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Promoting Critical Thinking Through Active Learning

Thursday, September 29 at 1:00pm CT

Research has consistently shown that active learning strategies require students to use and even develop higher-order thinking skills. Bringing active learning into the classroom can have many benefits, including the ability to help students build and reinforce critical thinking skills. Join the Macmillan Learning team and a panel of active learning experts for a conversation about using active learning strategies to help students analyze information and creatively solve problems. What You’ll Take Away: An understanding of how active learning differs from passive learning; an overview of the cognitive skills that active learning can help students develop and practice; ideas for active learning strategies that you can use in your courses that can help support the development of long-term critical thinking skills.



Speakers

Matt Evans

Matt Evans

Professor Physics and Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Matt Evans has been teaching physics for over 20 years at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, often exploring new techniques and technologies that can enhance the classroom experience for students, including online homework systems and pre and post-lecture support videos. For the past 17 years, he has been using iClicker systems in his classrooms, often beta-testing new instructor-driven features to help make them serve instructors and students in their classrooms and beyond.

AJ Metz

AJ Metz

Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Utah

A.J. is an associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. She earned a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and a Ph.D. in urban education (with a specialization in counseling psychology) from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Her research examining factors related to academic success and career development in underrepresented and underserved student populations has led to numerous journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, workshops, grant proposals, and faculty in-service training sessions. A.J. has extensive teaching, counseling, consulting, and career advising experience in high schools, community colleges, and four-year public and private institutions of higher education. Her passion for teaching motivates her to experiment with innovative teaching methods and develop new and engaging activities and instructional materials. In 2015 she received the University of Utah’s Early Career Teaching Award, and in 2017 she received the College of Education Teaching Award. She is the past president of the Utah Psychological Association and serves on multiple state-level task forces and advisory councils promoting college access, career readiness, and school-based mental health services.

John Pollard

John Pollard

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Curricular Innovation & Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona

Dr. John Pollard is the Associate Dean for Academics for the W.A. Franke Honors College and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. John is an award-winning educator who is the co-author of the nationally recognized Chemical Thinking curriculum and associated eBook. In addition, John has authored several popular YouTube and TedEd videos centered around fundamental ideas in general chemistry. He is an expert and advocate for evidence-based instructional practices and spearheaded the Collaborative Learning Space movement on campus where traditional spaces are transformed into classrooms that facilitate active learning. As the Associate Dean for the University of W.A. Franke Honors College, John leads the development of innovative learning experiences for students that include experiential learning opportunities at the Biosphere 2 facility, co-taught interdisciplinary courses, and the implementation of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) methodology classes meant to promote cultural competencies with Honors students. Learning theories and practice are also at the center of John's research as he studies how metacognition, self-reported learning, and group interactions influence learning outcomes during active learning in Collaborative Learning Space environments. He also studies how learning environments can influence the development of interdisciplinary reasoning skills in students.

Jamie Shushan

Jamie Shushan

Jamie Shushan Senior Student & Alumni Affairs Advisor and author of The Pocket Guide to College Success, Harvard University

Jamie H. Shushan has run the Crimson Summer Academy (CSA) at Harvard University for nearly two decades. She works to increase access to higher education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and helps them succeed once they arrive on campus. In her work at CSA and beyond, she teaches numerous classes focused on college success, engages students in career exploration fieldwork, and serves as an advisor and advocate for students at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Jamie earned her Master’s degree in Higher Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2006, where she served as an academic and residential advisor for first-year students and worked at the Office of Career Services, participating in counseling, student outreach, and program development. Before joining the Crimson Summer Academy, she worked with the Associate Vice President for Higher Education in the Office of the President, assisting with a number of presidential initiatives and priorities including the creation of the CSA.