Agenda:
 

7:30am – 9:00am Registration and Coffee

9:00am – 9:10am Introduction 

9:10am – 10:00am Making Large Classes Seem Small
Speaker: Dan Perlman, Ph.D., Provost of Innovation in Education, Professor of Biology, Brandeis University

Many of us who teach large classes sometimes wonder what we can do to make such classes more personable, more individualized, more student-centered – and possibly even more effective vehicles for student learning. Soon enough, however, we awake from our daydreams and get back to planning the next lecture for our class of 75 or 200 or 500 students. In this session we will explore methods that can make your large classes feel – and function – as if they were much smaller.

10:00am – 11:00am World Cafe Kickoff and Round 1

11:00am - 11:10am Break

11:10am – 12:00pm World Cafe Round 2

12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch

1:00pm – 2:00pm UMass Amherst Faculty Panel

Facilitator: Sam Anderson, Coordinator, Instructional Design and Faculty Support, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Panelist: Glenn Caffery, Senior Lecturer, Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts - Amherst,

Having taken an incremental approach to active learning for many years, team-based learning challenged my somewhat traditional views on the roles of in- and out-of-class work. It took me three years to fully appreciate how different a “flipped” model is, though outcomes are excellent and students have been willing partners. Class sessions at their best—which I am increasingly but not always able to achieve—are engaged and productive, and satisfyingly aligned with my goals and personal style.


Panelist: Heath Hatch, Senior Lecturer, Physics Department, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

What I have learned from the 9,500+ students I have taught using technology to enhance student learning in large lectures ranging in size from 100 to almost 600 students, what works and what didn’t. Some of these technologies are, Lecture capture systems, team based learning, flipped courses and email to name just a few.

Panelist: Christiane Healey, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts – Amherst

I primarily teach large classes (100-200 students) and I continue to explore different ways to engage my students inside and outside class. I will give examples for some of the tools I have found most useful, including small group in-class exercises, clicker use in a number of contexts, automatically graded quizzes to encourage pre-lecture preparation, and short essay assignments that require little grading effort.

I will also talk a little about identifying one’s teaching style and playing to one’s strengths. I would love to use more humor but I’m simply not good at being funny. However, I’m great at being enthusiastic and I don’t worry too much about looking silly. For example, last semester I spontaneously decided to act out insulin synthesis in the cell halfway through a difficult lecture, which took some courage (never having practiced). The students responded really well and were more focused for the rest of the lecture.

2:00pm – 2:40pm World Cafe Discussion Round 3

2:40pm – 3:10pm Gallery walk and wrap-up

3:15pm End