Description:

As TAs and instructors, we strive to continually challenge and actively engage students in our classes. This may seem a bit challenging for new instructors, especially in the virtual context where we may not be familiar with the options available to understand the individual differences in learning, accommodate those, and increase student motivation. 

In this workshop we will discuss how the principles of active learning can be translated to an online environment and discuss the propriety of active learning techniques (ALT) to different class settings, such as class size and lab, lecture, or discussion formats. The participants will experience these ALT from the point of view of a student and then practice integrating some of these ALT into their virtual teaching contexts.

Facilitators: 

James Proszek is a sixth year PhD student in the department of Rhetoric and Public Culture. He currently serves as the Coordinator for Public Speaking and as teaching consultant for the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching. He has previously completed Searle’s Graduate Teaching Fellowship and Teaching Certificate Program while also serving as an instructor of record in the School of Communication. His research focuses on digital technologies and civic pedagogy, exploring how online tools enhance teaching and learning within and outside of the classroom.  

Abhishek Kottaram Amrithanath (Abhi) is a fifth year PhD student in the department of Mechanical Engineering. He has been actively involved in various teaching roles at Northwestern such as being a TA for eight quarters and leading workshops at the Graduate Student Teaching Conference. While pursuing the Teaching Certificate Program, he worked on a Searle Teaching-as-a-Research project on self-regulated learning. He also co-chairs the McCormick Graduate Teaching Committee. He was awarded the Fellowship in Leadership for his leadership roles in and outside classrooms such as President of McCormick Graduate Leadership council.