and Transforms Your Class Discussion

Vivek Narayanan — 2021-09-02

This presentation is an overview of the social annotation tools that, in the past year, have transformed my approach to the discussion of assigned texts in my classes. I give a brief introduction to two such tools designed for use in the classroom and with Blackboard: Hypothesis and Perusall. I go over some of the merits of social annotation in general, as well as a subjective comparison of the two platforms. Finally, I give a quick sense of what it’s like to upload and set up an assignment for annotation.

ON DEMAND: Engaging Experiential Exercises

Laurie Meamber — 2021-09-02

Creating or adapting experiential, face-to-face, hands-on exercises for an online learning format is not always straightforward or easy. As part of an undergraduate new product development course re-design for online learning, six new engaging, experiential exercises were developed and utilized in spring 2021. The exercises address different modules and learning goals in the course, and they also allow students to practice different skills in an LMS (Blackboard) environment - such as using discussion board forums, uploading videos and photos, sharing links, and providing peer-to-peer feedback. The exercises are called – paper airplane, opposites attract, job to be done, squiggle birds, and taglines challenge. Some of the exercises are individual exercises, and some are peer/team-based. The exercises were created to work under pandemic conditions, and allow students to use items readily found in their home environments. For example, the paper airplane exercise that addresses the learning goal of practicing rapid prototyping and learning to use an online whiteboard, asks students to use one sheet of paper to create a paper airplane, record and submit a video of a flight, and to answer and reflect on the learning process. These exercises may also be modified for use across different courses and subject matter and work in hybrid and in-person learning environments. The poster will showcase each of the six exercises, and provide suggestions on how they can be adapted across disciplines and learning formats. Participants should be inspired to think creatively on how to incorporate fun, active learning exercises into their own courses.

ON DEMAND: KakaoTalk Messenger: A way to keep real-time communication and build a community with students

Eunmee Lee — 2021-09-02

Due to the covid-19 pandemic situation, classes are offered either online or hybrid at Mason Korea campus, and even though synchronous zoom and blackboard Collaborate are actively serving, students have limited chances to communicate or socialize with classmates and instructors. To overcome this limitation, presenters decided to include the KakaoTalk messenger application, the most popular and common communication tool among Korean on mobile phones, lap-tops and desk-tops, for class tools for live communication in and out of the class.

KakaoTalk is a free messenger service that most Korean mobile phone holders use every day, and it is also available to international users for free. K-12 teachers as well as university professors are recommended to use this messenger to actively communicate with their classes particularly in the period of pandemic in Korea. Instructors organize group channels for their classes, in which students and instructors can immediately exchange and share text messages, phone calls, video conferences, and quick surveys as well as documents, images, audio, and video files replacing classic functions of the ‘discussion board,’ ‘individual/group emails,’ and uploading feedback on the blackboard. This application helps instructors and students to communicate all around the clock as it is comparatively simpler than logging in to the university account and getting into the blackboard system for communication

Reviewing users’ survey data, testimonials and comments on the functions and activities of this tool for the class community, participants will find ideas how this tool can support class communication and exchange of information among the class community members, through which they can invent ways to build up strong sense of community and belonging to each other. Presenters suggest that the university IT team provide an application with which each registered class members can immediately exchange conversation around the clock.

Key take-aways:
Through review of how this messenger application is used for different areas of the academic discipline, English for Academic Purpose, Chinese language, and Conflict Resolution, participants will be able to notice the real-time communication functions that this application offers and will formulate ideas how they can utilize this type of application for their class communities. In addition, the university IT team will be motivated to add a mobile application that could be linked directly to the registered class communities.

ON DEMAND: Strategies to Support Transfer Students in Asynchronous Classrooms

Christina Grieco — 2021-09-02

Undergraduate transfer students face unique challenges when moving between institutions, and the sudden shift from in-person to virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic created additional barriers for them. Due to the transition, transfer students did not have many opportunities to engage face-to-face and feel connected to the Mason community, and this may continue in the future as students opt to take more classes online. Faculty play a critical role in helping transfer students successfully navigate and connect to their new institution, and this can be an especially difficult task in a virtual setting. This poster is intended to inform instructors how to facilitate transfer student learning experiences in online, asynchronous classrooms by using strategies such as creating an orientation module and providing a “quick guide” to student support services. Additionally, this poster will provide approaches to establishing a sense of community between transfer students and their peers in asynchronous courses in the current academic climate and beyond.

ON DEMAND: Building Process Management Skills by Using an Interactive Timeline in Your Course

Audrey Pettibon — 2021-09-02

Quite often, it can be difficult for students to recognize how low-stakes assignments are preparing them for the more complex, high-stakes assignments in our courses. This can hinder their ability to develop effective process management skills, necessary for planning and executing multi-step tasks in a project-based learning model. This hyperlinked, digital poster illustrates the timeline of major projects throughout the semester, and identifies and connects the various skill-building activities/assignments leading up to each. As you navigate through the links, you can explore a variety of resources, group activities and discussions that help build critical reading, rhetorical analysis and synthesis skills required for projects in ENGH 302 - Advanced Composition. This timeline can be used as an interactive reference guide for your students, as they can quickly revisit specific skill-building activities as needed throughout the term. This timeline could effectively be tailored to fit any course, across disciplines.

ON DEMAND: Using Role Play Scenarios to Teach Ethical Thinking

Ashish Hingle — 2021-09-02

Algorithms affect decision-making through many domains in our world today. From communication between people to measuring financial risk, industrial manufacturing to proctoring tools for remote learning, algorithms drive decision-making in many disciplines, even those outside of computing and technology. Ultimately, algorithms affect how people interact with each other and the world. This widespread push for automation of everyday activities relies on computing and technology professionals, who depend on their foundational knowledge of algorithms to create solutions to the human condition. Therefore, it is fundamental that students who are building this foundational knowledge of developing and manipulating algorithms through their coursework are aware of the benefits, implications, and consequences of this decision-making. Although there are several ways that this ethics-focused thinking can be taught in a classroom, there is no standardized curriculum for ethics coursework. This research project reports findings from a study of the design, implementation, and evaluation of the use of role play scenarios (RPS) for teaching student's ethical decision-making in algorithm-rich work environments. This presentation's primary outcome is to discuss how to implement role plays through an active learning environment to discuss ethics-related topics in computing and technology courses. The discussion is based on feedback from participants of past role plays can be applied to using role play activities in other disciplines

Participants will be able to engage in discussion with the authors about implementing role play scenarios in their own classes. This presentation's primary outcome is to discuss how to implement role plays through an active learning environment to discuss ethics-related topics in computing and technology courses.

ON DEMAND: Pre-brief and Debrief: Teaching Strategies Used for Simulation Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education at GMU During COVID-19 Pandemic

Andrea Landis — 2021-09-02

The CHHS School of Nursing maintained undergraduate clinical continuity through in-person lab simulation-based education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This change was necessary in response to local hospitals – besieged with COVID patients - were not allowing students to obtain clinical hours. In accordance with the VA State Board of Nursing response to the pandemic, up to 50% of the total supervised nursing clinical hours for any course may be used as simulation to address state licensing clinical requirements. Simulation allows students to learn skills; develop clinical reasoning abilities; and to become competent in caring for patients/families in a safe learning environment.

The digital poster will:
- demonstrate high fidelity simulation with computerized pediatric mannequin learning experiences,
- share educational strategies to enhance simulation effectiveness,
- illustrate simulation pre-brief and debrief reflection strategies,
- provide guidelines for a safe learning environment so students can make mistakes without consequences, and
- acknowledge how nursing lab simulation-based education with computerized mannequins aligns with Mason-related signature learning theme of technology-enhanced teaching and learning.

Participants from across disciplines will learn pre-brief and debrief reflection techniques, learn how this educational strategy can create an engaging safe environment that facilitates student learning and a sense of togetherness during a global pandemic. Strategies discussed are applicable to disciplines outside of nursing. For example, participants from the College of Education and Human Development may use the pre-brief to clearly delineate learning objectives and expectations for the learners (e.g., high-school students) participating in a simulation or educational activity. Those from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences may appreciate the role of the debriefing as a guide for the faculty/student to derive meaning from research projects asking what went well and what could be done differently.

ON DEMAND: Mason's Resilience Badge - A New Era

Katie Clare — 2021-09-02

We're all resilient, and we can all be more resilient. In this digital poster, you will learn about one of Mason's attempts to achieve strategic goal #7 in part through a recently overhauled version of the Resilience badge. You will learn the history of the resilience badge, and you will learn about how it's being further developed and embedded into the campus culture. You will also learn how the first year of the asynchronous badge went. What are some of the initial pre- and post-assessment results and what will we do with that information.

ON DEMAND: Knowing How, Knowing Who, and Knowing What: Three guiding principles for developing collaborative learning

Alice Wrigglesworth — 2021-09-02

The benefits of collaborative learning are well established. Those most often cited include:
∙ The development of higher-order thinking
∙ Exposure to and understanding of diverse perspectives
∙ Increased retention and self-esteem
∙ Preparation for the world beyond the university classroom.

Although the benefits of collaborative learning are well established, designing collaborative-learning tasks is not always intuitive. This video will present three guiding principles for developing collaborative learning: Knowing How, Knowing Who, and Knowing What.

ON DEMAND: Exploring Covid-19 Effects on School of Business First-Time Online Learners

James Harvey — 2021-09-02

Describing the COVID–19 pandemic as the “new normal” trivializes the challenge for students who suddenly faced the decision either to pause their higher education progress or take their first online course. Choosing to continue their education online meant facing learning in a completely new environment where new levels of self-motivation to learn were wrapped in social isolation. The situation was coupled with a highly distracted family life and likely the first time that they faced the need to share screen time with family members. Our work uses an online survey created by staff of the Stearns Center Division of Digital Learning to survey the effectiveness of strategies as perceived by online learners. Pre- and post- COVID-19 survey results were used to explore differences between first-time online learners prior to the advent of the pandemic to those who had little choice but to take their first online course.

Comparing results from the survey administered in the required introductory Marketing course in Spring 2020 with students taking the same online course in Fall 2020, we can report some of the key aspects of online learning Pre- and Post- COVID–19. The findings inform faculty developing online courses of comparisons related to course navigation, group activities, learning style or adaptability, and the impact on first-time online learners.

Key take-aways:
-Participants will be able to compare first time learner's online experiences related to the COVID-19 disruption.
-Since it is expected that there will be more online classes available going forward, participants can think about the findings of our study in the development of effective learning strategies.
-The evidence from the survey suggests ways and best practices that can be applied in the classes to help students be successful.

ON DEMAND: Fostering Growth Mindset to Increase Student Motivation, Perseverance, and Success

Jennifer Stawasz — 2021-09-02

Today’s students face new and ever-changing obstacles to learning. What do students do when they face a challenge? Do they persist, or do they give up?

Growth Mindset is the understanding that we can develop our qualities and abilities. When students have growth mindsets, they are more likely to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, and view effort as the path to mastery. When low-income and minority students are exposed to Growth Mindset concepts, stereotype threat is measurably reduced. Ultimately, students with growth mindsets are more successful learners.

This on-demand video will focus on strategies George Mason educators can use to create a Growth Mindset culture in their classrooms. Specifically, it will focus on 1) understanding Growth Mindset, 2) how to use Growth Mindset framing, praise, and feedback, and 3) how to convey to students the science that proves we can strengthen the neural connections in our brains through repeated effort, thereby improving our knowledge and skills.

Supplementary resources provided will include:
• Slide Deck
• Growth Mindset Framing Tool
• Growth Mindset Feedback Tool
• Sample Growth Mindset Rubric
• Sample Growth Mindset Lesson Plans
• Links to additional readings and videos about Growth Mindset

ON DEMAND: Using the Writing Center to Support Student Writing in Your Course

Susan Lawrence — 2021-09-02

Have you wondered how the Writing Center can support student writing in your course? This short video provides concrete tips and strategies for drawing on Writing Center resources.

ON DEMAND: Moving Past Written Assignments: Visual Representations of Course Material

Justin Ramsdell — 2021-09-02

This presentation reviews the strategies and lessons learned from implementing a "game board" assignment in assignment involving students, working collaboratively, to create their own "Chutes and Ladders" game board that fully explains the moral reasoning of criminal behavior. This assignment also involves incorporating the way temperamental and personality variables, mental illnesses, psychopathy, and situational variables *to name a few) accent moral decision making. This assignment is 7 weeks long, involves multiple submissions and peer feedback, and incorporates all the material from class into a single visual representation of the course material. Since the assignment is added onto weekly (after receiving peer feedback) the students often make many mistakes, redraw the board game, and (in general) are exposed to the information over and over while having to think about that information in a new way (i.e. a visual format as opposed to a written format). This is an assignment for forensic psychology, but can be used by anyone in any discipline, and also works well in a F2F, blended, or asynchronous online learning environment. Examples of student work will be shown

ON DEMAND: Developing technology-based "word cloud" activities that promote student engagement

Maggie Daniels — 2021-09-02

Word clouds are dynamic, visual compositions where students are given a prompt and asked to quickly provide one-word or two-word responses within an online platform. An image emerges where the size of each word indicates the response frequency. The purpose of this presentation is to detail the processes involved in creating a meaningful, engaging word cloud and incorporating it into a synchronous online course or within the classroom. The challenge being addressed pertains to designing group activities that are interactive yet conducive to social distancing and remote learning.

ON DEMAND: Achieve Better Student Writing Outcomes with Less Grading Stress: An Inductive Activity for Student Revision and Error Correction in Writing Assignments

Mary Richardson — 2021-09-02

Marking errors and providing feedback on student writing is labor intensive and time consuming for instructors. What’s more, it’s often not fully effective. Students may not understand the feedback and therefore not make thoughtful changes. Alternatively, because this traditional approach is a teacher-initiated sequence, students might make changes in that one instance, but not develop a critical awareness needed for writing effectively in future assignments.

Instead, I propose an inductive activity in which the sequence is reversed. Rather than receiving papers with errors marked and comments from instructors, students themselves identify and categorize strong and weak exemplars of writing, co-construct rule based knowledge about exemplary writing, collectively determine strategies for improvement, and apply these strategies to strengthening their own writing. This activity can be done with macro-level elements of writing (e.g, content, development, use of evidence, structure) for any type of writing assignment as well as micro-level grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. It can be done at various stages in the writing process such as before a peer review, after a first draft, or before a final graded draft. It is useful for native English speaking students and multi-lingual students alike.

ON DEMAND: Course Coordination: Balancing Instructor Autonomy & Content Standardization Across Multiple Sections

Brian Ngac — 2021-09-02

Being a course coordinator comes with many responsibilities including ensuring content consistency, defining learning objectives, establishing competency benchmarks, assuring instructor leeway, and preparing for seamless continuity during instructor absences / disasters across all sections. Ensuring content consistency is important so that any student taking the course will receive at a minimum the baseline knowledge. To ensure content consistency, we'll look at the Master Syllabus and the Baseline Lecture Content. Defining learning objectives and establishing competency benchmarks are also important so that students passing through the course are measured consistently, similarly, and fairly - across different sections. To ensure this, we'll look at common assignment requirements and exams. To assure instructor leeway, we'll look at how the course coordinator can encourage instructors and adjuncts to add their spin, knowledge, and experience to their specific sections - all while maintaining and delivering the baseline content for consistency and standardization. And finally, we'll look at the benefits of effective course coordination which can ensure seamless course continuity during times of disaster like COVID-19 and when instructors call in sick.

ON DEMAND: Effective Hybrid Teaching = No Live Lectures & More Application-Based Activities: Makes the Students & My Throat Happier!

Brian Ngac — 2021-09-02

With the introduction of more hybrid courses across the university in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many instructors may be facing challenges in delivering their lectures synchronous, duplicating their lectures, among others in this hybrid environment. In this talk, I will share how the hybrid format was actually a blessing in disguise for me and why I will be utilizing the hybrid format for my courses going forward. My 15 minute video presentation will be broken out as follows: 1 – I will discuss the benefit of planning, scripting, and pre-recording all lectures to be delivered as the online portion of the hybrid course; 2 – I will discuss the in class activities and semester-long project that can be done in the face-to-face portion of the hybrid course (and how to plan them accordingly); 3 – I will discuss the benefits for both you and the students with this hybrid approach; 4 – I will discuss the smaller class size because of the hybrid environment; 5 – I will discuss how this approach will benefit students academically as well as in their career; and 6 – I will also discuss some cautionary effects of my hybrid courses as well.

ON DEMAND: Learning to Write Computer Programs is Like Learning to Play the Piano

Gene Shuman — 2021-09-02

The artifact is a two minute video animation explaining how learning to write computer programs (software) is like learning to play the piano. Both require a significant amount of time, effort and concentration. Just as a jazz pianist learns to improvise on an underlying chord structure, programmers learn fundamental algorithms and write code that is a variation on those fundamentals. When a musician is performing a solo and the programmer is deep into creating the logic of a program, both enter a kind of mental "zone" which locks out distractions and suspends awareness of time.

The purpose of the video is motivational. It attempts to explain the poorly understood process of creating computer code by providing an analogy to something that's more familiar to many. It also shows why the programming process requires a sizable time investment as well as concentration, and practice since all those are required to master a musical instrument like the piano.

Providing such an analogy can help explain how a student might approach learning some new challenging skill and knowledge and justify the time required for a course. The video narrator is a cartoon avatar of the course professor, providing a light hearted and possibly silly, yet illuminating point about the programming process. The video is presented in selected sections of three GMU IST Department programming courses: IT-109, IT-209, and IT-309.

ON DEMAND: Performative Learning: Creative Engagement & Meaning Making

Patricia Maulden — 2021-09-02

I completed an Inside-Out Prison Exchange training in 2019 where we learned from lifer's association members (while in a maximum security prison) how to put together a semester's curriculum weaving in performance - movement, collaborative poetry creation, role plays, and so on. I found the experience to be transformative and thought of ways I could use some of these ideas in courses I teach at the Carter School. During the spring 2019 semester I developed a performative assignment that I used in my CONF 435/695 course and adapted (based on the curriculum) for my CONF 733 course in Malta. As this was the final assignment aside from a video reflection essay, all of the reading concepts/dynamics were included and each of the small student groups chose what they would focus on, what type of performance they would use to demonstrate these concepts etc., and perhaps most importantly, how they would debrief and explain the meaning and representations of course themes, etc. through their performance. I have a video of the 435/695 class performances but not for the 733 class. I have a strong sense of the value of creativity in education as a way to make sense of, challenge, and learn in a deeper more personal way. I share this for these reasons as well as that the students not only produced remarkable projects, well through through and strongly debriefed, but that they, through 'living with and moving among' the readings, case materials, and their own understanding and creative processes, expressed their amazement at themselves for what they had accomplished. As such, this approach, which can be modified to fit different educational circumstances, has value from the instructor side as well as the student side. An online environment will naturally require a different framing of the assignment but the creative aspect will hold in that environment as well.

ON DEMAND: Experiential Learning Project: Applying classroom knowledge to real life situations to meet learning outcomes.

Debra Stroiney — 2021-09-02

The experiential learning/client project implemented in KINE 350 is a semester long project that emphasizes knowledge in the course as well as pre-requisite classes. The project requires students to take an assigned client through a consultation, exercise assessment, and to write an exercise prescription to improve health and fitness. The student then meets with the client to teach them the exercises and gain feedback on the prescription they created. Check-ins and feedback on the project are given throughout the semester to keep the student on track. Volunteer clients are recruited from lower level Kinesiology courses (ex: KINE 100) to purposely expose these students to what is to come, and hopefully get them excited about progressing through their classes. This project also acts as a mini capstone addressing both analytical and experiential learning outcomes. This course falls about half way through the program and is taken the semester prior to going on their first internship. This project allows students to practice what they have learned at this point in the program with a “real” person in preparation for working with the public at their internship sites. Sharing my experiences with this project will allow instructors across disciplines to learn about creating a semester long project specifically incorporating experiential learning in their classroom. It allows instructors to gain information on creation an experiential project for their area even if the student may not have the experience or credentials needed if on a job or internship site. This type of assignment also allows for the measurement of program outcomes which can be reported in connection with program goals. Learning to give appropriate feedback on this type of project is key to the students’ success. This assignment was adapted to an online format when we pivoted last year. Revisions were made to the project to ensure both the students and program were meeting the outcomes for experiential learning. Adaptations to experiential projects such as this for an online class will also be discussed.

ON DEMAND: Exploring Globalization at Mason: Discussions among Anthropology and INTO Mason Students

Cortney Hughes Rinker — 2021-09-02

For this assignment, students enrolled in ANTH 332 (Cross-Cultural Perspectives of Globalization) in Fall 2019 and ANTH 114 (Introduction to Cultural Anthropology) in Summer 2020 engaged in meaningful conversations with INTO Mason students by leading part of a meeting of an INTO class in small groups. The INTO classes included were AE 073-001 (Dialogue with Americans) in Fall 2019 and AE 010-001 (Level 1 Core Class) in Summer 2020. The students in AE 073-001 are advanced-level Academic English students, while the students in AE 010-001 are beginning-level Academic English students.

Mason has an extremely diverse student body with many international students enrolled in its undergraduate programs, as well as in these two courses. What this assignment enabled the students in ANTH 114 and ANTH 332 to do was to take the concepts and approaches from anthropology that they learned in these courses and apply them in order to create a lesson plan for the session, which included preparing an ice breaker and short introductory presentation in addition to selecting a reading, video, or podcast that all students would review in advance, and to facilitate the discussion and activities about a particular topic with INTO Mason students during their class time. INTO Mason students study Academic English to prepare them to matriculate to graduate or undergraduate programs at George Mason University. Although INTO Mason students are engaged in intensive English Language study in the classroom, they offer have little opportunity to engage in substantive conversation with native English language speakers, particularly with domestic Mason students who will become their classmates once they matriculate. Such conversations assist in enhancing their English language skills and American culture knowledge, thus making them better prepared to become successful Mason students once they matriculated.

Having these two student populations in the same room—either in person or virtually—helped them all develop a better understanding of cross-cultural similarities and differences and provided all students a space to begin important dialogues that crossed international borders. Upon completion, students in the ANTH courses wrote a reflection about the experience and what they learned from it in relation to the course. One student commented on the course evaluation for Summer 2020: “I liked all the assignments and the presentation that we had to do because it helped me to understand the concepts. The presentation was a different experience than I had before, because we had to present in front of students who I didn't know at all.” These interactions allowed INTO Mason students deeper engagement with Mason students, which enabled them to further develop their English language skills and offered a more enriched experience of being on an American college campus. We will include this assignment from ANTH 332 (in-person) and ANTH 114 (virtual) as well as what was created for INTO Mason students.

This type of assignment has benefits for students who are learning the English language. Moreover, we often talk or hear about the global or globalization in an abstract sense. Frequently, regions are juxtaposed: West and East, Global North and Global South. However, in reality, these binaries may not exist, or at the very least, are extremely porous due to the rapid global flows of people, ideas, materials, and practices. The basis of this assignment can help instructors make the global or globalization more concrete for their classes by bringing students from around the world, or who have familial connections to multiple regions and countries, together in one room to talk about a topic that impacts people on a global scale. We also find that it helps students locate themselves and our university within the global network, question the cultural constructions and power relations that shape their everyday lives and experiences, and discover transnational connections that they did not recognize previously.

ON DEMAND: Podcast Presentations That Build Professional Skills

Gretchen Hendricks — 2021-09-02

A fall 2020 collaboration between the School of Business and Student Media/WGMU Radio inspired a new assignment and presentation medium for the BUS 303 - Developing Your Professional Skills, Advanced Elements course - a podcast. The goal of the assignment was to create podcasts on professional skills topics relevant to students and emerging professionals covered in the course such as emotional intelligence and leadership. The podcasts would be shared through WGMU radio programming to inform all Mason students. Creating the podcasts also required use of many professional skills including conducting research, practicing rhetorical awareness, organization and time management, and oral and written communication. The assignment description provides guidelines on podcast content, technical production, delivery, and supportive resources. The podcast project resulted in (an example podcast will be shared) a new engaging and informative format for student presentations that showcased soft skills, diversity, and included honest personal experiences that were relatable and at times moving.

ON DEMAND: Developing and Validating Learning Modules for Strengthening MS Graduates’ Applied Research Skills

Ioulia Rytikova — 2021-09-02

The video will give educators an opportunity to discuss innovative pedagogical strategies and their effectiveness in promoting and building research skills in computing and data analytics related disciplines from both a student and instructor perspectives. Participants will be able to discuss strategies to build innovative curriculum for educators interested in incorporating research activities in their classes by “utilizing ready-to-use” Bb modules. They will learn how to integrate a variety of teaching and learning strategies into their courses to help their students succeed in their classes and workforce.

ON DEMAND: Engaging Students Online through a Peer-to-Peer Asynchronous Teaching Assignment

Kelly Schrum — 2021-09-02

How can we engage students in online learning and content analysis? How can we do so interactively but also sustainably in an online context? Instructors will learn more about the benefits of peer-to-peer teaching and the possibilities of Google Sites for advancing online learning in this exploration of an asynchronous learning activity assignment.

ON DEMAND: Teaching during a Pandemic: The Switch from Student to Professor

Dina Abdo — 2021-09-02

During the Fall 2020 semester, I was given the opportunity to teach my first solo class. It would be my first time teaching my own class during a pandemic. While the pandemic made things difficult for myself and my students. I made sure to take the tips and practices I learned from PROV 701 seminar and my experience as a graduate teaching assistant. I made sure that my class was organized (my syllabus, blackboard, etc.) I found this to be very important for my students to be able to find out exactly where all resources and items were located. Another thing I did for my class was to send weekly emails with detailed notes sent to my student's email and announcements that included what we would be learning each week and dates/events to keep track of.

ON DEMAND: Five Small Changes to Build and Foster Community in Your Online Course

Darlene Smucny — 2021-09-02

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, students learning online at a distance (whether synchronously or asynchronously) often reported feeling isolated from other learners and from their instructors. By making small changes in your online course, you can help your students feel more connected with one another & with you (as instructor). You also can foster their emotional connections with course content, class materials and activities. Creating and fostering community in your online course enhances learner engagement, improves motivation, and leads to better learning (Udermann, 2019). Using the “Small Teaching” approach (Lang 2016; Darby & Lang, 2019), I will share 5 small changes which can be easily implemented right now in your online teaching and also incorporated in your plans for future online courses. By creating community in your course, you facilitate equitable and inclusive learning environment for all learners online (Darby 2020). The tips presented may be applied to synchronous and asynchronous online teaching; undergraduate and graduate-level classes, majors and non-majors courses; and modified for all disciplines.

Sources
• Darby, F., & Lang, J. M. (2019). Small teaching online: Applying learning science in online classes. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand.
• Darby, F. (2020). 6 Quick Ways to Be More Inclusive in a Virtual Classroom. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 23, 2020. (Retrieved April 21, 2021).
• Lang, J. M. (2016). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.
• Udermann, B. (2019). 7 Indispensable Strategies to Build Community in Your Online Courses. Magna Online Seminars.

ON DEMAND: Working with the Digital Scholarship Center to Promote Data Literacy

Alyssa Fahringer — 2021-09-02

What resources are available to Mason faculty who are interested in pursuing digital scholarship and teaching data literacy? Our video will discuss what the Digital Scholarship Center (DiSC) does and how we can facilitate your research. DiSC partners with students, faculty, and staff by providing research support to facilitate digital research and teaching across the university in all disciplines. We work with researchers in the areas of finding, accessing, and utilizing data; GIS and geospatial data; digital humanities; research data management; and software and technology. We provide individual consultations, workshops, and classroom instruction sessions. We are located on the second floor of Fenwick Library, where we have a computer lab equipped with Mac and PC computers with specialized software for digital scholarship, along with other hardware. We are a member of the Carpentries organization, and we have taught workshops on foundational coding and data science skills to Mason students and faculty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all of our services continue to be available to the Mason community, albeit in a virtual format. Our video will also walk viewers through the DiSC website, and how to contact us. We are here to help and look forward to assisting GMU faculty with their digital scholarship.

ON DEMAND: Using StrengthsFinder assessment results to pair students up for more successful and meaningful group work

Kristen Vlaun — 2021-09-02

During the first week of class, I assign students the StrengthsFinder assessment in order to determine their top 5 strengths. The first assignment in our class, is an introductory video during which each student introduces themselves and shares what their top 5 strengths are based on their StrengthsFinder assessment results. The second part of this assignment requires students to respond via board post to another student’s introductory video. The purpose of the board post assignment is to for students to find a peer with different strengths than they have. These pairs become partners for the final assignment of the semester. Ultimately, I want to provide an example of how knowing each other’s strengths and working thoughtfully together can provide a more positive and effective group experience.

ON DEMAND: Virtual Interactive Poster Presentations

Melissa Hauber — 2021-09-02

This teaching and learning artifact describes how a final presentation assignment for a master’s-level course in education was adapted to a synchronous online format modeled after an interactive conference poster session. Students each created a virtual poster using the OSCAR template to share the research projects they completed for the course and presented them to their peers in Zoom breakout rooms. The class was divided into three groups so that students could move between presentations, view classmates’ posters, listen to a brief explanation, ask questions, and provide feedback; both attendees and presenters filled out short peer and self-evaluations using Google Forms. This format facilitated more interaction and engagement than each student presenting to the whole class, which is particularly important in online instruction. The artifact includes instructions provided to students beforehand, the poster template, a description of logistics during the presentation session, peer and self-evaluation surveys, and an instructor rubric as well as several example posters and student feedback about the activity.

ON DEMAND: Articulate The Purpose: International Grad Students Meet Their Subject Librarians

Aimee Weinstein — 2021-09-02

International Graduate students at INTO Mason take courses that help them transition into the American academy as well as a multi-disciplinary research writing course that shows them the conventions of writing in their specific disciplines. This assignment touches on many different goals at once. The students must not only interact with their subject librarians at Mason, but also be able to discuss their topics with their librarians and be able to articulate their ideas. This assignment occurs at the point in the semester when students are beginning to formulate their research questions so they can do more targeted research. The students have to be able to fully articulate their ideas and how they work in concert in order to ask for help in identifying articles or chapters to review to support those ideas. This is the assignment sheet for the meeting, annotated to show the research behind its inception.

ON DEMAND: Making Large Classes Feel Small with Learning Communities

Katherine Miscavige — 2021-09-02

In connection with my presentation for the Showcase Session on "Creating Community and a Sense of Belonging in Your Course," this On Demand presentation will be discuss using learning communities in large classes – especially online asynchronous classes - to foster a sense of community and connection. This is a strategy I used this year when I combined my 4 sections of English 302 into one large Blackboard shell. I created learning communities within the larger class to give students the small-class experience. Doing so improved discussion board participation and peer review, as group members demonstrated a higher level of investment and engagement. Students also reported feeling more supported in navigating the course and their assignments. This On Demand presentation will include strategies for forming groups (deciding on size, characteristics for group formation, logistics of group formation), how to use the groups during the semester, and a little bit of the feedback from students on how being a part of a learning community impacted their experience of the course.

ON DEMAND: Finding Resonances: Using Biographies of Lesser Known Astronomers That Match a Learner's Identity

Rebecca Ericson — 2021-09-02

Students in the Astronomy 113 on-line asynchronous lecture class have an option to create one of two final projects, one a traditional exploration of a topic in astronomy or this option, create a podcast or video short bio of an astronomer that they identify with. In the assignment I suggest they might find someone who has contributed to the field but is not profiled in our textbook. I suggest they might choose someone who matches them on race, country of family origin, gender, culture, or research topic of interest to name a few possibilities. I have been amazed at the responses. One student chose a Black astronomer who is still active in his field, and wrote to him explaining why he felt his discoveries should appear in the textbook. The astronomer sent back a very nice letter of response which he allowed the student to share with the class. Another identified and researched a prominent Vietnamese astronomer, while another found someone to identify with on the basis of gender identity. I was honestly surprised at the positive response. Students will write a short reflection on their projects as well for their final portfolios and I fully expect to have a few who felt this was a highlight of the course. Several have already mentioned that they really didn't think they would find anyone like them in the field, and their podcasts and videos are enlightening for me as well.

ON DEMAND: Beyond Feminist Oeuvre: How Beyoncé’s 2016 “Lemonade” Album Inspires HBCU Undergrads Through Sisterhood and Redemption

Karen Rice — 2021-09-02

With the two-fold goal of incorporating more in-depth undergraduate scholarship and increasing a sense of community within a new asynchronous online (Covid-Era) format, I transformed my Women in Music course into a gratifying student experience that culminated in unique academic findings. This General Education course covers women in music, both historically and culturally, with nods to areas like gender studies, social justice, and media bias. In its revised form, after building a knowledge base through assigned readings and reflective discussions, the course guides students toward constructing their own lens and tools for analyzing a major musical work of art by a woman musician. The past two semesters were devoted to exploring Beyoncé’s 2016 Lemonade album and film in terms of its symbolism, overall message, intent as a feminist work of art, personal meaning and value, and model of representation, particularly for students attending an HBCU. Students investigated themes and the musical methods used to convey them, as they also explored their own personal connections to those themes. Through sharing their insights and finding common ground, these classmates assimilated their song analyses into a comprehensive digital artifact, ultimately contributing their distinctive voice to the scholarship on Lemonade’s significance. This venture has revealed a scope of possibilities for including undergraduates in course-based research endeavors. Students with limited expertise can still offer their perceptions and experiences, especially within a communal medium like music, all of which lead toward expanding their views. Most importantly, when students' contributions are validated, they feel empowered.

ON DEMAND: Exploring How International GTA's/GRA's Maneuver Academic Spaces

Aayushi Hingle — 2021-09-02

In this session, we discuss some of the experiences and challenges of international GTAs and GRAs, how they maneuver their identities as students and instructors/researchers and seek social support. We explore these intersectionalities through the lenses of Critical Intercultural Communication Pedagogy, Standpoint Theory, Social Support Theory, and Identity Negotiation Theory. After attending this session, participants will better understand the challenges of international GTAs and GRAs and ways to support them, especially during this pandemic.

ON DEMAND: Five Steps for Inclusive & Equitable Teaching Online

Katrina Johnson — 2021-09-07

In Summer 2021, Stearns Center Digital Learning focused our Online Teaching Coaching Newsletter series on Inclusive and Equitable Teaching Online. In this brief video, we provide a summary of our Summer series by sharing 5 practical steps which you can use to make your online courses and online teaching inclusive, equitable, accessible, and welcoming -- starting today!

Link to the video: https://coursemedia.gmu.edu/media/Five%20Steps%20for%20Inclusive%20%26%20Equitable%20Teaching%20Online/1_uh0wo9ci

ON DEMAND: SoTL Collaboratory: A Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Resource for Instructors, Faculty Developers, and Administrators

Laura Lukes — 2021-09-02

What is SoTL?

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the systematic study of teaching and learning in higher education with the goal of improving student learning, including examining classroom practice in a scholarly way, researching teaching and learning across programs or student populations, and sharing work through publication.

What is the SoTL Collaboratory?

SoTL Collaboratory Website: https://sotl.gmu.edu

Broadly speaking, the SoTL Collaboratory is a group of educational developers and graduate students from a few institutions in Virginia (George Mason Univeristy, University of Virginia, VA Tech, James Madison University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and University of Mary Washington) who gather regularly to exchange SoTL programming and leadership ideas, strengthen individual SoTL support planning efforts, and collectively work towards creating shared resources that enable SoTL leader success beyond our individual institutions. The SoTL Collaboratory during AY2020-2021 consisted of a proto-regional community of practice (CoP) for faculty developers and future faculty developers. The project is funded in part by a grant from 4-VA, a collaborative partnership for advancing the Commonwealth of Virginia

The first main SoTL Collaboratory project goal during the AY2020-2021 was to build a proto-regional community of practice for faculty developers at Virginia institutions who offer programming to support SoTLers at their institution. SoTL Collaboratory members met regularly to exchange ideas and resources, contribute to a regional SoTL support model repository (which evolved into SoTL Strategic Planning Tool Development), give feedback on the strategic plans for SoTL at our institutions (that we are each developing), and explore ways that we can “share” the workload in the future through offering cross-institutional SoTL programming for our faculty. As part of this knowledge exchange and work towards establishing cross-institutional program offerings, George Mason University opened it's Innovations In Teaching and Learning conference to faculty developers and instructors from any institution to participate and Virginia Commonwealth University opened it's online SoTL workshop series to instructors at Virginia institutions.

The second main goal was to produce a website that houses SoTL resources for three main audiences: instructors interested in learning more about SoTL or already engaged in SoTL work; faculty developers exploring ways to support SoTLers at their institutions; and administrators (deans, chairs, etc.) who are seeking clarification on what SoTL is and how other institutions recognize SoTL work in promotion and tenure processes. Please visit our website for more information: https://sotl.gmu.edu

The SoTL Collaboratory also designed, developed, and offered one of the “Post” POD Conference Workshops in January 2021, “Creating a Strategic Plan for SoTL at Your Institution“—in which the goal was that attendees left the workshop with a solid draft of their strategic plans with peer feedback from several people. The SoTL Collaboratory is currently preparing the strategic planning tools developed over the past year for public sharing.

Interested in getting involved? For more ways to connect with the SoTL Collaboratory, please visit our connect page.

Founding SoTL Collaboratory Members

Laura Lukes, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Teaching Excellence, Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, George Mason University

SoTL Collaboratory Director, contact at thesotlcollaboratory@gmail.com

Liesl Baum, Ph.D., Associate Director for Professional Development, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Virginia Tech

Ed Brantmeier, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Scholarship Programs, Center for Faculty Innovation, James Madison University

Kim Case, Ph.D., Director of Faculty Success in the Office of the Provost, Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence & Faculty Success, Virginia Commonwealth University

Kim Filer, Ph.D., Director, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Virginia Tech

Dayna Henry, Ph.D., Coordinator of Student Research and Faculty Associate for Scholarship, Center for Faculty Innovation, James Madison University

Jessica Taggart, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Virginia

Melissa Wells, Ph.D., Faculty Fellow, Center for Teaching, University of Mary Washington

Lindsay Wheeler, Ph.D., Assistant Director of STEM Education Initiatives & Assistant Professor, General Faculty, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Virginia

Graduate Research Assistants

Jessica Dauterive, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History and Art History, George Mason University
SoTL Collaboratory Web Editor (2020-2021)

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman, Ph.D. Student, Higher Education Program, George Mason University
SoTL Collaboratory Data and Analysis (2020-

Liliana Ferrufino, Master’s Student, School Psychology Program, James Madison University (2021-

Sophia Abbott, Ph.D. Student, Higher Education Program, George Mason University (2021-

WELCOME & KEYNOTE SPEAKER ADDRESS: Dr. Tia Brown McNair, "Intentionality By Design: Strengthening and Sustaining a Culture of Equity"

Stearns Center — 2021-09-02

How do we accelerate broad-scale innovation and institutional change to advance evidence-based educational strategies that prioritize the creation of equity-conscious environments where students can thrive? ? How can educators ensure that students are fully prepared for life, work, and productive global citizenship? What changes need to be made in an institution's policies, practices, partnerships, and culture to make excellence inclusive for ALL students? How do we embed students’ “cultural wealth” into our educational designs to engage diversity and challenge inequities in student outcomes? This presentation will discuss the practical strategies outlined in From Equity Talk to Equity Walk for examining and establishing equity goals to promote student engagement and success, and to build race-conscious learning environments.

WORKSHOP: Promoting Inclusive Teaching through Transparent Assignment Design (90 Mins.)

Crystal Anderson — 2021-09-02

Are you interested in increasing the confidence and sense of belonging of your students? Would you like to learn simple strategies to promote student success in face-to-face and online courses? Do you want more students to benefit from your assignments? In this workshop, you will learn about the Transparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT) framework, which equitably promotes student success. Studies have shown that using transparent assignments enhances the performance of all students, with historically underserved students showing the greatest gains. You will leave with a draft assignment/activity for one of your courses and a concise set of strategies for designing transparent assignments/activities.

Workshop: Maximizing Outcomes for Service Learning Assignments in Any Environment (90 mins)

Sally Sledge — 2021-09-02

This session will invite participants to share or create a service learning assignment that could be improved. We will cover strategies to increase student engagement in service learning activities during the pandemic. Successful adaptations will be shared that can allow faculty to add service learning activities in to most courses. Participants will be invited to give and receive feedback on how these assignments might be adjusted during the pandemic for optimal results.

SHOWCASE: Creating Community and a Sense of Belonging in Your Course (Whether Face-to-Face or Online) (90 mins)

Supriya Baily — 2021-09-02

In this ITL Showcase Session faculty will share practical activities and tools that have proven successful in building a sense of community and belonging in their courses. Participants will leave the session with a full toolbox to use in the classroom. In the second half of the session, faculty will share different perspectives on the conceptual and philosophical frameworks around why creating that sense of belonging and community is important and contributes to all student learning.

1. Welcome!

2. What I do, what I have my student’s do… in course strategies. Five minute flash presentations by:
Ms. Shannyn Snyder (low-stakes activities, time to chat)
Dr. Jennifer Lewis (bridging two majors in a specialized course)
Dr. Alison Melley (padlet, perusal)
Ms. Sophia Marshall (hybrid courses)
Dr. Kimberley Daly (conferencing with students)
Dr. Katherine Miscavige (making a large class feel small with learning communities)

3. Breakout Group discussion: Speakers will lead small group discussion from their philosophical approach to community building. Discussion is designed to provide attendees with specific strategies and resources they utilize to support their community framework.
Dr. Al Fuertes
Dr. Christy Pichichero
Dr. Supriya Baily
Dr. Jackie Brown

4. Re Group final Q&A

SHOWCASE: Engaging Students in Active Learning Classrooms or in Hybrid/Hyflex Models (90 mins)

Steven Zhou — 2021-09-02

COVID-19 has brought remote and online teaching to the forefront of all instructors' daily lives and routine. Even as we return to on campus classroom learning environments, many courses will remain online; be reimagined into some blend of online and face-to-face components (hybrid); or offer both in person and remote participation options (hyflex). This session will feature panelists with experience teaching in Mason’s active learning classrooms, using hybrid models of course design, or using online and classroom technologies to create hyflex learning opportunities. Specifically, the session will focus on ways to engage students in active learning environments and remotely using classroom and online technologies to effectively teach students from diverse backgrounds across a spectrum of modalities. By the end of this session, participants will be able to list the major teaching technologies and active learning environment spaces and technology support resources available to them at Mason and leave with concrete plans for using at least one of these technologies or approaches in their own courses.

1. Introductions (10 minutes)
2. Panel discussion about [coming soon] (30 minutes)
3. Technology showcase demonstrations in breakout rooms (30 minutes)
4. Q&A and discussion of applying to participant courses (20 minutes)

Conveners: Steven Zhou, Crystal Anderson

Panelist Speakers:

Mihai Boicu (Volgenau School of Engineering) will share his strategies for successfully teaching in Mason’s active learning classrooms (for the last 7 years); how he incorporates online components into face-to-face courses; and how his teaching has been transformed due to COVID-19.

Crystal Clemons (Classroom Technologies) will share updates on the newest active learning classrooms on Mason’s campuses (e.g., Horizon Hall) and the latest in classroom technologies available to support instructors in offering students real-time remote participation in face-to-face courses.

Irina Hashmi (Volgenau School of Engineering) will share [coming soon]

Katrina Johnson (Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning) will share a variety of online technologies and activities that can be used across disciplines to support learning across modalities.

Jim Mclean (Information Technology Services) will share [content needed]

Gene Shuman (Volgenau School of Engineering) will share [content needed]

Julia Tungli (Information Technology Services) will share [content needed]

Katie Rosenbusch (School of Business) will share what has and hasn’t worked in Mason’s active learning classrooms (from her experiences over the last 5 years); how she incorporates online components into face-to-face courses; and how her teaching has been transformed due to COVID-19.

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Compassion and Accountability for Inclusive Excellence (90 min)

Molly Wilder — 2021-09-02

Over the past year, students and instructors have faced unprecedented challenges related to the global pandemic, political unrest, and natural disasters—many of which are rooted in long histories of injustice that will continue to raise challenges for the foreseeable future. Moreover, even in the best of times students and instructors regularly face personal challenges that are just as stressful as those that are publicly shared. Such circumstances call for pedagogical practices that are compassionate towards both instructors and students, yet still compatible with holding ourselves and our students accountable to high standards of inclusive excellence. In this panel discussion, we will share our own journeys towards compassion and accountability, solicit participants’ experiences, and brainstorm together how best to achieve both going forward. Participants will leave with a comprehensive list of compassionate practices to consider, in-depth understanding of accountability concerns and how they might be creatively addressed, a department-level model of instructor peer support, and individualized peer feedback on the specific practices they are considering integrating into their pedagogy.

SHOWCASE: Embedding Experiential or Community-Engaged Learning Projects into Your Courses (90 mins)

Wai Ling Fong — 2021-09-02

As educators, we strive to create opportunities for students to learn deeply and meaningfully. One way to do this is to engage students with experiential (defined here as applied professional practice) or community-engaged (defined here as assignments that involve a community partner) projects. This session features a multidisciplinary panel of speakers who will discuss how to design and implement such projects into courses from across disciplines. Panelists will share specific project assignment examples and share their strategies for engaging and working with community partners, as well as preparing students to participate in these types of experiences. Whether you are teaching at the graduate or undergraduate level, in-person or online teaching, this session would showcase on-going projects at Mason, as well as ideas and resources on how you can create and implement experiential engagement learning projects in your classroom. To begin the session, participants will be asked to share their definition of "experiential" and "community-engaged" activities on a Jamboard. Answers are made public for all attendees. The convener will next introduce the speakers and the lightning talk format. Each speaker will have 6 to 10 mins (max) of lighting talk. During the lightning talk, participants are encouraged to post their questions in the chatroom. The convener will open a 5 min Q&A to address these questions after each talk. Participants will leave with concrete activity and strategy ideas for incorporating experiential or community-engaged learning projects into their courses and also receive a list of compiled resources and speakers' contact at the end of the session.

Conveners: Wai Ling Fong, Larisa Olesova

Panelist Speakers:
Leila Austin (College of Visual and Performing Arts) will share tips and experiential activities to engage students in the global environmental challenge of climate change.
Susan Hirsch (Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution) and Agnieszka Paczynska (Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution) will share best practices and specific “how-to” tips of developing a variety of role plays and simulations (e.g., Liberia Conflict Mapping, Loudoun County School Board Meeting) for both in-person and online instruction models, including how to adapt experiential exercises developed for an in-person format into a virtual setting. They will share how to write short, simple role plays that allow students to explore complex social dynamics in relatively compressed time frames (often no more than 30 minutes); as well role plays and simulations that require students to do significant research in preparing their roles. With respect to community-engaged learning into courses, we will share best practices for developing and sustaining partnerships. In the area of student engagement in community-based restorative justice, several examples of involving students in designing and delivering workshops (awareness raising), trainings (restorative practices), and holding Virtual Restorative Circles in response to opportunities to work with community partners. Surmounting some of the difficulties of responding to urgent partner requests while also meeting pedagogical goals will be discussed. The examples offered will include courses taught in domestic, international, and virtual settings.

Siddhartha Sikdar (Volgenau School of Engineering) will share his team's experience in involving graduate students in community-engaged design projects as part of a new two course sequence PROV 801 and 802 (Community-engaged Interdisciplinary Methods I and II) created as part of a NSF-funded National Research Traineeship (NRT) program. Students utilized design thinking strategies, customer discovery interviews with stakeholders, and a design canvas, to break down a complex societal problem into a specific research question; and developed a NIH-style research proposal. The students then participated in peer review of the proposals and ran a mock peer review panel. Finally, they presented their refined proposals to an audience of community stakeholders, practitioners and industry partners. I will discuss how some of these strategies can be adapted in courses that tackle interdisciplinary topics.

Shannyn Snyder (College of Health and Human Services) will share strategies and tips from her years of experience designing and teaching community-based learning courses and how she has modified and adjusted in response to the limitations of COVID-19.

Debra Stroiney (College of Education and Human Development) will share the experiential/client-based project implemented in her KINE 350 course that requires students to take an assigned client through a typical consultation and exercise assessment, as well as write an exercise prescription to improve health and fitness. The student then meets with the client to teach them the exercises and gain feedback on the prescription they created. Check-ins and feedback on the project are given throughout the semester to keep the student on track. She will discuss strategies for designing and supporting a client-based project across disciplines and how this type of project can also be used as preparation for internships.

SHOWCASE: Managing Groups in Online Environments (90 mins)

Gabriele Belle — 2021-09-02

Managing groups in any learning environment requires careful planning to ensure that students feel included, develop important career-ready teamwork skills, and learn course subject content. In part one of this session, a panel of instructors from across disciplines will briefly share their team-based assignments and general strategies for assigning groups, managing group conflicts, grading group work, and providing groups feedback. In part two of this session, participants will experience an online group activity in which each group produces a slide in a shared document gallery that contains list of questions and strategies/tips for managing groups in online environments. In part three, speakers and participants engage in a discussion facilitated by the convener. Participants will be able to describe 3-8 strategies for managing groups in an online environment that they can apply to their courses.

Conveners: Faisal Mahmud, Ala Showers

Panelist Speakers:
Gabriele Belle (College of Science) will share how she uses Blackboard to create synchronous and asynchronous spaces for groups in a way that supports group autonomy while offering “just in time” instructor support.

Victoria Grady (School of Business) will share her favorite “kick off” activities to facilitate student engagement and a semester of dialogue.

Karen King (School of Business) and Ashley Yuckenberg (School of Business) will share how they use minor assignments and a team charter activity to support team formation and buy-in before the teams move on to summative assessment papers and presentations. These team-building assignments allow for group alignment and support the creation of a workflow among the teams that result in more balanced assignment outcomes.

Katie Rosenbusch (School of Business) will share how she modifies her strategies for online vs. face-to-face (with special consideration for COVID-19 protocols) and some of her favorite group activities like a virtual escape room.

Raven Russell (Volgenau School of Engineering) will share strategies compiled by the Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER-STEM) discussion group at Mason.

Nick Tatum (College of Humanities and Social Sciences) will share his strategies for using shared documents to support real time group learning support tasks, which facilitate his ability to monitor student progress, and improve student learning experience by streamlining the technology logistics of collaborative work.

WORKSHOP: What are Essential Quality Indicators for My Online Course? (40 mins)

Darlene Smucny — 2021-09-02

Stearns Center Digital Learning has developed the Online Quality Checklist and Guidelines to help Mason faculty identify ways to guide online course design or re-design, and to enhance/improve existing online courses. The quality indicators in the Checklist apply to both asynchronous and synchronous online courses & teaching. In this session, we provide an opportunity for faculty to learn about essentials for online course quality, to work with the checklist, to reflect on their own practices, and to share best practices and ideas for improvements with other faculty.

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: Mentoring Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects Roundtable (45 Mins)

Karen Lee — 2021-09-02

There is a growing body of literature on best practices for mentoring undergraduate student projects. Yet, often, mentors work with undergraduate students without the opportunity for training, discussion of strategies, or membership in a community of mentors. Many of our best ideas for mentoring students come from discussions with other mentors. With COVID-19 restrictions and the new experience of mentoring students virtually, mentoring communities are increasingly important. This round table will allow participants to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss best practices in mentoring undergraduate projects. Specific information about opportunities to mentor students through OSCAR and other programs at Mason will be presented and participants will have time to ask questions and share strategies for effectively mentoring undergraduate student projects, both course-embedded and independent. At the end of this session, participants will come away with strategies for recruiting and supporting undergraduate students researchers, a list of resources related to best practices for mentoring undergraduates, and a community of mentors to share strategies.

WORKSHOP: Virtual Classroom Impact and Engagement: Tips, Tools and Fun! (90 mis)

David Heath — 2021-09-02

Join The EDGE, Mason’s Team Development and Experiential Learning program, and the School of Business in an interactive workshop on strategies to boost engagement in the virtual classroom. Participants in this 90-minute session will participate in several effective energizing and problem-solving activities and engage in dialogue on how and why this works in the virtual as well as physically distanced classroom.

SHOWCASE: Teaching Research Writing: A Showcase of Mini-lessons and Activities from across the Curriculum (90 mins)

Tom Polk — 2021-09-02

We strive to develop our students’ general writing skills, but how can we as teachers transform how they “see” writing and language choices in their major discipline? This session will feature instructors from a cross-disciplinary faculty learning community (FLC) that focused on teaching research writing. The FLC was organized around language noticing pedagogies designed to help students first identify and then strategically apply the writing and language moves that are most common in research-based academic writing across the disciplines. The panel will begin with an overview of the FLC from its facilitator and the writing pedagogy that informed her approach to the FLC. Then, FLC instructor members from a variety of disciplines will describe how they have drawn on their learning in the FLC and adapted it to their teaching. The session will then open up into a gallery walk of teaching artifacts with some small group Q&A. Participants will walk away with concrete ideas and examples for teaching research-writing in their courses.

Conveners: Tom Polk, Larisa Olesova

Panelist Speakers:
Jennifer Ashley (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Danielle Catona (College of Health and Human Services)
Janet Ha Poirot (College of Humanities and Social Sciences-School of Integrative Studies)
Maction Komwa (College of Science)
Ron Mahabir (College of Science)
Nathaniel Smith (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Sarah Wittman (School of Business)
Anna Habib (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)

SHOWCASE: Teaching Transformation Talks: How Your Teaching Has Changed (90 Mins.)

Gabriele Belle — 2021-09-16

The pandemic forced entire educational systems to change. Both students and instructors had to adapt continuously to new teaching and learning environments. This session will examine what changes have occurred in our classrooms, technological and other aspects of teaching and learning, and what challenges instructors have been facing since the COVID-19 pandemic started. We will take a look at instructional innovations and learn more from our panel members from across disciplines about their new ideas for addressing pedagogical and social emotional challenges in a dominantly online classroom environment and going forward as we emerge from COVID-19 restrictions. We hope for an open and enlightening discussion, full of insight towards improvements in an online classroom setting, which will benefits student achievements and their overall involvement in the classroom. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences.

Conveners: Laura Poms, Jessica Hurley

Panelist Speakers:

Gabriele Belle (College of Science) will share her experience as the Physics lab coordinator converting lab experiments into an online format. She will share her experience with this transformation process and explain how they engage students in the learning activities, manage groups and create a positive learning environment.

Steve Brown (College of Health and Human Services) will share his use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) like Lynda and LinkedIn Learning in f2f, online, and hybrid Health Administration courses.

Karen Kitching (School of Business): Technology has grown leaps and bounds. Student expectations have changed along with these innovations. This presentation will provide examples of how to keep students engaged in courses delivered asynchronously online. Karen has been teaching distance courses since 2014 and hybrid courses since 2016. She will also share her tips on how to ensure that students work on course deliverables throughout the week and not at the midnight hour. Tips can also be incorporated in traditional courses.

Brian Ngac (School of Business) will share his hybrid teaching experience and how that has transformed his teaching process. All lectures are pre-recorded and his class has a semester long project in which all project activities are tied directly to each week's pre-recorded lecture. When in the face-to-face component, he acts as a mentor rather than an instructor to guide students through their custom group project.

Vivek Narayanan (College of Humanities and Social Sciences) will share his experience with various Blackboard-enabled tools--these have transformed his teaching practice and circumstance as well as the class' awareness of itself as a community. He will focus on social annotation tools such as Hypothesis and Perusall. He will go over some of the ways in which using social annotation has changed his teaching and the students' sense of themselves as a learning community. He will do a short demonstration, leading the attendees in a short collective annotation of a poem, to give them a first-hand feel of what the process is like.

Ana Stoehr (College of Health and Human Services) will share how the School of Nursing simulated pediatric clinical experiences using a combination of weekly pre-assigned readings, online instructional videos, on-line quizzes, and in-person pediatric case-scenarios. She will share how the use of faculty-led high-fidelity lab simulation enabled the continuity of a productive teaching-learning experience using pre-brief and debrief techniques. She will reflect and share with instructors across disciplines how this educational innovation was successful in creating a safe and engaging environment that facilitated student clinical learning and a sense of togetherness during a global pandemic.

Ashley Yuckenberg (School of Business) will share her experience redesigning BUS 103 in order to create a culture of collaboration and learning in an online class. She will discuss developing processes for setting up teams as well as supporting team building, team work, collaboration, and opportunities to practice using online tools that are needed to write and develop presentations. She worked on building community and teams through incorporating an online ice breaker within groups, creating team charters through the wiki on Blackboard, completion of StrengthsFinder with group discussion, and presenting in low-stakes team fashion the group StrengthsFinder summary.

Steven Zhou (College of Humanities and Social Sciences) will share how he restructured PSYC 300 to remove exams and replace them with applied projects and weekly problem sets, all open-book and open-note. The goal of this was the emulate the fact that, in the "real world", anyone who uses statistics is unlikely to be asked to recount a formula from memory, and they will likely be able to use a computer. Thus, the focus is on real-life application of statistical problems. Moreover, in the weekly problem sets, he gave students the option of turning them in early and would then grade them within 24 hours and give them the chance to make corrections. This maintains a degree of high expectations on keeping up with the material, but gives students the chance to practice and improve.

Q&A w/ ON DEMAND (Group A)

Sheena Serslev — 2021-09-02

This session will be an informal, facilitated discussion between On Demand presenters and session attendees. On Demand materials will be available to view on the first day of the conference (September 20) via the ITL Conference Proceedings page, but the discussions will likely not involve screening/showing of the On Demand materials.

The following On Demand Presenters will participate:

• Evelyn Tomaszewski – “Engaging Students in Synchronous Hybrid Environments: What We Can Learn from HyFlex Teaching”
• Justin Ramsdell – “Moving Past Written Assignments: Visual Representations of Course Material”
• Vivek Narayanan – “How Social Annotation Brings Back Close Reading and Transforms Your Class Discussion”
• Sheena Serslev – “Assessing Assessments: Delving into the Inaugural Pilot Review Process of Academic Annual Assessments”

WORKSHOP: Using Twine for Nonlinear Storytelling Across The Academic Spectrum (40 mins)

Suzy Rigdon — 2021-09-02

Learn to use Twine, an open-source, free online program to help students innovate and re-imagine their research and writing processes. From the creative writing classroom to history essays, to biology presentations, this nonlinear program allows for new and fun approaches to (academic) storytelling.

Q&A w/ ON DEMAND (Group B)

Gretchen Hendricks — 2021-09-02

This session will be an informal, facilitated discussion between On Demand presenters and session attendees. On Demand materials will be available to view on the first day of the conference (September 20) via the ITL Conference Proceedings page, but the discussions will likely not involve screening/showing of the On Demand materials.

The following On Demand Presenters will participate:
• Gretchen Hendricks – “Podcast Presentations That Build Professional Skills”
• Sanja Avramovic – “An Example of Authentic Assessment: Building career readiness through online professional networks”
• Joyce Johnston – “Leading for Change: A Customizable Writing Experience”
• Dina Abdo – “Teaching during a Pandemic: The Switch from Student to Professor”
• Andrea Landis – “Pre-brief and Debrief: Teaching Strategies Used for Simulation Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education at GMU During COVID-19 Pandemic”
• Brian Ngac – “Course Coordination: Balancing Instructor Autonomy & Content Standardization Across Multiple Sections” AND “Effective Hybrid Teaching = No More Live Lectures: Makes the Students & My Throat Happier!”

Q&A w/ ON DEMAND (Group C)

Rebecca R.G. — 2021-09-02

This session will be an informal, facilitated discussion between On Demand presenters and session attendees. On Demand materials will be available to view on the first day of the conference (September 20) via the ITL Conference Proceedings page, but the discussions will likely not involve screening/showing of the On Demand materials.

The following On Demand Presenters will participate:
• Rebecca R.G. – “ Graduate Assistants supporting active learning in graduate classrooms”
• Eunmee Lee – “KakaoTalk Messenger: A way to keep real-time communication and build a community with students”
• Patricia Maulden – “Performative Learning: Creative Engagement & Meaning Making”
• Kristen Vlaun – “Using StrengthsFinder assessment results to pair students up for more successful and meaningful group work.”
• Cortney Hughes Rinker – “Exploring Globalization at Mason: Discussions among Anthropology and INTO Mason Students”
• Michael Smith - “Exploring Globalization at Mason: Discussions among Anthropology and INTO Mason Students”
• Melissa Hauber – “Virtual Interactive Poster Presentations”
• Laurie Meamber – “Engaging Experiential Exercises”

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Variations on standards-based grading

Anton Lukyanenko — 2021-09-02

Traditional grading structures are susceptible to problems with cheating, inequity, and a focus on procedural rather than conceptual problem-solving. Standards-based grading (also known as mastery grading) provides a way to focus on the concepts and methods at the core of a course, and has seen a surge of interest in mathematics and other STEM fields.

This session will present several approaches to implementing standards-based grading in STEM, based on recent experience by faculty at the mathematics department. We will focus both on small-class and large-class approaches, as well as both theoretical and computational courses.

We will discuss pre-course planning, implementation, and outcomes, as well as interactions with other teaching approaches such as active learning and online teaching.

Participants will take away both benefits and challenges of implementation, including the time commitment involved in standards-based grading. The panel will include time for a discussion of the methods and their implementation across STEM disciplines.

Q&A w/ ON DEMAND (Group D)

Alice Wrigglesworth — 2021-09-02

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Teaching Sensitive Topics Virtually: Challenges and Success from Social Justice Educators

David Corwin — 2021-09-02

In virtual teaching, there are still times where we are discussing a multitude of tough issues that need more socially just pedagogies. Some of these issues are gender based violence, LGBTQ issues, diversity and inclusion conversations, racialized trauma, pandemic anxieties and loss, and healing from national politics. Particularly during a pandemic and an election year, these issues surfaced arguably in most classrooms, but addressing them virtually can and did seem like an impossible task. This panel will discuss our own strategies in classes where we have addressed these issues. While we are all Women and Gender Studies and African and African American Studies faculty, we have taught Mason Core courses and hope to transfer some of these strategies to folks in other disciplines.

Some strategies that we will discuss are more proactive measures, aimed at building virtual course communities in which shared knowledge and growth are promoted and lived experiences are respected. Providing students with a theoretical frame or alternative lens for approaching these difficult conversations is one key strategy that we will expand on in our session. Other strategies we will discuss are more reactive in nature, as we navigate U.S. social contexts or respond to moments of difficulty within our own courses.

During this session, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and chat with three faculty members who regularly teach the topics mentioned above. We will incorporate scholarship in feminist pedagogies that focuses on online teaching and mentoring, which while new has existed prior to the pandemic and continues to be published.

After this session, participants will takeaway:

Key strategies for discussing sensitive topics related to race, gender, and sexuality
Resources for assignment design when asking students to research and write about these topics

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE: Experience from Teaching Square at GMU

Robin Ericson — 2021-09-02

In our panel discussion and Q&A, we will discuss our positive experiences with organizing an interdisciplinary teaching square in the fall semester of 2020, as well as how and why to join Teaching Square at GMU. We’re an interdisciplinary group of four professors/instructors from different disciplines in the humanities and sciences. We will share examples of successful and unsuccessful assignments and strategies that we used in our virtual classrooms and highlight what we can learn from each other.

WORKSHOP: The Librarian’s Guide to Finding Diverse Voices in Academic Research (40 mins)

Christopher Lowder — 2021-09-02

Diverse voices are important to us as teachers and to our students, but they are often erased or suppressed. In this session, librarians and staff from Mason University Libraries will guide participants through their process and struggles in creating the Finding Diverse Voices in Academic Scholarship Research Guide. This guide outlines the challenges scholars confront while searching for diverse voices, illustrates strategies for how to find diverse voices both inside and outside of traditional library systems, and highlights resources that start researchers on their journey.

Attendees will learn about the resources the library has created to assist with teaching these issues in the classroom as well as some strategies for teaching this topic. Interactivity and discussions will be interspersed throughout the session.

WORKSHOP: Inclusive Instruction: Integrating Diverse Voices in Your Classroom

Cristopher Lowder — 2021-09-07

In this workshop attendees will:
1) Identify systemic racial issues inherent in academic research and how to research marginalized voices within this system.
2) Describe the importance of including diverse voices in their own research and teaching.
3) Integrate ideas and strategies from the Finding Diverse Voices in Academic Research guide into their instruction.

Information provided will be applicable to all disciplines from humanities to sciences as this topic is universal. In groups, attendees will critique current practices, experiment with several guided activities, and work together to advance critical inquiry in the classroom.

This workshop is important because academic scholarship often suffers from a lack of diverse authorship, and this can be seen in course syllabi and student research assignments. Addressing oppressive practices in publishing and academia is necessary for progress. The existing monolith of privileged voices and the systems that oppress diverse voices is a challenge for teachers. In order to address this issue, librarians created the Finding Diverse Voices in Academic Research subject guide to help all classrooms address an overlooked topic.

We will begin the workshop by explaining the impetus and methodology of creating the guide. In our library instruction sessions, we noticed students asking questions about diversity in authors of scholarly sources. Students want representation of their identities in scholarship while ensuring that they are getting authoritative authors and sources. This guide details existing systems that hinder diverse representation in scholarly research as well as strategies to find diverse authorship. Additionally, resources were collected that detail the importance of countering the existing privileged narrative in academia. This workshop will facilitate group conversations on how attendees can teach and apply the advice of their peers to their practices. Throughout the workshop, participants will be asked to consider their own teaching practices and what voices they are representing in their classrooms. To encourage interaction, participants will describe what narratives they are underscoring in their instruction through inclusion or exclusion of specific voices. We will also give advice on how to work with a library instructor on creating discipline-specific resources. Attendees will be able to use this workshop to either inform themselves of existing oppressive structures or include the information into regular research and instruction. The guide we created includes activities that can be used in an instruction session to encourage students to think about oppression in scholarly publishing, expert voices in research, and re-think the sources that they use. This session will give attendees the standards they need to acknowledge oppressive issues in scholarship and publishing.

COLLABORATIVE: Using Kindness to Promote Inclusive Learning Environments (90 mins)

Linn Jorgenson — 2021-09-02

George Mason university is one of the most diverse learning environments in the state of Virginia. Our session will discuss how we can embrace this diversity and promote a sense of belonging for all learners. Our session will engage faculty in a discussion on how to create a kind environment that promotes belonging for all students. Faculty will leave the session with strategies that can be used in the leaching and learning environment.

COLLABORATIVE: Office of Undergraduate Education (UGE): Mason Core and Outcomes (90 mins)

Melissa Broeckelman-Post — 2021-09-02

What do we want students to know and do by the time that they graduate? What are the themes that unite the Mason Core, majors, and minors? How can we be more intentional about including these themes into the Mason Core, and into our academic programs? We've been having conversations with many groups around campus over the past two years, and have a proposed set of six themes that together define a George Mason University education. Additionally, faculty on the Mason Core committee have proposed some changes to explicitly address diversity and globalization, and to integrate the themes into the Capstone experience. In this session, we'll review the themes and the proposed changes, and talk about the implications of these updates.

COLLABORATIVE: Resilience: A Thriving Mason Nation (90 mins)

Katie Clare — 2021-09-02

The session will help attendees understand resilience from a variety of perspectives (faculty, staff, and student) and will reinforce the fact that resilience is a skill that needs constant maintenance. After hearing about resilience from Resilience Badge participants, attendees will have the opportunity to begin investigating their own stories of resilience and thinking about the ways in which they might embed resilience in their work with students.

COLLABORATIVE: Anti-Racist and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee Community Roundtable Discussion (90 mins)

Tehama Lopez Bunyasi — 2021-09-02

"The Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) was established to ensure that George Mason University creates an inclusive and equitable campus environment in which every member of our community, without exception, is valued, supported, and experiences a sense of belonging." A task force of various committees was established in an effort to work on specific areas of focus with one of those areas being curriculum and pedagogy. The curriculum and pedagogy committee was charged with identifying ways in which curriculum and pedagogy at Mason needs to be developed, evaluated, refined or expanded in order to meet the standard of antiracism. The committee made several recommendations and prioritized their top three including a foundational course for incoming students, system-wide faculty development, as well as measurement, accountability, and tracking for faculty development. One of the recommendations, amongst others, currently moving forward by the ARIE implementation team is the foundational course.

During this roundtable discussion, attendees will learn more about the committee’s recommendations and the foundational course. Additionally, consistent with the committee’s prioritization of faculty development, there will a be a panel discussion on incorporating anti-racism in the classroom. Following the panel, attendees will also have an opportunity to share their experiences with anti-racist teaching practices and will work collaboratively to create a shared resource document. This session will benefit anyone looking to incorporate anti-racism in their teaching practices and/or learn more about the efforts of the ARIE curriculum and pedagogy committee.

PANEL/ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: How to choose – Synchronous Collaboration tools at Mason (90 Mins)

Jonathan Goldman — 2021-09-07

GMU has made several collaborative teaching tools available over the years and has made some major changes in the last 18 months in response to the pandemic and changing business needs and practices. Mason now has three different collaborative tools available for use by our faculty and students: Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Confusing, right? What differentiates one from another? Which is the best? Or is there a best? This session will present an overview of the features of each tool and highlight how each may best meet the needs of your classes.

COLLABORATIVE: Faculty Affairs: Documenting Your Teaching for Promotion & Tenure (90 mins)

Kim Eby — 2021-09-02

Participants will leave the session with concrete ideas and examples for materials that might be included in their dossiers as part of the reappointment, renewal, promotion, and/or tenure processes.

COLLABORATIVE: Office of Undergraduate Education: QEP and Community-Engaged Projects (90 mins)

Kristen Wright — 2021-09-02

Mason is in the midst of preparing our Quality Enhancement Plan titled "Transformative Education through Equity and Justice: Anti-Racist Community Engagement." In this QEP our goal is to leverage community engaged pedagogy and experiences to contribute to Mason's efforts of becoming an anti-racist institution. As faculty and instructors at Mason you play a critical role in designing and implementing the QEP- join our session to learn more about how you can be involved!

COLLABORATIVE: Office of Undergraduate Education (UGE): Curriculum Impact Grants and Incorporating the UN Sustainability Goals into Your Courses (90 mins)

Jesse Guessford — 2021-09-02

TBD

COLLABORATIVE: Office of Graduate Education (GE): Updates from the Graduate Education Reimagine Task Force (90 mins)

Laurence Bray — 2021-09-02

TBD

COLLABORATIVE: Responding to Student Writing: Strategies for Efficient and Inclusive Feedback on Writing Assignments (90 mins)

Anna S. Habib — 2021-09-02

Writing can be a powerful mode of learning in the disciplines (e.g. Carter, 2007; Anderson et al., 2015), but responding to student writing can feel overwhelming given the range of students’ writing abilities in an increasingly internationalized and diverse campus. In this workshop, participants will gain and practice strategies for providing focused, efficient feedback that supports learning, minimizes time on task, and advances goals for inclusive education. Attendees should bring a sample of student writing and a course calendar from one of their courses. (The sample and calendar need not be from the same course.)

Message from the Outgoing Conference Director

Laura Lukes — 2021-09-02

Dear 2021 ITL Conference Attendees,

Since 2014, I have served as the director for the Innovations in Teaching and Learning (ITL) conference and have had the joy of working with so many of you over the years. I have been consistently inspired by the teaching and learning community at Mason—the passion instructors show for supporting student learning experiences and their willingness to share teaching insights (and challenges) with others.

Today, I write you to share an important announcement for the 2021 ITL conference.

As you may or may not have heard, this fall, I will be joining the Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences faculty at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) in a tenure-track Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) position. I will be building on and expanding my prior DBER work in the geosciences and STEM more broadly.

I am delighted to share with you that Katie Skipper has joined the ITL team as the new 2021 ITL Conference Director. You may already know Katie from her previous work at INTO Mason and as the Stearns Center’s Faculty Fellow for Language Diversity. While I shall miss the energizing conversations and idea exchanges of the ITL Conference, I look forward to seeing the next iteration of innovation in the Mason community and ITL.

If you have any questions about the conference or the Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference Proceedings please contact stearns@gmu.edu and your email will be directed to the ITL Planning Team member who can best assist you.

Thank you to all the people I have worked with over the years to make ITL happen.

Wishing you the best,

Laura Lukes, Ph.D.

Editorial Information

Laura Lukes — 2021-09-02

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 conference was transformed from a face-to-face event to a 100% remote online event. You can read about how we accomplished this in our article in To Improve the Academy (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.17063888.0039.305). The core programming of the 2021 conference is primarily online, with a modest face-to-face social event on the last day in accordance with the COVID-19 protocols in effect.

ITL Conference Proceedings

2021 Editor: Katie Skipper

Assistant Editors: Charlotte Morgan Petsche, Ashley Joiner, M.A., Shekera Moore

2021 ITL Conference Director

Katie Skipper

Stearns Center Events Manager

Ashley Joiner, M.A.

2021 ITL Conference Planning Team (in alphabetical order)

Ashley Joiner, M.A.

Shekera Moore

Christopher Ogom

Charlotte Morgan Petsche

Shelley Reid, Ph.D.

Katie Skipper

2021 Tech Hosts (in alphabetical order)-These wonderful people set up, launched, and coordinated Zoom session technical logistics (including coordinating session teams consisting of tech host, session host, and presenters).

Emily Cobb

Jade Geary

Terri Ann Guingab

Katrina Johnson

Ashley Joiner, M.A.

Stevie Kelly

Shekera Moore

Eric Neitzke

Christopher Ogom

Charlotte Petsche

Shelley Reid

Ala Showers

Katie Skipper

Darlene Smucny

Monisha Tripathy

2021 Session Hosts-These wonderful people welcomed session participants to the conference, introduced the session format and session presenters, and engaged participants throughout the session in chat to enhance the community feel of the event.

Crystal Anderson

LaTisha Elcock

Jade Geary

Larisa Olesova

Tom Polk

Catesby Porfirenko

Shelley Reid

Ala Showers

Katie Skipper

Darlene Smucny

Laura Todd

Ali Weinstein

2021 ITL Conference Peer Reviewers and Program Selection Committee

Crystal Anderson

Sanja Avramovic

Mihai Boicu

Amie Bowman

Hyunyoung Cho

Maggie Daniels

Christopher DiTeresi

Lourdes Fernandez

Saiid Ganjalizadeh

Aayushi Hingle

Hannah Klawa

Karen Lee

David Lemmons

Sophia Marshall

Helen McManus

Tareque Mehdi

Susan Pilley

Thomas Polk

Mary Richardson

Esperanza Román-Mendoza

Darlene Smucny

Shannyn Snyder

Sarah Squire

Jennifer Stawasz

Debra Stroiney

Parvinder Sublok

Cigole Thomas

Julia Tungli

Elaine Viccora

Alla Webb

Sponsors

Gold Level $4,999-1,000

Blackboard

George Mason University Office of the Provost: Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning

University Libraries

Silver Level $999-500

Harmonize

4-VA

Conference Platforms: Sched (conference scheduling app); Zoom (online conference sessions)

Organizing an event like ITL? See our 2021 article in To Improve the Academy

Stearns Center — 2021-09-02

In 2021, the To Improve the Academy journal published an article we wrote describing how we successfully transformed the Innovations in Teaching and Learning conference to a remote online conference experience. The article outlines our decision-making processes and shares infrastructure/logistical tips and lessons learned that can be useful to anyone planning an interactive online experience or event.

The article can be found on the To Improve the Academy site

Lukes, L. A. and Reid, E. S., 2021, Rebuilding a Teaching Conference in a Pandemic: User-Centered Guiding Principles and Lessons Learned, To Improve the Academy, 39, 3.

https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.17063888.0039.305

WORKSHOP: Equity by Design: An Invitation to Action, Featuring Remarks by Provost Mark Ginsberg (90 Mins.)

Shelley Reid — 2021-09-09

Join us to wrap up the week by moving from talk to action. Provost Ginsberg will address the faculty to reaffirm Mason’s commitment to excellence in teaching, and particularly our ongoing support for creating educational opportunities that are equitable, accessible, and inclusive for all learners. After a brief open discussion of strategies for moving from idea to action, you’ll share your own plans with a small group, consider how the university can continue to support your teaching, and have the opportunity to post your plans to the Stearns Center’s Vision and Action Board.