I’ve greatly reduced my fees for virtual events and can be much more flexible virtually. (I went from Brazil to Michigan in an hour June!) I can do any keynote or workshop virtually (the complete list is here), but these were my most popular virtual talks and workshops during 2020 and 2021:
Teaching Half Naked: Designing for Better Remote Instruction
A complete redesign of all your F2F courses into the best high technology online learning is more than you can do, but we have already learned a lot about what best teaching practices and what students need during Covid. We will discuss effective communication strategies, how to create the greater structure and flexibility students are craving, motivation, engagement and support, rethinking timing, size and discovering what students themselves will and can do together. Here are ways to lower stress and reframe rather than replace. We will use your current campus technology.
Inclusive Teaching: Reaching More Students
Even when we care deeply about equity and inclusion, we may not be reaching as many students as we think. Diverse students bring diverse and probably different assumptions about you, your material, themselves and our world. This talk will illuminate why taking the time to consider inclusion issues (especially, in STEM fields) can make you a better teacher for everyone, and can especially change the experience of under-represented students. Expect dozens of practical ideas you can start using tomorrow.
Lessons Learned: Improving Teaching as we Prepare for Uncertainty
Before COVID there were changing demographics, a need for greater equity, a problem with tuition and costs, and growing political and public sentiment that higher education needed reform. Now, after a forced reimagining of our pedagogy, campus experience, equity, use of technology, and costs, what did we learn? As we prepare for more uncertainty, what best practices from the last six months do we need to sustain? How can we capture the momentum of innovations to deliver transformative experiences, build community and reimagine our pedagogy for a new age? There will never be a better moment to improve the quality and equity of our teaching.
New Faculty Workshop: From Syllabus to Assessment (This is better longer and can be delivered in a single 4-8 hour workshop, or better in smaller chunks over the summer that allow new faculty to development material in between sessions)
You have spent a lot of time in classrooms and seen both good and bad teaching, but how do you design and prepare to be a great teacher? This is an introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and the best practices that can guide you to create better learning outcomes, rubrics, syllabi, communication strategies, assignments and assessments. Inclusive teaching and reaching more students is central. This workshop will improve your teaching, increase equity and save you time.
Teaching as BIPOC Faculty
This is a new session I developed for a program to support and develop Black and Latino faculty in music at the Cleveland Institute for Music. It is a chance to discuss the unique pressures and problems of teaching as a BIPOC faculty member. Topics include managing the additional duties of supporting BIPOC students, dealing with student challenges, finding support, managing resources and committee assignments, and finding mentors and sponsors.
I have also converted some of my older workshops into virtual experiences (with a little bit of new Covid practice) in the last 8 months:
Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Workshop on Designing Better Classes
Nudging Student Success and Integrating Learning Experiences
I also did a lot of consulting about implementing hyflex and other transitions both to new teaching and strategic enrollment planning. See planning or abstracts for a complete list.
Customization and Timing
Virtual sessions combine 20-40 minutes of presentation with an equal amount of discussion, but they can be combined and extended as you need for your campus. I do not recommend Zoom sessions of longer than 120 minutes and the best strategy for more is to have a series of shorter meetings or workshops.
Technology
These are best done in your campus virtual meeting platform (although I know Zoom the best, I will work in whatever system you have.) It is also best when I know your campus LMS in advance and how you best want it used.
Size
There is no limit to size, especially for initial introductions, but we should discuss your needs. Often workshop facilitation in smaller groups can be done with your existing teaching and learning staff.