Our lightning round faculty talks inaugural event on teaching on 9/26 was so much fun. We learned so much in this microlearning event.
Eight award-winning faculty shared their wisdom at this HyFlex event. We had over 70 join online which speaks to the power of having virtual join options. My mom joined us! The recording and recap will be posted by tomorrow! Stay tuned for two more events like this in the spring. NOTE: Views are the perspectives of individual faculty and not that of UT Arlington or CRTLE.
Our slogan for this event: “Micro learning, macro impact.”
The speakers presented short, practical ideas ranging from math vignettes to foster close student attention, to poetry exercises that build a sense of belonging. A consistent theme was the importance of connection, vulnerability, and continuous feedback to boost student self-efficacy and improve teaching.
The strategies shared focused on intellectual engagement, personal connection, emotional vulnerability, and feedback loops.
The recording is here: https://youtu.be/8J-N5FYpU8M
Dr. Barbara Shipman (Math Department)
Strategy: Uses a flawed mathematical proof to make a sensational claim (that the weight of an ant equals the weight of a bear) to force students to pay close attention and find the hidden error (the square root of a negative value).
“Ask them if they believe your argument. You can do it correctly or incorrectly, but either way the students have to decide.”
Dr. Rebecca Deen (Political Science/Assoc. Dean)
Strategy: Emphasizes building a sense of belonging and self-efficacy through personal connection, such as sharing a memorable detail like “My dog has fleas” or engaging in small acts of kindness for students.
“The single best predictor of whether a student has an extraordinary time in college is whether or not they get to know at least one faculty member well enough so that they stay in touch with them for the rest of their lives.”
Dr. Diane Mitschke (School of Social Work)
Strategy: Uses the “Where I’m From” poem as an icebreaker to have students write about their background, senses, and paradigms. This activity instantly breaks down barriers, develops empathy, and sets the groundwork for discussions on difficult issues.”
“What it does is it breaks down barriers instantly because as students stand up in front of the room and present themselves to the rest of the class. It develops an empathy around these stories and it helps students to see one another as having shared experiences…”
Dr. Ken Roemer (English)
Strategy: Implements a continuous feedback system where students spend the last five minutes of class writing an ungraded response to two questions (one macro question about the class’s main focus and one micro question about a moving moment). This simple, continuous feedback loop empowers students by showing they are teaching the instructor.
“How can we get a much better sense of feedback from our students? I wanted something that was continuous feedback, not just thing poked at the end of the course.”
Dr. Frank Foss (Organic Chemistry)
Strategy: Focused on changing the perception and use of office hours, moving away from “by appointment only” to enhance his understanding of student thought processes and improve his own teaching.
“This is your connection hour. Try and say, well, yeah, let’s talk. Sit down. Tell me about yourself. What are you trying to do? What are you interested in? How do you think this class is going to fit into what you’re doing? Have you ever considered a life as a chemist? Have you done research? You know? Ask them questions, get them engaged.”
Dr. Peggy L. Semingson (Host/Moderator from CRTLE)
Strategy: As the moderator, she briefly shared a literacy-based strategy, endorsing the use of the “Where I’m From” poem Diane shared about because it resonates universally and provides students with a powerful voice through writing.
“I think in these hard time, these trying times, sometimes when we feel like our voices are silenced, when students can write, I think, I think that’s great.”
Dr. Karen Magruder (School of Social Work)
Strategy: Karen shared four techniques that supported asynchronous online teaching including: 1) providing a syllabus overview video 2) a humanizing introduction video from the professor 3) assignment overview videos and 4) email responsiveness.
She has an amazing YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2LVhrI0ulnIjeio_yDiBFQ
Dr. Nila Veerabathina (Physics Department)
Strategy: Dr. Nila is an expert at active learning and shared her technique of “Take a Stand if it’s You!”. This teaching activity designed for face-to-face engagement that encourages students to move and interact. The strategy is highly versatile, working effectively with both small classes (under 20) and large classes (200+), and can be implemented in any subject area, making it especially valuable for comparative analysis of concepts or case studies. Instructors can use it as a quick 5–10 minute activity or expand it to fill a full class period, with the option to divide the class into two or multiple groups depending on the topic being addressed.
*This post was co-written with Google Gemini.
The original description of this event is below. We hope to host at least two more similar events in the Spring of 2026. Stay tuned!
From innovative engagement techniques to proven assessment methods, these talks are designed to be a “faculty playbook” of actionable strategies you can implement in your own classroom immediately. Whether you’re looking to spark student curiosity, streamline your workflow, or simply refine your teaching style, you’ll walk away with fresh ideas and a renewed sense of purpose.
- Participants will be able to identify and describe at least three new, practical teaching strategies presented by award-winning faculty that can be immediately implemented in their own courses.
- Participants will gain an understanding of how small, specific changes in teaching practices can lead to significant improvements in student engagement, comprehension, and overall learning outcomes.
- Participants will be inspired to reflect on their own teaching methods and motivated to experiment with innovative techniques to enhance their classroom effectiveness.