Communicating with students is complex and tricky. Too many messages and they ignore you, too little and they don't know what's going on. Some check email. Some prefer text. And if you aren't clear about the motivation behind instructions, some will ignore them, while others don't care about the motivation and just want to know what they should do. — aquilla@umich.edu, Instructor Voices 2020
Since March I completely ditched exams. I am assessing my students more regularly with shorter quizzes. They like this and have expressed that even in person this should continue. They feel this type of assessment feels like part of the process and not like a quiz. — tcalixto@umich.edu, Instructor Voices 2020
Weekly quizzes offer a checkpoint to assess knowledge, adding additional structure and feedback, hence being proactive when supporting student’s learning. As a result students now are able to use extra questions as practice banks where they get instant feedback. — ntuttle@umich.edu, Instructor Voices 2020
Shorter breakout rooms are more effective in which students are called back, check in, then are sent back into their breakout rooms. Allowing students to stay in the main room if they’re not comfortable in breakout rooms was appreciated. It was difficult to identify appropriate support documentation because it is all in various locations on different sites. — aquilla@umich.edu, Instructor Voices 2020
I wish that there had been an opportunity to maybe learn some more advanced topics on broadcasting software, video editing software just to give faculty the opportunity to create some really high-quality materials. because the better the materials, the more likely I am to use them in future semesters even when I’m not remote. — gallol@umich.edu, Instructor Voices 2020
Students preferred synchronous activities rather than Canvas Discussions, because the real-time communication added a valuable sense of community. Students shared that this class is well organized due to the systematic Canvas course page, uniformity between units, and the use of assignment descriptions with corresponding rubrics. — balexp@umich.edu, Instructor Voices 2020
Registration opens on April 12!
Enriching Scholarship 2021
Hosted by the University of Michigan’s Teaching and Technology Collaborative, Enriching Scholarship is a free, multi-day event held annually the first full week of May and focused on improving teaching, learning, and research through the effective integration of technology and pedagogy.
This year’s Enriching Scholarship will be held May 3-5.
Presenters describe compelling new teaching practices and learning technologies, lead hands-on demonstrations, or review their experiences applying learning technologies and offer suggestions for attendees who might be considering new ways to approach their classes. Cross threaded throughout the conference, we highlight the ways instructors have had success creating diverse, equitable, inclusive, and justice oriented courses.
This conference brings together U-M faculty, staff, and students, and for the first time, faculty from our Unizin partner institutions to share best practices and explore new opportunities that enhance teaching, learning, and research.
Details about previous Enriching Scholarship conferences (since 1998)
Visit our MIVideo website for recordings of selected Keynote and “Lightning & Thunder” Talks from previous years
A New Format for 2021
If you’ve attended or presented at Enriching Scholarship in years past, you’ll find that we’re trying out a slightly different format this year. The entire conference will be online, using the Zoom video conferencing system. A Keynote event will begin at 11am EST each day to allow for the greatest availability of participants across participant institution time zones, while general sessions will finish up by 3pm. We will share more detailed information about the conference logistics as they are finalized.
While presenters might share their research and findings in their talks, this is not a requirement. Enriching Scholarship is not a research conference – this is a conference for practitioners, by practitioners, about practitioner experiences and stories from working in the trenches. This event is a forum for sharing innovative ways instructors apply theory and creative problem solving in their teaching. While the details of what works in one course will often not work if applied without adaptations in another, we hope sharing them will inspire instructional creativity for all our attendees.
Each day has its own theme:
- May 3rd: Community Building, and Developing Students’ Sense of Belonging Monday’s sessions will showcase instructors who are finding ways to build community and a sense of belonging in their institutions and/or their disciplines.
- May 4th: Alternative Course Structures and Assessments Tuesday’s sessions will focus on activities that incorporate gameful, competency based, mastery, or other alternative course structures resulting in a more universal, inclusive and equitable learning environment.
- May 5th: Lasting Lessons for Future Instruction Wednesday’s sessions will be highlighting the successful activities, resources, and supports used in online or hybrid courses that can help us make our in person courses even better going into the future. Why stop doing a good thing?
Keynote Session formats:
- Panel Sessions: These will be hour long, moderated panel discussions to start each day. The first half hour will be devoted to a series of questions to share the panelists’ work, inspirations, and unique experiences, while the second half will be selected questions from attendees. We will share a list of key topics and possible questions so panelists can feel prepared to share.
- Lightning and Thunder Talks: These sessions will be an hour long, with the first half consisting of brief (no more than 8 minute) presentations to all participants – the lightning! After these presentations are complete, participants will be able to go into breakout rooms for each of the presenters, where they can ask questions or discuss their situations – the thunder! A UM host will be present in each of these rooms during this time to help keep discussions focused and the conversation general enough that all participants can learn from each other.
General Session Formats:
- After the keynote sessions each day, we will have 45 minute general sessions, on the hour. In an effort to share more ideas and encourage more conversation, most sessions will consist of two presenters, each of whom will have 15 minutes to highlight their topic. After the second presenter finishes, there will be up to 15 minutes available for attendees to share their suggestions and experiences, or ask questions to follow up. We encourage all presenters to consider adding 1-2 student voices in their sessions. This might be as part of the presentation itself, or as part of the conversation afterwards.
- One other general session format allows a presenter to demonstrate a new tool or technique, or host a working session for those who’d like to set up a new tool and work alongside experts. These sessions, too, will last up to 45 minutes and be presented in the context of supporting our event themes.
- A U-M Enriching Scholarship host will be present for each session to help with technology, logistics, and moderation.
Universal Design Note: To see additional instructor quotations, navigate the slideshow manually. The slideshow does not auto-advance. This is intentional and improves accessibility.