Pre-Meeting Workshops

For many college and university students, cognitive capacity for learning has been and is being diminished by the negative effects of persistent economic insecurity and discrimination and hostility against non-majority groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, and other aspects of difference—and, lately, by high levels of uncertainty related to the pandemic and social unrest. Recognizing that these students are no different than their peers in terms of cognitive capacity, we can implement strategies and interventions—inside and outside the classroom—that show promise in helping students reclaim the cognitive capacity they need to be successful in college.

CIA VERSCHELDEN, Special Advisor for the Integration of Academic and Student Affairs, AAC&U

Informed citizens need the agility to navigate a changing information landscape. Intentionally designing learning experiences that integrate key Information Literacy (IL) skills and make them accessible to all students is a crucial step towards educational justice, a paramount responsibility in the democratic mission of our institutions. The University of Rhode Island’s Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning partnered with instruction librarians to develop a grant-funded High Impact Teaching Seminar for faculty to seamlessly integrate IL outcomes into their courses. Participants in the Researching Across the Disciplines seminar implement changes to their courses impacting the learning of thousands of students, and share evidence of improved learning during an annual faculty showcase. The presenters will share the theoretical framework of the seminar design and engage participants in selected activities from the seminar; participants will also have an opportunity to reflect on possibilities for adaptation and application at their own institutions.

AMANDA IZENSTARK and MARY MACDONALD, both of University Libraries and ANNA SANTUCCI, Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning - all of University of Rhode Island

This workshop is presented by the POD Network

Rubrics are heralded as the answer to any number of assessment and accountability questions facing faculty and administrators today. This interactive workshop will empower participants to fully utilize rubrics on their campuses. Participants will gain exposure to rubric best practices and resources using the AAC&U VALUE rubrics; develop rubrics and/or rubric-related “tools” (such as a draft of a rubric customized for grading, course-based, and program assessment; a plan for engaging faculty in rubric calibration; or the development of a rubric “from scratch”). This session will also provide pragmatic approaches for making meaning of VALUE data at the course, program, and institutional level, and using data generated by VALUE rubrics to enhance curricular structures and pedagogical approaches designed to enhance the learning of all students. Participants will return to their campuses primed to implement rubric strategies appropriate to their institutional context.

KATE MCCONNELL, Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation and Executive Director of VALUE, Office of Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation, AAC&U

The 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement framework has been updated to reflect ongoing shifts within our institutions, communities, and how we come together to address community-based public problem solving. This workshop is designed to assist campuses preparing for both first-time applications and campuses that are re-classifying (those classified in 2016). The session will include (1) an orientation to both the classification and reclassification frameworks; (2) an overview of the 2024 process; (3) additions and changes to the documentation framework; (4) review of the documentation framework and complete application; and (5) strategies that have been effective for successful applications.

MATHEW JOHNSON, President, and LAUREN BARTSHE, Associate Director, Institute for Public Purpose in Higher Education, both of Albion College