Workshops
Implementing Vision Boards as an Assessment Tool: How to Make Them Work for Your Course View Digital Media
Workshop Presentation Louise Krug
I began using vision boards as an assessment tool for my memoir writing class four years ago. We usually think of vision boards as motivational tools promoted by self-help gurus, but when my students created visual pieces to communicate the overall sense of their memoirs, it was clear that they were labors of love, and it ended up being the most-liked assignment of the semester, according to their evaluations. In this workshop, I show you how to adapt vision boards to work for assessment in all kinds of courses, and we will also work on creating a rubric. Vision boards add the element of the concrete visual to begin to articulate the subconscious inspiration and creativity beneath the surface. To compose, students use what a visual artist might call ready-mades: clippings from magazines, photos, even 3D objects to communicate underlying themes and emotions before they are articulated on the page. This exploration of students’ ideas in a visual format is a creative and innovative approach to discovering what it is students have to say as it encourages different ways to tap into it pre-language. In addition to creating the vision boards, students presented them to the class, adding the left-brain component of articulation describing their choices. My students engaged with the project in surprising and effective ways and sharing their vision boards provided inspiration and different perspectives to approaching their own material.
Inclusive Hospitality in Teaching and Learning : Design, Deliver, and Discover View Digital Media
Workshop Presentation Brad Garner
Today’s college students face many challenging circumstances, unlike any previous generation. In addition to the usual angst of beginning college, students face a backdrop of social justice issues, a pandemic illness, financial instability, and the pressures of leveraging their diplomas to pursue employment and personal goals and dreams. In this context, faculty can play a crucial role in helping students transition into higher education effectively, personalize their learning, and offer a listening ear to work through challenges and uncertainties. This workshop focuses on developing inclusive and hospitable learning environments, empathic teaching, and a forum for difficult topics of conversation. In addition to the conversations during this session, participants will also be provided with a collection of digital resources focusing on inclusion and hospitality in higher education.
