2026 Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning

Higher Ground: Helping Students Speak with Confidence in the Classroom

Kanisha Kellum (Apodaca 207 A)

Many students struggle to participate verbally in the classroom. Whether presenting research, contributing to discussion, or asking questions, anxiety and lack of confidence can prevent students from fully engaging in the learning process. While faculty often focus on the intellectual content of communication, effective participation also depends on physical awareness, breath, and vocal presence. Drawing from principles in vocal pedagogy and performer training, this interactive workshop explores strategies for helping students develop confidence and clarity when speaking in academic settings. In performance training, singers and actors learn to use breath, posture, and vocal energy to communicate ideas effectively. These same principles can be adapted to support student participation and presentation skills across disciplines. Participants will explore practical techniques inspired by voice training and embodied learning, including breath-centered grounding exercises, strategies for reducing speaking anxiety, and methods for helping students develop stronger vocal presence during discussions and presentations. The workshop will also examine how brief embodied activities can be integrated into lectures, seminars, and student presentations to encourage engagement and confidence. Designed for faculty across disciplines, this session requires no background in performance training. By exploring how breath, posture, and voice influence communication, participants will leave with practical tools to help students move toward “higher ground” in their classroom participation—speaking with greater confidence, clarity, and presence.

Open Educational Resources in Practice: Stories from the Spectrum

Curtis Beimborn, Justice Cornett, Alesia Jennings, Scottie Kapel, Jennifer Thomas, Emily Wager (Apodaca 207 B)

Curious about Open Educational Resources – free, adaptable teaching and learning materials – but not sure where your entry point is? This panel brings together campus partners from the bookstore and library as well as faculty at different stages of their OER journey – from a single textbook swap to full course redesigns – to share what the process actually looks like from the inside. 

Panelists will reflect on how they got started, what support and funding made it possible, and what they’ve seen in their classrooms in terms of student access, engagement, and learning outcomes. Whether you’re weighing your first OER adoption or looking to expand what you’ve already built, you’ll leave with a clearer sense of what’s possible and what WCU resources are available to help you get there. 

Reaching Higher Ground: Support for Department Heads in Navigating Challenging Personnel Dynamics – Part 1

Carmen Huffman & Trisha Ray (Apodaca 102)

Department heads and school directors juggle complex responsibilities, balancing the operational demands of their units with the realities of leading people. While many are well prepared for the former, navigating challenging personnel situations often proves more unexpected—and more difficult. This workshop, designed exclusively for department heads and school directors, invites participants to explore ways of reaching higher ground when personnel challenges arise. The session focuses on gaining perspective, identifying constructive pathways forward, and responding with intention. Topics may include managing relationships, addressing conflict among colleagues, navigating FMLA and accommodations, and approaching the need to provide difficult feedback, with an emphasis on strategies that encourage strong but compassionate leadership.

Serious Learning, Playful Minds: Reimagining Higher Education Through Playful Pedagogy

Kim Hall (Apodaca 207 A)

This presentation examines how playful pedagogy can transform higher education by supporting students as they move from uncertainty to deeper understanding and mastery. Grounded in curiosity, creativity, and low-stakes experimentation, playful pedagogy encourages active engagement while reducing the fear of failure that can inhibit participation. Rather than being separate from serious academic work, play is positioned as a purposeful and structured approach to enhancing learning. The session introduces key concepts of playful pedagogy and demonstrates how they can be applied across disciplines and course formats. Early stages of learning—often marked by confusion or hesitation—can be supported through strategies such as exploratory activities, collaborative problem-solving, and gamified entry points that reduce anxiety and invite participation. As students build confidence, structured play deepens engagement, strengthens critical thinking, and promotes resilience, leading to more meaningful learning outcomes. This approach directly addresses persistent challenges in higher education, including disengagement and surface-level learning. By fostering inclusive and supportive environments, playful pedagogy helps students build confidence, take intellectual risks, and stay motivated. At the same time, it maintains academic rigor by aligning activities with clear learning objectives. Key takeaways: 1. Playful pedagogy increases engagement and deepens learning without sacrificing rigor. 2. Simple strategies can be integrated into existing courses to promote interaction and creativity. 3. Playful learning environments support experimentation, resilience, and a growth mindset.

Climbing to Greatness: Using Evidence-Based Teaching to Reach New Heights in the Classroom

Chad Hallyburton, April Tallant, Darby Harris (Apodaca 207 B)

We all want our students to learn and to apply what they learn to their future goals, but we can sometimes get “stuck” trying the same strategies repeatedly.  Evidence, whether generated from other scholars or from within our own classrooms, can help us identify bottlenecks to learning and give us new pedagogical ideas to explore.  In this session you’ll converse and collaborate with your colleagues and share your questions and ideas with a panel of presenters experienced with scholarly teaching.  Clarify pedagogical problems in your classes and take away ideas about how to loosen those learning knots.

Reaching Higher Ground: Support for Department Heads in Navigating Challenging Personnel Dynamics – Part 2

Carmen Huffman & Trisha Ray (Apodaca 102)

Department heads and school directors juggle complex responsibilities, balancing the operational demands of their units with the realities of leading people. While many are well prepared for the former, navigating challenging personnel situations often proves more unexpected—and more difficult. This workshop, designed exclusively for department heads and school directors, invites participants to explore ways of reaching higher ground when personnel challenges arise. The session focuses on gaining perspective, identifying constructive pathways forward, and responding with intention. Topics may include managing relationships, addressing conflict among colleagues, navigating FMLA and accommodations, and approaching the need to provide difficult feedback, with an emphasis on strategies that encourage strong but compassionate leadership.

Level Up Your Teaching: Playful Approaches to Serious Learning

Kim Hall (Apodaca 207 A)

This interactive workshop will introduce participants to the principles and practices of playful pedagogy as a strategy for enhancing student engagement, confidence, and depth of learning in higher education. Building on the premise that play is not separate from serious academic work but instead a structured and purposeful approach to learning, the session explores how curiosity, creativity, and low-stakes experimentation can support students as they move from initial uncertainty to mastery. Participants will engage in a series of hands-on, adaptable activities that model playful learning techniques across disciplines. The workshop will address common barriers to student participation—such as fear of failure and disengagement—and demonstrate how exploratory tasks, collaborative problem-solving, and gamified entry points can reduce anxiety and encourage early involvement. Participants will examine how structured play can be aligned with clear learning objectives to deepen critical thinking, strengthen resilience, and promote sustained engagement. Key Takeaways: (1) playful pedagogy can increase engagement and deepen learning while maintaining academic rigor; (2) small, adaptable strategies—such as low-stakes exploratory activities and collaborative challenges—can be built into existing courses to foster interaction and creativity; and (3) playful learning environments can support resilience, intellectual risk-taking, and a growth mindset, helping to address persistent challenges such as student disengagement and surface-level learning.

Navigating Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning: Case Studies in Service Learning and Community Experience Courses

Patricia Bricker, Caitlin Torrence, Joy Mischley (Apodaca 207 B)

As a regionally serving institution, WCU has an established history of connecting classroom learning with community-engagement. Through integrating course instruction and service-oriented work with community partners, both students and society benefit. Service learning has been found to better engage students and increase student self-efficacy, as well as students’ academic comprehension and skill development (Brand & Sass, 2019). This session will feature case study overviews by faculty who are experienced in community-engaged teaching, featuring both a Service-Learning Course (SLC) and Community Experience Course (CEC). After brief presentations from both faculty, open discussion will provide an opportunity to tailor the learning to what is most important to those present. As a result of this workshop, you will be able to describe essential components of community-engaged pedagogy, imagine how this pedagogy could apply to your work, identify common benefits and challenges, and identify the resources available at WCU to assist.

Reaching Higher Ground: Support for Department Heads in Navigating Challenging Personnel Dynamics – Part 3

Carmen Huffman & Trisha Ray (Apodaca 102)

Department heads and school directors juggle complex responsibilities, balancing the operational demands of their units with the realities of leading people. While many are well prepared for the former, navigating challenging personnel situations often proves more unexpected—and more difficult. This workshop, designed exclusively for department heads and school directors, invites participants to explore ways of reaching higher ground when personnel challenges arise. The session focuses on gaining perspective, identifying constructive pathways forward, and responding with intention. Topics may include managing relationships, addressing conflict among colleagues, navigating FMLA and accommodations, and approaching the need to provide difficult feedback, with an emphasis on strategies that encourage strong but compassionate leadership.

Specifications Grading in Real Life

Chris Cain & Bridget Morton (Apodaca 102)

As faculty continue to examine grading practices that promote meaningful learning, specifications grading offers a clear and structured alternative to traditional points-based systems. This session introduces specifications grading as an approach that emphasizes mastery of defined learning outcomes rather than the accumulation of points. We will begin by distinguishing specifications grading from common grading models, including traditional points-based and standards-based grading. Participants will explore how specifications grading relies on clearly defined criteria (“specs”), binary or tiered evaluation (e.g., satisfactory/unsatisfactory), and alignment between assignments and course outcomes. These distinctions help reduce ambiguity, increase transparency, and shift the focus from earning points to demonstrating competence. The session will then focus on practical implementation. Faculty will examine key design elements, including assignment specifications, grading bundles tied to final course grades, and the use of revision opportunities or token systems to support student learning and persistence. By the end of the session, participants will have a foundational understanding of how specifications grading works and how it differs from other grading approaches. Faculty will leave with practical strategies and a clear starting point for adapting specifications grading within their own courses.

Designing for All: A Practical Introduction to UDL

Emma Hamilton, Anabel Livengood, Scott Seagle (Apodaca 207 A)

This interactive session invites you to rethink course design from the ground up. We’ll kick off with a hands-on activity that makes the case for Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a way that’s immediately personal and practical. Then we’ll break down UDL’s core principles into clear, actionable strategies you can realistically apply. A faculty colleague will walk us through their own UDL journey: what they tried, what surprised them, and what they’d do differently. You’ll leave with concrete, flexible ideas to make your courses more inclusive and effective for every learner in your class. 

Formative Assessment & Real-Time Demonstration of Problem-Solving Skills via Algorithmic Questions & Respondus Recordings

Aaron Ratcliffe (Apodaca 207 B)

Advances in AI have made it increasingly difficult to effectively motivate and assess development of computation problem solving skills. Students can easily copy and paste assigned problems into AI tools, which now provide not only correct answers but also step-by-step solutions. Evaluating the authenticity of students’ written work alone can be challenging because mathematics is a universal language, and AI “fingerprints” are limited for many categories of standard problems. What if, instead, students were asked to demonstrate their problem-solving approach in real time? What if we see web-proctoring tools such as Respondus LockDown Browser not as mechanisms to police students, but as tools that enable students to record and demonstrate their real-time problem-solving skills? This workshop presents an innovative assessment design that combines algorithmically generated (formula) questions in Canvas with LockDown Browser features, including screen recordings, built-in calculator and spreadsheet tools, and webcam snapshots of handwritten work. By assigning individualized, randomized problems and observing students’ work as it unfolds, instructors gain insight into solution strategies and points of confusion. Participants will see how randomized problem sets can support multiple attempts, enabling students to learn from feedback, correct mistakes, and refine their approach. This structure promotes purposeful practice and preparation for exams while maintaining academic integrity. Attendees will learn practical tips for designing effective algorithmic (formula) questions in Canvas and how to use Respondus LockDown Browser features to efficiently collect and review student work. While these tools are particularly helpful for those teaching online, they can also support in-person instruction. The session reframes familiar tools by proposing a shift from monitoring for misconduct to creating opportunities for students to demonstrate and iteratively improve their problem-solving skills.

Mapping the Terrain of Student Learning: From Theory to Practice

Meghan Harrison & Haylee Melton (Apodaca 207 A)

Our presentation agenda will reflect the following:

• Examine our own assumptions about learning
• Explore key learning theories (and see ourselves in them)
• Identify common challenges to student learning
• Apply theory to improve one element of our teaching and commit to one intentional change

We will talk about challenges to learning such as faulty background, fixed mindsets, unhelpful study habits and lack of study knowledge, and attention limits. Finally, we will talk about how to address these challenges. Faculty often encounter persistent challenges such as students lacking prior knowledge, holding misconceptions and fixed mindsets, struggling with attention, or relying on ineffective study strategies. We are prepared to discuss learning theories such as Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Humanism, and Neuroscience and Constructivism; additionally, to provide a framework for understanding why these issues occur rather than simply observing that they do. By making these connections explicit, instructors are better positioned to design courses that:

• Scaffold learning to support knowledge development and retention
• Reduce cognitive overload through intentional organization of material
• Foster metacognitive awareness so students can monitor and adjust their learning strategies
• Address student mindsets that impact motivation and persistence

Ultimately, this session advances teaching and learning by equipping faculty with both a conceptual framework and actionable tools to create more effective, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments.

AI Community of Practice

Ian Selig (Apodaca 207 B)

This session is designed to give faculty a forum to discuss AI and consider avenues for a community of practice (CoP) around AI at WCU. Both the AI Working Group and the IT AI Governance Committee have highlighted a need for CoPs at WCU to increase sharing and collaboration around AI as it impacts classrooms, research and professional work. Join us to start the conversation and share what you would like to see at WCU.

Better Together: Using Pyramid Exams to Rethink In-Person Assessment

Anabel Livengood (Apodaca 207 A)

As in-person exams make a comeback, it’s worth asking: what if the exam itself could be a learning experience? Pyramid exams (a two-stage assessment where students first complete an exam individually, then immediately retake it collaboratively in small groups) offer a compelling alternative to the traditional high-stakes test. After moving through a mock pyramid exam together, we’ll debrief what the two stages actually felt like, and unpack how that mirrors what students experience in terms of anxiety, preparation, and engagement. From there, we’ll dig into practical considerations for implementation, from grading structures to group dynamics, and explore how the format might translate to your own courses. Whether you’re looking to reduce student anxiety of high-stakes testing or simply want students more invested in showing up prepared, pyramid exams are a low-lift, high-impact option worth adding to your assessment toolkit. 

From Classroom to Courtroom: A Pilot Study of Mock Trial Experiences for Prelicensure Nursing Students

Brittany Hudgins-Graham & Kerri Qualls (Apodaca 207 B)

Prelicensure nursing students often report feeling unprepared for the legal and ethical dimensions of professional practice, particularly related to documentation, scope of practice, and professional accountability. Traditional classroom instruction frequently emphasizes theoretical legal principles, but offers few opportunities for experiential learning that mirrors real-life legal processes and implications. A pilot study completed by the presenters examined the use of a structured mock trial experience as an innovative teaching strategy to enhance nursing students’ legal knowledge, critical thinking, and confidence related to the legal responsibilities related to their role as future licensed nurses. This interactive session introduces a mock trial simulation as an innovative, experiential teaching strategy to enhance legal preparedness in prelicensure nursing education. Presenters review the conceptual foundation for experiential learning and summarize the design and outcomes of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved pilot study examining the use of mock trials in nursing curricula. The structure, logistics, and lessons learned from implementing the mock trial experience will be shared. Participants will then engage in a facilitated mock trial allowing educators to experience the instructional strategy firsthand. The session will conclude with guided reflection, practical implementation recommendations, and discussion. At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: (1) Describe the rationale for using mock trial simulations to address gaps in legal preparedness among prelicensure nursing students, (2) Analyze how experiential, courtroom-based learning strategies influence nursing students’ legal knowledge, professional communication, and confidence (3) Identify practical strategies for integrating mock trial experiences into nursing curricula to enhance student readiness for legal and professional accountability.