37th University-Wide Teaching Conference

From Challenge to Opportunity: Adapting Teaching for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s World

The science of learning sheds light on the potential of today’s learner and provides powerful tools for educators to unlock that potential. Insights from the science of learning are increasingly critical as faculty face a growing array of challenges, including shifting student needs, motivations, and behaviors, as well as the pressures of political, economic, and technological transformations on the whole University and our work as educators. This year’s 37th Annual University Wide Teaching Conference, From Challenge to Opportunity, will focus on how to adapt our teaching for today’s students and the rapidly approaching world of tomorrow.

We will explore these themes with a keynote by Dr. Pooja K. Agarwal, cognitive scientist, educator, and author of the book Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning. Dr. Agarwal will help us explore how decades of research have uncovered powerful, intuitive, and easily-implemented strategies that dramatically raise student achievement, particularly in our current complex landscape. Then throughout the day, discover ways your colleagues at Tufts are adapting their teaching to meet these demands, share your own innovative approaches, and engage in a collaborative exchange of ideas to enhance learning and teaching in today’s dynamic world.

Keynote Address by Dr Pooja K. Agarwal, Associate Professor, Berklee College of Music

Powerful Teaching: How to Unleash the Science of Learning in your Classroom

Dr. Pooja K. Agarwal (she/her), cognitive scientist, educator, and author of Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning, shares evidence-based strategies that can be implemented in less than a minute—without additional prep or grading—to meet the evolving challenges of today’s higher education landscape. In a time of political, economic, and technological pressures, faculty still have the ability to shape learning in meaningful ways. As faculty navigate shifting student needs, rising mental health concerns, and the growing influence of AI and social media, research from the science of learning offers powerful, intuitive solutions to improve student engagement, resilience, and achievement. This keynote will help you think critically about teaching from a research-based perspective and provide actionable strategies to transform learning in your classroom—even in the face of rapid change.

* denotes program elements also offered via Zoom

• Virtual Short Talks Session 1

1. 1. Setting Students Up for Graduate School Success- Skills, Strategies, and Support, Amy Schlessman, PT, DPT, DHSc, Dept of Rehabilitation Science, TUSM
   2. The Impact of Pedagogical Partnership on Students Professional Skills and Lives, Nessren Ourdyl (A/S '25), Heather Dwyer (CELT), Carie Cardamone (CELT) 

• Virtual Roundtable: Globalizing Health Education: A Model for Public Health Curriculum, Shayesteh Jahanfar (Public Health & Community Med, TUSM)
  
• Roundtable: Navigating the Information Maze: Understanding Reading, Writing, and Research Skills in the Digital Age, Jennifer Ferguson (Tisch Library), Kristina Aikens (StAAR Center), Jean Otsuki (CELT)
• Workshop: Enhancing Engagement and Collaboration: Transforming Asynchronous Learning in Geriatric Dentistry with Perusall and Padlet, Dr. Karin Arsenault (Public Health and Community Service, Dental), Leah Mathie (Perusall)
• Workshop: Teaming up with undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) to foster active and inclusive learning environments, Ira Caspari-Gnann (Chemistry, AS&E), Kristen Wendell (Mechanical Engineering, AS&E)

• Virtual Roundtable: Empowering Student Learning: Adapting Program-Wide Canvas Design with a Focus on Inclusion, Accessibility, and Individual Creativity, Sarah Gilliland PT, DPT, PhD; Neeti Pathare PhD; Kim Dao PT, DPT; Micheal Clarke PT, DPT (TUSM Dept of Rehabilitation Sciences)
• Short Talks Session 2

1. 1. ‘Another World is Possible’: Using Music and Generous Listening to Create a More Equitable Classroom, James J. Fisher (GLADi, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life)
   2. Building research and pedagogical capacity in undergraduates, Revati Masilamani (MedEd, TUSM), Rasha Baig (TUSM), Sara Dolan (AS&E)
   3. Retrofitting STEM Courses for Increased Inclusion Erica Kemmerling (Mechanical Engineering, AS&E
      

• Workshop: Transformative Social Emotional Learning (tSEL) for Wellbeing and Inclusive Excellence, Deborah Donahue-Keegan (Education Department / Civic Studies; Faculty Fellow, Tufts Office of Institutional Excellence (IIE)), Sehba Hasan (Center for STEM Diversity; Engineering Education, PhD in progress), Claudia Ly (Educational Studies, MA in progress) 
• Roundtable: Contrasting Assessment Strategies in the Age of AI: A Discussion with Faculty Users of Rumi and Respondus, Jake Dempsey, Freedom Baird, Justin Horvath, Jamie Cannan (ETS)

Reading Group: Agarwal and Bain's Powerful Teaching

Wednesday, May 7th, 10:30 - 11:30 (in person)
Thursday, May 8th, 12:00 - 1:00pm (Zoom)

What does research tell us about how we learn, and how can we implement these findings in our classrooms? Join your colleagues for a discussion of Pooja Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain’s Powerful Teaching. Dr. Agarwal will be our keynote speaker for the University-Wide Teaching Conference on May 20. This reading group is open to faculty and graduate students.

In preparation for the reading group discussion, please read chapters 3 (Retrieval Practice Strategies) and 8 (Fostering Community and Reducing Anxiety), available in electronic version through the library.

Register Here.