Afternoon Workshops

Teaching and Learning with Joy: Unlocking Potential Through a Portfolio Mindset

Session Track:

Strategies that Foster Student Success and Well-Being

Presenter:

Jessica Tudos, Seneca Polytechnic + Edupreneur

Explore how a Portfolio Mindset transforms teaching and learning into joyful, purpose-driven experiences. This session shares experiential strategies that empower students to see multiple pathways, cultivate authenticity, and expand agency, while equipping educators to foster well-being and engagement —creating dynamic, inclusive, and transformative educational paths.

This presentation has been withdrawn.

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Reclaiming Joyful Narratives: Building Emotional Literacy and Combating Media Microtrends with Undergraduates

Session Track:

Strategies that Foster Student Success and Well-Being

Presenters:

Gaonoucci Vang, University of California, Merced

Autumn Andersen, University of California, Merced

This session explores how joy-centered pedagogy transforms the classroom into a space of resistance to counter harmful, often institutionalized narratives with emotional and media literacy. Through practical strategies and critical reflection, we examine how centering joy empowers students to challenge digital narratives and reclaim their voices in and beyond the classroom.

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Make Your Partner Look Good: Improv Activities to Spark Student Engagement

Session Track:

Student-Centered Teaching Pedagogy

Presenter:

Diane Boyd, Furman University

Play pedagogy and improv build student-content relationships, amplifying belonging and learning excitement for students and instructors. Improv’s principle—”Make your partner look good”—cultivates attunement critical for positive emotional connection. Participants will explore the playful learning framework and improv principles co-create customized, reusable lesson plans.[/button]