Learning & Growing Webinar Series

Supporting College Students on the Autism Spectrum

Jerrod Brown, Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex and multifaceted neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social-emotional challenges, communication deficits, and repetitive and fixated behaviors. Many individuals with ASD also experience co-occurring problems with physical health, mental health, and learning. Intended for academic professionals, this training will examine the red flag indicators, consequences, and implications autism has on college students. Special emphasis is placed on the impact autism symptoms and deficits have on attention, learning, memory, and cognition. Other related topics discussed throughout this training include adaptive functioning, executive function, theory of mind (ToM), weak central coherence, choice making deficits, communication challenges, hyper-arousal problems, information processing deficits, fear, sleep-related disturbances, digestive health issues, disruptive behavioral problems, self-regulation issues, and sensory processing problems to name a few. Empirically based research findings will be highlighted throughout this training.

Educators' Identity in the Classroom

Christina Herbin, Washtenaw Community College

Learn more about how the identities we bring into our classrooms can impact our students’ experience. Our identities inform the way we understand and interact with the world, and how we are perceived by others. An important component of developing our teaching practice is being aware of how one’s own identity impacts how we teach and how our students learn. A classroom is an environment where everyone can be their authentic selves – even educators. We will take inventory of our affiliations and identities and how they may shape our perceptions or connections with others. Reflecting on our own personal identities will amplify our self-awareness and commitment to inclusion in our teaching practices.

Improving Student Help-Seeking through Connection and Belonging

April Crenshaw, Chattanooga State Community College

Have you ever sat in your office during office hours wondering “Why aren’t my students here for help?” If so, join us for this interactive virtual session exploring the help-seeking dilemma for community college students.

The session speaker, Associate Professor April Crenshaw, will highlight the results of a 2019 study on the help-seeking behavior of College Algebra students. She will then share strategies she has since implemented to encourage her math students to reach out for support.

As an attendee, you can expect to leave this session with a better understanding of the factors that influence student help-seeking as well as practical, research-based strategies to foster a greater sense of connection and belonging in your classroom.

Effective Engagement Strategies to Increase Student Learning Outcomes

Dr. Daryl Green, Oklahoma Baptist University

How can today’s educational institutions produce greater learning outcomes for this generation of students? In this entertaining session, participants will learn more about Gen Z students and how to leverage business simulations to produce greater learner outcomes. Most students can benefit from practical application of theory. Some of these active learning tactics include question-and-answer sessions, team led-discussions, experiential learning, and hand-on activities.

7 Steps to Social Justice Education: Integrating DEIB into the College Classroom
Chana Etengoff, Adelphi University

Building on the agentive pedagogical theories of Freire, Kegan and Stetsenko, I aim to outline the importance of integrating DEIB into college courses and identify seven accessible ways in which to do so. Teachers will find a comprehensive review of the theory and research related to seven DEIB teaching practices: (1) Diverse Representation/Visibility, (2) Modeling Inclusive Language/Practices, (3) Addressing Social Issues and Inequities, (4) Broadening the Applied Topical Scope, (5) Meaning-Making, (6) Teaching from a Strengths-Based Perspective, and (7) Promoting Students’ Agency.

Creating an Inclusive Classroom with Course Climate
Christina Herbin, Washtenaw Community College

Inclusion is about creating classrooms where all identities, experiences, and backgrounds are valued. Equity acknowledges that we're all different. These differences make us each unique. We can create inclusive classrooms where everyone, despite their identities, can feel appreciated and valued. The course climate is a key aspect of creating an inclusive classroom. The instructor-to-student and student-to-student interactions set the tone of the classroom. Creating inclusive spaces is the responsibility of everyone. Learn strategies to create a classroom climate that embraces students’ varied identities, experiences, and backgrounds. We will discuss practical strategies for how to build an inclusive course climate for all students to learn.

Excessive Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption among College Students: Implications for Mood, Behavior, Learning, and Cognition
Jerrod Brown, Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are commonly consumed by college students. Common examples of SSBs can come in the form of hot or cold drinks and include soda, sweetened mineral water, sweetened coffees, sweetened energy drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks. These types of drinks are a significant source of added sugars in a person’s diet and typically provide little to no nutritional value. Over-consumption of SSBs is associated with an array of physical, psychological, behavioral, and learning consequences. Intended for academic professionals, this training will examine the causes, consequences, and implications excessive sugar sweetened beverage consumption has on college students. Empirically based research findings will be highlighted throughout this training.

Discussing Mental Health Topics Appropriately in College Settings

Cailyn Green, SUNY Empire State College

This webinar is designed to show instructors how to properly and appropriately discuss sensitive topics in mental health. It can be a fuzzy line as to how in depth we go in our mental health conversations, depending on our clinical experience or credentials. It can also be a stick situation when a student wants to go in depth on a mental health topic or a panel. How much leeway do we grant them?

Assignments Design for General Education Courses

Dr. Ying Zhen, Wesleyan College

This presentation shares the examples of assignments design for three general education economics courses under three different domains at Wesleyan College: ECO 102 Issues in Macroeconomics (Domain 1: Historical Events), ECO 104 Issues in Microeconomics (Domain 3: Individuals and Communities), and ECO 210 Women and Economic Development (Domain 5: Women's Experiences). It shows how such assignments would help satisfy the various student learning outcomes, along with the reporting of data and response to the data.

Using Diagnostics to Meet Underprepared Writing Students Where They Are
Caitlin Edahl, Hawkes Learning

Discover effective strategies for implementing a co-requisite English composition course that caters to the diverse learning needs of today's students.

Learn how to utilize our unique diagnostic assessment to support students entering first-year writing courses with targeted remediation and a contextualized review of study skills, grammar, reading, writing, and research. Stick around for a Q&A with Caitlin Edahl, Lead English Editor, to discuss how English Composition with Integrated Review can be tailored to meet your co-requisite classroom’s needs and improve learning outcomes.

An Exploration of Tools for Business Student Success: Comparison of On-Line Post-Covid-19 Vs. On-Ground Pre-pandemic Course Delivery

Dr. Marc Aguilera, American College of Education

Due to an increasing need to reach students at all levels in the online classroom, educators can use a wide variety of tools involving technology and online discussion tools. Few will dispute the importance of differentiated instruction. As student populations become increasingly diverse, importance must be placed on diversity and inclusion practices. Regardless of the environment where one chooses to learn, differentiated instruction celebrates the unique gifts of all learners, while not forgetting stronger students to answer questions with more complex nuances. With recent advances in technology and education, it is important to explore programs, applications, and elements which assist in differentiated instruction. American College of Education has explored the increasing availability of educational technology useful for differentiating instruction in the classroom.

Developing a Social Justice OER

Cailyn Green, SUNY Empire State College

This webinar is going to introduce the process for developing a social justice OER. SUNY ESC is instating a social justice gen ed requirement starting in the fall 2023 term. I am working on creating a free Open Education Resource which will be used for a new social justice in the human service professions course (currently in development). This presentation will introduce other academic professionals to the importance of this social justice gen ed requirement, the process of getting a small grant to create the OER and how the OER development is going thus far.

Supports for Note Taking to Increase Student Success
Shawna Hudson, Iowa Wesleyan University

We all want students to succeed but how do we make that happen? Many students, especially those with Dyslexia or executive functioning deficits, cannot access the material when a teacher presents it in lecture form. How can you help students access the material? In this presentation you will learn 5 alternatives to note taking, including technology and traditional means, that you can implement immediately to increase student success.

Trauma and Neuroscience-Informed Education

Jerrod Brown and Janina Cich, Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota

A history of exposure to trauma and other life adversities is common among student populations. As such, it is imperative for educators to understand the topic of trauma-informed care. Trauma Informed Care (TIC) is an overarching philosophy, biopsychosocial framework, and organizational structure that draws from diverse fields, including trauma, attachment, and neurobiology. TIC is designed to help organizations better understand and recognize the impact of trauma on the individual through a strengths-based perspective. Because trauma can also negatively impact brain functioning and academic performance, becoming neuroscience-informed is of great importance.

Designed for professionals working in academic settings, this one-hour training provides attendees with a working understanding of the core principles of trauma-informed care and why incorporating neuroscience-informed approaches into this approach within academic settings will likely lead to improved student outcomes.

Other topics discussed in this training will include trauma symptoms and triggers, shame, empathy, self-regulation deficits, sensory processing limitations, alexithymia, attachment issues, executive dysfunction, metacognitive skills, motivational deficits, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction, neuroplasticity, performance issues, resilience, gratitude, optimism, sleep disturbances, theory of mind, and time management and organizational issues to name a few. Empirically-based research findings will be highlighted throughout this training.

Training Objectives:

Define trauma and other related concepts (e.g., toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences, and complex trauma)
Describe the fundamental principles of trauma-informed care
Examine how trauma and its associated deficits can impact brain functioning and overall academic performance
Describe and implement appropriate educational approaches through a trauma and neuroscience-informed lens

Make Workshopping Work: Writing Feedback for Growth in Asynchronous Classes

Megan Kuyatt, Anne Arundel Community College

Workshopping as a method of feedback has been under pedagogical scrutiny as of late--and for good reason. While workshopping can be an effective method of introducing students to new perspectives on their work, and introduce them to the reality of their work under reader interpretation, it is easy for the workshop to become a discouraging--and even detrimental--structure. In this webinar, we'll discuss critical elements for making workshop work--especially in an asynchronous environment. We'll explore establishing tone and structure of the workshop model, creating workshop groups for engagement, as well as ideas for how to have students engage and check in post-workshop.

Zooming in to Better Engagement

Dr. Laura Garrett, Tulsa Community College

Numerous techniques to increase student participation via Zoom will be discussed in various situations, including live class supplementation and synchronous teaching. Dr Garrett will discuss successful methods to enrich Zoom classrooms and outline the pitfalls. Techniques using active learning and collaboration tools that make classes more interactive will be demonstrated. Dr. Garrett finds these methods allow students to participate in more engaging ways, sometimes more than in a live classroom. Often there is immediate personal engagement between students and instructors, which may create greater feelings of community and lessen feelings of isolation. More responsive exchanges between students and instructors can prevent miscommunication or misunderstanding. She will present the research regarding the effectiveness of Zoom sessions and demonstrate the techniques she has found to keep students engaged. Proper online etiquette will be discussed. There can be advantages especially for students who have difficulty with work, school and family challenges.

Everyone's a Writer: Empowering Students to Unleash Their Inner Writing Genius

David Von Schlichten, Seton Hill University

In a world of emails, texts, and social media, all of our students will do a great deal of writing in their careers, yet students often struggle with confidence and basic writing concepts. Drawing from Hawkes's "Foundations of English," award-winning instructor Dr. David von Schlichten will enthusiastically use humor, stories, and clear, practical steps to debunk writing myths and to show how instructors can liberate each student's unique writing voice so that they can be clearer, more efficient, and more effective communicators. Writing better means living better. Let's unleash the writing genius within!

Recordings

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