FALL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
“These aren’t just good strategies (and they are!) but, when integrated systematically, they are transformative experiences for both students and instructors.” –Jim Kain, Neumann University, PA
The 2021 1-Day Fall Energizer conference will be held virtually through Zoom!
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FALL ENERGIZER CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
| FRIDAY, October 8 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am-8:00am Pacific | Gourmet Breakfast on Your Own (recipe suggestions will be shared) |
| 8:00am-9:15am Pacific | Session #1: Opening Keynote (75 Minutes) |
| 9:15am-9:30am Pacific | Energizer/Restoration Break |
| 9:30am-10:30am Pacific | Session #2: Breakouts (60 Minutes) |
| 10:30am-11:30am Pacific | Meal Break on Your Own (recipe suggestions will be shared) |
| 11:30am-12:30pm Pacific | Session #3: Midday Keynote (60 Minutes) |
| 12:30pm-12:45pm Pacific | Energizer/Restoration Break |
| 12:45pm-1:45pm Pacific | Session #4: Breakouts (60 Minutes) |
| 1:45pm-2:00pm Pacific | Reflection Break |
| 2:00pm-3:00pm Pacific | Session #5: Closing Keynote (60 Minutes) |
“Thank you for putting this together and having good presenters with valuable content.” –Sylwia Kulczak, Rio Hondo College, CA
“Thank you – this was an amazing conference!” –Nicole Adsitt, Cayuga Community College, NY
2021 Opening Keynote Session with Barbara Oakley, PhD
Author of Uncommon Sense Teaching
Opening Keynote: Rethinking Active Learning in a Neuroscientific World
Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic rush towards active learning as the best method to teach students. And certainly active learning provides great value for students. But is all active learning all the time really the best way to teach, especially at a university level? What do evolutionary psychology and research involving high impact teaching interventions have to say about active learning? Is active learning perhaps related to the procedural learning pathways involved in habit—is that where part of its value comes from? What is happening in student brains that makes certain interventions particularly effective—or less effective? As it turns out, there are practical improvements could you make right now in your teaching to improve student motivation, engagement, and learning, all growing from recent findings in neuroscience. We’ll be covering this, and much more, in this plenary, based on the critically acclaimed book Uncommon Sense Teaching, (Penguin Random House, June 15, 2021).
Biography
Barbara Oakley, PhD, PE is a former linguist who is now a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; Michigan’s Distinguished Professor of the Year; and Coursera’s inaugural “Innovation Instructor.” Her work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. Dr. Oakley’s research has been described as “revolutionary” in the Wall Street Journal. She is a New York Times best-selling author who has published in outlets as varied as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. She has won numerous teaching awards, including the American Society of Engineering Education’s Chester F. Carlson Award for technical innovation in engineering education and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers William E. Sayle II Award for Achievement in Education. Together with Terrence Sejnowski, the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute, she co-teaches Coursera – UC San Diego’s “Learning How to Learn,” one of the world’s most popular massive open online courses with over three million registered students, along with a number of other leading MOOCs.
Dr. Oakley has adventured widely through her lifetime. She rose from the ranks of Private to Captain in the U.S. Army, during which time she was recognized as a Distinguished Military Scholar. She also worked as a communications expert at the South Pole Station in Antarctica, and has served as a Russian translator on board Soviet trawlers on the Bering Sea. Dr. Oakley is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
2021 Midday Keynote Session with Flower Darby
Author of Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes
Midday Keynote: Small Teaching Online: Practical Strategies to Increase Student Engagement and Learning
Whether you’re new or experienced online faculty you can make small but impactful adjustments that significantly boost student engagement and learning. We’ll discuss (and experience!) brief learning activities, minor course modifications, and simple changes to your interactions with students that benefit online classes and enhance in-person classes too. You’ll leave with impactful, strategic, doable ideas that make the most of your limited time without overwhelming you or your students. Together, we’ll discover how rewarding teaching and learning in online environments can be.
Flower Darby celebrates and promotes effective teaching in all class formats to include, welcome, and support all students. In her former roles as Assistant Dean of Online and Innovative Pedagogies and Director of Teaching for Student Success, Flower led efforts that support teaching excellence for equity and inclusion. Flower is an internationally renowned keynote speaker and author as well as adjunct faculty at Northern Arizona University and Estrella Mountain Community College. She has taught in higher ed for over 25 years in a range of subjects including English, Technology, Leadership, Dance, and Pilates. She’s the author, with James M. Lang, of Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes, and she’s a regular contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
2021 Closing Keynote Session with Jonathan Brennan
Author of Engaging Learners through Zoom
Closing Keynote: The Critical Role of Sleep in Learning
Are your students Night Owls or Morning Larks? Sleep patterns play a critical role in human performance, including learner performance. The majority of adults fail to obtain the recommended 8 hours of nightly sleep. The resulting accumulated sleep deficit has major impacts on both health as well as memory processing and consolidation. Will caffeine solve this problem? Sleeping pills? Alarm clocks? Join us to explore the latest research on sleep, health and learner performance. Explore strategies to improve sleep hygiene, leveraging the powerful impact of the 5 crucial REM and Non-REM sleep cycles.
PS: Even under-slept attendees will learn plenty from this session.
Dr. Jonathan Brennan is an English faculty member at Mission College (CA). Researching best practices in student engagement, he has authored five books, including On Course: Strategies for Success in College, Career, and Life, and Engaging Learners through Zoom.
He received the Hayward Education Excellence and Stanback-Stroud Diversity awards and has trained over 6,000 educators in active learning. In the last two decades, he has focused his research on higher education leadership, developing synchronous virtual learning tools, best practices in non-cognitive learner competencies, and the intersection between race, culture, equity, and access to education.
2021 Fall Program
Session #1 - Opening Keynote (75 minutes) 8:00AM-9:15AM Pacific Time
Session 1: Opening Keynote with Dr. Barbara Oakley: Rethinking Active Learning – In Person and Online
Summary: This fascinating, brief talk will tie together the latest insights from neuroscience about how to help students learn most effectively. Dr. Barbara Oakley, creator of one of the world’s most popular online courses, “Learning How to Learn,” will use vibrant illustrations and animations to show you what is happening physically in students’ brains as you teach. Creating sets of links in long-term memory—the heart of good learning—isn’t easy. But you’ll discover the best tricks known from neuroscience to help make learning stick.
You’ll also discover why, when it comes to instruction, “Motion is the Monarch.” It allows you to use bottom-up attentional systems to help keep students’ eyes on you and what you’re teaching, whether it’s online or in the classroom. Finally you’ll learn how to teach to both the procedural and declarative learning systems—thus allowing students to be both fast and flexible in their learning. Don’t miss this rapid-fire compendium of the most useful, practical insights from the latest research in learning!
Session #2 - Breakouts (60 minutes) 9:30AM-10:30AM Pacific Time
Session 2A: The Power of Retrieval Practice
Presenter: Deb Poese, Director, Teacher Education Partnerships/Faculty, Mathematics, Montgomery College, MD
Summary: We know that when students can understand and temporarily remember something, they believe they have “learned it.” However, until they attempt to retrieve that information or apply that concept, they do not realize that it “didn’t stick.” You are almost certainly already using retrieval practice in some form—you ask questions, you give quizzes and tests, even homework assignments, as ways for your students to retrieve the information you hope they have learned. But how can you implement retrieval practice most effectively as a learning strategy in your classroom?
Session 2B: Zooming Through the Semester
Presenter: Michelle Francis, Child Studies Faculty and TEACH Center/Professional Development Chair, West Valley College, CA
Summary: Teaching every day via Zoom can be exhausting for you and for your students. However, there are simple ways to make the experience more fun and engaging for everyone. Join in this interactive session and plan to have FUN.
Session 2C: Is It Over Yet? Support for Students during an Endless Pandemic
Panelists: Tonya Greene, Department Head, First Year Academy, Wake Technical Community College, NC; DeRhonda McWaine, Dean, Liberal Arts, San Jacinto College, TX; LuAnn Wood, Faculty, Century College, MN; and special guest Student Panelists from Mission College: Sahajdeep Kohli, Priscilla Ochoa and Salvador Herrera Machuca
Summary: What is your campus doing to support your students during the pandemic? Attend our panel presentation to hear from educators and students from three different colleges.
Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina has been able to provide students with virtual student support services for academic and non-academic needs, from technology to grocery gift cards. In addition, they added a mental health software tool called TAO, Therapy Assistance Online, to provide students with reliable information about a variety of mental health topics online, and they also added a student assistance program which connects students with licensed mental health professionals outside of normal business hours.
San Jacinto College in Texas instituted several initiatives to support students during the Pandemic. Their San Jac Cares calling program reached out to students to identify barriers that were preventing them from continuing in their studies. Callers included the Chancellor, faculty, Deans, Student Services, Staff, etc… (the entire college community)…….they all got involved to reach out to students. Students were then connected directly to college resources. Out of this initiative, they were able to loan laptops, and provide free Wi-Fi services/hotspots. Other areas that they expanded include the following: drive-up food pantry services to students and the community; offering tutoring services in all subjects 100% online; online advising sessions; and additional emergency aid funding for students impacted by Covid-19.
Century College in Minnesota has been able to take current student support resources totally online, yet keeping limited in-person staff available in essential offices and faculty in classrooms. Extended outreach to students through Starfish, expanded emergency aid and mental health services ramped up. The college set forth a priority to assist faculty in taking their face to face classes and putting them online. Some strategies included hiring additional instructional designers, boot camps with stipends, online peer mentors, etc…with the goal of a seamless academic transition for students.
Students from Mission College in California will share some of their experiences using college support services during the pandemic, and answer additional questions from attendees.
Session 3: Midday Keynote with Flower Darby: Small Teaching Online: Practical Strategies to Increase Student Engagement and Learning
Summary: Whether you’re new or experienced online faculty you can make small but impactful adjustments that significantly boost student engagement and learning. We’ll discuss (and experience!) brief learning activities, minor course modifications, and simple changes to your interactions with students that benefit online classes and enhance in-person classes too. You’ll leave with impactful, strategic, doable ideas that make the most of your limited time without overwhelming you or your students. Together, we’ll discover how rewarding teaching and learning in online environments can be.
Session #4 - Breakouts (60 minutes) 12:45PM-1:45PM Pacific Time
Session 4A: Quick Dips and High Dives: Strategies for Supporting Student Success Online through Equity and Inclusion
Presenter: Lené Whitley Putz, Dean, Online Learning, Foothill College, CA
Summary: Students are the center of all we do, but sometimes it’s not easy thinking through how to help students in our online courses. In this workshop, we’ll walk through some concrete steps you can implement in your online courses to help create a more welcoming and supportive course. Whether you’re just beginning to integrate equity strategies, or looking to take a deep dive, we’ll outline a variety of specific approaches focused on creating a more inclusive online course, including using universal design principles, creating connection, developing content, and designing assessments.
Session 4B: Beyond the Classroom: the Power of Personal Responsibility in your Career
Presenter: Robin Middleton, Faculty Emerita, Student Development, Jamestown Community College, NY; LuAnn Wood, Faculty, Century College, MN
Summary: Students who accept responsibility for their academic success are more likely to persist in college, but what happens post-graduation? In this session we will explore the empowerment that comes from finding purpose in one’s career, while identifying challenges and obstacles that may hold you back from your desired outcomes and experiences. Discover how the Wise Choice Process can be used to enhance, enrich and enliven your career experience and leave with a renewed sense of purpose and energy.
Session 4C: Ensuring Equitable Learning
Presenter: Jarek Janio, SLO Coordinator, Santa Ana College, CA
Summary: By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to link Student Learning Outcomes to specific instructional activities using the principles of Backward Design and Understanding by Design. Participants will also be able to identify and design instructional activities related to students’ lives and make them relevant in the context of their respective disciplines. Finally, workshop participants will be able to develop equitable assessment methods to showcase student learning.
Session #5 - Closing Keynote (60 minutes) 2:00PM-3:00PM Pacific Time
Session 5: Closing Keynote with Dr. Jonathan Brennan: The Critical Role of Sleep in Learning
Summary: Are your students Night Owls or Morning Larks? Sleep patterns play a critical role in human performance, including learner performance. The majority of adults fail to obtain the recommended 8 hours of nightly sleep. The resulting accumulated sleep deficit has major impacts on both health as well as memory processing and consolidation. Will caffeine solve this problem? Sleeping pills? Alarm clocks? Join us to explore the latest research on sleep, health and learner performance. Explore strategies to improve sleep hygiene, leveraging the powerful impact of the 5 crucial REM and Non-REM sleep cycles. PS: Well-rested attendees will likely learn even more from this session.
Dr. Jonathan Brennan is a faculty member in the English Department at Mission College in Santa Clara, California. He is a researcher in best practices in student success, holds a BA and MA in English (UC Berkeley), an MA in Counseling Psychology (USM), a PhD in Comparative Ethnic Studies (UC Berkeley), and an EdD in Leadership and Change (Fielding University). He has chaired the Student Success Committee, English Department and Language Arts Division, and served as VP of the Academic Senate and on multiple distance learning committees.
He was voted Faculty of the Year at Mission College and awarded a NISOD Teaching Excellence Award in 2000. In 2005 he was awarded the Stanback-Stroud Diversity award from the California State Academic Senate, and in 2008 the California State Hayward Award for Excellence in Education. Since 2006, he has been Chair of the On Course National Conference, and is currently Editor of the On Course Student Success Newsletter which has 150,000 subscribers worldwide. He has facilitated workshops on improving student engagement and learning for over 6000 faculty from colleges and universities across North America.
Dr. Brennan’s books include Engaging Learners through Zoom (Wiley Jossey-Bass), On Course: Strategies for Success in College, Career, and Life (Cengage), Choosing a Good Road (a student success textbook for high school students), Mixed Race Literature (Stanford Press), and When Br’er Rabbit Meets Coyote: African-Native American Literature (University of Illinois Press). In the last 2 decades, he has focused his research on higher education leadership, best practices in non-cognitive learner competencies, effectiveness in distance learning, and the intersection between race, culture, equity and access to education.
Dr. Brennan has been teaching online courses since 2003, and was a member of the Academic Senate Committee on Distance Learning. He has taught using multiple CMS platforms, including ETUDES, Blackboard, Angel and Canvas. He has assessed online courses for the demonstration of regular, effective student contact and engaged learning. He developed the On Course Online workshop and is the lead designer of the new, Engaging Learners through Zoom workshop. On Course workshops (www.oncourseworkshop.com) offer educators the opportunity to acquire new best practices in both supporting online learners in strengthening non-cognitive variables and in designing and implementing active online learning structures that improve learning outcomes, success rates and retention.
