For the past three years colleges and universities have been forced to embrace new ways of teaching. Some have decided to go fully-remote, others have gone back to full in-person instruction, and yet others have incorporated a blended or hybrid learning approach.
But make no mistake, blending, or hybrid learning, is here to stay in higher education and colleges and universities have made tremendous strides to improve their curriculum, adapt their pedagogy, and embrace technology in an effort to address student and faculty needs. However, the core challenges still revolve around student engagement, accessibility and assessment. Join Fierce Education and industry leaders and faculty on February 23 for this free event titled “Helping Faculty Navigate Top Challenges in This New Blended Learning Environment”, which will assess the improvements higher education has made as well as address the challenges ahead. Register here.
Agenda:
1:00 Keynote: Successfully Engaging Students Across All Learning Platform:
- Speaker: Dr. Mike Barger, Assistant Clinical Professor of Business Administration and former Executive Director, Ross Online, at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Founding member, JetBlue
1:30 Sponsor Keynote: Course Hero
- Speaker: Sean Michael Morris, VP, Academics, Course Hero
Session 1: Student Preparedness: Bridging the Learning Gap in 2023
Colleges and universities are finding that their incoming freshman are not as prepared for the rigorous coursework required when compared with pre-COVID entrants. Many studies point to a widening learning gap from high school to college due to the pandemic and its effect on teaching environments. This session will focus on how colleges and universities can better acclimate incoming students to make up for lack of preparation they may have experienced.
- Speaker: Linda G. Battles, Regional Vice President, Chancellor, Western Governors University Texas.
- Speaker: Nic Rebne, Vice President, Learning Solutions, Cambridge University Press
Session 2: Course Design: Hybrid & Asynchronous Learning Best Practices
Due the changes in the last two years, higher education institutions have had to take a closer look at their course design to incorporate hybrid and asynchronous components successfully. Many have had to bring in course design experts to work with faculty to best utilize the tools and strategies at their disposal to better engage students in the new blended learning environment. This session will explore those strategies and techniques that have proven results in a hybrid learning environment.
- Speaker: Dr. Joanne Ricevuto, Assistant Vice President of Instructional Success at Harcum College
- Speaker: Sean Michael Morris, VP, Academics, Course Hero
- Speaker: Amanda Lynne Smith, PhD, Chief Academic Officer, Academic Partnerships
Session 3: Digital Tools: Faculty Case Studies Share Successful Deployments
Higher education instructors have had to embrace new digital tools to ensure their students have accessibility to materials, are engaged and retaining the information and are assessed fairly. This has been an enormous challenge and those faculty that have incorporated certain digital tools have found success. This session will showcase some of the more innovative tools instructors have used to ensure accessibility, engagement and fair course assessment.
- Speaker: Rachel Leatham, Associate Director, Carleton College, Career Center