For the third year, our Faculty Learning Community (FLC) brought South’s lab experts together to explore best practices for lab instructional support, increase student engagement, and share resources to design meaningful and transparent exercises. A universal challenge across our disciplines is making content feel relevant and applicable to students’ lives and future careers. To bridge the gap, we explored practical strategies to enhance course relevancy by linking learning objectives to everyday experiences, career readiness, and effective course design. We considered content delivery methods, the role of AI in learning, and teamwork-focused activities to refine our course design and align it with real-world professional expectations. This roundtable discussion explores our takeaways from this year’s meetings, revealing how the FLC discussions have influenced us in our unique lab experiences and disciplines to answer the question of why our courses matter. During our roundtable,
This roundtable discussion will focus on the development of a Social Sciences Research and Data Analysis Minor at a small, liberal arts college. A short summary of the program will be provided, which will be followed by interactive dialogue with the aim of gaining insights into participants’ views of the benefits, detriments, and challenges of developing such a program. Participants will gain insights into the benefits of developing programs that meld machine intelligence and human intelligence.
This presentation explores how different levels of instructor presence in online video lectures—visual and vocal, vocal only, and no instructor presence—affect student learning experiences. The study investigates students' perceived connection to the instructor, engagement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes. Participants will engage in watching videos, completing quizzes, and providing feedback through surveys. The research aligns with the conference theme by addressing the evolving needs of online instruction and providing practical insights into enhancing student engagement through instructor presence. The session will offer outcomes that guide instructors in designing effective online learning environments.
As the educational and research landscape begins to evolve toward more hybrid learning environments, instructors and researchers must adopt innovative tools to manage complex qualitative data. This research talk explores how different AI platforms can streamline data organization, coding, and analysis, specifically for qualitative data related to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research. Aligned with the theme "Preparing for a Hybrid Future," the session demonstrates practical strategies for integrating AI into qualitative research, enhancing interprofessional collaboration in hybrid settings. Participants will engage in live demonstrations of AI-driven tools, explore differences in the use of two different platforms, and participate in interactive audience polling to identify common challenges in managing qualitative data. By the session’s conclusion, attendees will be able to: (1) explain the potential use of AI for qualitative research, (2) discuss potential barriers to
Originating as a learning community, an African American Studies course evolved from fostering social and academic connections within the local campus to cultivating global awareness, grounded in local history. This research talk uses storytelling techniques to weave a data-driven narrative of how the course expanded students' communication and cross-cultural skills through both a virtual exchange and a study abroad experience. Participants will gain insights from both student and instructor perspectives on how these experiences enhanced communication competencies, cultural understanding, and global engagement. As a result of this transformative learning experience, enrollment in the course increased. Additionally, the course’s integration of virtual exchange and study abroad ultimately demonstrated the power of experiential learning in shaping students' academic and personal growth.
