CTE Conference Info 2010

SUNY Plattsburgh 2010 CTE Conference on Teaching and Learning

"Pull the Plug and Light the Fire!"

The Spring 2010 Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) conference on teaching and learning will feature a full day of engaging sessions and opportunities to discuss pedagogy with colleagues who are passionate about teaching. This year’s theme, "Pull the Plug and Light the Fire," is not a wholesale rejection of technology, but a commitment to push the pause button on it for a day in order to re-visit the essential pedagogies and teaching techniques that are so integral to great teaching with or without technology.

Date and Time

The conference will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus. 

Registration and Fees

The conference fee is $50, with a discounted fee of $25 for SUNY Plattsburgh faculty. We invite you to register now for the conference, as space is limited. Registration includes entrance to all sessions with lunch provided.

• Register now!
• Directions, lodging, parking, and more

Conference Schedule

8:30 AM - Registration

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM - Plenary

• Becky Kasper, Director, SUNY Plattsburgh Center for Teaching Excellence
• SUNY Plattsburgh's Student Committee on Teaching Excellence (SCTE)

10:15 AM to 11:15 AM - Sessions A

Engaging Students through Creative Teaching Methods and Materials. Tracey Caponera, SUNY Delhi. Abstract: The purpose of this very interactive presentation is to reawaken the creative side of our brains and challenge instructors to think WAY outside the box with regard to teaching methods and materials. Each participant will walk away energized and excited to return to his or her classroom and try out new ways to engage their students. Participants will be encouraged to share ideas, concerns, suggestions, and ultimately build a tool box full of creative teaching methods and a network of other creative instructors.

Fired Up and Ready to Talk! Caroline Knight, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: Do you find it difficult to start and sustain lively class discussions about reading assignments?  All too often, students seem to do only the bare minimum to prepare for class, and they are then reluctant to participate in any discussion of the reading.  This workshop will explore techniques that address both of those problems at the same time.

Millennial Misconceptions: Rethinking Assumptions about Course Work for Generation Y. Elin O’Hara, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: Many generalizations have been made about the learning styles and preferences of Generation Y, but recent studies have suggested that higher education has perhaps accepted these generalizations too hastily.  This presentation will highlight the need for great caution in applying the body of research about Generation Y to one’s classroom. The session will also discuss concrete ways one can, in fact, use elements of Generation Y research to inform course assignments without inadvertently disregarding some students’ needs. 

11:30 AM to 12:30 PM - Sessions B

Contemplative Practices in the Classroom. Matthew Immergut, SUNY Purchase. Abstract: Over the years, a growing number of educators across disciplines have been introducing contemplative practices such as mindfulness meditation into the classroom.  Evidence from teachers and researchers suggests an overall positive influence on student’s academic performance.  In addition, such practices help in the reduction of academic stress and an overall cultivation of the “whole person.”In this session we will explore the place and possibility for contemplative practices in higher education.

Mistakes Were Made: Recognizing, Acknowledging, and Putting to Good Use Our Teaching Blunders, Gaffes, Missteps, and Muddles. Jessamyn Neuhaus, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: This session aims to help participants recognize our own teaching mistakes, to address the embarrassment and even shame we feel when we make a teaching mistake, and to reframe such mistakes as learning opportunities for ourselves and perhaps even our students. Participants will reflect upon their own mistakes in the classroom, and to whatever degree individuals are comfortable doing, share those experiences.

Interactive Learning Using In-Class Worksheets. Ken Podolak, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: This presentation focuses on enhancing class time by promoting interactive learning through the use of problem solving worksheets. Classes are becoming more hands-on learning that involves students more as active participants in the class rather than passive receivers. The discussion and examples will show how worksheets are implemented to promote an active class.

Town Meetings: The Future is Now. Doug Selwin. Jan Maher, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: An interdisciplinary role playing structure for exploring multiple points of view in public policy issues. How can we best prepare our students to live in a world of such rapid change that we ourselves may no longer even recognize it? A town meeting structure provides an emotionally engaging and intellectually challenging forum for weighing a multitude of interests and honoring a range of disciplines and voices in the service of arriving and sound and informed public policy decisions.

12:30 PM to 1:30 PM - Lunch

1:45 PM to 2:45 PM - Sessions C

The Pen is Mightier than the Plug. Jean Mockry, Jean Ann Hunt, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how a variety of writing activities can spark student engagement and inform instruction.  The presenters will help the group discover ways in which writing, thinking and learning are all connected for students. Activities are designed to encourage participants to reflect on how they used writing.

But We Don’t Care About Them, They Have Been Dead for 300 Years: Designing the History Survey for a Captive Audience. Sheila McIntyre, SUNY Potsdam. Abstract: Armed with a new “uncoverage” model, the courage to discard the strict chronology of what happened, some chalk, and maybe a TV, we examine new ways to design the Columbus-Clinton or Plato-Nato courses that many students dread.  Built on depth, not breadth, this episodic approach encourages critical thinking, creativity and historiographical awareness, unplugged.

Requiem for the B Student. Christopher T. Martine, Cecilia Gregoire, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: In some corners of academia the traditional bell curve has been supplanted by a bimodal grade distribution. This “two-humped” outcome represents two seemingly distinct classes of student performance. While some students excel and achieve A-range grades, many of their classmates are getting C and below. The B student, meanwhile, has become an endangered species. Participants in the session will join in a discussion on the nature of this phenomenon, and we will focus on techniques for teaching to the top (and challenging the best students) without losing the bottom.

2:50 PM to 3:50 PM - Sessions D

Town Meetings: The Future is Now. Doug Selwin, Jan Maher, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: An interdisciplinary role playing structure for exploring multiple points of view in public policy issues. How can we best prepare our students to live in a world of such rapid change that we ourselves may no longer even recognize it? A town meeting structure provides an emotionally engaging and intellectually challenging forum for weighing a multitude of interests and honoring a range of disciplines and voices in the service of arriving and sound and informed public policy decisions.

Exploiting the Setting - Community-Based Assignments. Wendy Gordon, Ed Romanowicz, SUNY Plattsburgh. Abstract: Educated in cinderblock boxes, students all too often believe disciplines like history, literature, or philosophy exist only encased in such boxes.  Inspired by a 'local history scavenger hunt' assignment, this session will explore assignments designed to expose students to resources and opportunities in the community surrounding their educational institutions.

Cross-Discipline Collaborative Learning and Teaching Explorations in a Problem-Based Learning Environment. William Pfaff, Drew Waters, SUNY Plattsburgh & California State, Monterey Bay. Abstract: Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Waters will discuss how they have benefited individually and interpersonally in a collaborative teaching environment, how their multiple projects have grown as a result of another persona’s expertise, criticism, differences and enthusiasm as well as emphasize the benefits that the students receive in a collaborative teaching/learning environment. Here is the crux: after a group has created a discipline- specific course description they will be deliberately paired with another group to create a cross- discipline course addressing the benefits to the students, themselves and foreshadowing issues that may arise. 

4:00 PM to 4:45 PM

An open roundtable session on technology and pedagogy will close the conference. 

Contact Information

For more information about the Center for Teaching Excellence, please contact:

Becky Kasper, Ph.D., Director
SUNY Plattsburgh
301 Feinberg Library, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Phone: (518) 564-3043
Fax: (518) 564-5100
E-mail: kasperrb@plattsburgh.edu