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January 24, 2024
9 a.m.–3:25 p.m.
Monroe Lecture Center & C.V. Starr
Conference Schedule
Welcome & Registration
9-9:25 a.m. (Monroe Lecture Center, Room 142)
Opening Remarks from Provost Charlie Riordan
9:30-9:40 a.m. (Monroe Lecture Center, Room 142)
Session One
9:50-10:35 a.m.
Art in Medicine
C.V. Starr 202
Gina Pontrelli and Savina Morelli (Physician Assistant Studies)
Research has shown the use of fine art instruction in medical education to promote communication, teamwork, and observational skills (Mukunda et al. 2018). Art is an effective teaching tool used to train future clinicians in recognizing different points of view, and cultivating teamwork (Gowda at al., 2018). Dr. Gina Pontrelli, Professor Morelli (PA Program), along with Professor Lee (Fine Arts), worked with physician assistant students in the Artistic Ambassador club during the didactic phase of the PA program to pilot the use of art to teach medicine. The Exquisite Corpse, a surrealist game of chance, was used to engage students in the creation of an anatomical drawing. Students recreated a part of the body that was presented to them as a structure, cross-section, or another visual image made available in the classroom and added to the artwork without seeing the portion done by the previous participant. Students bonded by developing segments of the human body in creative and individualistic drawings. The collection of work pushed students to use their unconscious mind to develop a unique project created by preceding teamwork. The use of fine arts in medical curricula is a teaching method that builds trust amongst students and enables them to learn from observations and combined creativity (Gurwin, 2017). This learning activity used group work to create insight on how human anatomy may be perceived by a classmate and possibly offered clarification on complex structures.
Designing Distance Learning Courses
C.V. Starr 204
Elfreda Blue (Office of the Provost)
This session will discuss guidelines for designing a distance learning course, as developed by the University’s Distance Learning Committee. Committee members will share the work of the committee thus far and seek feedback from faculty members. Presenters will discuss several essential elements for consideration such as course assignments, learning materials, and communication plans. Participants in this session will receive a list of element types and work in small groups to brainstorm options to share with the group.
*Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop or mobile device.
Explore VR and AI in Zarb’s Core Skills Lab
100 Guthart Hall
Catherine Fisher (Zarb Graduate Career Relations)
Explore how VR and AI are seamlessly integrated into Zarb's curriculum, elevating students' critical thinking and communication skills to new heights.
Insights into an Online Course Development Process
C.V. Starr 209
Anil Mathur (Marketing and International Business) and Taylor Weingart (EdTech)
In this session, you'll learn about the collaboration between Anil Mathur, a faculty member in the Frank G. Zarb School of Business and Taylor Weingart, an instructional designer in EdTech, to develop a fully online course. Dr. Mathur will describe his experience reshaping his course content and reflect on the experience. Taylor will highlight the key components of the design process and how she was able to help Dr. Mathur re-imagine his course for an online modality. Both will talk about the key ingredients to a successful collaboration.
Providing Opportunities for In-Depth, Inclusive, Accountable Learning
C.V. Starr 205
Andrea Libresco and Rosebud Elijah (Teaching, Learning, and Technology) and Gloria Wilson (Special Education)
The goals of this proposed interactive presentation are to: (a.) Create an awareness that many of the accountability structures we use may be based in rigid stereotypes of students and the learning process; (b.) Practice creating accountability structures based in the essential goals of each course; (c.) Discuss the pros and cons of trusting students in the process of learning; (d.) Recognize that providing less rigid structures provides students opportunities to showcase more of their learning.
In this interactive presentation we explore with the audience aspects of all our pedagogies that we deem essential for student accountability. We tease apart aspects of accountability that are aligned with the goals of our courses and aspects that are embedded in stereotypic beliefs about student learning. We share with participants two pedagogical adaptations in the move to online teaching during the pandemic: (a.) more structured student collaboration and peer review through Google Docs, (b.) more focused and thorough teacher scaffolding in zoom book groups during class time, and (c.) more student independence through strategic teaching.
These pedagogical adaptations resulted in in-depth discussions, more collaborations, richer learning, and more inclusive experiences for the students and for us. These adaptations required us to give up traditional in-person classroom expectations of rigid accountability structures to experience and understand the extent of student ownership of course readings, and their support of and collaboration with each other.
Using Climate Interactive to Understand and Promote Climate Justice
C.V. Starr 204a
E. Christa Farmer (Geology, Environment, and Sustainability)
This workshop will give an overview of how to use the En-ROADS model to explore the impacts of various climate solutions on the planet's climate system with emphasis on equity considerations. The workshop will not only model one way to use the model in our teaching, but it will also introduce the climate action simulation. This longer "game" encourages role-playing in international negotiations to solve the climate change problem and was highly successful in engaging introductory students in my GEOL005 Environmental Geology courses in Fall 2023. You can read more about the En-ROADS model here: https://www.climateinteractive.org/en-roads.
*Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop or mobile device.
Session Two
10:45-11:30 a.m.
Innovation & Education: Empowering Educators with Multi-Modal Digital Teaching Strategies
C.V. Starr 209
Holly Seirup (Counseling and Educational Leadership) and Tom Jennings (EdTech)
As education continues to evolve, the need for innovative, inclusive pedagogy that seamlessly integrates technology has become imperative in both the traditional in person and online classroom. Understanding that some are hesitant to move into the digital realm, we are reminded of a quote by Steve Jobs. “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat.” We hope to share some available and accessible innovative opportunities to support each student's unique background and perspective.
The presenters will share insights and examples gleaned from the development and implementation of several online courses through various iterations of presentation technologies and techniques. A key focus will be on incorporating a multi-modal approach to support students with different learning styles as well as integrating technology in teaching and assessment to enhance the learning experience. A variety of interactive examples will be showcased regarding learning content, utilizing text and media-based discussions, and the opportunity to incorporate professional perspectives from the field. Strategies will be discussed for utilizing multiple teaching methods that serve to create an environment where diverse perspectives are valued. Time will also be allotted where participants will be encouraged to share their experiences, insight, and strategies that foster inclusion and innovation in their classroom.
Standards-based Grading: Developing Persistence and Proficiency
C.V. Starr 204a
Johanna Franklin (Mathematics)
(Note: This session contains an active participation component. Each faculty member should bring a list of topics for a unit in one of their courses.) In standards-based grading, a student's grade is based on the number of course topics they've demonstrated proficiency in rather than the number of points they accumulate during the semester, and students are given the opportunity to demonstrate this proficiency repeatedly throughout the course. This reduces frustration for both the instructor and the student: the student must show they fully understand a topic to receive credit for it, and a student who understands a topic only after it is first assessed can still earn that credit. This approach has been used successfully at Hofstra in Elementary Mathematical Statistics, Calculus I, and Financial Mathematics. Feedback suggests that the students find this grading system motivational and confidence building: for instance, "The way she structured the class to have multiple tries to show mastery of a subject actually motivated me much more to learn the content compared to if the class was simply number grades, and it made sure I understood everything I initially missed in a way that will actually stick with me."
For the first 30 minutes of this session, I will discuss the practicalities of implementing such a system, and for the last 20 minutes, the participants will engage in a guided exercise and think about how they could implement standards-based grading in their own courses.
Unplugged Learning of Computer Networking and Computing Concepts
C.V. Starr 204
Simon Shamoun (Computer Science)
We will run up to four unplugged activities in which students play the role of computing components to learn the concepts behind networking protocols and computer design. In one activity, students act out what is known as a reliable data transfer protocol, which is an exchange of messages to ensure the delivery of messages over an unreliable channel. In another, students act out routing protocols to understand how messages are routed through a network and how those routes are determined. A third activity familiarizes students with processor design, in which students act out the passing of messages between components to execute an instruction. In the last activity, students come up with their own solution to sorting cards as a group, learning on their own some of the principles of parallel and distributed computing.
Using Library Resources: Accessibility, Affordability, Teaching and Research
C.V. Starr 205
Sarah McCleskey (Resource and Collection Services) and Annmarie Boyle (Research and Technical Services)
This session will address the public-facing resources and services the Hofstra University Library provides to the campus community. Hofstra University Library promotes equitable access to library services and electronic resources. We are committed to providing equal access to information for all library users, and we work together to educate our community, and advance digital accessibility. In this panel discussion, we will highlight accessibility features of a variety of library resources and describe library services for all users (including those with accessibility needs). The library is also concerned with textbook/course reading affordability. To that end, we offer course reserves and electronic reserves to supplement or replace traditional textbook purchases for students. We will outline the advantages this service provides for professors and students.
Hofstra University Library is the physical and digital entry point to the scholarly materials that are critical to enabling and enriching teaching, student learning and academic research at Hofstra. During this session, a variety of research databases and support services will be demonstrated that can assist you with your pedagogical and research goals, as well as with deepening the learning experience for your students.
Using PowerPoint as a Tool for Increased Student Engagement
C.V. Starr 210
Sean Fanelli (Specialized Programs in Education)
The session will demonstrate ways to add dynamism and interactivity to PowerPoint presentations using PowerPoint tools. The session will be hands-on with the instructor leading the participants through the creation of a dynamic PowerPoint presentation. Examples of each of these tools will be demonstrated. Participants will then develop, on-site, a PowerPoint presentation using each of the demonstrated tools. The session will demonstrate the use of animated text, slide transitions, interactive slides, pictorial backgrounds, the incorporation of audio and video, and both URL and slide linkages, to mention just a few of the tools that will be used by the participants to create dynamic and interactive PowerPoint presentations.
*Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop or mobile device.
Keynote Address
11:40 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Monroe Lecture Center, Room 142)
Keynote Speaker:
Tracie Addy, PhD
Tracie Marcella Addy is Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Lafayette College. Dr. Addy directs the Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship and serves in other leadership capacities. She enjoys working with instructors across all divisions and ranks to develop and administer programming related to the teacher-scholar model, from classroom teaching to the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has experience teaching at a diverse array of institution types. In addition to her leadership roles she performs scholarship on learner-centered practices including active learning and inclusive teaching. Dr. Addy also publishes educational materials and serves as an associate editor for various journals.
Lunch
12:30-1:10 p.m. (C.V. Starr, 2nd and 3rd floors)
Session Three
1:15-2 p.m.
Integrating Career Readiness into the Classroom
C.V. Starr 209
Michelle Kyriakides (Center for Career Design and Development)
Members of the Career Design & Development team will provide a brief introduction to tools and programs that faculty can use to help connect course topics to employment and career readiness, including the Employers in the Classroom program, Forage (a virtual internship simulation program), and Big Interview (AI powered interview software). Faculty will then work in small groups to discuss ways they could incorporate these tools and programs into their classes.
*Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop or mobile device.
Interactive Student Education – Using the Anatomage Technology to Promote Student Collaboration and Learning Experiences in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology and Allied Health Courses
C.V. Starr 205
Katie Sell, Yu-Pin Hsu, Kristin LoNigro, and Ofra Pottorf (Allied Health and Kinesiology)
A growing body of research has supported the use of interactive technology as a teaching tool in undergraduate (e.g., anatomy and physiology, human biology) and graduate (e.g., musculoskeletal anatomy, Gastrointestinal Ultrasound) courses classes is both well-received by students (from a learning modality perspective) and has improved learning outcomes about team-based care of patients (Afsharpour et al., 2018; Custer & Michael, 2015). These benefits have also been well documented in conference presentations and through testimonials online (https://anatomage.com/gallery/). The continued development of approaches to optimize how learning modalities such as the Anatomage software can be incorporated into courses reflects a growing trend in higher education and an expanding area of interest for researchers exploring best practices in education (Afsharpour et al., 2018). Prospective students and employees are showing an increased interest in institutions that can offer training to use and learning that can be enhanced by interactive technology. Therefore, this presentation will discuss 1) the features of the Anatomage Table software that have been incorporated in the laboratory sections of the Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II and other health professions (specifically Occupational Therapy, Athletic Training) coursework here at Hofstra, 2) examples of how faculty have designed activities using these applications to promote understanding of the material across a wide range of physiological systems and body structures, and 3) research and proposals for using this tool in case study analysis and interdisciplinary education.
Museum Education: A Model for Discourse in Civic Engagement
C.V. Starr 210
Alexandra Giordano and Amy Solomon (Hofstra University Museum of Art)
Museums play a pivotal role in developing community engagement and civic awareness. Recognizing that the Hofstra University Museum of Art’s “community” spans not only Hofstra students, faculty, and staff but local residents, public school students, and civic organizations, the Museum significantly expanded its reach for teaching and learning during the “When We All Stand” exhibition in spring 2023. Public programming, specifically public-school programming, was guided by the Museum’s vision - to initiate and facilitate rich and varied cultural and artistic explorations in an atmosphere that promotes the open exchange of ideas. In a growing climate of misinformation and mistrust, many in the education field are wary of how to teach potentially charged topics like race, identity, immigration, citizenship, and reproductive rights. Participants will gain insight into how the Museum functions as a space to promote understanding and expression of ideas through a dialogic approach to teaching and learning that engages all members of our “community.” Specifically, Museum staff will share approaches and pedagogy that engage diverse public audiences, public school students, and public school teachers. The session will culminate with a hands-on activity that demonstrates an approach to teaching and learning that fosters a climate where anyone can ask questions, learn, and grow, which is the foundation for civic engagement.
Semi-automated Grade Updates via Email using Excel/Word
C.V. Starr 204a
Elisabeth Ploran (Psychology)
Students often struggle to understand how their grades come from a series of smaller assessments and assignments. Further, students may not be able to accurately predict what their final grade will be on the basis of their current level of work on individual assignments compared to an overall weighted grade composite. To aid in ongoing feedback on performance, professors can develop semi-automated email updates that include (1) a reminder of the course grading structure, (2) current individual levels of performance in each assessment category, (3) personalized feedback on performance with pointers for potential improvement, and (4) predictive calculations of the final grade assuming no change in performance until the end of the semester. Though this sounds quite onerous, these updates can be created fairly easily through the use of basic functions in Excel and Word. During the session, faculty members will actively work through creating the structure for deployment to be used later in the semester. By setting aside time to create their own, faculty will be more likely to use the method as intended.
*Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop or mobile device.
Session Four
2:10-2:55 p.m.
Approaches to Annotation: Leveraging Online Learning Tools for Literacy Studies
C.V. Starr 204
Alan Flurkey (Literacy Studies) and Josue Rodriguez (EdTech)
In this presentation, Dr. Alan Flurkey and Instructional Designer Josue Rodriguez will discuss their experiences developing online courses for the Literacy Studies department. They will explore the ways that collaboration in course development has led to new modes of engagement with students, such as animated interactions, simulations, videos, and working with audio samples. The result is not only increased student engagement for the online setting, but a method of collaboration that creatively explores new ways to animate students about literacy studies and continues to shift perceptions about how learners process the texts they read. After both presentations, we will briefly interact with the audience members to reflect on further possibilities of how other disciplines and teaching methodologies could benefit from developing courses with instructional design elements.
A Crash Course on Prompting in Chat GPT: A Case Study of Technology in the Classroom and Promoting a System for Faculty Upskilling
C.V. Starr 210
Imani Brown and Jack Castonguay (Accounting)
The presentation will showcase the technology resource infrastructure that the Department of Accounting has invested in to promote the upskilling of faculty to allow the integration of technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), in the classroom. We will briefly present the inventory of technology case studies and learning guides, and discuss the inventory process that enables the dissemination of these resources throughout the faculty. To demonstrate how the Department's investment in this resource has enabled our faculty to integrate technology in an interactive and exciting way in the classroom, the presentation will then involve an interactive, hands-on workshop led by Professor Jack Castonguay on how to effectively interact (""prompt"") with Chat GPT, a widely known and easily accessible AI tool. Chat GPT is an open-source tool that can aid in the knowledge discovery process in a wide variety of academic disciplines and professions. Due to the wide availability of this tool, it is especially critical that faculty and students be introduced to tools such as Chat GPT so that they can learn how to appropriately use them, and when they should (or should not) be relying on them. This workshop will mimic, in a condensed format, how Prof. Castonguay teaches the concept of prompting in Chat GPT in our graduate-level accounting courses. We will introduce attendees to what Chat GPT is, how it should be used, briefly discuss the benefits and risks of using the tool, and provide hands-on experience and best practices with using the tool.
*Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop or mobile device.
An Inquiry-Based Instructional Model to Teach Scientific Concepts Using Time as a Field: Examples from Biology and Physics
C.V. Starr 209
Fernando Espinoza (Physics and Astronomy)
The model is based on a representation of time as an extended medium where localized events can become experiences by virtue of their subjective character, and their emergence from this field can be treated as actuality from potentiality. The cognitive and perceptual sensitivity of time must be consistent with its representations for meaningful incorporation into one’s worldview. This is like the Aristotelian perspective of motion as change, which involved duration in all its examples , thus combining qualitative and quantitative features. Such an approach can be pedagogically useful due to its comprehensive scope, and it aligns exceptionally well with the 5E’s model of instruction, which is a student-centered sequence of spatially distributed experiences. For educational research, using time as a continuum exhibiting wave-like features, which are extended but have local manifestations can help to see connections between areas where one may not initially detect commonalities. We need a context in the teaching of science for it to be more meaningful and relevant to students’ needs and worldviews. The traditional method of teaching facts and concepts in isolated instances has run its course. Students have access to innumerable sources of information to acquire content knowledge; what they lack are skills to navigate through knowledge domains and obtain whatever information is necessary to exercise critical thinking, and to make well-informed decisions. Such a context can be provided by a model of learning and instruction that incorporates qualitative and quantitative features of time envisioned as a field of information.
Preparing Secondary School Teachers to Respond to Student Use of ChatGPT
C.V. Starr 205
Alan Singer, Theresa McGinnis, and Roberto Joseph (Teaching, Learning, and Technology)
Artificial Intelligence and its impact on American society and democracy are in the news and being debated in corporate offices and in Congress. The Secondary Education program is grappling with how to prepare teachers to respond to student use of ChatGPT and other AI programs by students in their classes. After a demonstration of how ChatGPT can be used by students to avoid reading and writing assignments, three professors in the secondary education program will discuss their views on the issue and strategies for addressing ChatGPT.
Project-based Learning at Hofstra: Opportunities and Challenges
C.V. Starr 204a
Jase Bernhardt (Geology, Environment, and Sustainability)
During the Spring 2023 semesters, four faculty from different fields came together to instruct a project-based learning course in the Rabinowitz Honors College (RHC) on climate change solutions. The course was broken down into three units. In the first, students were introduced to each of the four faculty member’s area of expertise, next, they brainstormed potential project ideas, and in the third, which comprised the second half of the semester, student teams developed and executed a project. This project-based learning experience brought about many successes and challenges, leaving the faculty team with both important perspectives to share, and the need to engage with others when brainstorming for the next iteration of the course. For this interactive presentation session, we propose to first have the participating faculty and partnering RHC administrators provide short “lightning” style talks on their experiences with the course, comprising the first 20 minutes of the session. That background will set the stage for the focus of the session, which will be a “gallery walk” activity, in which all participants rotate among several stations where solutions to the different challenges of the project-based learning experiences will be discussed. The gallery walk and the session will conclude with a short debrief, resulting in the development of a document, which can be made available to all Hofstra faculty, outlining some common challenges and possible solutions for all potential project-based learning instructors to consider.