Fall Celebration of Teaching and Learning

One of the many difficulties of the pandemic has been the inability to gather as a community. Over the past year, we all worked to (past?) the point of exhaustion to reimagine our work and to get through many personal and professional challenges. As a way of welcoming everyone back to campus and celebrating the amazing work of our colleagues, MCTL is pleased to host a Celebration of Teaching and Learning.

First and foremost, we hope that this event will offer a chance for all faculty and staff to reconnect. This event will also provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about the incredible and innovative work of our colleagues. We are envisioning a conference-like structure that would allow people to attend whichever sessions interest them without an extensive time commitment. Although the scope of this celebration could be vast, we are going to focus the event around issues central to MCTL’s mission – teaching and learning. (For an event recap, click here).

Schedule

11:45 – 12:30 p.m.  Reception with light refreshments

Introduction by MCTL Director Mark Sciutto

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.  Panel Discussion 1: Pockets of Hope

Facilitator(s):  Lora Taub, Jordan Noyes

Panelists: Allison Davidson (Math), Megan Flynn (Dance), Eileen McEwan (Language, Literature, & Cultures), Harry Simon Salazar (Media & Communication)

Description: Conditions in the last year and a half have challenged faculty to devise new practices in digital space to enact pedagogies and principles in teaching and learning that they hold dear. While much was lost, one thing we observed was an enduring commitment to building critical, creative and humane learning experiences for and with our students. In this panel, faculty give voice to the ways they enlisted digital tools and techniques within the constraints of the pandemic to achieve their pedagogical goals. We think of this work as stitching together pockets of hope across an often dehumanizing distance learning landscape and as resistance to corporate edtech business as usual. We highlight examples that call to mind these words from critical race and technology scholar Ruha Benjamin: “Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot live within.”

1:45 –  2:45 p.m.   Panel Discussion 2: Walking the Walk: Bringing Antiracism to the Classroom

Facilitator(s):  Brooke Vick

Panelists: Andrew Ardizzoia (Music), Erika Bagley & Kate Richmond (Psychology), Jess Denke (Library), Linda McGuire (Math)

Description: A panel of our faculty and staff colleagues who received grant support to pursue antiracist teaching initiatives over this past summer will share their experiences. This panel will highlight several inspiring examples of how they are progressing inclusive and antiracist practices into curricular and pedagogical innovations in their fields.

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.     Panel Discussion 3: Community-Engaged Teaching and Scholarship

Facilitator(s):  Beth Halpern

Panelists: Chrysan Cronin (Public Health), Natalie Gotter (Dance), Richard Niesenbaum (Biology), Stefanie Sinno (Psychology)

Description: At Muhlenberg, community-engaged teaching and scholarship are rooted in justice and thoughtfully planned to effectively create positive impact. Pathways to engagement are myriad, and panelists will share a variety of possibilities to connect with local communities.

4:00  – 5:00  p.m.   Open House / Reception