Archive: August 2021 Session

9-9:30 a.m. – Humanizing Our Practice

Presenters: Dr. Deborah Margolis, Interim Dean, Winston School of Education and Social Policy
Dr. Kathryn Nielsen, AVP Teaching, Learning and Digital Innovation

For many students, attending college marks a fresh start. This year, it’s not just new for the freshmen. For many in the Merrimack community, the fall will mark the first return to campus since March 2020. This talk will center on the importance of creating inclusive engagement with all students to ignite their interest, curiosity, and connection to learning and to promote their well being. Drawing on best practices, lessons learned, and national and institutional data, we will explore the urgency and necessity of placing humans at the center of all teaching and learning practices.

9:45-10:45 a.m. – Making the Most of the Master’s: Partnering with Grads to Promote Their Success

Presenter: Dr. Susan Marine, Vice Provost, Graduate Education and Professor, Higher Education

Graduate students at Merrimack are growing in number, and bring different needs, concerns, and goals than undergraduates. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the unique features of the graduate student experience at Merrimack, and I’ll share some of the most recent and salient research on specific strategies to support Master’s student academic and personal success during COVID and beyond. Through a combination of our approaches, and their engagement in the process, we can be an important part of setting them up for success. Come discuss, share ideas, and help foster a culture that centers Master’s students at Merrimack.

11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Providing Safe Spaces for Learning and Thriving

Presenters: Dr. James Howland, Assistant Professor of Practice, School Counseling
Dr. Christine Shaw, Associate Professor of Practice, Education & Community Studies

In this session, we will explore how traumatic experiences can impede learning and what options we might have within our courses to mitigate those impacts. We will discuss possible challenges our students (ourselves and our colleagues) may be experiencing this fall and what is meant by ‘trauma informed pedagogy.’ We will also touch upon mental health first aid and what we can do if we notice someone may be in crisis or experiencing challenges.

12:15-1:15 p.m. – Centering Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in the Classroom and Beyond: A Roundtable

Presenters: Dr. Shannon Butler-Mokoro, Professor, Social Work
Dr. Simona Sharoni, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Institutional Access & Leadership; Dr. Michael Stroud, Professor and Chair, Psychology
Jasmine Khamis, Adjunct Faculty, Psychology
Nicole Williams, Project and Program Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Special Initiatives

This roundtable session will be a conversation and resource sharing about inclusive teaching and pedagogy. This is an opportunity to learn about upcoming DEI programs on campus and explore ways to integrate them into the curriculum and an invitation to colleagues to take advantage of professional development opportunities designed to make us more inclusive educators.

1:30-2:30 p.m. – The First Two Weeks of Class

Presenter: Janet Syed, Associate Director, Lead Instructional Designer, CETL

Beginnings are important. Whether your favorite class occurred in college, high school, or earlier, it very likely started out with a passionate professor with compassion for students, good communication, clear expectations, active learning and a variety of engaging content. You too can create such an environment in your own course. Participants will leave the session with a variety of resources, strategies and tools designed to set the tone for a successful semester that begins on the First Day of Class. Hint: We aim to provide alternatives to reviewing the syllabus and dismissing the class!