On January 18th, I attended Pratt’s Math and Science Department’s first annual Teaching & Learning Miniconference
Program for 2019 Math & Science Teaching & Learning Miniconference.
The event was organized by Helio Takai (Chair) and Chris Jensen (Associate Professor) and attended by over 20 departmental faculty. The Miniconference was a great opportunity for Math and Science faculty to share innovating teaching approaches and discuss student engagement techniques that other faculty can easily adapt. The presentations were inspirational, creative and interactive, with lots of feedback and questions from the audience.
Damon Chaky shared several student engagement techniques and resources; and he encouraged faculty to explore activities that work for them.
Handout-MSCI_Teaching_References
Cindy Kehlet demonstrated a highly interactive and inquiry-based construction of the Periodic Table.
Chris Jensen showcased his adaptive multiple choice questions that encourage learning beyond just the grades.
Eleonora Del Federico explained how she teaches the concept of X-Ray Fluorescence for the analysis of pigments.
Mark Rosin let the audience play with the Pyramid Hologram to illustrate a hand-on experiential physics lesson that he facilitates with this students.
Peter Matt showed us a self-graded Google-based quiz, Daniel Wright demonstrated real life-based spreadsheet activities, using Excel, and Helio Takai talked about the value of project-based learning in the science classroom.
What a treat! This Miniconference, in my opinion, was a great example of engaging departmental faculty to collectively improve the learning of our students.