Workshop Alpha Listing - 2015
Professional Development Session Descriptions
*Denotes a REQUIRED workshop for Early Career Residential Faculty or LUO Faculty
7 Steps to Raise Your EQ – Sylvia Hart Frejd - Research shows that Emotional Intelligence skills are
key for academic and lifelong success. The learnable skills of emotional intelligence are central to
personal and professional success. Come and learn practical ways to apply the science of EQ.
A Tale of Two Students – How Faculty Collaboration Impacts Student Research and Success Barbara Potts and Rorie Fredrich - In this workshop, we will contrast the experiences of two
hypothetical students undertaking their first collegiate research assignment. The described student
experiences and results are based on research which shows the importance of students having a positive
early research experience.
A Taxing Taxonomy: Blooming Better Thinking in Your Class – Grant Rost - Learn how to teach
students critical thinking skills and then ask better questions to encourage more critical thinking as part
of assessing higher order thinking generally. This workshop will discuss the revised Bloom's
Taxonomy with practical tips to developing better, more thought-provoking questions for class
discussion, paper assignments, and assessments.
Academic Opportunities at Camp Hydaway – Michael Ellsworth – This session will discuss the
many opportunities at Camp Hydaway to utilize the natural world as a tool for education. Through
Outdoor Re-creation & Experiential Education we seek to educate effectually, encourage
intentionality, execute goals, and equip metaphorically. Camp Hydaway’s leadership will present their
available opportunities to promote a healthy and holistic learning environment.
Adobe Creative Campus Initiative – Connie Allison - Liberty has recently purchased Adobe's
Creative Cloud and other software packages for use by all residential students as well as select online
programs. Learn what has been provided, how it can be used in various disciplines, and where
resources can be found to support these efforts.
An Ounce of Prevention: Stop Cheating Before It Starts – Donna Donald and Tess Stockslager Discover ways to create a learning environment that encourages ethical academic behavior by
minimizing opportunities to cheat. This workshop will provide practical strategies to make your
assignments and your classroom as cheat-proof as possible. Topics will include plagiarism, the testing
environment, attendance records, and online assignments.
Becoming a Fulbright Specialist Scholar: What It Means and How to Apply for Summer Grants
– Edna Udobong – Ready for teaching, research and cultural opportunities abroad as a Fulbright
Scholar? The Fulbright Specialist Program (FSP) promotes links between US scholars and
professionals (in select disciplines) and their counterparts overseas with a focus on building long-term
educational relationships. Grant recipients will engage in collaborative 2 to 6 week projects at host
institutions worldwide. Learn the details from a Fulbright representative from the U.S. State
Department.
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*Blackboard Export/Import/Course Restore* (Required for Year 3 Early Career Faculty) – Susan
Crabtree - Why recreate your entire course content each semester or term? Come learn how you can
course copy your entire course content, if you are a residential professor, or announcements and faculty
information, if you are an online professor. You can also select sections of content and import them
into the next section. How about when you need to get into a course that has been archived? We will
show you how easy it is to restore an archived course for yourself without having to submit a help
ticket.
*Blackboard Grade Center Advanced* (Required for Year 2 Early Career Faculty) – Susan Crabtree
- This course will discuss downloading and uploading the Grade Center, bulk downloading
assignments, various settings and tools within the Grade Center.
Blackboard Interactive Rubrics – Cory Anderson - This workshop will cover the basics involving
the creation of Blackboard interactive rubrics. You will leave the workshop with a general knowledge
of building interactive rubrics and their uses within the Blackboard environment.
Blackboard Tests and Quizzes – Susan Crabtree - This workshop will walk faculty through creating
and using Blackboard Tests and Quizzes. During this session faculty will learn how to create pools,
create questions, create exams, deploy exams with the correct settings, and grade them, if needed.
Collaborate for Student Success – Shelley Oakley and Annyce Maddox – Come and hear Shelley
Oakley, Curriculum Librarian/SOE liaison librarian, and Annyce Maddox, School of Education
instructor, discuss their collaboration for one of Maddox's courses and the contribution for student
success by partnering with the library. Gain additional information about your department's liaison
librarian and other library collaboration opportunities for teaching faculty.
Confident Connections: Three Keys to Better Advise JRs/SRs - David Hart and Jim Blunk - The
number one comment heard from Faculty Mentors (and the JRs/SRs who sometimes show up in
CASAS after leaving a Faculty Mentor’s office) is that they lack the confidence to accurately answer
a variety of advising-related questions. Whether you love advising upperclassmen in your department
or fear it, these three tips will lower the number of students you send away dissatisfied, and increase
the amount of time you can spend mentoring your students.
Creative Ways to Use the Clicker to Enhance the Classroom Experience – Rob Van Engen - Some
professors are intimated by technology in the classroom. Clickers (NXT ResponseCard) in large classes
are vital and save time. But clickers do more than take attendance or record quiz data. The clickers
offer enhanced student participation or attention by using simple functions. Learn how to use the device
for receiving messages from students or getting students attention at the beginning of class.
Diversity on a Diverse Campus – Matthew Towles - The types of diversity we have at Liberty
University are described, and how we as faculty can reflect our Christian commitments when we
interact with students who aren't like us. The approach suggested at this session is one of "benevolent
curiosity" where we can interact with students in a manner that benefits them as we try to build a
relationship.
Finish Strong: How to Stay Motivated to Achieve Your Health and Wellness Goals – Jamie
Swyers - What’s stopping you from achieving your health and wellness goals? Participate in an
interactive workshop that will take you through a step by step process to put you on a personalized
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path to success. Learn how to break through common mental barriers and overcome the obstacles you
encounter on your journey to realize your goals.
Food for Thought - Catharine Anna Henderson - This workshop will explore reasons professors
should fuel their bodies properly and discuss principles for incorporating healthy eating and activity to
today's busy schedules.
Fulbright Program: A World of Opportunities for Research and Teaching in 150+ Countries –
Edna Udobong and Representatives from Fulbright Programs, Wash., D.C. – There are many avenues
to becoming a cultural ambassador to another country as a Fulbrighter. Nine different Fulbright
programs will be highlighted (U.S. Scholar/Global Flex, Distinguished Chairs, Postdoc Scholars in
STEM fields, public health, International Education Administrators, Applied Research and the Arctic
Initiative) at this workshop by a representative from the Fulbright program, U.S. Department of State.
Helpful IT Services/Tools - Jessica Johnson - This will provide a high-level view of the various free
IT tools available to faculty and students. Topics will include: AskLUKE, Atomic Learning, PDP
Training/Certifications Tests, HelpDesk, IT Marketplace, Mobile Apps and more.
How to be Overloaded and Overwhelmed – Sean Beavers - This workshop will start with a
discussion of factors that may cause faculty members to feel overloaded and overwhelmed. From there,
the methodology from Getting Things Done by David Allen will be introduced. Particular focus will
be given to a plan for collecting, processing, organizing, reviewing, and completing tasks. The
presenter will discuss how Evernote can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Outlook for managing
workflow and will give examples of his personal task management strategies.
How to Get Ideas/Suggestions Passed Through Liberty IT – Dave Guthrie - Find out the secrets to
get your innovative technology ideas (software OR hardware) approved by Liberty’s IT. In this
workshop, we will cover the questions that Liberty’s IT department asks when deciding whether or not
to approve a new technology and how you can approach your request to get it approved!
Identifying Students Reasoning of a Technical Concept through Descriptive Writing – Robert
Melendy - This workshop provides a simple but informative technique for instructors of any course to
gauge a student’s conceptual understanding of moderately simple but technical concepts through
writing.
Internationalization & Higher Education: Opportunities and Concerns - Christina Wade - This
workshop is designed to open dialogue among faculty regarding the existing and potential
internationalization of Liberty's campus.
Is the Story of Jesus Just a Myth? - Mark W. Foreman - In recent years a theory has been introduced
to suggest that the Gospel accounts of Jesus are not history but a fictitious myth based on previous
pagan myths. As a result many Christians are doubting their faith and being led astray. This workshop
will examine the evidence for this theory and demonstrate that it has serious problems and that
Christians can be confident in the substantial historicity of the Gospel accounts.
Is There Grace in Grading? Balancing Compassion and Accountability in Student Grading Christopher M. Seitz, Kathryn R. Reinsma & C. Anna Henderson - Students often ask for Christian
grace to be extended when assignments are turned in late, not turned in all, or turned in with poor
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quality, but without a university-approved excuse. In this session we will discuss how we as professors
can show Christian compassion and accountability when grading student’s assignments.
J. R. R. Tolkien and the Art of Implicit Truth - Thomas A. Provenzola - This workshop focuses on
the learning outcome of teaching students to grasp certain truths implicitly rather than explicitly. Much
of the great truths of virtue, goodness and beauty are learned more deeply and robustly through the
implicit work of beauty and the imagination. Consequently, the 'integration' of a biblical worldview
need not always teach to the explicit elements, but is open to students making implicit discoveries
through story and imagination.
Lab-Related Safety Hazard Recognition: Yearly Refresher – John Peterson and Nancy Richardson
- Recognize a wide variety of potential lab related hazards; learn actions to prevent and re-mediate
hazards; participate in developing a safety culture for the academic lab community hazard recognition
practical. This is a hands on workshop in which participants will participate in a hazard recognition
exercise followed by a debriefing, small group discussion, and instructor wrap-up. This practical
serves as the required yearly refresher safety training for those who work in areas with hazardous
material.
Lecture Capture: Tips and Tricks – Cory Anderson - This workshop will cover the basics of
effectively using a lecture capture device in the classroom and some simple tips and tricks involved in
the process. Participants in this workshop will leave with a basic understanding of lecture capture,
current technologies, and basic do's and don'ts involved with the process.
LU Research Team Challenges Experimental E.coli Evolution – Andrew Fabich – Supporting the
research focus of the QEP, the goal of this workshop is to highlight current research being done by
undergraduate and graduate students in the Biology and Chemistry department. The core of the
research challenges Darwinian evolution using sophisticated experiments that are readily understood
by anyone interested in the topics of research and biblical worldview.
LUO: A.W.E. Academic Writing Enhancement - Jamaica Conner, Mark Tinsley, Shelah Simpson,
& Wayne Patton - Roll out the red carpet for AWEsome writing through Academic Writing
Enhancement (AWE), a CGS program designed to help students improve their written work. Discover
effective strategies to help your own students by joining us for a private screening of the short film
entitled, “The Wonderful Professor of AWE,” followed by a panel discussion with the star-studded
cast of the AWE program.
LUO: Collaborative Communication Technologies - Bailey Anderson - Learn about the best use
cases for WebEx, Lync, Skype, Office 365 Groups, Blackboard Video Everywhere, and BB Grader
App.
LUO: Reading Strategies and Resources to Assist Online Learners - Heather Schoffstall and
Denise Green - Students spend hundreds of dollars on their college textbooks every semester, but do
they read them? Help students get the most out of their college investment by learning proven
strategies that will help them read their college textbooks effectively and for understanding.
Marketing U: Putting Your Best Foot Forward - Heather Bradley - Participants will learn tips on
submitting effective project requests and marketing approvals, as well as how to write copy that
resonates with readers.
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Math, Science, and God – John Vadnal - Should Christians be interested in math and science? Should
people interested in math and science be interested in God? The answer to both questions is a resounding
yes. This workshop discusses how math and science are woven together throughout the Bible, and how
math can be used to “prove” why a person should become a Christian. Examples discussed will include
El Niño, mud pies, and decision analysis.
Mentoring & Mobilizing - Dr. Kimberly Mitchell - Few things are more rewarding than being an
integral part of a student’s growth – academically, culturally, and spiritually! Taught from years of
personal experience, this workshop will describe some proven methods of mentoring and mobilizing and tell you what didn’t work, too! Through trial and error, we have learned effective mentoring
procedures and mobilized students to be more involved in expanding the Kingdom, whether as fulltime or part-time missionaries or supporters. Come learn how you can apply these methods to your
discipline!
Metacognition and Student Persistence: Strengthening the Link – Gary Sibcy and Anita Knight The purpose of this presentation is to equip participants with strategies for using the skill of
metacognition to increase student discretionary effort, vision and purpose in the classroom, and to help
students identify the confluence of their personal story and how their degree program intersects with
this personal story. A toolkit of strategies for enhancing autobiographical competence will be provided
and participants will have the opportunity to be a part of an experiential activity they can take into the
classroom.
Mindfulness and Metacognition – Timothy Barclay - This session presents a basic introduction to the
psychological aspects of metacognition and its value in a higher education setting.
Presenting to and Engaging Students in the Classroom – Kathie Morgan - Many lecturers have
never had teaching pedagogy and struggle with presenting information in a way that engages the
students in the classroom. This session will cover how to prepare a good presentation and what a
lecture/presentation should include to draw students in and hold their attention in the classroom.
Principles and Application of Gamification – Tim Oberlin - Gamification can be a polarizing topic
for educators; some love the idea while others reject it as a fad. This session will discuss the core
principles of gamification, the psychology of what makes them useful for teaching and learning, and
how to apply the ideas to your course content. With the knowledge and skills you gain from this session
you will be able to create engaging, meaningful content for your students utilizing the power of games
and gamification.
Qualtrics Reporting Features – A Hands-On Tutorial – Elicia Hrabal-Charlesworth and Daniel
Price – Come view a tutorial on how to utilize Qualtrics reporting features for survey results.
Participants will assess example survey results. The tutorial will provide step-by-step instruction on
the use of reporting features including tables, graphs, filters, drill-downs, embedded data, and
exporting. Upon completion of the workshop, you will be able to utilize Qualtrics reporting features to
create tables and graphs with an understanding of filter and drill-down features. A Qualtrics user
account is not required, however participants with accounts will benefit most from this hands-on
workshop.
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Racial Sensitivity & Student Language: A Conversation – Tess Stockslager, Shelah Simpson, Alisha
Castaneda, and Kristen Libka - This will be a participatory discussion of the racial climate on campus,
particularly in the classroom, and especially as it relates to instructors' responses to students' use of
their home languages and dialects in classroom discussions and written assignments.
Running for Your Life – John Vadnal - Walk by a school’s playground, and you see children playing
and running. At what age should one stop running? This workshop highlights why one should run,
the basics of running, the basics of nutrition, and the Body Mass Index (BMI).
Science and the Bible – David Beck - This session will present some thoughts on how a Christian
university faculty should handle conflict between the results of human reason and the divine revelation
in scripture.
Service Learning: How to Integrate Community Service in your Course - Lew Weider and Troy
Matthews - This workshop will explain the basics of service learning and provide practical ways to
integrate it into academic courses.
Show, Don’t Tell: Why Visual Images Work! – Jim Zabloski, Fred Milacci, and Ben Forrest - This
workshop will explain not only why we must include visual images in our teaching, but will give a
dozen practical examples of how this is being used in our classrooms, and their effect on student
learning.
Strategies for Assisting Students with Reading Technical Texts – James Long - This workshop
will overview strategies and techniques designed to increase student fluency and reading
comprehension of technical material. Participants will leave with a plan of action for assisting students
with reading technical texts that they can immediately implement and teach to their own students.
Student Learning on Faculty-Led Study Tours – Bruce Bell – Come hear about learning strategies
for students on faculty-led study tours, past successes in stimulating student learning in preparation for
overseas travel, and formulating plans to stimulate student interest in traveling abroad.
Teaching and Mentoring Female Students – Emily Heady, Sundi Donavan, Ramona Myers, Shannon
Farris, and Monica Hardin - This session will be a panel discussion on teaching/mentoring female
students, focusing on how this can be different than interactions with male students. What are the
special needs that female students bring to classes/academic work? What should we be mindful of
when we teach/mentor young (or older) women? What are the fastest ways to turn off a female student
or lose her attention? What advice would you give male faculty in particular about dealing with female
students? The panelists will provide answers based on their own experiences, and will also open the
discussion to session participants for questions and comments.
The Origin of Life - The Urey-Miller Experiment Revisited – Michael Korn and Alan Fulp - The
workshop will describe the primordial soup experiment, published in the journal Science by Stanley
Miller in 1953. Since then, this experiment is found in almost all science textbooks as an explanation
for the possible chemical evolution of life. The results and limitations of this and other related
experiments will be described. Through an ILLUMINATE grant, a more recent, modified, apparatus
for this experiment was reconstructed at Liberty. This apparatus will be introduced along with
planned/suggested experiments. In addition, we will discuss how students' knowledge and perception
of the origin of life may be affected through hands-on experiments for this topic.
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The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP): The Research and Scholarship Initiative – Amanda
Rockinson-Szapkiw – Come learn about the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), its focus, student
learning objectives, and actions. Hear how you can become involved with the planning of the QEP and
the QEP initiative during its five year implementation. Feedback on the QEP proposal document will
be invited.
The Silent Killer: Recognizing & Reporting Title IX Claims – Brittney Wardlaw and Mark Hyde Did you know that you are required by federal law to report Title IX violations? Did you know that
you are subject to investigation by the federal government Office of Civil Rights for not reporting Title
IX violations? This workshop seeks to familiarize faculty with Title IX as it relates to sexual
violence/assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. There are much
greater implications of Title IX then most university employees realize. We would like to give you
access to the resources that both enable you to fulfill your reporting responsibilities and help students
in crisis. One wrong choice can have significant consequences to a student, the classroom, and the
University.
Traits of Great Teachers – Brian Satterlee - In this workshop we will examine four traits of great
teachers, relate these specific traits to Christian higher education, and discover how we can engender
the development of these traits in ourselves as well in others.
Using Basic Statistics to Assess Student Learning – Steven McDonald - This workshop is designed
to refresh our understanding of the use of basic statistics to assess student learning.
Using Creative Focusing Skills to Promote Stillness, Sanity, and Scholarship for Teaching and
Learning – Lisa Sosin - In this workshop learn and practice how to use the skill of focusing in a
creative manner to increase awareness of the presence of God, increase self-awareness, and calm and
organize the mind (i.e., thoughts and feelings; scholarly endeavors). Once learned, these skills can be
utilized in the classroom to facilitate these outcomes for learners.
Using Metacognitive Techniques to Improve Student Learning – Hector Medina - This session
shares metacognitive techniques in the classroom that can be utilized across all disciplines.
Using Student Journals to Encourage Student Scholarship – Elisa Rollins, Brenda Ayres, and Mark
Harris - Dr. Brenda Ayres, Professor of English and Assistant Honors Director, will present on The
Kabod: The Journal of Liberty University's Honors Program as a venue for the Honors Program
students to publish outstanding papers. Dr. Harris, Associate Professor of English, will demonstrate
his use of Aidenn: The Liberty Undergraduate Journal of American Literature as an in-class instruction
tool. In addition to understanding how the journals can be used for scholarship and pedagogical
purposes, attendees will also gain a basic understanding of the process for establishing a student journal
in the Digital Commons.
Using the World as Your Classroom – David Towles - Training Champions for Christ begins in the
classroom but—by definition—must extend well beyond it. In the way it develops Christian leaders
while expanding skills in a particular field, overseas missions training can help students develop
emotionally and spiritually—as well as academically.
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Video Projects in the Classroom – Cory Anderson - This workshop will cover the basics of using
videos as projects in the classroom. Participants in this workshop will leave with a basic understanding
of what is involved in allowing students to create a video as a project.
WebEx – Dave Guthrie - You may have heard of other professors using WebEx Meeting Center as an
online gathering place. Join us to see how you can use WebEx for Office Hours, group collaboration,
training sessions and more. When you leave the class, you’ll already be equipped and prepared to run
your own meetings.
What do Faculty and Students think about Christian Worldview Integration? A UniversityWide Survey - Fernando Garzon, David Barton, Daniel Price, Charlie Goss, & Elicia HrabalCharlesworth - This study compared the results of 1792 residential students and 232 LU residential
faculty on an identical Christian worldview integration survey. Two critical factors in effective
integration emerged based on student ratings of importance and satisfaction. All of Liberty’s
residential schools, departments, and most degree programs were represented. Find out what areas of
integration students are most satisfied in and which areas might be worthwhile for your
school/department to develop further. The workshop will be tailored to show the results of faculty and
students for the particular schools and departments represented by workshop attendees.
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