Celebration of Teaching

9:30 - 11:00 AM

Prillaman Hall (HS), Indoor Plaza (1001)

Teaching with Collaboration Workshop with Misty Grayer and Mandy McGrew

Join us for an interactive discussion and panel on collaborative teaching practices that foster meaningful partnerships between students and faculty. In this session, we will reimagine the classroom as a shared space where both students and instructors take on roles as teachers and learners. Grounded in the work of Allison Cook-Sather, Catherine Bovill, and Peter Felten’s Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty, this workshop invites participants to reflect on the value of collaboration and learn about formal and informal ways to engage in partnership-based pedagogical approaches. 

12:45 - 1:45 PM

Clendenin Building, Room 1009

Digital Accessibility in Practice: Habits to Transform Teaching and Learning with Laura Howard, Jason Rodenbeck, and Erin Bahl

Making learning accessible can seem like an overwhelming task. In this session, we'll help you understand how digital accessibility practices help transform teaching and learning both online and in the classroom. We'll also break accessibility down into simple habits and discuss how accessibility fosters student success for all. Participants will gain insight into the "who" behind the "why" of accessibility, with an emphasis on thoughtfully integrating accessibility into course design.

2:00 - 3:30 PM

Clendenin Building, Room 1009

Teaching with Inclusivity Workshop with Michele DiPietro

During an interview, Henry Giroux said: “The first question is: Can learning take place if in fact it silences the voices of the people it is supposed to teach? And the answer is: Yes. People learn they don’t count.” In this interactive workshop, we will explore various facets of inclusivity in our teaching as they pertain to student identities and abilities, student perspectives, student development, and the course climate we create, suggesting principles and research-based practices for more inclusive teaching.   

9:00 - 10:30 AM

Marietta Wilson Student Center, Malinda Jolley Mortin Ballrooms

Teaching with Accountability Workshop with Tris Utschig 

How do we know if our teaching truly makes a difference? This interactive workshop invites you to explore how we teach with accountability. Through the lens of assessment, we will examine teaching-related feedback processes, data sources, and reporting practices across multiple levels: students, courses, programs, and institutions. We will also consider how accountability connects with other KSU values like integrity, respect, and collaboration. Building on the perspective in John Tagg’s The Learning Paradigm College, you’ll leave with practical strategies and tools to strengthen your teaching practice, enhance student learning, and meaningfully demonstrate the impact of your work. 

10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Marietta Wilson Student Center, Malinda Jolley Mortin Ballrooms

Who? What? How? Why?
Strategies for Fostering Curiosity in Your Students (and Possibly Yourself) with Laura Cruz

Have you ever wondered what makes your students curious? Recent studies (including those conducted by the session facilitator) have established a close link between student curiosity, engagement, and learning. In this interactive session, we will explore how breakthrough insights about curiosity (and related traits such as wonder and awe) can be integrated into your classroom practice. In addition, we will consider how your own curiosity could potentially serve as the basis for related scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) projects.

12:30 - 1:45 PM

Marietta Wilson Student Center, Malinda Jolley Mortin Ballrooms

Reception/Sustainability Showcase with Vanessa Slinger-Friedman

Are you passionate about sustainability or working to integrate sustainability into your teaching, community work, and research? The Sustainability Showcase celebrates the diverse and impactful innovative teaching, research, and student engagement centered on sustainability at Kennesaw State University. This interactive poster session features work from faculty across disciplines who are incorporating sustainability into their courses, research, and experiential learning projects or community activities. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with presenters—including some students—who will share how sustainability has shaped their academic experiences and inspired action. Join us for light refreshments and to explore how sustainability is being woven into the fabric of teaching, learning, research, and community engagement at KSU. Come excited to exchange ideas, and foster collaboration in advancing environmental and social responsibility across the university.

All are welcome to attend. If you are interested in having a poster at the event, please fill out the intent to submit a poster by October 30.

2:00 - 3:30 PM

Marietta Wilson Student Center, Malinda Jolley Mortin Ballrooms

Teaching with Integrity Workshop with Michele DiPietro

Parker Palmer, the author of The Courage to Teach, famously said: “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique. Good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” In this workshop we will unpack what he meant by that phrase, reflect on ways we can cultivate integrity in our own teaching, and share our approach with colleagues to learn from each other.  

10:00 - 10:50 AM

Kennesaw Carmichael Student Center University Rooms

Recognition of Excellence in Teaching

Come join President Schwaig, Provost Pulinkala, and the campus community as we celebrate the dedication and excellence of KSU educators. At this inspiring event, we will recognize hundreds of our colleagues for their pedagogical achievements. 

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Kennesaw Carmichael Student Center University Rooms

Keynote: How Might We...? Asking New Questions in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) with Laura Cruz

Research shows that curiosity is a powerful motivator for student learning. It can also be a powerful catalyst for your engagement in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). In this interactive session, we will ask--and explore how you might answer---new and emerging questions about teaching and learning in contemporary higher education. The session is suitable for both new and experienced SoTL scholars--just bring your sense of curiosity.   

12:30 - 1:30 PM

Kennesaw Carmichael Student Center University Rooms

Celebration of Teaching Reception and Highlight of SoTL Posters

Come join us after the keynote to celebrate teaching and explore the work educators across KSU have engaged in with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).

2:00 - 3:30 PM

Prillaman Hall (HS), Indoor Plaza (1001)

Teaching with Respect Workshop with Rebecca Weaver and Carmen Skaggs

As we close the Celebration of Teaching on World Kindness Day, we look towards Catherine Denial’s A Pedagogy of Kindness as a conceptual framework for teaching with respect. In this interactive workshop, we will explore a variety of pedagogical practices for creating respectful and thriving classroom environments. We will engage ways to model respect for self, others, and the learning space.