Workshop: “Teaching in Tumultuous Times:
The Value of ‘Scripts’”
Zoom and on-site/in-person sessions offered, facilitated by Jessamyn Neuhaus
- Monday, September 9, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Zoom
- Wednesday, September 11, 3:30-4:30 p.m., in-person, 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
Description: Anyone who works with students right now knows that the political and social crises and tensions of our current time are shaping our interactions in and outside the classroom. When difficulties or tensions arise in a discussion, interaction, assignment, or other type of class activity, it can be pedagogically effective and personally empowering to have a “go-bag” of prepared phrases and responses. I don’t mean “scripts” in the sense of long, memorized speeches but rather a handful of carefully chosen sentences/wording that you know will defuse tension and help everyone productively navigate potentially fraught situations while maintaining professionally appropriate connections and facilitating a positive teaching and learning environment. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll identify some of the predictable tense and challenging situations we encounter in our teaching lives, reflect on how our past responses (especially what we said) either helped or hindered our teaching efficacy at those moments, share our current best scripts for difficult conversations/interactions, and brainstorm and practice some new scripts.
Workshop: “Fun to Grade and ChatGPT-resistant:
The Un-Essay Assignment”
Zoom and on-site/in-person sessions offered, facilitated by Jessamyn Neuhaus
- Wednesday, September 18, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom
- Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:00 p.m., in-person, 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- Friday, September 20, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Zoom
Advocates of “un-essays” (student-generated research projects that can take almost any form, except a traditional written essay) argue that it enables students to demonstrate knowledge in unique, individualized ways, encouraging more active engagement with content, and expands academic inclusion by offering students an unlimited number of ways to successfully complete scholarly research. Importantly, in today’s era of generative AI, a well-designed un-essay assignment can effectively motivate students to utilize only their own individual and unique ideas. This workshop gives an overview of un-essay assignments, including visual examples of completed undergraduate un-essays, and a brainstorming session for how you can incorporate an un-essay assignment into your course planning.
Discussion: “Co-Creating Classroom Civility”
Facilitated by Jessamyn Neuhaus
Tuesday, September 24
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Zoom
How can college educators work together with students to create and maintain respectful and productive learning environments? Encouraging and ensuring civility between students, and between students and ourselves, can be challenging at times, and politically/socially divisive events and issues create additional pressures on classroom interactions. During this informal discussion, we’ll share our best strategies for deliberately co-creating classroom standards, values, and “rules of engagement” with students.