Summer 2024 Workshops

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: Online

Leaders: Tim Arner, Jen Shook

Audience: Faculty

This online workshop prepares faculty for fall 2024 tutorial teaching and advising. Topics include an in-depth discussion about teaching Tutorial — philosophy, resources, logistics, assignment design, and more. Faculty members will produce an assignment prompt and a rough draft of a Tutorial syllabus. The workshop will meet online to make it possible for instructors to attend from wherever they are in the world.

Please note: This workshop has been canceled.

Leaders: Susan Ferrari, Rebecca Marcum, Cindy Schaus

Audience: Faculty

Workshop participants will learn about major grant programs supporting research, pedagogy, or both. They will also learn about the proposal review process and how to effectively sell their ideas to review panels. They will make progress towards developing proposals by workshopping proposal components with their peers. Finally, they will develop an accountability plan that gives them a manageable timeline for developing a strong proposal, with a goal of submitting a proposal in the next year. 

Time: 1—4 p.m.

Location: HSSC N1116

Leaders: Joyce Stern, Elaine Marzluff, Sarah Purcell

Audience: All tenured, tenure-track, and senior lecturer faculty as well as staff in offices doing student-facing advising/mentoring work will benefit. While the major focus will be on the academic journey students take, ways that faculty advising intersects with advising work done by staff partners will also be considered. 

The educational journey of a Grinnell student in an individually advised curriculum requires close advising. The focus of this workshop will be on the academic journey students take, and it will involve ways that faculty advising intersects with academic advising work done by staff partners. Discussion will include the intersection of Grinnell’s goals for advising (liberal education) with the adviser’s own philosophy and approach, students' development as whole people, consideration of our diverse 21st century students, and students’ and adviser wellbeing. This workshop seeks to reinvigorate faculty members’ individual competencies and excitement for advising as well as strengthen our campus advising model that actively embraces the many places and people on campus that students engage for academic advising.  

Note: The first four half-days make up the workshop, with a final optional day to focus on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of advising (i.e., college policies, technology that supports advising, etc.) 

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: HSSC N2170 (hybrid)

Leaders: Gina Donovan, Andi Tracy

Audience: Faculty

Any new LMS that we select as a campus will have enhanced instructional design capabilities and opportunities. This change will open the door to many new possibilities in classes, including new tools and potential resources. This workshop is focused on basic instructional design principles to help faculty best utilize these powerful new tools. By the conclusion of this workshop, faculty will know basic tenets of instructional design principles and be ready to practice these instructional design principles in potential LMSes for campus use, specifically putting lessons into practice by building an activity in a new LMS. This workshop will be particularly useful for faculty test-teaching in a new LMS in fall 2024 but is open to all faculty interested in learning about instructional design principles and the opportunities afforded by our new LMS. This hybrid workshop may be attended in-person or virtually. 

Please note: This workshop has been canceled.

Leaders: Stephen Sieck, Shannon Hinsa

Audience: BCM, BIO, CHM (Biological Chemistry, Biology, and Chemistry faculty)

The second-year science curriculum in biology and chemistry continues to present challenges for students and is a major exit point for those students from science. The recent pandemic has added additional challenges for the students in this pipeline. These classes are gateways to Biological Chemistry, Biology, and Chemistry majors. 

In this workshop, participants will discuss the challenges students face in these courses, reexamine the previous work done by faculty, and develop materials to meet the new needs of our second-year students. This work includes identifying times of tension and stress created during the semester due to scheduling of exams, assignments, and quizzes and then finding solutions to reduce the burden of work. Participants will also write exam questions that can be used in both classes to reinforce key concepts and ensure our discipline jargon is not mudding the waters. The goal is for the faculty involved in the summer workshop to update their syllabus and course materials to include these bridging materials.

Time: Noon – FYE lunch; 1–4 p.m (RSVP form for lunch)

Location: HSSC S2310

Leaders: Mark Levandoski, Maure Smith-Benanti, Tim Hammond, Leslie Bleichner

Audience: Faculty from any academic department and staff working with first-year students (e.g., Student Affairs, CLS, Academic Advising). First-Year Experience: Connections is a place where faculty can try out experimental pedagogical techniques in a low-risk environment, and this workshop is an opportunity to discuss these innovative techniques.

The First-Year Experience: Connections course (FYEC) leadership team is engaged in a data-informed self-study as part of a continuous improvement process. This workshop is a component of a multi-year process for evaluating how the course fits into the broader strategic vision for the college. Attendees will engage in collaborative idea generation related to how the course’s design and contextual environment impact its goal achievement. 

The workshop content will include reviewing the history of the course, discussing the course learning outcomes, examining data, and reflecting on the lessons learned thus far. The workshop will utilize restorative practices to engage participants in participatory decision-making, thereby modeling the principles of inclusive community-building taught in the course. Participants new to the FYEC will gain understanding of the course goals, pedagogy, and content. 

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: SCIE 1531

Leaders: Shonda Kuiper, Jonathan Wells

Audience: Faculty

Presently, the statistics, computer science, and mathematics departments all have courses that can be considered data science courses. This workshop will develop a better understanding of this interdisciplinary field among these and other interested academic departments. Discussion will include the prospect of creating a major or concentration in data science by employing current faculty from these departments. 

Participants will also discuss developing a more holistic and integrated approach to teaching data science at Grinnell. For instance, Grinnell College currently teaches two machine learning courses, one housed within the Department of Statistics and the other within Computer Science. We will consider the feasibility of a shared course between the statistics and computer science departments that would allow more flexibility in the teaching load in both departments.

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: Online

Leaders: Kayla Reed, Gina Schlesselman-Tarango

Audience: Faculty

Dive into the world of open educational practices and develop a plan to incorporate open resources or pedagogy into the curriculum. From freely available, quality teaching materials to ideas for how to involve students in the co-creation of knowledge, this online workshop will provide participants with a set of new pedagogical tools that centers learners and encourages collaboration. Faculty will explore open resources that can be remixed for courses, consider ethical adaptation and use, and learn about campus offices that can provide support. Participants will also develop a plan to incorporate open educational practices into a course. 

Time: 1–4 p.m.

Location: HSSC A1231

Leaders: Teague Craig, Paul Valencic

Audience: Faculty and staff

Faculty and staff are frequently the first points of contact for students experiencing mental health concerns and crises. SHAW staff counselors Paul Valencic, LMHC, and Teague Craig, LMFT, will offer a 3-day workshop to increase understanding and awareness of signs and symptoms of student distress and crisis, as well as skills to navigate both crisis and non-crisis situations. Participants will be able to: differentiate between student distress vs. crisis situations; utilize models for active listening to support students experiencing emotional distress; identify early warnings signs for suicidality and other safety concerns; and refer students to appropriate resources to address mental health concerns. 

Time: 1–4 p.m.

Location: HSSC S2327

Leaders: Autumn Wilke, Emily Fenner

Audience: Faculty and Staff

Join Associate Chief Diversity Officer for Disability Resources, Autumn Wilke, and Neurodiversity Support Specialist, Emily Fenner, to learn more about Neurodivergence at Grinnell. We will explore neurodiversity as a culture, including best practices and communication tools for interacting in a culturally responsive manner. Conversation will focus on how to recognize and respond to communication patterns and needs of groups that include both neurodivergent and neurotypical people. Participants will leave with a better understanding of neurodiversity and practical strategies to implement in their daily work life. A copy of the book NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity will be provided.

Time: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Location: HSSC A1231

Leaders: Steve Andrews, Andy Hamilton, Al Lacson, Jen Shook 

Audience: We encourage all interested members of the Grinnell community—especially staff—to join us. 

This workshop borrows its title and pedagogical impetus from Dr. Ned Blackhawk’s award-winning The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History. We aim to use discussion of this book to begin the process of “unmaking” American history. We propose the following interrelated questions as a guide to what we would like to achieve with this workshop:  What happens to our curricular and pedagogical commitments when we shift the plot of the story of America, as Dr. Blackhawk does, from “discovery” to “encounter?” If, as Dr. Blackhawk contends, “the existing paradigms of U.S. history have been maintained by excluding Indigenous people,” then what responsibilities might an educational institution such as ours have when it comes to engaging in the process of “building an alternate American story that is not trapped in the framework of European discovery and European ‘greatness’”? For those of us working at Grinnell College, what are the implications of extending inclusion beyond the classroom?  Facilitators will be faculty colleagues whose areas of expertise converge with Dr. Blackhawk’s: Dr. Al Lacson teaches Native American history in the History department; Dr. Jen Shook teaches and researches Native American drama and media culture in the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies department. The workshop meets July 22-26, M-F, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., with lunch provided by the Center for the Humanities. Participants will also receive a free hardcover copy of Dr. Blackhawk’s book. 

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: Online

Leaders: Julia Bauder, Libby Cave, Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Tisha Turk 

Audience: Faculty

This online workshop will explore the pedagogical goals of doing literature reviews in participants’ disciplines, critically evaluate whether current AI-powered research tools facilitate or undermine those goals, and develop curricular materials that faculty can use to discuss the ethical use of technology in library research with their students. ChatGPT isn’t the only artificial intelligence (AI) tool that students might choose to use when writing a research paper. A wide range of AI-powered tools specifically designed to help with literature reviews have recently been released, including ResearchRabbit.ai, Elicit, Litmaps, and Scite. AI can also be used to help students understand dense scholarly articles, to locate specific pieces of information within a group of articles, or to synthesize the information in those articles. AI tools in this category include docAnalyzer, SciSpace, and PowerDrill.  

The use of these tools does not clearly violate Grinnell’s current academic honesty policy, but does that mean that using these tools is ethical? What is the pedagogical purpose for asking students to write a literature review? Does using AI to facilitate part of the process undermine the pedagogical goals of the literature review, or does automating some parts of the process mean that students can focus more of their time and effort on more important learning goals?

Time: 1–4 p.m.

New Location: HSSC N2170

Leaders: Liz Queathem, Leslie Gregg-Jolly

Audience: Faculty and Staff

The “Beyond GSP” teaching workshop in 2019 and the “Beyond GSP: Part II” workshop in 2022 focused on Grinnell’s efforts to retain more students from historically underrepresented groups in the sciences. The Grinnell Science Project (GSP) has long sought to increase feelings of belonging in the sciences by bringing first-generation and underrepresented students to Grinnell early to engage in community-building and familiarization activities and introduce them to science faculty. GSP demonstrably increases persistence in the sciences, but as of 2022, we were still seeing differences in retention in intended science majors comparing White students with Black, American Indigenous, and Hispanic students. 

Following 2019, the Science Division implemented changes in how students are selected for summer Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) research that were intended to reduce barriers to research experience, including streamlining the application process and removing all mention of GPA from the decision-making process. This workshop will look at more recent data, see whether we are improving science participation and retention, and ask current students and alumni what we could do better, as well as reviewing best practices that have emerged recently in journals such as Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Science. An experienced leader in efforts to increase and retain numbers of students of color in STEM, Angela McKinney, Ph.D., will assist in this process. A panel of alumni will also be invited.  

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: Online

Leaders: John Petrus, Dustin Dixon, Qiaomei Tang

Audience: Faculty

This online workshop will explore methods of teaching works of literature that blur fiction and reality. Participants will discuss strategies for engaging students in the analysis and critique of works that incorporate real archival material, real historical events, and / or real historical figures — or incorporate fabricated archival material, historical events, and / or historical figures — into a fictional narrative with fictional characters. While this workshop is grounded in humanistic perspectives on these questions and thus engages memory studies, intertextuality, and archival studies, these topics intersect with research and teaching in a number of other disciplines as well. Reading materials include Javier Marías‘s novel All Souls (copies of the book will be provided) and seminal scholarship in cultural memories studies. The primary goal of the workshop is to discuss a shared curricular methodology that would create a thread of continuity across courses in different departments. 

Time: 9 a.m.–noon

Location: Humanities and Social Studies Center Global Kitchen, HSSC N1168

Leaders: Todd Armstrong, David Stanley

Audience: Faculty and Staff

Attendance: Up to 14 participants

This workshop will explore curricular and co-/extracurricular approaches to using the Global Kitchen in the HSSC. Topics to be discussed will include general kitchen use and policy; integration of food preparation in courses and programs; and the place of food studies in the liberal arts. Participants will cook together in the Global Kitchen, discuss and explore ways to integrate local foods into our community, and address ways to address food insecurity. 

Time: 1–4 p.m.

Location: HSSC N1116

Leaders: Tisha Turk, Phil Jones

Audience: New and early career faculty

This workshop aims to help new faculty members design and sequence effective writing and research assignments to promote student learning. Workshop participants will read about and discuss basic principles of assignment design, review models of effective writing assignments from a range of disciplines, and draw on feedback from colleagues in the workshop to develop or revise at least one assignment for an upcoming course. Participants will read selections from John Bean's Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. 

Time: 1–4 p.m.

Location: HSSC N1118

Leader: Andreas Jozwiak

Audience: Faculty

This workshop will convene faculty members from across the college to join in a conversation about the future of the Policy Studies concentration. Participants will have generative conversations about several issues: the core concentration courses, the curriculum and its requirements, and the potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Goals of the workshop include generating new enthusiasm and engagement with the Policy Studies concentration and identifying faculty as potential new committee members, especially those who have an interest in teaching in the concentration.