Summary

Crossword puzzles are a surprisingly effective and engaging classroom activity. Wordplay, critical thinking, and educated guessing strategies are ways to engage students. Students can complete them independently or collaborate with peers. Students encounter information in a new format, review previously studied material, or assess knowledge before beginning to study. Instructors can gauge student understanding and awareness by how quickly the puzzle is completed. There are free websites that allow you to create your crossword puzzles.

Summary

Summary

• Gretchen Gebhardt, Online Learning and Part-Time Geology and General Science Faculty
• Greg Kaminski, Online Learning
• Paul Montone, Part-Time English Faculty and Online Learning
• James Pepe, Instructional Technology Specialist at Sylvania
• David Vasquez, Instructional Technology Specialist at Cascade.

Summary

Effective ways to provide feedback may vary from student to student or by assignment type. Join us on a journey to explore when, why, and how to use various methods for feedback during the formative assessment process to support student learning. Our discussion will include using text, rubrics, and a strong focus on using audio or video to humanize feedback in ways that build instructor-student connections, trust, and academic belonging.

Slides:

Summary

oin Stephanie to learn how she invites students to author homework problems instead of taking weekly quizzes. You will hear how this practice has unforeseen advantages and creates a creative outlet for students. Additionally, this practice provides a unique opportunity to get to know students more deeply, allows students to connect to the course material in new ways, and provides opportunities to catch misunderstandings that might not be clear when using standard assessment practices.

Slides:

Summary

It’s important to recognize each learning environment’s different needs and considerations. Learn how to re-imagine what a ‘group project’ could look like in the remote modality. The behind-the-scenes organization and preparation are shared, leading to a successful outcome.

Slides:

Summary

Join us in a session on ways we can improve access to campus and course resources for students. Although many resources are available to support students, students often need help to locate them as the resources are scattered across various web pages, policies, and department sites. We need to work together to make these resources easily accessible. You will come away with practical strategies to improve access to resources.

Slides:

Summary

Summary

In this Anderson Conference keynote, Adam A. Smith invites faculty and academic professionals to reflect on the pressures they carry while supporting students, colleagues, families, and their communities. Using the familiar instruction to put on your own oxygen mask first, Smith encourages educators to make space for their own well-being so they can continue doing meaningful work without constantly operating at their limits.

Smith asks participants to recognize the strengths and assets students bring to higher education. He describes today’s students as increasingly first-generation, BIPOC, and shaped by experiences that may differ from traditional expectations of college students. Rather than approaching students as problems to fix, he encourages educators to recognize their resilience, creativity, empathy, problem-solving abilities, and lived experiences.

The keynote also emphasizes community and shared responsibility. Smith discusses coalition building as something that can begin with simple relationships, conversations, and people supporting one another. Using the example of birds rotating leadership in a V formation, he encourages colleagues to share responsibility rather than allowing the same people to remain at the front carrying the greatest pressure.

Participants are also encouraged to reconnect with the reasons they entered education and to recognize the impact they make each day. Smith recommends keeping an impact journal to record meaningful interactions, contributions, and reminders of why the work matters. He closes by comparing a strong educational community to the interconnected Pando forest, where individual trees are supported by a shared root system beneath the surface.

Presentation outcomes

• Reflect on the personal and professional pressures educators experience while supporting students and colleagues.
• Consider self-care, rest, and boundaries as important parts of sustaining meaningful work in education.
• Recognize the strengths, resilience, creativity, and lived experiences students bring to college.
• Explore an asset-based approach to teaching, advising, and supporting students.
• Consider how coalition building and shared responsibility can strengthen relationships and reduce individual burden.
• Reconnect with the personal purpose and values that brought participants to work in higher education.
• Use reflection practices, such as an impact journal, to recognize daily contributions and maintain connection to purpose.

Summary

This session will review the foundations and basic principles of trauma-informed care. Participants will identify the beginning steps on how trauma-informed practices may be implemented in the classroom, within student spaces, and with colleagues. This is the first of a four-module series. The other modules will be presented throughout the academic year.