Provost's Retreat on Teaching and Learning Dean's Retreat Keynote Breakouts

Team-Based Learning:  Effective Group Work and Inclusive Practices

Michael Sweet, Senior Associate Director of the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research, Northeastern University

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Michael Sweet has published and presented widely on classroom mindfulness practices, critical thinking and team-based learning, including the volume Team-Based Learning in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Group Work that Works to Generate Critical Thinking and Engagement.  He served as the 2009-2010 President of the international Team-Based Learning Collaborative and is now its Executive Editor of Publications. The online resources he developed to support critical thinking instruction and team-based learning have achieved international adoption. Previously, he was Director of Faculty and Graduate Student Engagement in the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Texas at Austin, and led the Teaching Effectiveness Program’s instructional technology support services at the University of Oregon. 

Alexia Ferracuti, Associate Director of the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research, Northeastern University

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Alexia Ferracuti is Associate Director of the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research at Northeastern University, where she develops and facilitates programming and services that promote reflection, inquiry, and inclusive pedagogy. She is especially interested in the integration of contemplative practices in higher education, intercultural pedagogies, and embodied forms of learning. Previously, she was the Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Columbia University, and the Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale University, where she also earned her Ph.D. in Italian and Renaissance Studies. She has taught courses at Yale University and Wesleyan University in Italian Language and Literature, Theatre Studies, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Fostering Community Building and Student Engagement through Active Learning Exercises

Facilitator: Miriam Rosalyn Diamond, Associate Director, Simmons University Center for Excellence in Teaching 

Educational research indicates that novelty, challenge, active engagement, and interpersonal interactions can positively influence learning. In this session, faculty will consider the implications of these findings for their own courses. Participants will have the opportunity to explore some simple in-class exercises (such as icebreakers connected to course content, educational games that support teamwork and foster curiosity, and low-stakes content-based role plays) that connect students with one another while enlivening and bringing an immediacy to course material, thereby creating "teachable moments." Attendees will also consider ways of assessing the impact and value of these lessons

• Handout: Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education (AC Login Required)

Facilitating Learning Through Team Teaching

Facilitator:  Sarah Bunnell, Center for Teaching & Learning

What makes a team teaching experience successful for students? For instructors? What are some of the common pitfalls or stumbling blocks? This session will discuss multiple models of team-teaching and provide concrete recommendations for making collaborative instruction a positive teaching and learning experience. As part of this breakout session, participants will work in small groups to develop a team-taught approach to a class activity that is currently taught by a single instructor.

Collaborative Assignment Design 

Facilitators: Riley Caldwell-O’Keefe, Center for Teaching and Learning, and Missy Roser, Research & Instruction, Frost Library

This breakout session provides an opportunity to explore when group-based projects are a good fit to support the learning goals you have for your course as well as how to construct engaging team-based assignments.  We will draw on research and specific examples from recently taught Amherst courses for discussion and then we will break out into small teams to get peer feedback on designing or re-designing an assignment for your course.

Collaborative Writing 

Facilitators: Jessica Kem and Cassie Sanchez, Writing Center

A group writing collaboratively can produce something beyond the capability of a single writer, and yet the process can challenge even the most well-intentioned, skillful students. Participants interested in teaching students how to write collaboratively will learn and practice strategies for negotiating roles, managing conflict, and balancing power.

Building a Community of Inquiry using Moodle Tools 

Facilitators: Jaya Kannan, Asha Kinney, and Andy Anderson, Academic Technology Services

Building a Community of Inquiry (CoI) calls for meaningful integration of teacher presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. This interactive workshop will include:

• A demonstration and discussion of how Moodle features (such as wikis, forums, and namecoach) are being used effectively by Amherst faculty to promote CoI.
• Hands-on activity to design learning tasks using Moodle features (please bring your laptops) and
• Discussion of challenges and development of concrete strategies to apply in your classroom. 

Presentation Slides (PDF, AC Login Required)

Moodle site with example activities (AC Login Required)