Innovative Teaching Strategies Focus of Conference

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Posted on April 24, 2017

Joy Washington

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Future and current educators understand the importance of learning new and innovative strategies to benefit students in the classroom. They will meet soon to learn the latest information at the University of South Alabama’s Conference on Teaching and Learning to be held May 8-9 at the USA Student Center. The theme for the seventh annual conference is “Activity and Assessment – Making Learning Active.”

David Williams of Mobile, a former Mobile County Public School middle and high school teacher is pursuing his Ph.D. in instructional design and development at South Alabama. He will present his paper on the effective way to use test development theory during the conference.

“I have been preparing my paper and concept work as a graduate student at the South Alabama Innovation in Learning Center,” Williams said. “I will be using the Second Chance Learning Method, which is an instructional strategy that shows ways multiple choice tests can help build assessment. This will be an interactive way to actually adopt the method as an instructional tool. This will allow for a more engaging process for students.”

Dr. S. Raj Chaudhury, executive director of the Innovation in Learning Center and USAonline, said numerous faculty, staff, and students from local universities and colleges will be attending.

“This conference has had more than 300 participants in the past,” Chaudhury said. “This year Spring Hill College, University of Mobile and Bishop State Community College are serving as collaborative partners. We are pleased that more than 80 proposals have been submitted.”

During the two-day conference, attendees will participate in interactive workshops, oral presentations and discussions on teaching and learning. The sessions will be on active learning, technology-enhanced learning, new faculty experiences, experiential learning and general education. More than 80 proposals have been submitted for the conference.

One of the highlights of the conference will be two featured national speakers. They are Dr. Michele DiPietro, professor in the department of statistics and analytical sciences and executive director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State University, and Dr. Joan Middendorf, associate director of campus instructional consulting and co-director of the Faculty Learning Community at Indiana University.

DiPietro will speak at 8:45 a.m. on Monday, May 8 on “How Learning Works.” Middendorf  will speak at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9 on “Overcoming Student Learning Bottlenecks.” Both speeches will take place in the Student Center Ballroom.

The deadline to register for the conference is Wednesday, April 26. For more information or to register,  visit the conference website. 

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