Concurrent Session IV

Shared Mini-Presentations (25 min.)

*This format features short presentations within the same session block. Each presenter is given 25 minutes to share their work.

From Invisible Skills to Visible Success: A Progress Tracking System Using Real-World Apps in Higher Education

Session Track:

Strategies that Foster Student Success and Well-Being

Presenters:

Fanja Smith, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Anthony Smith, Pellissippi State Community College

This session introduces a joyful, practical system that helps students make learning behaviors such as consistency, reflection, and resilience visible and trackable using familiar digital apps. Participants will learn how Learning Milestones support purpose, connection, and student success across higher education and how students can showcase their growth beyond grades.

Strategies for Adult Learner Success and Well-Being in Asynchronous Online Courses

Session Track:

Strategies that Foster Student Success and Well-Being

Presenter:

Pooja Shrivastava, University of Oklahoma

This 25-minute mini-presentation examines evidence-based instructional strategies that promote student success and well-being in online asynchronous courses for adult learners. Grounded in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, it highlights scalable, innovative course design practices that enhance engagement, persistence, and holistic learning while maintaining academic rigor across disciplines globally today.

Reflective Teaching

Session Track:

Emerging Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

Presenters:

Joseph Lopez, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Shahla Ray, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The purpose of this presentation is to equip educators with practical tools to improve their teaching through structured reflections on their own practices.

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Reclaiming the Discussion Board as a Site of Joy

Session Track:

Innovative Practices across Teaching Modalities

Presenter:

Melissa DeWitt, University of Denver

Online discussion boards are rarely thought of as spaces of joy. This presentation explores how humanizing pedagogies, instructor presence, and thoughtful prompt design can transform discussion boards into sites of connection, creativity, and meaning-making. Participants will leave with practical strategies for cultivating joy within online discussions.

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The VISIBLE Framework for Educators: Building Leadership Presence in the Classroom

Session Track:

Innovative Practices across Teaching Modalities

Presenter:

Sheena Yap Chan, The Tao of Self-Confidence

Discover how the VISIBLE Framework (Voice, Identity, Spotlight, Inner Work, Belief, Leverage, Elevation) can help educators strengthen their leadership presence in the classroom. This session offers practical tools to build confidence, support inclusive teaching, and foster a more intentional, aligned approach to guiding student learning and engagement.

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From Joyful Living to Joyful Learning: Integrating Wellness Pedagogy into Academic Spaces

Session Track:

Strategies that Foster Student Success and Well-Being

Presenter:

Marna Winter, Elon University

What happens when joy becomes pedagogy? This interactive session invites higher education faculty to explore how teaching Joyful Living, a wellness-based course, transformed my academic teaching. Through reflection, play, and curiosity, participants identify practical ways joy can foster connection, purpose, and meaningful learning across disciplines.

*This presentation has been withdrawn.
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Redesigning STEM Learning through an Asset-Based Lens to Foster Joy, Agency, and Persistence

Session Track:

Strategies that Foster Student Success and Well-Being

Presenter:

Sheila Tabanli, Rutgers University

This session explores strategies that foster student success and well-being in STEM by addressing cognitive overload, curse of expertise, and perception gaps. Drawing from a university fellowship and guidebook, it reframes struggle as part of learning, restores agency and resilience, and advances an asset-based approach, supporting students thrive in a demanding subject.

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“Does My Lived Experience ‘Count’”?: Fostering Authenticity, Connection, Critical Reflexivity, and Instructor Joy via Experiential, Integrative, and Person-Focused Pedagogies: A Case Study from an Undergraduate Psychology Course

Session Track:

Student-Centered Teaching Pedagogy

Presenter:

Debrielle Jacques, University of Washington

Parenting Scenarios exemplify student-centered assignments that blend students’ lived experiences and authentic voices with critical thinking, source credibility evaluation and relational learning. In centering lived experience and dialogue, the approach deepens learning, builds transferable skills, and restores instructor joy through meaningful connection with students.

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Teaching Critical AI Literacy with Purpose: Human-Centered Strategies for Joyful, Inclusive Learning

Session Track:

Student-Centered Teaching Pedagogy

Presenters:

Heather Horowitz, SUNY Empire State

Jeff Foulkes, Glendale Community College

We introduce the Inclusive Critical AI Literacy (ICAIL) Framework—a research-informed approach for teaching AI literacy in higher education. Participants will explore strategies that foster curiosity, equity, and authentic engagement and leave with actionable ideas for creating inclusive, purpose-driven learning environments that keep joy and possibility at the center.

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Towards a Better Learning Culture

Session Track:

Student-Centered Teaching Pedagogy

Presenters:

Ashwin Nagarajan, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Satavisha Mullick, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Humans have come a long way by continually improving upon what we do as a society, and the next step in this is to fine-tune how we look at holistic learning that integrates areas of research, teaching, and leadership (RTL). Through this program, graduate students aim to foster the skills to navigate ambiguity, respond constructively to uncertainties and lead with clarity and purpose. Here in this paper, we present steps and results from our discussions regarding this matter.
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L.O.V.E as Joyful Literacy: Cultivating Purpose, Care, and Innovation in Higher Education through GenAI

Session Track:

Technology Innovations that Foster Deeper Learning

Presenters:

Casey Cosgriff, Morehead State University

Daryl R. Privott, Morehead State University

This interactive session introduces the L.O.V.E. Framework—Logic, Originality, Verifiability, and Ethics—as a joyful approach to integrating generative AI in higher education. Through demonstrations, guided practice, and collaborative design, participants will explore creative and ethical applications, leaving with an artifact for applying L.O.V.E. in their own teaching.

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Roundtable/Panel Discussions (50 min.)

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