Cards and Pedagogy: Teaching with a Hook - Session I

Join us for the first session in a two-part series focused on active teaching techniques geared to engage learners in all courses. Both workshops will discuss effective teaching practices that faculty across campus can use in their classrooms to engage student learning. Research continues to show that traditional approaches to teaching, such as lecturing as a sole means for teaching is a passive means for student learning compared to active learning practices in the classroom. Some questions we will explore are:

• How do you engage student learners in your classroom?
• How are critical thinking and problem solving skills embedded in each teaching session? 
• How do you engage Bloom’s Taxonomy levels of learning? 

In the first session, held on February 26, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m., Cards and Pedagogy: Teaching With a Hook, Jeff Burnette will share a hands-on card-sorting exercise to demonstrate that racial and other demographic categories are social constructions, not objective truths. Participants will use different card games to investigate how social hierarchy is a product of systemic "rules" rather than inherent physical traits. In the second session, Joel Gallegos Greenwich will explore the lessons that magic offers about breaking the ice, capturing attention, sustaining engagement, and creating meaningful learning moments in the classroom. Through demonstrations and discussion, participants will consider concrete ways to incorporate these strategies into their own courses.   

The second session, Cards and Pedagogy: A Game-based Workshop about Everyday Teaching Decisions, held on March 19, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m., Phil Shaw will lead faculty in an interactive workshop exploring the question "What happens when pedagogical theory collides with real-world teaching dilemmas—and a panel of student judges?". Faculty will play a Cards Against Humanity–style game in which they respond to everyday classroom scenarios using a mix of pedagogical strategies, policies, and instincts. Participants must decide whether to play a “good” solution, a “bad” solution, or something strategically in between, depending on how they think a panel of student judges will respond and award points. The 90-minute session uses humor and low-stakes competition to surface serious conversations about teaching values, student expectations, and the hidden logics behind our instructional choices.

We encourage you to attend both sessions, though each stands on its own.

Light refreshments will be provided. This session is for RIT faculty, including adjuncts and teaching assistants. Participants should request access services if needed.

Presented by:
Makini Beck
Jeff Burnette
Joel Gallegos Greenwich
Phil Shaw