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SoTL Scholar Feature – WCU Faculty Share Work

by | Apr 6, 2026 | Blog, Pedagogy, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, Teaching and Learning

Four WCU employees standing in front of a poster.

Pictured left to right: Jessica Casimir, Chad Halllyburton, April Tallant, Barbara Arnold at the 2026 SoTL Commons Conference in Savannah, GA.

The SoTL Scholar Feature highlights the work of WCU faculty participating in the SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Academy, a program sponsored by the Coulter Faculty Commons.  

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Scholars from WCU were well-represented at the 2026 SoTL Commons Conference in Savannah, GA, February 25-27, and at WCU’s Research and Scholarship Conference March 25-26. 

Congratulations to Jessica Casimir, Chad Hallyburton, Darby Harris, Geraldine Riouff & Barbara Arnold for sharing the important work you do to contribute to student success at WCU! 

The following scholarly activities were shared at the SoTL Commons Conference: 

  • Arnold, B. (2026). Self-Care in the Social Work Classroom: An Exploratory Study of Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching and Practicing Self-Care. Poster Presentation. 
  • Casimir, J. (2026). Film-based Instruction and Student Learning: Early Findings fro and Introductory Sociology Pilot Study. Poster Presentation. 
  • Tallant, A., Hallyburton, C., Harris, D., & Seagle, J. (2026).  Re-building a SoTL Culture: A Scaffolded Academy Model to Promote SoTL Practice, Use, and Growth. Podium Presentation. 

The following scholarly activities were shared at RASC. Congratulations to Mariana Da Costa and student Isabella Erskine, too! 

  • Hallyburton, C. Opening to Possibilities: Growing Student Engagement through SoTL, Course-based Undergraduate Research, Campus Collaborations, and More. Poster Presentation.
  • Hallyburton, C. The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good: A Pilot Project Building Early Undergraduate Research Engagement. 3MR Competition. 
  • Hallyburton, C., Da Costa, M., & Erskine, I. Bridging Research and Practice: Preparing Nursing Students as Future Vaccine Decision-Making Leaders through a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience. Poster Presentation.
  • Riouff, G. & Hallyburton, C. (2026). Evaluating Curriculum to Reflect the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Workplace Practices. Poster Presentation. 
  • Tallant, A., Hallyburton, C., Harris, D., & Seagle, J. (2026). Re-building a SoTL Culture: A Scaffolded Academy Model to Promote SoTL Practice, Use, and Growth. Poster Presentation. 

Dr. Katie Searles to Speak at WCU

by | Apr 2, 2026 | Blog, Campus Community Connections, Event, Professional Development

The Haire Institute for Public Policy is pleased to sponsor a guest speaker on April 6, 2026. Dr. Katie Searles, Olin Johnson Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina, will facilitate events throughout the day, including a session called “Supporting Faculty Facing Occupational Intimidation” and “How News Coverage of Democracy Affects Audience Perceptions.” Please email Chris Cooper at ccooper@wcu.edu for more information and to RSVP. 
Flyer with women sitting. Cover of book and event title included.

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good: A Call for an Early Start in Undergraduate Research

by | Mar 25, 2026 | Blog, Problem Based Learning, Student Engagement, Teaching & Learning Tip

By CFC Faculty Fellow Chad Hallyburton, Environmental Health Sciences 

I absolutely hated high school. 

As an undergraduate student, I spent some semesters just “phoning it in.” 

But when I arrived at WCU as a graduate student, the creativity and independence of original research ignited my passion for learning, and I haven’t looked back since. I sometimes wonder what my academic career would have looked like if I’d discovered research earlier, and that makes me want to give my students an early start with scholarship. 

This is important, because early involvement in undergrad research is a high-impact practice that improves scientific skills, critical thinking, and problem solving, and makes students more employable by fostering their time management, teamwork, and communication skills. 

Undergrad research students are better prepared for their degree work, for graduate school, for their future careers, and for life. 

But too few students get involved. I see my own Undergraduate Research Student Partners grow and flourish, but often only the “best and brightest” show up at my door looking for opportunities, and often only later in their undergraduate careers. 

So, during the Fall 2025 semester I developed and evaluated a curriculum engaging first-year seminar students who conducted an applied Public Health project.

They collected and analyzed data on low flu vaccination rates among our first-year WCU students, described barriers to vaccination in this population, and worked with the Division of Student Affairs to share social media and print messaging encouraging student vaccination. They described the reach and impact of their messages and developed poster presentations with their suggestions for how WCU could more effectively support students’ vaccine decision-making.

Poster of a WCU student in a purple shirt and backpack chasing a cartoon flu virus, with the caption “Don’t let the flu call the shots.”

After completing this Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience, or CURE for short, science process confidence grew in over 80% of the class, many identified as potential future scientists, and about two-thirds said they were more interested in finding future undergrad research opportunities.

Was this project perfect? Did it include all the elements of undergraduate research that students might experience working in an advanced research lab? Absolutely not. But it was a first step towards showing the newest members of our WCU community that scholarship is within their reach. 

Many of you already support undergraduate research. If you try to engage more students earlier in their careers, will your efforts be perfect? Nope. But you can surely do something good. 

If you need some inspiration, here are a few good resources to get you going: 

We Recommend – Capture your Students’ Attention with Lessons Learned from JMU’s Faculty Lounge Podcast

by | Mar 19, 2026 | Blog, We Recommend

April 2026

Recommended by April Tallant, CFC Director 

I am a big fan of podcasts. Most of the podcasts I listen to are for leisure, providing me with an escape from everyday reality. In my experience, podcasts about academia have been hit or miss – until recently when I stumbled across James Madison University’s Center for Faculty Innovation’s (CFI) Faculty Lounge podcast. You can access the podcast on their website, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. 

In listening to episode 15, Connection is the Curriculum: A Conversation with Dr. Julie Gochenour, I found myself being inspired and contemplating ways I could apply her strategies to my own context.

Dr. Julie Gochenour is a lecturer in the School of Communication Studies (SCOM), and winner of both the Madison Vision in Teaching award and the School of Communication Studies Lecturer of the Year award. In the podcast, she spoke about using engaging lectures and provided strategies for communicating with students. 

The following are Dr. Gochenour’s three rules for post-modern communication that she applies to connect with her students and help them learn. 

  1. We learn what we discover. Dr. Gochenour says that the learning starts when students discover for themselves. She takes a “guide on the side” rather than “the sage on the stage” approach, helping students explore and discover course content for themselves.
  2. The universe is found in the specific. She captures attention by bringing relevance to the classroom, using real life examples, either that she provides or that she asks her students to come up with. 
  3. Only the personal is contagious. Dr. Gochenour contends that if we as instructors don’t buy it, then students won’t either. She recommends being your authentic self and sharing the love for your discipline in your teaching. Showing your passion about your discipline with your students is an effective way to facilitate their learning. 

Dr. Gochenour’s rules reflect evidence-based teaching practices. By structuring learning environments where students explore to construct meaning, using relevant examples, making the connection itself instructional, she creates a fertile ground for student learning. Tune in to hear Dr. Gochenour’s 27-minute conversation with Dr. Eric Magrum, Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Faculty Associate at JMU’s Center for Faculty Innovation. I hope you find the conversation just as refreshing and insightful as I did, and that it supports you as you engage with your students during the final stretch of the spring semester. 

To access the full collection of teaching-related recommendations,
visit CFC’s We Recommend.

Click.Craft.Connect

by | Mar 12, 2026 | Blog, Faculty Development Workshop, Learning Community, Online Learning, Teaching with Technology

Online Teaching Cohort Starts April 6

What if sharpening your online teaching skills also meant connecting with some of the most thoughtful instructors on campus? This April, the Coulter Faculty Commons is facilitating another cohort in its Excellence in Online Teaching Basics — a 4-week Canvas course that’s as much about community as it is about content.

Cat in a virtual meeting with other cats

Through 5 self-paced modules on Canvas, you’ll explore everything from the fundamentals of online learning to course design, student engagement, and beyond.

Each module takes just 1–2 hours to complete and the course includes 4 facilitated discussions where you can share your ideas with fellow instructors. 

Whether you’re brand new to teaching online or have a few semesters under your belt, this is your space to learn, reflect, and share what works.

Not sure if the EOT cohort is for you? Contact Scott Seagle at seaglej@wcu.edu to help you get started.

Register for the April 2026 EoT Cohort

Attend Elon University’s Free Teaching and Learning Hybrid Conference

by | Mar 3, 2026 | Blog, Pedagogy, Professional Development, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Elon University invites educators from around the world to participate in the 22nd Annual Teaching & Learning Conference, taking place August 11, 2026. This event is completely free to attend, with both in‑person and virtual registration options available. The theme is “Teaching for Tomorrow: Building Transferable Skills and Lifelong Learners,” encouraging attendees to reflect on how our teaching practices today shape students’ abilities to adapt, think critically, and thrive tomorrow.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Susannah McGowan, Director for Curriculum Transformation Initiatives at The Red House at Georgetown University where she leads institution-wide initiatives that bring educational transformation at scale in the form of student co-creation, curriculum and program design, and inclusive pedagogies.
The conference is currently accepting proposals for presentations and we would love to see a big WCU presence! If you need help with your proposal, please email April Tallant at atallant@wcu.edu.
Submit your proposal by March 22, 2026!