For this semester, our Excellence in Teaching Series (EITS) will focus on post-COVID teaching, takeaways from teaching during the pandemic, and strategies for transitioning back to in-person teaching. Please complete the registration form if you would like to join us. Most sessions will take place on Fridays from noon to 1:00 pm via Zoom. A Zoom link will be provided upon completion of registration.
Featured speakers:
Abraham (Abe) Flanigan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology
College of Education
Georgia Southern University
Carl Nelson, Ph.D.
Professor
Mechanical & Materials Engineering
David Yuill, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Durham School of Architectural Engineering & Construction
Elizabeth "Libby" Jones, Ph.D.
Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Markeya Peteranetz, Ph.D.
Learning Assessment Coordinator
Engineering and Computing Education Core
Nate Pindell
Instructional Designer
Engineering and Computing Education Core
Robert Vavala
Instructional Designer
Engineering and Computing Education Core
EITS Fall 2021 Calendar
| Date | Topics | Description | Presenter |
| 8/12/2021 (Thursday) |
First Day of Class |
The first day of a new semester provides the opportunity for students to form a lasting impression about the course subject matter, get to know their instructor, and make connections with their peers. Traditionally, the first class session is not utilized to its full potential, often focusing on the syllabus, course policies, and expectations of behavior. In this session, we will share research-based suggestions to help you ignite students' interest in the course content, provide a good first impression of you as their instructor, and get to know their classmates. The workshop will include activities that will allow you to make the most of your time with students on the first day of class. |
Robert Vavala |
| 8/27/2021 (Friday) | Adaptations - In Behavior and Teaching Strategies (Session recording) |
Students are ready to come back to class. But instructors need to be prepared to respond to potential student behavioral changes and habits. Humans are creatures of habit. Those habits can be sensitive. Just as you may find it mildly annoying that a road that you frequent to and from work to be undergoing construction, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed students' “normal” road to learning once. The return to normalcy will do so again. In this session, we discuss some potential adaptive behavioral responses of students, and the trauma-informed teaching strategies designed to assist with them. | Nate Pindell |
| 9/17/2021 (Friday) | Why aren’t my students more motivated?: A look at student profiles of motivated, self-regulated engagement (Session recording) |
If there were a magic button you could press to increase students’ motivation, teaching would be much easier! That button might not exist, but understanding how different aspects of students’ motivation and self-regulation combine to create profiles of engagement can help us identify which kinds of support will work best for each student. This session will overview five evidence-based profiles of motivated, self-regulated engagement and present strategies you can employ to best support students exhibiting each profile. | Dr. Markeya Peteranetz |
| Canceled | Strategies to Curb Digital Distraction in College Classrooms | Student use of mobile technology for off-task purposes (a phenomenon commonly referred to as “digital distraction”) has become commonplace in college classrooms across the globe. This workshop will provide attendees with an overview of the digital distraction phenomenon and introduce strategies that can be used to curb the prevalence of student digital distraction in college classrooms. | Dr. Abraham (Abe) Flanigan |
| 10/8/2021 (Friday) |
Faculty Panel |
In this session, we are excited to have our faculty share their expertise with us. We will focus on post-COVID teaching: transitioning back to in-person classes. Topics include teaching inclusively in engineering classrooms, effectively communicating with students, and small teaching strategies that you can adapt to facilitate active learning. Session presentations: |
Dr. Carl Nelson, |
We welcome suggestions for future Excellence in Teaching Series. Please share your comments with us.