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2024 Midwest SoTL Program

2024 Midwest SoTL Program

The 2024 Midwest SoTL Conference is April 12, 2024 on the Indiana University South Bend campus. The keynote speaker is Peter Felten, Ph.D. Felten is professor of history, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and assistant provost for teaching and learning at Elon University.

8:00-8:50am	Registration & Networking in the Education & Arts outside of room 1010
9:00-10:30am	Keynote in the University Grill - Peter Felten, Ph.D. Connections Are Everything: Relational Teaching for Everyone, Everywhere Decades of research demonstrate that the quality of student-faculty/staff and student-student interactions are foundational to engaging, inclusive, and purposeful learning – in online, hybrid, and on-campus courses. Educational relationships profoundly influence motivation, learning, belonging, and achievement for all students, and particularly for new majority students. Drawing on more than 400 interviews with students, faculty, and staff across U.S. higher education, we will explore relationships as a flexible, scalable, equitable, and humane approach to ensuring that all students experience welcome and care, become inspired to learn, and explore the big questions that matter for their lives and our communities. You will leave with practical ideas for research-informed ways that you can cultivate educationally powerful interactions with all of your students – without taking up all of your time and energy.
10:30-10:45am	Break
10:45-11:15am	Concurrent Session #1
EA 1004	Unlocking Success: Exploring College Students’ Perspectives on Learning Michelle Allyn (Andrews University) David Pratt (Purdue University Northwest) Christina Stowell, Anneris Coria-Navia (Andrews University) The presentation shares results of a study exploring students' viewpoints on strategies and behaviors that significantly influence their engagement, learning, and attention. Phase one of this study investigates the perceptions of over 200 students across diverse majors at a small private Midwestern university. Initial findings provide actionable recommendations for professors seeking to enhance the overall academic experience.
EA 1010	Stop Teaching and Enjoy Guiding an Engaging Active Learning Process Amal Khalifa (Purdue University Fort Wayne) A great teacher believes that active learning is the key to maximize student engagement and hence success in learning. That is, instead of listening to lectures, Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a pedagogy that transfers the responsibility of learning form the teacher to the students. In TBL, students work collaboratively on real-world problems to apply course concepts and theories.
EA 1019	Engaged Metaphors for Student Learning: Analysis, Synthesis, and Argumentation Preston Cosgrove (Concordia University Wisconsin) From Aristotle to Robert Frost, metaphors have long been recognized for their conceptual power. But beyond flexible forms of expression, scholars continue to demonstrate metaphor as a means of learning and understanding. This session will present those foundations, and then engaging in an abridged, experiential activity using metaphor to teach critical competencies of analysis, synthesis, and argumentation.
EA 1021	Linking Life and Learning for First-Year Students Jenny Deranek (Indiana University South Bend) First-Year students can struggle with skills like self-regulation, time-management, utilizing resources, communication, and balancing priorities. This presentation will highlight an innovative teaching practice added to a First-Year Seminar course which addressed a variety of factors related to belonging in college. The presentation will address what was added and how to integrate into other courses, regardless of delivery mode.
EA 1023	Conversation Circles: Bridging Gaps, Fostering Belonging, and Forging Critical Collaboration Priscila Norris, William Taylor, Sanam Toossi, Laura Escobar-Ratliff (University of Kentucky) Rob Newal (Quincy College) Scholar-practitioners value engaging intra and inter-disciplinarily to foster connections and collaboration. Conversation Circles (CC) is a semi-structured protocol that facilitates critical, creative, and constructive conversations. Applied as a doctoral-level assignment, it fosters engagement, belonging, peer support, and scholarly collaboration. This panel session will introduce the CC protocol and discuss its transformative potential as a pedagogical tool in distance education.
EA 1025	Can I Talk to You, Professor? Navigating Student-Teacher Boundaries Katherine Ryan, Emily Dutton (Indiana University Kelley School of Business) Managing student-teacher relationships can be challenging. How much do we welcome our students to share? How much are we comfortable sharing back in return? What are the consequences of these choices? This interactive session gives space for participants to consider and share their perspectives on student support, empathy, professionalism, and role expectations in teaching and learning.
EA1105	Designing Writing Prompts in the Age of AI Kyle Lucas, Sarah Lucas (Ferris State University) This presentation discusses strategies for designing writing prompts in undergraduate classes that can help address concerns about student AI use. The presentation briefly introduces ChatGPT, a well-known AI platform, showing different tasks it can handle. The presentation then shows how well the AI can handle variations on writing prompts from two areas of study: English and philosophy.
11:15-11:25am	Break
11:25-11:55am	Concurrent Session #2
EA 1004	Gradeless in the First-Year Seminar: Long-term Benefits? Jake Mattox (Indiana University South Bend) Using survey data (qualitative and quantitative) from students in my current first-year seminar course, I will explore two main questions: Is a type of “ungrading” approach helpful as students seek to acquire course-specific skills and content, and does this approach suggest transferable benefits, through which student motivation, self-awareness, and habits are improved in their current and future classes?
EA 1006	Predicting Performance in the Beginning Spanish Class: anxiety and mindset Gonzalo Campos-Dintrans (The University of Mary Washington) Early identification of students' low performance in class can help prompt intervention. It has been proposed that a specific type of anxiety related to language learning, and students' beliefs about language learning abilities (fixed or malleable) can account for low/high performance. In this study, I examine how these two factors can help identify low performing students.
EA 1010	Amplify, Elevate, Engage: Strategies for Fostering Student Connection Michelle Clemons(Ivy Tech Community College) Since the return to in-person classes, many students have struggled with building connections to peers, educators, and community in the college environment. By focusing on amplifying, elevating, and engaging student voices, a larger sense for community can be fostered in the classroom. This session will focus on strategies to help build connection in the classroom.
EA 1019	Seeing the gaps: finding ways to infuse visual literacy instruction Erin Laverick (Concordia University Ann Arbor) Many teacher preparation programs do not prepare teachers to teach visual literacy (VL). To fill this gap, I designed a unit to research best practices for preparing pre-service teachers in how to teach VL in K-12 classrooms. In this presentation, I will share the study design and findings and discuss how college instructors can infuse VL in their own teaching.
EA 1021	Service-Learning in a Variety of Courses From Humanities to Sciences Abbie Thompson, Lucas Kelley, Kristi Bugajski, Jennifer Winquist, Ryan Cole (Valparaiso University) Service-learning is a valuable experience for undergraduate students. However, figuring out how to integrate service-learning can be challenging. This panel will discuss how service-learning projects were integrated into biology, history, psychology, and experiential philanthropy courses.
EA 1023	Practitioner to Professor: Modeling Demonstration Practices for Preservice Art Teachers Cam McComb (Eastern Michigan University) An art education professor shares her journey to understand how to better prepare preservice art teachers to demonstrate artistic skills/processes. The Five-Minute Demo: A Micro-Practice Framework Fostering Development of Artistic Knowledge, Capability, & Belonging was created through research and multiple iterations of refinement. Learn about this SoTL journey and leave with a research-based practice adaptable to other process-driven disciplines.
EA 1025	Teaching the Social Determinants of Health Through a Historical Lens Barbara White, Darryl Heller, George Garner (Indiana University South Bend) Teaching baccalaureate nursing students about the social determinants of health is a requirement of accreditation standards as a strategy to reduce health disparities and promote equity. There are no clear guidelines to teach the concepts so the ideas persist into clinical practice. This presentation describes a museum-based learning activity to explore the social-historical influences on current health outcomes.
EA 1105	One Year Later: Reflections on Generative AI in the Classroom Dacia Charlesworth (Indiana University Bloomington) At last year's conference, Charlesworth used Burke's terministic screens and Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle to discover how panel participants identify with or disassociate from generative AI (gAI) and consider how the positions of identification or disassociation can impact teaching approaches. In this follow-up session, Charlesworth shares how identifying with gAI has shaped her teaching and students' learning.
12 noon - 1:00pm	Networking Lunch - University Grill
1:10-1:40pm	Concurrent Session #3
EA 1004	Studying For Final Exams: The Missing High Impact Practice Stacy Betz (Saint Mary's College) Exams are often viewed as inauthentic assessments that should be avoided. Exams can also lead to student anxiety. However, the use of cumulative final exams is associated with increased long-term learning. This presentation describes how to write exam questions that are authentic measures of learning and how to decrease student anxiety by ditching study guides and embracing practice exams.
EA 1006	COIL, A Digital Bridge: Transforming Spanish Language Learning through Cross-Cultural Elena Mangione (University of Notre Dame) Viridiana Amieva Palacio (Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla) This paper explores an innovative Spanish course at Notre Dame, featuring a COIL component with Mexico's UPAEP. Focusing on deep culture, the course uses digital platforms for cross-cultural student collaboration. Students created annotated bibliographies and websites, presenting their cultural insights interactively. COIL's adaptability showcases its potential as a universal tool in global education, transcending traditional subject boundaries.
EA 1019	Motivational Factors for Using Active Learning in Higher Education Classrooms Letrisha Stallard, Michelle Allyn, Jenica Joseph, Anneris Coria-Navia, Kimberly Pichot, Tammy Shilling (Andrews University) Bea Ade-Oshifogun (New Mexico State University) This study explores faculty motivation for the utilization of active learning methods. One thousand faculty members were surveyed to identify motivating factors for using active learning. Our study revealed several motivating factors including positive impact on learning, quality and sufficient training, available instructional design support, available mentoring, rewards for excellence in teaching, and qualification of criteria for teaching awards.
EA 1021	Field of Dreams: Optimizing Experiential Learning for Student Success Suzanne Pfeiffer, Dave Pratt, Danielle Starks, Debra Pratt (Purdue University Northwest) University programs increasingly demand experiential learning beyond classrooms. Teacher education, in particular, favors a clinically rich model for field experience. However, literature shows efficacy variations based on placement, with some benefiting from support and others facing isolation. PNW’s model prioritizes a collaborative and clear framework, ensuring all students thrive in conducive environments, fostering growth and a productive learning atmosphere for.
EA 1023	Reaching All Students Across All Modalities Molly Monroe, Catherine Hebert-Annis (Indiana University South Bend) In Relationship Rich Education, Felten and Lambert outline ways relationships contribute to reaching everyone via inclusive practices. Building upon that foundation, this session focuses on reaching students everywhere by discussing the benefits of various classroom modalities. While some educators can feel limited by delivery modes, we will present creative and practical examples of reaching students regardless of where they are.
EA 1025	Anti-Racist Classroom Simulations Robert Bennett (Indiana University South Bend) This session’s purpose is to discuss anti-racist education and to plan for anti-racist classroom simulations. Participants learn (a) importance of anti-racist pedagogy, (b) components of a classroom simulation, and (c) a technique to create classroom simulations. The work is grounded in multi-cultural theory and experiential learning. The goal is to create inclusive classrooms and to nurture culturally-humble growth.
EA 1105	A.I. as a Threshold Concept for Faculty: a Personal Exploration Liana Odrcic (Milwaukee Area Technical College) * Session Cancelled * In 2003, Meyer and Land likened "threshold concepts" to portals, "opening up a new and previously unacceptable way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something, without which the learner cannot progress." This presentation explores what it means to teach college Composition in the wake of A.I. and ChatGPT.
1:45-2:15pm EA 1105	Immersive Learning: Virtual Reality for Everyone, Everywhere Steven Varela, Adam Heet, Kael Kanczuzewski, KC Frye (University of Notre Dame) By leveraging the affordances of virtual reality (VR), in combination with pedagogical best-practices and emerging research, educators can create and curate immersive, engaging, and transformational learning experiences for all students. VR is a hands-on approach to active learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, and has the potential to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and understanding between faculty, staff and students.
1:45-2:15pm	Poster Session & Snacks - EA 2nd Floor Atrium
Second Floor Atrium	Risk-free Assessments: Online and In-person Jeong Il Cho (Purdue University Fort Wayne) The response card review game is my modification of a research-proven learning strategy derived from applied behavior analysis. It is a non-threatening, collaborative, and fast-pacing review game that encourages the participation of all students in face-to-face classes. In online classes, as a substitute for a response card, I use Poll Everywhere Competition or Survey options. Both assessments encourage active learning. Book Bundles: Connecting Early Childhood Education Students with Hands-on Materials Elizabeth Christian, Emily Tock (Purdue University Fort Wayne) This poster session explores the Book Bundles Project at PFW, in which faculty Elizabeth Christian and Emily Tock created bundles of literacy materials that facilitated students in applying weekly course concepts from an early-childhood-education course into practice with young children. Bundles of materials were made available to students via a library research guide that was linked to the BrightSpace course. Engaging and Assessing Standout Students in the EC Education Class Elizabeth Christian, Rama Cousik (Purdue University Fort Wayne) This three-year study examines what preservice teachers want to know about the standout learners in the classroom. We explore one of the findings, 1) Teaching approaches and 2) Assessment approaches in working with these learners. There is value in understanding the perspectives of general education preservice teachers and what information they seek as they approach the field of teaching. Exploring First-Year Teacher Stress and its Implications Andrea Forcum (Indiana State University) The impact of a first-year teacher's experience is profound. In my dissertation case study, I found specific elements that can drastically improve first-year teacher's experiences and levels of stress. Do Assigned Groups Build Community in the Foreign Language Classroom? Jennifer Formwalt (Indiana University Bloomington) Do assigned groups help L2 students feel more comfortable and established with peers while learning a second language? This research suggests that they do. Optimizing technology in the classroom through TechType personality classifications Jason Guy, Julie Oestreich (University of Findlay College of Pharmacy) Literature suggests that self-awareness and assessment of technology readiness can help improve positive technology outcomes in the classroom. Therefore, a classification tool to increase self-awareness of an individual’s technology personality would be beneficial. This session will review a novel technology personality classification system called TechTypes. Audience members will have a chance to use the tool and assess their personality type. Enhancing Student Engagement through Effective Course Syllabus Development and Delivery Venkata Inukollu, Amal Khalifa (Purdue University, Fort Wayne) This study investigates into the strategies and impacts associated with elevating student engagement within academic courses through the thoughtful creation and delivery of an effective course syllabus. By examining the design and implementation of syllabi, this study aims to identify key elements that contribute to increased student participation, motivation, and overall success in the learning process. Challenge Your Students, Avatar Simulation Provides Effective Hybrid Learning Experiences Jamie OBrien, Jarod Mariani, Tawiona Brown, Emelia McCuen (Bowling Green State University) This poster applies current simulation literature to the use of Mursion avatar-based simulations in hybrid education. It will discuss utilization of Mursion Avatar Simulation to challenge student growth through providing a safe space to make mistakes and reflect while providing growth in communication strategies, reflection, and navigation of difficult situations. Breaking Silos, Building Bridges: Collaboration for the 21st Century Joseph Passi, Debra Pratt, Amanda Passmore (Purdue University Northwest) Despite widespread advocacy, collaboration often falls short due to institutional barriers. The study shares the results of a successful collaboration among three professors at Purdue University Northwest designed to enhance students’ experiences. Through intentional planning, the professors dismantled academic silos and fostered interdisciplinarity. The session concludes with lessons learned, encouraging participants to envision and implement cross-collaboration in their own settings. Smile: A Pedagogical Tool to Improve Your Classroom & Evaluations Elizabeth Robinson (Tennessee Technological University) This poster presentation will demonstrate how one small move – smiling – dramatically affected the way that students perceived me as a professor, and thus positively affected my course evaluations. By vulnerably sharing how I transformed my classroom from “scary as hell," this research project will present the importance of implementing this pedagogical technique in our college classrooms.
2:20-2:50pm	Concurrent Session #4
EA 1004	Practicing CBE in a Strength and Conditioning Course: Case Report Andrew Doyle (Indiana University South Bend) Competency Based Education (CBE) is an instructional system. CBE can be an effective educational strategy in dynamic learning environments where students have various backgrounds, experiences, and skills. CBE may meet various learner’s level of needs if executed correctly. The presenter will discuss how CBE was used for a graduate Strength and Conditioning course to meet the needs of various students.
EA 1006	Sociolinguistic Justice: Teaching To and Learning From Heritage Learners María A. Ruiz García (University of Notre Dame) To reach sociolinguistic justice in language teaching, it is imperative to adopt inclusive pedagogies that recognize and build on heritage speakers' linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This proposal explores the importance of acknowledging linguistic varieties, the challenges of incorporating these varieties into academia, and ways to encourage learners to embrace and use their heritage language varieties beyond linguistic prejudice.
EA 1019	Bridge the Isolation Gap and Ignite Learning with Games! Kathleen Sullivan (Indiana University South Bend) Tired of students' monotone expressions and their attention hijacked by phone screens? Discover how gameplay can penetrate the isolation so many students experience class after class. Explore sample games that you can easily tailor to your own curriculum and brainstorm a unique classroom game. Leave the session with practical framework for designing games and embrace its communal impact.
EA 1021	Using POGIL for Guided Inquiry Learning Mary Ann Cahill, Grace Pigozzi, Melanie Walski (Purdue University Northwest) Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a pedagogical method created to teach process skills and content using an inquiry-based approach. Student learning teams work on specially designed activities that promote mastery of discipline content and the development of skills. POGIL focuses on content and process, addressing the lack of attention to process in higher education courses.
EA 1023	The Hidden Curriculum of Late Work Policies Lauren Sestito, Jesse Sestito (Valparaiso University) Late work policies vary widely and may be implicit or formalized. We will discuss the results of a recent survey assessing student perceptions of and interactions with various late work policies. Participants will evaluate their own late work policies in this context and explore how we might address this and other components of the hidden curriculum in our courses.
EA 1025	The Educator's Toolbox: Integrating Therapeutic Microskills for Inclusive Learning Environments Noelany Pelc (Marian University) This session will focus on skill-development models rooted in the psychology literature to examine active mechanisms in cultivating an inclusive learner-centered approach. Participants will learn about a microskill training model and experiment with guided exercises/skills to cultivate meaning, value, cognitive, and feeling focused conversations that deepen interpersonal and content-related learning.
EA 1105	Innovate to Educate: Unleashing Creative Technologies in the Classroom Terri Hebert (Indiana University South Bend) Discover the future of education through innovation and creative technologies. This presentation explores the transformative impact of immersive tools, virtual experiences, and collaborative platforms in online and in-person classrooms. Learn how these innovations enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Unleash creativity and revolutionize teaching methods for a dynamic and effective learning experience.
3:00-4:00 pm	Quick Hits - EA 1011
	Using Nearpod to Foster Collaboration and Conversation Cheryl DeLeon (Purdue University Northwest)
	"Humane Education for Everyone Everywhere" Stacy Hoult, Natalie Krivas (Valparaiso University)
	Embark on Project-Based Learning: Acquire and Apply Knowledge Venkata Inukollu, (Purdue University, Fort Wayne) Gautam Alavalapati (Fontbonne University)
	Co-creating Inclusive Learning Experiences Through Faculty-Student Pedagogical Partnership Amanda Leary, Shivang Thakor, Cerila Rapadas, Lena Dougherty, Stephanie Ona, Christalia Barone, Horane Diatta-Holgate (University of Notre Dame)
	Final Assessments vs Final Exams Jon Padfield (Indiana University – Columbus)
	UnEssay Revolution: Transforming Scholar Engagement, Motivation, and Access Amanda Passmore (Purdue University Northwest)
	What We Learned: Graduate Allied Health Students Learning Content in Gamified Classrooms Alisha Springle (Indiana University South Bend)
	Promoting Learner Engagement and Motivation Through Extended Reality Brianna Stines, Yi Lu (University of Notre Dame)
	Simulated Legal Exercises: Developing Real-World Experiences in the Business Law Classroom Andrew Swain (Indiana University South Bend)
	Personalize Your Communication to Each Student Ann Whaley (Ivy Tech Community College)

Thank You to the Consortium Members
Indiana University South Bend University of Notre Dame Saint Mary's College Holy Cross College Purdue University Fort Wayne Valparaiso University Ivy Tech Community College	Indiana University Northwest Purdue University Northwest Southwestern Michigan College Aurora University Michigan State University Indiana State University
Thank You to the SoTL Committee Members
Raman Adaikkalavan (IU South Bend) Julie Alee (Ivy Tech Northcentral) Alex Ambrose (University of Notre Dame) Linda Behrendt (Indiana State University) Jeong-il Cho (Purdue University Fort Wayne) Terri Hebert (Saint Mary's College) Cati Hebert-Annis (IU South Bend) Emily Hixon (Purdue University Northwest) Beth Kern (IU South Bend) Gisele Kuhn (Andrews University) Joel Langston (IU South Bend)	Caleb Lewis (Aurora University) Anna Michelle Martinez-Montavon (IU South Bend Amanda McKendree (University of Notre Dame) Nancy Merrick (IU South Bend) Cody Miller (Southwestern Michigan College) Ellen Moll (Michigan State University) Amy Pawlosky (IU South Bend) Felicia Reid-Metoyer (Holy Cross College) Cynthia Rutz (Valparaiso University) Jay VanderVeen (IU South Bend) Chris Young (Indiana University Northwest) Chenfeng Zhang (Indiana University Northwest)

2024 Midwest SoTL Program

Poster Session & Snacks - EA 2nd Floor Atrium