Teresa Woods
Title:  Tend to the Basics, and Find Your Own Shtick!

Abstract:  Whether you are cooking, playing basketball, teaching, or doing countless other activities, careful execution of the basic skills often leads to success.  When I reflect on my own teaching, I don’t see a lot of razzle dazzle, but rather a fierce commitment to aligning learning objectives, learning activities, and assessment (the basics of good teaching).  In this presentation, I will outline my course design and planning routine to illustrate how I accomplish this alignment for a large section linear algebra course.  I’ll also share how over the years I’ve grown confident being myself in the classroom, rather than trying to imitate others who have inspired or impressed me.

Andrew Galerneau 
Title: Using Gamification for Teaching Difficult Topics

Abstract: As students, we have all had that one class, the “why am I here, and do I really have to do this?” class. Fast forward a few years later, and some of us are lucky enough to teach one of these classes. When I first started teaching organic chemistry, I endeavored to not repeat the mistakes I perceived of my professors when I was an undergraduate student. Drawing from personal experiences and information learned from CTL workshops, I utilized Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and small group work to facilitate learning and engagement with the curriculum during my first teaching assignment. Despite any success I had in the first year, I believed that entire experience could still be more engaging. Based upon lessons learned from modern video games, I gamified my organic curriculum the following summer. The level of engagement and attitudes of my students shifted dramatically, and I have since fully committed to this course structure to date. I look forward to sharing my gamified curriculum design, and the lessons that I have learned in the previous decade.

Location: Dillman 208