TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 

Welcome Session 

10:00- 10:30am

Increasing Rigor Without Compromising Equity 

11:00am- 12:00pm

Heather Martin (English as a Second Language) and Erin Vobornik (English as a Second Language)

A common misconception of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is that it makes lessons and assessments too simple. In this session, we will debunk this myth by showing participants how to use UDL and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge to create more cognitively complex learning experiences while increasing equity and access. Participants will leave with techniques to implement back in their classrooms.

Undergrad Research & Community Colleges:  An Embedded Librarian Approach to High-Impact Practices

3:30- 4:30pm

Kellen Bolt (English) and Beth Hultman (Library)

In this session, Beth Hultman (public service librarian) and Kellen Bolt (English) will discuss implementing “undergraduate research” into first- and second-year classes using an embedded librarian model. When envisioning “undergraduate research” as a high-impact practice, education researchers typically understand it as a senior capstone project (usually in STEM fields). This framing can erase, or minimize, the opportunities that community colleges have to implement this practice, especially for first-year students. This session will show how two-year college instructors can scaffold research and information literacy skills into their courses as a high-impact practice.

Focusing on Kellen’s “English 102: College Composition II” as an example, this session will discuss strategies for empowering first-year students to conduct self-directed (albeit highly guided) research in the humanities and social sciences. In particular, the session will discuss how collaborations between librarians and faculty can enhance students’ ability to gather, analyze, and interpret data. During the session, Beth and Kellen will allow for time to brainstorm and discuss ideas for implementing undergraduate research into your own classes (whether as a semester-long project or short ones). The objective is two-fold: to highlight how to structure undergraduate research into community college courses and to emphasize how an embedded librarian can be a high-impact practice.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23 

Supporting Student Veterans  *Recently Added*

11:00am- 12:00pm

Anitra King (Student Success:  Veterans Specialist)

Transitions can be a challenge, and the transition from the military to the classroom is no exception.  ECC is committed to providing the resources and support to help ensure the success of all of its students.  As a designated Military Friendly (R) institution, ECC understands the unique needs and circumstances of service members and veterans on campus.  We can validate their experiences and be that assistance in successfully making the transition from military life to college life a smooth process. 

The Science of Learning:  How a Course Can Be Both Engaging and Evidence Based  

1:00- 2:00pm

Manuel Salgado (Psychology)

This session will share some empirically based knowledge about effective learning, including the function of memory and motivation. We will discuss the benefits of retrieval practice and spaced practice. A segment of the presentation will help participants create an exercise, assignment, and/or practice that uses these concepts.  

Roundtable:  Rethinking the Traditional Grading System *(New Date and Time)

3:30- 4:30pm 

Alison Douglas (English), Rebecca Eller (ESL), Geoff Pynn (Humanities), Colleen Stribling (ESL)

This roundtable will feature ECC faculty sharing about novel approaches they’ve taken to grading, including topics such as rethinking how points are used and grades are weighted, looking outside of points-based systems, and innovative ways to provide feedback, among possible topics.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24

The NOVATION Project:  High-Impact Practices in Action 

11:00am- 12:00pm

John Karnatz (Communication Studies), Stacey Shah (Library) and Erin Vobornik (English as a Second Language)

Interested in ideas for integrating High Impact Practices in your classes and contributing to ECC's commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion? Join Erin Vobornik (ESL), Stacey Shah (Library) and John Karnatz (CMS) to learn more about The NOVATION Project - and how you can apply their lessons to your learning plans.

Advancing Inclusion:  Student Perspectives on Accessibility and Next Steps

3:30- 4:30pm

Bhumika Bergman (Web Services) and Pietrina Probst (Student Access & Disability Services)

Accessible technology and digital materials can serve an important role in the inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education. However, not all technology and digital materials are accessible. In this session, a panel of students with disabilities will share their experiences with navigating their courses using assistive technology and provide recommendations for accessibility measures that support them in their learning. We will show the audience practical tips on how faculty, staff, and administrators can achieve accessibility when creating digital materials.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25 

Blackness is not Monolithic:  Black Immigrant Women Scholars Enacting Change Through Storytelling

10:00- 11:00am

Mellissa Gyimah-Concepcion (English) and Olabisi Adenekan (English, Oakton Community College) 

Our identity as Black immigrant women scholars and educators teaching American students in the U.S. has shaped our learning and instruction. Because of the layered challenges faced by female scholars, and the largely absent voices and experiences of Black women in the field, we noticed that not only are Black women literacy scholars’ lived experiences missing from the field, but Black immigrant women scholars’ lived experiences are missing from the field in the U.S. as well. In this paper, we use Black feminist thought and autoethnography to explore the importance and need for Black immigrant scholars to intentionally engage with their multiple identities through storytelling when interacting with their students. We also employ storytelling in order to share our lived experiences as a pedagogical tool and to encourage the critical explication of authentic, diverse, and global worldviews in our classrooms.

Providing Students Agency in Deciding Their Grades *(New Date and Time)

11:30am- 12:30pm

Kris Campbell (Math)

I will present the initial implementation of allowing my students to decide what their grades will be based on. I intend to spend the first class period of the spring having the students work with me to determine the syllabus for each of my classes and will detail what I did and how it is working out as well as some other HIPs that I am going to give a try.

Conference Breakout Discussions & Reflection 

2:00- 3:00pm