Florida State University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) and University Libraries hosted the inaugural Provost’s Showcase of Scholarly Teaching Friday, April 5. The event provided faculty with an opportunity to share their expertise and innovations with the larger campus community.
The FSU-based mini-conference was open to all faculty members at FSU or the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and offered opportunities to learn more about innovative teaching practices through roundtable discussions and poster sessions.
“The showcase is an opportunity for faculty to share the exciting work they’re doing in their classes to provide great learning experiences for our students,” said Leslie Richardson, director of CAT. “They use research-informed strategies, and the work they ask students to do provides evidence of learning and the effectiveness of their teaching methods.”
Faculty presenters came from various disciplines and departments, including computer science, mathematics, engineering, education, communication and public health.
Brittany Kraft, a faculty member in the Department of Biological Science, presented her research on the efficacy of “cheat sheets” as an exam-studying practice.
“We don’t have many opportunities to talk with people from other disciplines about what they’re doing in teaching,” Kraft said. “I love the idea of inter-group disciplinary connections and building those connections, but also seeing that people in other fields are doing similar things I’m doing.”
Topics included many aspects of teaching and learning, such as using two-stage exams, fostering community in large classes, using specifications grading and conducting Scholarship of Teaching and Learning projects.
Leah Hollingsworth, teaching faculty in the Department of Mathematics, presented on her efforts to reduce students’ math anxiety. She intentionally designs her course to help students become more confident learners by creating a welcoming and supportive environment. Her efforts result in more students completing the courses.
“There’s a lot of pressure for students and instructors to be innovative in the classroom,” Hollingsworth said. “The showcase is a great opportunity for us to share and learn from our colleagues around the university and to be innovative and progressive in thinking about the future.”
Reflecting on the dedication and commitment of the faculty at FSU, Associate Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Joe O’Shea expressed his admiration and gratitude.
“It’s our faculty who care so deeply, who treat students with love and respect and who have an unconditional positive regard for students and a belief in their potential, and faculty who are always reaching for more, willing to evolve and eager to incorporate the latest evidence about teaching and learning into their practice,” O’Shea said.
“As ambassadors of teaching excellence, you’re helping to lead the way for FSU — so that we can continue to offer learning-centered teaching that sets high expectations for our students, paired with support for students, to reach them.”
More than 66 percent of FSU’s in-person classes include 20 students or fewer, a university record. For many larger classes, the Learning Assistants Program can help ease the burden. LAs are undergraduates who have successfully completed a course and are subsequently selected by faculty to work with them in the classroom, helping current students engage with course material for better understanding. FSU has one of the largest LA programs in the country.
FSU Provost Jim Clark reflected on his own experience as a faculty member and urged faculty to look at the data and find ways to reach all students.
“FSU faculty are continuing to find ways to reach students, to remove the obstacles, to create imaginative ways, engaging approaches and creating relationships with their students,” Clark said. “We keep relearning that, and then relentlessly testing and, doing all that while having fun and being creative. The university could ask nothing more from faculty who do that.”
For more information, visit teaching.fsu.edu/teachingconference.