Spotlight on Learning Conference

Ohio University’s Spotlight on Learning (SoL) Conference is supported by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA); the Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Committee (TLA); and the Office of Instructional Design (OID).

The SoL Conference brings OHIO faculty, staff and the larger teaching and learning community together to highlight models of teaching excellence by sharing examples of highly effective instructional practice, outlining strong approaches to assessing student learning and evaluating instruction, and providing methods for implementing, investigating, assessing and researching teaching innovation.

2024 Spotlight on Learning Conference

The conference theme, “Great College Teaching in Practice,” extended a year’s worth of programming to highlight teaching excellence at OHIO.

Conference organizers presented a half-day conference to equip attendees with case studies and examples of, as well as implementation tips for, high-impact, highly effective instructional strategies. Those attending received a digital toolkit filled with information about diverse peer-tested teaching practices for participants to use in summer or fall 2024 courses and beyond.

The 2024 Spotlight on Learning Conference was held from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, in Baker Center.

Registration is now open, and seating is limited.

Request a Toolkit

2024 Spotlight on Learning Conference Agenda

All times are Eastern unless otherwise specified. Agenda is subject to change. Some sessions will be live streamed and recorded

Tuesday, April 16, Baker University Center

9 to 10:15 a.m. -- Canvas Orientation
- Attend via Microsoft Teams from the comfort of your home or office or bring your own device to Baker Center 240/242.
10:15 to 11 a.m. -- Canvas Phase 1 Lessons Learned to Inform Your Teaching Transition
- Office of Information Technology and Office of Instructional Design staff share a summary of Phase 1 assessment findings, support resources for faculty at OHIO and an overview of OHIO's Canvas templates and how they improve teaching effectiveness and efficiency. Attend via Microsoft Teams from the comfort of your home or office or bring your own device to Baker Center 240/242.
11 to 11:30 a.m.: Break and Networking
11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. -- Lunch Keynote: Great College Teaching: Democratizing Learning, Baker Center 240/242.)
- The keynote will be delivered by Jeffrey C. Sun, J.D., Ph.D., professor and distinguished university scholar with the University of Louisville College of Education & Human Development. Sun will present Great College Teaching: Democratization of Learning. Sun’s research primarily examines the extent to which policy instruments or other legal actions (e.g., government mandates, judicial decisions, and legally binding, negotiated agreements) advance or inhibit the academic operations in terms of college teaching, learning, and knowledge creation. This stream rests heavily on concepts of civil rights and civil liberties.
12:50 to 1 p.m.: Break
1 to 2:30 p.m. -- Practice-focused Concurrent Sessions
CONCURRENT SESSION 1: Spotlight on Self-Discovery, Baker Center 240/242.
- "CSDeep Learning -- Connecting Students, Faculty, and Alumni to Promote a Creative Path to Success": Graduate Student Emily Jones and Chao-Yang Lee, associate professor, College of Health Sciences and Professions, present on a seminar designed to enrich the educational experience through alumni engagement.
- "Ohio Teaching Excellence with A.C.E. -- A Pedagogy of Full Inclusion, Self-Agency & Emotional Well-Being": Janice Collins, associate professor in Broadcast Journalism, began the Active Centralized Empowerment (A.C.E.) program at OU in 2003 and will share practices promoted in its current award-winning form.
- "Bringing Out the Best in You": Assistant Professor of Practice Jim Mahoney, Voinovich School, provides faculty with tools to help students know who they are, how to leverage their strengths and how to manage their weaknesses, building skills that last a lifetime.
CONCURRENT SESSION 2: Spotlight on Collaboration, Baker Center 230
- "Bridging the Experiential Learning Gap -- Global Interactions from Home": Purba Das, professor in Communication Studies, and Elizabeth Koonce, associate professor of instruction in English, present on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and how it brings together faculty and students from around the globe.
- "The More the Merrier – Collaboration as a Knowledge Process in Writing Classrooms": Nitya Pandey, assistant professor of instruction in English, presents evidence substantiating the claim that using digital tools can aid in facilitating collaborative knowledge-making processes in undergraduate writing classrooms.
- "Purposeful Practicing": Stephen Shadik, assistant professor of instruction in mathematics, describes a strategy for helping students learn how to practice in a way that truly leads to understanding and learning.
CONCURRENT SESSION 3: Spotlight on Confidence, Baker Center 239
- "STEMstart – Building a Bridge Wider than It Is Long": Associate Professors of Instruction Stephanie Miller (Biology) and Corey Beck (Chemistry) share how this broad but short program impacts retention in the sciences by providing opportunities for incoming undergraduates to adapt to life on campus, develop science confidence and a STEM community, and gain practice in no-stakes courses in Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics.
- "Feedback Friends and Foes": Patton College of Education Professor Laura Harrison, Higher Education and Student Affairs, and OHIO colleagues Becky Challenger, Erin Morgenstern and Oumarou Abdoulaye Balarabe offer a humorous presentation of feedback do’s and don’ts (friends and foes) that help students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds write more effectively.
- "Information Security": Reagan Klinger-Neviska, information security analyst with OIT, shares how to incorporate cybersecurity practices and topics into the classroom, including simulated phishing activities.
2:30 to 2:45 p.m. – Break
2:45 to 3:45 p.m. -- Plenary Sessions, Baker Center 240/242
- Courtney Koestler, associate professor, Teacher Education, and director of the OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science will present on a collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation to create more equitable learning opportunities for elementary students and how emerging findings inform their teaching and research with university students.
- University College Dean Dave Nguyen and his students involved in undergraduate research will present on OHIO student perceptions and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This project began in the spring 2023.
3:45 to 4:30 p.m. -- Reception and Community Dialogue on Democratized Learning