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Center for Teaching and Learning

USNA’s Sixth Annual Conference on Teaching & Learning: Faculty Development Workshops on Online Teaching

Format: All workshops will be held on Google Meet. For most there will be a short presentation followed by Q&A. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the CTL website. Workshop attendance confers permission to record.


Conference Schedule

Time / Location
Session
Event Listing
Warrior Toughness: Grit, Hardiness, Resilience & Mindfulness
CDR Andrew Ledford, Dr. Celeste Raver Luning, and LCDR Alex Dietrich (Leadership, Ethics, and Law)
May 18, 2021
9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

The Navy has a new focus on developing Sailors and future officers who identify as warriors and can (1) fight after taking a hit, (2) endure the long slow grind, and (3) maintain clarity of thought and decisiveness of action under stress. Faculty from the Leadership & Ethics Department have integrated the Navy's Warrior Toughness program into the LEL curriculum and programs across the Yard. Learn about the scholarly research in the field of Grit, Hardiness, Resilience and Mindfulness, and how we might encourage specific skills in our students through our instruction, mentoring, coaching, advising and general support of our students.

Understanding the Black Midshipman Experience: Film and Discussion
Professor. Sommer Gentry (Math), Professor Christine Copper (Chem), and Major Desiree Sanchez (LEL)
May 18, 2021
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

NOTE: This session will not be recorded. It will be repeated on Wednesday, 5/19, at 3:00.

USNA Alumni, Ramesh Nagarajah, helped put together an 18-minute video that lets viewers hear from black midshipmen about their experiences.  (Ramesh also wrote this amazing piece: https://humanparts.medium.com/reflections-from-a-token-black-friend-2f1ea522d42d ).  Small-group discussions will follow the viewing.

Undergraduate Research Proposals: a guided framework for faculty mentors
Professor Joel Esposito (Weapons, Robotics, and Control Engineering)
May 18, 2021
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

I'll share the course structure I've used, to formally guide over 60 Robotics and Control Engineering honors students through the research proposal process.  We will discuss topics such as selecting an adviser and topic, scoping a problem statement, crafting a literature review, reading papers, and the technical writing process. I'll provide practical tools such as a proposal timeline, template and grading rubric.   While the course I teach is designed for engineering students preparing for a 49X independent study, those interested in mentoring Trident and Bowman scholars, or non-STEM majors, may also find it useful.  

 

 

Cross-Division Research - More than the sum of our parts
Professor Ron Warzoha (Mechanical Engineering) & Professor Brian Donovan (Physics)
May 18, 2021
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

We will talk about how we have found success in cross-division research endeavors. This includes co-advising Trident and Bowman scholars, utilizing each other to make connections with national labs, leveraging a fundamental + applied science approach to secure ONR funding, and pooling resources to build a multi-million-dollar research program over the past four years. Mostly we will talk about ways that we have changed our approach to become more than the sum of our parts in terms of research productivity.

Script & Role Play
Vanessa Forisha
May 18, 2021
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM

The ability to articulate complex ideas to a variety of audiences enables the speaker and the receivers to exponentially increase their knowledge and understanding of a given topic. By scripting and role playing high-leverage content from lessons, faculty model the think-aloud thought process. Students can then script and role play specific components of lessons to teach one another high-leverage content from lessons. By using virtual platforms such as FlipGrid, student created videos can serve as informal checks for understanding, collaborative student-led reviews, and increase engagement in an online platform. The use of a script will enable peers to study presented materials in short student-created videos. This strategy works for every subject at every level.

Using Sea Stories in the Classroom
LCDR David Farrell (NAOE)
May 18, 2021
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM

If faculty exclusively focus on the academic side of the USNA mission - the “mental” mission - we miss the opportunity to develop students as leaders of character - the “moral” mission. Both aspects are vital and need to be emphasized in all classrooms, regardless of academic subject. USNA boasts a widely diverse faculty, whether it be country of origin, military service, or academic disciplines to name only a few differences. Midshipmen are hungry to learn from ALL faculty's personal stories & experiences (not just military personnel) so they may enter the Fleet armed with the wisdom only our stories can provide.

May 18, 2021
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Clickers have been used in teaching for a number of years but there are several variables that can impact their effectiveness in helping students learn. Our use of electronic polling (clickers) in plebe chemistry is based on our research on how middle-achieving students learn. Using electronic polling as a means of self –assessment for students, involved classes from about 40% of all plebe chemistry instructors in Spring 2020. In this workshop, we will discuss both the mechanics of using the Turning Technologies polling system with student cell phones as well as the pedagogical issues of how to write effective polling questions and how to best use electronic polling to help students self-assess their learning during class. In addition, we will report on some early results of our study on the effectiveness of electronic polling as a means of self-assessment.

One Example of Academic Research Taking Place in the USNA Human Performance Lab
Dr. Christine Copper (Chemistry) and LCDR Martin Wright (Physical Education)
May 18, 2021
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

During Academic Years 2020 and 2021, Prof Copper and LCDR Wright have been mentoring two chemistry majors enrolled in an independent research course (SC495-96). The presenters will: discuss the origin of the collaboration; describe obstacles encountered during it; present results of the project; provide descriptions of future opportunities for collaboration with the USNA Human Performance Lab.

Fostering Collaboration and Bridges across Disciplines at the United States Naval Academy
Prof. Silvia Peart, Prof. Sharika Crawford, Assistant Prof. Scott Hottovy & Midshipman Lillian Baker
May 19, 2021
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM

This session explores how faculty from four different disciplines (applied linguistics, history, meteorology and mathematics), have promoted a multidisciplinary approach to teach climate-migration and data-science.

Our presentation will be divided in two parts: The first one will focus on the development and execution of a learning module in Fall 2019. In what is likely the first-ever study of its kind at USNA, and among the few like it nationwide, we explored teaching strategies and midshipman learning in Data Science from the intersections of three disciplines (meteorology, history, and applied linguistics), and we did so in the unique context of the Spanish language. The main objective of this pedagogical intervention was to teach the climate-driven migration and data-science content in Spanish in order to advance the acquisition of the language.

The second portion of the presentation will be focused on MIDN Lillian Baker and her Capstone Project. For the Academic Year 2021, MIDN Baker built a data driven mathematical model for migration in Mexico. This project was led by Prof. Hottovy (SMP), Prof. Barrett (SOC), and Prof. Peart (Lang). The work was centered around cleaning up and applying data analysis methods to a rough data set, analyzing rain data from a precipitation data set, and creating a mathematical model from whole cloth. A challenge was maintaining a balance between the three disciplines in the week to week tasks. Participants will leave with ideas and a model of collaboration that can be adapted to their own classes.

Scholarly Publishing and You!
Dr. Amanda Click (Nimitz Library)
May 19, 2021
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

The world of scholarly communications and publishing has undergone some remarkable shifts in recent years. But what does this mean for you, as a researcher and scholar? This session will provide an overview of scholarly publishing trends and innovations, including discussion of open access, altmetrics, new peer review models, and EDI (equity, diversity & inclusion) issues. It will help you better understand the scholarly publishing landscape, and potential effects on your research and publishing.

May 19, 2021
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

While negative or "constructive" feedback is a key part of how we help our students improve, there is research that shows not enough positive feedback can reduce motivation and effort. This session will discuss the advantages of including positive feedback and the best use for increasing student motivation and performance. We will also provide some tips for ways to naturally add positive feedback along with the constructive feedback needed to help students improve.

May 19, 2021
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Drawing on five years of experience as a fellowship advisor who has read hundreds of letters of recommendation from faculty in every department at USNA, CDR Flynn will offer rhetorical strategies and guidance on how to write a persuasive letter of recommendation for students applying to graduate school admissions and for graduate scholarships.

Honor PREmediation in the Academic Sphere of USNA
CDR Matt Schell (Mechanical Engineering)
May 19, 2021
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM

The best honor remediation develops midshipman character before a violation occurs. At least I think so-the first part of this session will explore this statement which perhaps everyone does not agree with. I will then discuss one tactic I have used to leverage the wealth of honor xyz cases available to PREmediate students in the context of labs and essays. After presenting my tactic I will facilitate a discussion among attendees on other possible PREmediation actions we should consider bringing into the classroom.

May 19, 2021
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Many faculty members conduct research with collaborators at other universities and online meetings are a common way to share research progress and ideas. This semester, in particular, emphasized that online collaborations may expand beyond research to online classrooms, in which students and instructors engage through remote lessons, office hours, and deliverables to accomplish learning objectives. The goal of this working session is to identify challenges and best practices for remote meetings as well as to identify a way forward for future remote learning scenarios.

Regional Communities Supporting Instructors
Dr. Amy Ksir (Mathematics)
May 19, 2021
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

I will talk about the COMMIT network and our Maryland - DC - Virginia professional learning community of math instructors teaching with inquiry.

Can You Teach Computer Programming to Interdisciplinary Students?
Dr. Nate Chambers (Computer Science) and Dr. Dan Roche (Computer Science)
May 19, 2021
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

The Computer Science department teaches a lot of computer programming, including introductory courses for other technical majors that use programming later in their curriculum. However, there was no programming course on the Yard (until now!) that serves students who might be interested in learning to program, but not as part of their core discipline. We ran a new course the past two years for such non-technical non-programming students, Programming for Everyone. We will present our lessons learned from designing such a course, and discuss the learning differences we found in such students, and how a computer programming course can be adjusted to effectively teach this important skill to everyone.

Understanding the Black Midshipman Experience: Film and Discussion
Professor. Sommer Gentry (Math), Professor Christine Copper (Chem) & Major Desiree Sanchez (LEL)
May 19, 2021
2:45 PM - 4:15 PM

 NOTE: This session will not be recorded. This is a repetition of Tuesday’s session.

USNA Alumni, Ramesh Nagarajah, helped put together an 18-minute video that lets viewers hear from black midshipmen about their experiences.  (Ramesh also wrote this amazing piece: https://humanparts.medium.com/reflections-from-a-token-black-friend-2f1ea522d42d ).  Small-group discussions will follow the viewing.

Student Opinion Forms: Can’t Live with Them; But Can We Live Without Them?
CDR Matt Schell (Mechanical Engineering), Professor Carolyn Judge (NAOE) & LCDR Mike Major (English)
May 20, 2021
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
May 20, 2021
10:15 AM - 10:45 AM

Recently I stumbled into a small-scale controlled experiment where one section of my course was in USNA’s active learning classroom and the other section was in in a legacy classroom in Rickover Hall. The active learning classroom has movable furniture and more whiteboard space as compared to the legacy classroom. I will discuss how the sections compared in terms of performance on assessments and in other factors like attitude toward group work.

May 20, 2021
10:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Using the book Team Writing, I organized my course to be run by small groups of students. Each lead group was responsible for researching and planning an experimental lab that the entire class participated in and contributed to writing the report. The students in the class provided feedback to the lead team and the lead team members evaluated each other as well. Each lead group managed two experiments over the semester. This talk will focus on the way the book Team Writing helped create a successful group-based experience and how the feedback from the class improved the lead team's performance.

The Cyber Impact on Cross Cultural Competence: Teaching Global Perspectives Through Ethnography of Cyber Cultures
Dr. Clementine Fujimura (Languages and Cultures) and Dr. Erica Zimmerman (Languages and Cultures)
May 20, 2021
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Developing Cross-Cultural Competence (3c) is one of the academic and military goals for leadership development at USNA. No longer however, can we rely on face-to-face interactions and literary studies to achieve 3c without including specific cultural interactions in cyber. Indeed, the complexity of cyber-cultures and their integration into global societies is not only an imperative focus for scholars and midshipmen studying regions of the world but also offers an opportunity for experiential learning that includes practicing important research methods in cyber ethnography. This paper discusses a new course at the United States Naval Academy which prompts students re-discover the Internet and its impact in the context of global communities and cultures. In this course, students come to understand the profound significance of cyber cultures in studying contemporary societies but also learn to conduct cyber ethnographic research to discover identity formation through participatory culture and the internet as well as implications for social change. Our presentation will touch on student projects including but not limited to hacker culture, popular culture and professional/military groups. As Christine Hine (2018) argues, it is imperative that we examine not only how it is used for communicating, but also what it means as an object within people's lives in various subcultures and regions of the world, as a site for the achievement and sustenance of cultural formations and, we add, for the development of cross-cultural competence, an understanding of cultural identity formation and political dimensions of cyber security.

May 20, 2021
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

https://beta.stockdaleinteractive.com/

We propose to show the progression of a partnership between faculty in the LEAD Division and the Boeing Innovation Laboratory at the Stockdale Center. In that collaboration, students run through online simulations in the form of graphic novels in groups and individually. The simulations present Ethical, Leadership and Character dilemmas that must be addressed in order to proceed within the scenario. Students receive real-time (interstitial) feedback from LEAD Ethicists and Philosophers as they progress. Finally, decisions that are made are tracked and assessed in such a way that Professors can see the results of the decisions made (and potentially learning outcomes) by the group and by the individual.

Developing Leadership Skills Through Peer Feedback Activities
Dr. Ines Martin (Languages and Cultures) and Dr. Silvia Peart (Languages and Cultures)
May 20, 2021
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM

This session will focus on the potential of peer feedback in the classroom and beyond. Our presentation will have three main blocks: 1) Providing a theoretical background and presenting on findings that have shown learning outcomes in peer feedback activities to be equivalent to teacher feedback, 2) Showing how peer feedback interventions can be effectively designed for implementation in different subject areas at USNA (using Blackboard and Google Shared Drive), 3) Demonstrating and discussing how peer feedback activities can serve as an opportunity for leadership development among students who are traditionally underrepresented in leadership roles at USNA (i.e., on the example of the Midshipmen Study Group Program). We will actively engage attendees by encouraging them to participate in the discussion through the use of Poll Everywhere throughout the presentation as well as in a small group work or Think-Pair-Share in the practical part of our session.

Creating and Using Electronic Gradebooks
CDR Matt Hawks (Mathematics)
May 20, 2021
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM

Are you pestered by students wanting to know their overall grades? Latest test results? Non-numerical feedback? This session shares one (or more?) way(s) to give students instant, persistent, personal, private access to their row in your gradebook. Remove uncertainty and provide the clarity your students seek! Based on Google Sheets (not using Google Classroom).

Academic Interventions in Concussion Care
Dr. Rob Morgan (Concussion Center of Excellence, BMU)
May 20, 2021
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Concussions impact multiple hierarchical systems in brain function, including vital roles of memory formation, attention, motivation, mood, and visual functioning. Each of these domains holds potentially profound impacts on academic achievement. Through integrated innovative medical/academic approaches, teaching can become an avenue of recovery and care, but without modern approaches, concussions and academia can become brutal enemies, causing increased turmoil and decreased personal functioning. During this seminar, learn simple ways to integrate your personal academic style and adapt to become a positive agent of medical recovery, and midshipman resilience.

Parental Leave Options at USNA
Jamie Ruggiero (HR), Dr. Jill Fitzgerald (English), and Dr. Brian Donovan (Physics)
May 20, 2021
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

This session will be about parental leave options, what to expect, and how to make sure you are utilizing the flexibility that we have here at USNA. It will basically be an informative panel set-up kind of session where people come to learn about options and ask questions. The thought is to basically make it a human interaction-based version of the resources that exist as well as the ones the family leave committee is putting together. Ideally it will not turn into a forum for complaints.

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