Detailed Schedule

8:00 AM

NCB 1^st floor

Registration Check-In Opens

8:30 - 9:00 AM

NCB 1^st floor

Light Breakfast Refreshments (coffee, pastries, etc.)

9:00 - 9:15 AM

NCB 160

Welcome and Meeting Logistics
Jill Sible, Undergraduate Education

9:15 - 10:00 AM

NCB 160

Who Our Students Are
Juan Espinosa, Enrollment Management

10:00 - 10:15 AM

Break

10:15 - 11:00 AM

NCB 160

Keynote: Embracing the Joy of Missing Out to Educate in a world of Digital Overwhelm
Christina Crook, JOMO and Laurie Fritsch, Hokie Wellness

Today’s student is one that has never existed without technology, as a result, we know that attention spans are low and their learning styles demand entertainment. We also know they are aware of their distraction and experiencing more digital overwhelm than ever before.

The people happiest with technology use it differently. In this talk, Christina will help us explore how to align our values with intentional technology use in and out of the classroom. She makes a compelling case for trading the shallow promises of Big Tech (control, comfort, convenience) for cultivating relationships, engagement, and caring communities that prioritize well-being and academic success.

What if we can learn from the months and years of the pandemic, not as a brief deviation from our steady march toward a promised destination but as a valuable lesson in digital technology’s limitations and the kind of educational experience we really want?

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

NCB 160

JOMO Workshop: The Joy of Missing Out: Digital Well-Being in Practice
Christina Crook, JOMO and Laurie Fritsch, Hokie Wellness

In an era of digital-first design, practical approaches are needed to effectively support the student journey and safeguard student and faculty success and mental health in a world of limited resources. No one wants a TikTok free-for-all playgrounds, or the powerful pull of devices to interrupt learning. In this practical one-hour workshop, Laurie Fritsch and Christina Crook teach digital well-being best practices for Canvas, Classroom, and Campus.

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Derring Patio

Lunch

1:00 - 1:15 PM

NCB 160

Welcome and Overview
Jill Sible, Undergraduate Education

1:15 - 2:30 PM

NCB 160

Having the Conversation about Underrepresentation in STEM
Morgan Atkinson, Student, Maria Carrillo, Student, Hampton Smith, Student, and Alma Robinson, Physics

Do you want your students to feel comfortable in bringing their whole identities to your classroom? As part of a Virginia Tech College of Science Inclusion and Diversity Fellowship, we created a lesson for instructors to discuss the underrepresentation of people from marginalized groups in STEM fields and have taught it in both informal and formal settings. In this interactive session, we will share some of the materials we’ve created, describe the reactions we’ve received from both students and faculty, and help you reflect on how you could have these conversations in your classroom. Although these lessons were created for First-Year Experience instructors in STEM fields, they could be adapted for others.

2:30 - 2:45 PM

JOMO Break with the Virginia Tech Therapy Dogs

2:45 - 4:00 PM

NCB 160

Leveraging Instructional Technology to Improve Digital Health
Danielle Thacker, TLOS, Quinn Warnick, TLOS, and Daron Williams, TLOS

Are you overwhelmed by instructional tools like Canvas? In this interactive session we will describe how simple changes to the way you design your courses can help mediate digital stressors for both faculty and students.

4:30 - 6:00 PM

Off Campus

Afternoon Social/Happy Hour at Rising Silo Brewery (2351 Glade Road)  

8:00 AM

NCB 1^st floor

Registration Check-In Opens

8:30 - 9:00 AM

NCB 1^st floor

Light Breakfast Refreshments (coffee, pastries, etc.)

9:00 - 10:00 AM

NCB 120

Lighting Talk: Peer Educator Support
Christina Minford, Psychology, Kurt Hoffman, Psychology, Matthew Komelski, Human Development and Family Science, and Jessica Bedore, Animal and Poultry Sciences

Peer Educator support is imperative to the work and success of first-year experience courses. In this session, a series of FYE instructors will give 5-minute presentations on how they utilize peer educator support in their FYE course. Topics include support with academic intervention, peer education in service learning, and elevating peer educator leadership responsibility. After the series of presentation, there will be a discussion and opportunities for attendees to ask questions.

10:00 - 10:10 AM

Break

10:00 AM

NCB 1^st floor

Tour of Campus Historical Markers, Separate Registration Required
Emily Satterwhite, Religion and Culture, and Juan Pacheco, former VT graduate student

10:10 - 11:10AM

NCB 120

Lighting Talk: Self-Guided and Student Collaborative Concepts
Page Fetter, University Studies, Jennifer Hanratty, Political Science, Juan Ortega, Engineering Education, Jennifer Hand, School of Visual Arts, and Jane Evia Robertson, Statistics

This session will centered around discussing unique concepts that allows students to work collaboratively or in a self-guided manner to encourage them to take ownership in their learning experience. Instructors will share the success, challenges, and ways the concept can be replicated in other courses. After a series of 5-minute presentations, there will be a discussion and opportunities for attendees to ask questions.

11:10 - 11:15AM

NCB 120

FYE Program Announcements

11:15 AM - 12:00 PM

NCB 120

Academic Integrity Collaborative Workshop
Kara Latopolski, Undergraduate Academic Integrity, and Brianne Merchant, Undergraduate Academic Integrity

The Office of Undergraduate Academic Integrity will be leading an interactive workshop that is centered around the opportunities and challenges of utilizing learning technologies. The session will offer insights of what these technologies may look like from a student perspective and how instructors can help students navigate academic integrity when using these technologies.

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Derring Patio

Lunch

1:00 - 2:00 PM

Chatting About ChatGPT
Jill Sible, Undergraduate Education and Dale Pike, TLOS

ChatGPT, a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot, was released in late November 2022. Join Dale Pike from Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) and Jill Sible from Undergraduate Academic Affairs for a discussion about the implications of ChatGPT on our campus and beyond. In this interactive session, we’ll explore the possibilities and challenges that the tool may create for education. Bring your experiences, ideas and questions.

NCB 110B

Creating an Engaging and Equitable Motivational Climate in Your Course
Brett Jones, School of Education and Margaret Ellis, Computer Science

The purpose of this session is to provide instructors with a research-based approach to improving student motivation and engagement, while at the same time, creating a more equitable motivational climate. For several years at Virginia Tech, we have collected data using a validated survey, analyzed the data, and made improvements to courses over time based on the results. We will explain this data-driven approach and how instructors can use it to improve the motivation of all students.

NCB 130A

The Joy of Missing Out on Expensive, Ill-fitting Course Materials: Support for Reducing the Financial Stress and Strain of Students and the Case for Open Educational Resources
Anita Walz, University Libraries and Laura Neser, Geosciences

Join Pathways Geosciences 1004 Instructor extraordinaire and OER adapter of Introduction to Earth Science, Dr. Laura Neser, and University Libraries’ Assistant Director of Open Education and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Anita Walz, in a story-filled, no-pressure presentation. We’ll cover viable alternatives to expensive course materials, and support available at VT to adopt, adapt existing, or create high-quality openly-licensed course materials that better fit your teaching and your class. Hear stories, ask questions, and try your hand at identifying what’s available in your discipline. Learn about the impact faculty can make at VT -- and beyond. (In case you have fear of missing out regarding the AI session, we will talk about potential uses of AI as it pertains to OER.)

1:30 PM

NCB 1^st floor

Tour of Campus Historical Markers, Separate Registration Required
Emily Satterwhite, Religion and Culture and Juan Pacheco, former VT graduate student

2:00 - 2:15 PM

Break

2:15 - 3:45 PM

NCB 110A

Pathways to Study Abroad
Rachel Fitzgerland, Global Education Office and Tiffany Shoop, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Join us to learn about ways to effectively design and facilitate global and intercultural learning through study abroad. Identify models and the building blocks of designing a global learning experience (community and cultural engagement, intercultural learning practice, debriefing and reflection). Explore the AAC&U Value Rubrics to articulate global and intercultural learning outcomes for your study abroad program. Engage in facilitated work time with colleagues to brainstorm and share feedback and ideas. Leave with next steps and support resources.

NCB 110B

Getting (Re)Started with Service Learning
Jessie McMillan, VT Engage

This session will explore how to design experiential learning opportunities in a post-pandemic world, and from a post-colonial perspective.

NCB 130A

A CURE for Student Engagement in Research? Embedding Undergraduate Research in Your Class
Keri Swaby, Office of Undergraduate Research, Debby Good, HNFE, Angela Anderson, HNFE, Scott Geller, Psychology, Ben Chambers, Engineering Education, and John Chermak, Geosciences

Undergraduate Research is a recognized high-impact practice but not all students are able to participate due to time or financial constraints. Course-embedded undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are accessible and equitable. They can be successfully used in any discipline and offered at any stage in the undergraduate curriculum. In this interactive session, faculty from a variety of disciplines who have recently planned and offered a CURE will share their experiences and lessons learned. Following the panel discussion, session attendees will have the opportunity to work directly with the panelists to address questions or issues in their own CURE journey.

NCB 120

Incorporating Civic Learning Into Your Course: A Dialogue Across Disciplines
David Hicks, School of Education and Jenni Gallagher, Office of General Education

In 2012, the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement released their report, A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future, raising the alarm over the troubling disengagement of Americans from the shared responsibility of maintaining our democracy. Acknowledging that higher education is especially suited to teach the knowledge and skills necessary for a vibrant, healthy democracy, the report called on post-secondary institutions to renew their commitment to civic learning. In this session, participants will share their own conceptions around civic learning and the potential and provisos for incorporating it within courses and programs, explore theoretical frameworks and pedagogies for civic learning, and share and / or develop ideas and strategies for integrating civic learning into their own courses (from philosophy to physics, and every discipline in between!)

NCB 130B

Pathways Minors: Let's Meet to Share Data, Successes, Impacts, and Challenges
Stephen Biscotte, Undergraduate Education

If you're a Pathways Minor lead, involved in a Pathways Minor, or interested in starting a Pathways Minor, please join to discuss data (enrollment, survey, etc.), share successes (growing enrollments, building sustainable models, etc.), and get ongoing challenges out on the table to see how we can keep these great programs growing and thriving.