The Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference celebrated its 10th anniversary on September 14, with a wealth of pedagogical instruction for attendees. The keynote speaker, Dr. Saundra McGuire, delivered a compelling speech about how to better engage students in learning. She discussed that teaching students how to learn is based in metacognitive learning strategies. The convincing speaker cited many examples of students who were struggling but eventually gained control of the learning based in metacognition, which she states is the key to teaching students how to learn.
Several composition faculty from George Mason also presented at the conference. Heidi Lawrence, Elizabeth Ferguson, Lourdes Fernandez and Rachel Graham Lussos conducted a panel and roundtable discussion, “Implementing High-Impact Practices (HIP) in Mentorship of Graduate Students and Undergraduate Researchers.” Ariel Goldenthal demonstrated teaching activities, “Scaffolding Visual Learning for Argument and Critical Reading” and “Reimagining Outlines as Visual Representations of Essay Structure.” Anna Habib, Esther Namubiru, and James Savage held a mini-workshop, “Beyond Citation Mechanics and Plagiarism: Engaging (multilingual) students in research.” Susan Lawrence, Courtney Massie and Tetyana Bychkovska facilitated a panel and round table discussion, “What Do Students Do with the Feedback They Receive?” Tanya Bychkovska, Anna Habib, Karyn Kessler, and Kathy Rosell hosted a panel and roundtable discussion,” Linguistic Diversity at Mason: Supporting students in and beyond the classroom.”
The conference was a great time for Mason faculty to bolster their teaching and gain new pedagogical insight. While the conference occurred over the course of one day, it featured approximately 40 panels and roundtables, workshops.
October 21, 2018
