Name: Implementing Inclusive Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners
Start: 2024-09-19T11:00:00-0400
End: 2024-09-19T11:50:00-0400

George Mason University faculty and staff to present their teaching-focused research at the 16th annual ITL Conference

Thursday September 19, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am EDT

Via Zoom

Video will become available 10 minutes before session start

Implementing Inclusive Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners
Teaching Talks include:

Promoting Classroom Inclusion for Military Family Learners - Amy Page - Military-affiliated family members include spouses, children, and partners of military service members. This presentation will provide background information about students who are military-affiliated family members as well as the significance to George Mason University of promoting inclusion for this group. Presenters will discuss the unique strengths of these learners in the academic environment along with specific challenges faced by this community which necessitate tailored engagement and inclusion strategies. Presenters will offer strategies for facilitating classroom inclusion (including in-person and online courses) in the short-term as well as recommendations for promoting long-term professional development that address this community’s specific circumstances. Particular focus will be given to strengthening mentoring relationships, building social capital, promoting belonging, and enacting cultural responsiveness. Audience may include all faculty, University administrators, all classroom modalities, graduate and undergraduate.
How I manage deadline extensions to model and practice inclusiveness - Colleen Reynolds - The presenter will share a system that allows students to request extensions to assignment due dates. The solution prioritizes fairness by being transparent and open to all students. It prioritizes teacher sanity by using the LMS for documentation. The attendees who would be most likely to consider this approach are undergraduate instructors who assign and evaluate written assignments in any modality. Participants will take away a plan to either 1) help them manage their existing extension practices or 2) to make their courses more equitable by offering increased flexibility to students.
An Interactive Tool to Promote a Positive Class Atmosphere - Joyce Johnston - Five years of data collection have revealed that the quality students most crave from classmates is respect. Over and over, respondents to a civility survey revealed that they felt that almost any topic could be fruitfully discussed if only respect were present. The tool is a survey asking students to choose the three positive behaviors they most value from others from a list generated by previous classes. The survey creates a basis for the class to generate its own code of classroom civility. This activity is suitable for any position involving contact with student or adult groups; participants can be in grade 9 through adult. Besides norming groups towards positive interpersonal behaviors, the survey/discussion activity provides participants with a tool they can use in group participation in or outside of academia.

Speakers

Amy Page

Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, College of Public Health

Dr. Amy Preston Page is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work. Page’s research interests are military spouses and families, behavioral health education, and children’s behavioral health. Page’s combination of practice and research experience provides her with... Read More →

Colleen Reynolds

Assistant Professor, George Mason University

Colleen teaches professional writing courses to undergraduate students studying computer science, psychology, and English. She has been affiliated with GMU since 2013 and is proud to be the first graduate from GMU’s Writing and Rhetoric PhD program. As assistant and adjunct professor... Read More →