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Each G.I.F.T.S. presentation was 10 minutes long. Select the presentation title to view slides.

Session 1

• Lauren Banko-Ortiz, Political Science & Economics, "Level-up Your First Day: Gamifying the Syllabus to Build Engagement and Community"
• Greg Eaton, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, "Using Zoom in Canvas to Support Universal Design for Learning (UDL)"
  
• Charlotte de Vries, Mechanical Engineering, "Teaming Tribulations: Using a Role-Playing Game as an ice breaker for design teams"
• Kaitlin Mallouk, Experiential Engineering Education, "TILT: Transparency in Teaching and Learning: A Framework for Demystifying Your Assignments"

Session 2

• Robert Fleming, Management, "Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills of Business Students Through 'Technology Timeouts'”
• Fahmida Rahman, Civil & Environmental Engineering, A Structured Approach to Teach Responsible AI Use
• Marisa Watanabe, Art, Written Reflections
• Jesse Melvin, PSEC Economics, Anticipation Guides: Bite-Sized Tool for Student Engagement

2025 RTC Fall Conference: Sustainable Pedagogies schedule with links to presentation materials.

Note: You must sign in with your Rowan Credentials to open these documents.

Note: You must sign in with your Rowan Credentials to open these documents.

Each G.I.F.T.S. presentation was 10 minutes long

G.I.F.T.S. Session 1 

• Greg Payton, School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship: "The Flipped Classroom"
• Jennifer Blaylock, Radio, Televison and Film: "Group Review Exercises: Making Assessment into a Learning Opportunity"
• Darren Provine, Computer Science
• Steve Garwood, Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine: "Teaching Students to Provide Effective Feedback with the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) Framework"

Keynote

Lisa Abrams, Psychology: “Using competency-first grading practices to address grade inequities”

G.I.F.T.S. Session 2

• Richard Federman, Geography, Planning & Sustainability: "Bring Back the Blue Book"
• Carla Sbrana, Faculty Center: "How to Start Building a Community of Learners"
• Jeremy Glazer, CATE: "Would You Rather....?"
• Anu Vedantham, Campbell Library; "Meaningful Objects"

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Keynote

Students Today: Making the Most of the New College Classroom*, Ted Howell, RTC

Workshops

Mentoring Undergraduate Students, Bill Carrigan, History

Any-Day Activities for Active Learning, Nicole Cesare, Writing Arts

First Impressions: Building Classroom Community at the Beginning of the Semester, Allison Kelly, Chemistry/Biochemistry

Additional resources:

Teaching Strategies for (Before) the First Day of Class

How to Get Students to Work Together, Not Apart: Managing Group Work for Impactful Learning, Patti Coughlan, Communication Studies

Additional resources:

• Jigsaw Strategy
• Engagement Activity: What are they thinking?
• Fishbowl Discussion Technique and Rubric
• Frayer Model: Verbal and Visual Word Association Student Engagement
  
• Pair Share Activity
• Parking Lot Student Engagement Strategy
  
• Storytelling Shark Tank Style Mad Lib Activity
• Weekend Wakeup - Nudges

Using Generative AI to Support Teaching & Learning, Ben Swan, Psychology

*If you are interested in reading the book that guided the theme, keynote, and some of the sessions, Rowan Libraries provides an e-book version for us. Just click on the book title to access it: The New College Classroom.

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Keynote: HEALING FORWARD: Supporting the Next GENERATION by Kara Ieva, Wellness & Inclusive Services in Education (WISE), College of Education

Additional resources:

Brain Breaks

100 Focused Attention Practices for the New Year! by Dr. Lori Desautels

Workshops:

Using Hypothesis for Student Engagement presented by Nicole Cesare, Writing Arts

Reflecting on How We Engage with Students presented by Adrianne Robertson, Wellness & Inclusive Services in Education (WISE)

Using Generative AI to Support Teaching & Learning presented by Ben Swan, Psycholgy

Games, Play, & Movement to Support Student Learning & Engagement presented by Ted Howell, Writing Arts and Director, Rowan Teaching Connection 

Keynote: Crafting “Better” Assignments by Jill Perry, Faculty Center Director

Designing Better Exams presented by Allison Kelly, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Exams and quizzes can be very challenging to write--and frequently a point of disconnect between instructors and students. In this breakout session participants reflected on their educational goals, considered how to align exams with their priorities as an instructor, learned tips for writing intentional questions, and spent time analyzing their own assignments.

Designing Better Papers presented by Ted Howell, Writing Arts

Not only do students have to write papers, but faculty have to write paper assignments. How much guidance should students receive? How little? How can a paper assignment work as an exercise in critical thinking, rather than a regurgitation of material hastily assembled from course materials or, worse, the internet? In this workshop, we looked at the connection between thinking and writing and discuss how we can design paper assignments that encourage students to think critically as they write. We also talked about different genres of paper assignments as well as how to grade and offer effective feedback.

Designing Better Group Projects presented by Nicole Cesare, Writing Arts and Ben Swan, Psychology

The dreaded group project: students hate it, but faculty know how rewarding it can be--when it works. In this breakout group, we discussed considerations for Collaborative and Project Based Learning, including designing for learning objectives, managing logistics, and assessing outcomes. We also dedicated a portion of the session to workshop time for faculty to revamp or develop a project.

Designing Better Rubrics presented by Patti Coughlan, Communication Studies

Rubrics are more than a checklist! A well-designed rubric not only informs students of assignment expectations, but it should also provide students with valuable feedback. In this breakout session we discussed best practices for designing rubrics, explored the benefits of rubrics for students and instructors, looked at model rubrics, and aided participants in making their rubrics more than checklists. Participants were encouraged to bring their rubrics to the session.  

Conference Schedule and Recording

Contract Grading presented by Whitney Cox, Philosophy & World Religions

• Reading and Resources
• Rachael Shapiro's grading contract
• Jesse Stommel’s "Start by Trusting Students; Start by Trusting Teachers" webinar (1:05:53) on ungrading
• Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead) edited by Susan D. Blum

Equitable Team Work presented by Kaitlin Mallouk, Experiential Engineering Education

• Asset Mapping for Equitable Team Work 
• Mind mapping with Bubbl
• NSF's CATME Smarter Teamwork (Webinar)

Click Restraint for Critical Online Source Evaluation presented by Andrea Baer & Dan Kipnis, Campbell Library

• Click Restraint for Critical Online Source Evaluation
• Algorithmic bias
• Entire Noble: Algorithms of Opression video (they shared a short clip)
• Cathy O’Neil’s “Weapons of Math Destruction” 
• How to Find Better Information Online: Click Restraint
• Citation managers that students, faculty and staff have access to RefWorks and Endnote
• Guide on Algorithmic Bias

Mapping Inequality presented by Ashley York, Geography, Planning and Sustainability

• Mapping Inequality

Spotlighting Diverse Scientists in STEM presented by Allison Kelly, Chemistry & Biochemistry

• African American Women Chemists in the Modern Era. 
• Spotlighting Scientists in STEM 
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Bow Drill presented by Donna Loftus, Health and Physical Education

• Bow drill

Conference schedule with links (includes Eva Boodman's RTC 2021 - Practical Strategies for Equity and Inclusion slides)

Inclusive Stem Resources started by Allison Kelly (this is an editable document that you can add to)

After the opening is a presentation, "Building a Culture of Trust," by Allison Kelly, PhD., lecturer in the Chemistry/Biochemistry Department. Allison will point out that prevention strategies are the first step, and will share conversations she's had with students about learning, growth mindset, and where she draws the line. 

Allison Kelly's Presentation: Building a Culture of Trust (pdf) 

WebEx Recording

WebEx Recording

Opening and Keynote

Concurrent Session I: Increasing Student Engagement in the Remote/Online Classroom hosted by Ted Howell

Concurrent Session II: Inclusivity and Accessibility Practices for in-Person and Online Teaching hosted by Nicole Cesare

Note: To view the materials, you will need to be logged in with your Rowan Credentials (directions).

Keynote: Creating a Successful Learning Environment presented by Greg Biren

A Teaching Hospital Approach to Health Reporting presented by Dianne M. Garyantes

Brains & Lyrics presented by Brittnie Thomas

But I studied so hard! How did I fail? Embedding effective learning strategies into your courses presented by Eve Sledjeski

Day 1/Minute 1 of Public Speaking presented by Megan Hart

Pikme to Engage presented by Smitesh Bakrania

Screencasting presented by Jude Miller

Turning Practice Problems into Concept Discovery presented by Allison Kelly

Using Google Tools for Instant Student Feedback presented by Amanda Haruch

Note: To view the materials, you will need to be logged in with your Rowan Credentials (directions).

Keynote: Adopting Applied Teaching in Law and Ethics presented by Edward J. Schoen

Team Agreement Checklist 

Team Member Peer Evaluation

Team Evaluation Form

Fallacious Skits: Creative Expressions of Rhetorical Theory presented by Julie Malsbury

Gizmos and Gadgets: A Small Group Impromptu Public Speaking Experience presented by Harriet Sharlow Benavidez 

The G.R.A.S.P Model and Activity Form presented by Kaitlin Mallouk

hypothes.is presented by Ted Howell

Using Teamwork.com for Student Projects presented by Tom Merrill

Utilization of a Game-Based Homework Platform to Personalize Learning within Freshman Engineering Clinic presented by Cheryl Bodnar and Scott Streiner