Teaching Arts Luncheons
Please join us on Fridays for discussions focused on teaching and learning at Smith. Our lunchtime events will most often be held in Neilson Browsing Room at noon for lunch with presentations beginning at 12:20 p.m.
Teaching Arts Luncheon Schedule Fall 2024
Since its founding, the Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning has fostered community so that faculty can meet the pedagogical challenges and opportunities present in our classrooms.
This fall, the Sherrerd Center will continue offering presentations covering many pedagogical themes and will include more voices with panelists or multiple presenters sharing the time to encompass many disciplines and areas across campus.
Please RSVP for the Sherrerd luncheons by visiting the forms below and calendar invitations will be sent prior to the TAL with location (most often Neilson Library Browsing Room 102) and details. RSVPs will help us better plan for lunch and seating, reduce waste and better utilize valuable resources. Lunch and seating will be available for up to 50 attendees/participants.
September 13: Teaching and Learning with the Sherrerd Center Director and Teaching Mentors
Caroline Melly (ANT, Sherrerd Director), Elizabeth Pryor (HST, Sherrerd Mentor), and Kate Queeney (CHM, Sherrerd Mentor)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
To kick off the fall, Caroline Melly will welcome all back to campus for Sherrerd events and along with the Sherrerd Center's Teaching Mentors will lead a conversation about aspirations for the upcoming year, and teaching and learning as we move into the Fall.
September 20: How to build a successful collaborative writing assignment
Sara Eddy (Jacobson Center) and Megan Lyster (Wurtele Center)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Collaborative writing assignments transform the usually solitary work of writing and editing into a group endeavor, which can help prepare students for future academic and professional partnership work. Collaborative assignments allow students to learn from each other, foster discussion and debate, practice navigating the benefits and challenges of working productively with others, and gain a better sense of their own strengths and weaknesses as writers and thinkers. The design of writing assignments and processes has a profound effect on the ways in which students are able to reap these benefits. This workshop will be an opportunity to develop or revise a collaborative writing assignment and hear from others about the challenges and successes they have experienced in assigning shared writing.
September 27: Teaching Circles
October 4: Executive Function: What is it, how does it impact the classroom, and what can you do about it?! *2-hour event/workshop
Presented by Hannah Lord (Campus School) in collaboration with ej seibert (ARC)
12:20-2:15* with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Executive Function (EF) is a common phrase in our academic environment: students name it as a challenge, it’s included on student accommodation plans, and it’s in the teaching vernacular as an increasingly common challenge professors face when thinking about student response and learning. EF impacts every aspect of our students' learning and therefore, our teaching practice, and yet we don’t often talk about what it is or how to work with it within our classrooms. This two-hour workshop will: 1) introduce a comprehensive and user-friendly definition of EF, 2) teach you how to identify EF challenges in your classroom, and 3) introduce concrete, practical strategies for addressing EF challenges, both classroom-wide and individually. This workshop will be both didactic and practice oriented, please come prepared to participate. No prior experience/knowledge needed.
October 11: Teaching Circles
October 18: Sherrerd Prize Winners
Jen Beichman (MTH), Alicia Grubb (CSC), and Jina Kim (ENG)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
This year's Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prize recipients for Distinguished Teaching are Jen Beichman (MTH), Alicia Grubb (CSC), and Jina Kim (ENG). The award is given annually to Smith faculty members to recognize sustained and distinguished teaching by long-time faculty members as well as to encourage younger faculty members whose demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence influences students and colleagues. This year's winners will discuss their teaching experiences, practices, and philosophies; as well as how they infuse innovation, generosity, empathy and respect into their teaching.
October 25: Teaching in Difficult Times
Panel with Carrie Baker (SWG), Lisa Armstrong (SWG), Erin Pineda (GOV) and Caroline Melly (ANT) moderating
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
This faculty panel on teaching in difficult times hopes to help with challenging conversations in the classroom and on campus while anxiety is rising around the war in Gaza, the upcoming election, and a host of ongoing local and global concerns. Panelists will discuss their innovative and thoughtful approaches in supporting student learning, community-making, and socio-emotional health in difficult times by offering their insights and drawing on their own experiences.
November 1: Teaching Circles
November 8: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Panel
Travis Grandy (LRT), Shannon Audley (EDC), EJ Seibert (ARC)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
This panel on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) will help you reflect on design choices you make in your teaching and explore options to implement a UDL approach in the classroom. We will spend time learning about concrete and actional ways that you can provide multiple modes of delivery, engagement, and assessment, while also emphasizing the need for an iterative and collaborative approach to creating accessible learning environments. Lastly, we will share resources for faculty who want to learn more about UDL, how to work with the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC), and technology resources to support teaching and learning.
November 15: The Pleasures and Perils of Teaching a Calderwood Seminar
Panel with Marnie Anderson (HST), Julianna Tymoczko (MTH), Camille Washingto-Ottombre (ENV), and MJ Wraga (PSY) moderating
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Developed at Wellesley College over a decade ago, the Calderwood Seminar provides upper-level students the opportunity to translate knowledge acquired in their majors into lively, accessible public-facing writing assignments such as op-eds, blog posts, and interviews, within a unique format of peer editing and in-class workshopping. Panelists will discuss the positives and challenges associated with teaching Calderwoods, and how they may have changed in post-Covid years. We will also share previous students’ feedback, as well as resources available to faculty interested in teaching a Calderwood.
November 22: Teaching Circles
December 6: Pedagogical Partnership Panel
Megan Lyster (Wurtele Center) and past pedagogical partners
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Past Teaching Art Luncheons
Below is the list of some past Teaching Arts Lunches. Please contact us if you are interested in receiving more information about past programming.
Since its founding, the Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning has fostered community so that faculty can meet the pedagogical challenges and opportunities present in our classrooms.
This spring, the Sherrerd will continue with presentations which fit into the theme(s) from our Big Questions series from the fall semester (focused on learners and student preconceptions; focused on knowledge, facts, and conceptual framework; focused on assessment and metacognition; or focused on community, norms, and connections). Our spring presenters were all encouraged to include more voices during their TAL (either will panelists or multiple presenters sharing the time) to encompass many disciplines and areas across campus.
Laura Greenfield (Jacobson Center)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
How do social identities influence who speaks up more, who gets taken more seriously, and who influences the direction of a class discussion? Who gets interrupted, dismissed, and ignored? Why? How do we as educators intervene? This workshop provides practical tools for identifying and disrupting common inequitable and unjust communication patterns that emerge frequently in class discussions. Rather than simply advocating for “inclusive” practices that make space (however minimally and conditionally) for marginalized voices, this workshop will explore radical approaches to facilitating class discussions to create humanizing communities, meaningful learning outcomes, and powerful socio-political change. The practices explored here are applicable not only in discussions of explicitly “political” topics, but in discussions in any field on any topic.
RSVP please.
February 2: Digital Pedagogy Fellowship Showcase
Travis Grandy (LRT) with Darcy Buerkle, Susanne Fuchs, Simone Gugliotta, Christiane Métral, Mary Pena, Irhe Sohn
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
When we ask students to create new, media-rich forms of scholarship (such as podcasts, digital narratives, interactive maps, and websites), how does it affect the learning process and what implications does it have for our teaching? Join the 2023 Digital Pedagogy Fellowship recipients for a conversation about the possibilities and challenges that come with incorporating digital technologies. Panelists will share the digital scholarship projects they have been developing during fall semester in partnership, and discuss their experiences in small groups.
RSVP please.
February 9: Trauma-informed pedagogy: A practice of self-regulation and co-regulation in the learning environment
Kelly Vogel with Atsuko Takahashi (EALC)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
RSVP please.
February 16: Teaching Circles
February 23: Using student reflection to improve learning
Magdalena Zapędowska (Jacobson Center), Benita Jackson (PSY),Megan Lyster (Wurtele Center), and Jessica Bacal (Dir. of Reflective Practices)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Using student reflection to improve learning; This TAL will focus on the role of student reflection in teaching and the broader college experience. What are the benefits of reflection for student learning? How can we best facilitate students' reflection on what and how they are learning and how they could learn better? How can we use these reflections to better tailor our teaching to student needs? Finally, given the growing popularity of ungrading, how can we draw on student reflection in assessment?
RSVP please.
March 1: Appraising Smith's Writing & Public Discourse Journey: What the Data Tell Us
Julio Alves (Jacobson Center), Minh Ly (Institutional Research)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
For the past four years, we have been implementing three grants supporting writing and public discourse at Smith. A Mellon Foundation grant supported Visiting Assistant Professors in the Disciplines in four departments (two more were supported by Smith). A Davis Foundation grant supported writing in the disciplines using the Writing Enriched Curriculum methodology developed at the University of Minnesota. Finally, a Calderwood Foundation grant supported the introduction of Calderwood Seminars at Smith. As part of these grants, we surveyed the faculty twice about their pedagogical practices and attitudes in teaching writing, first in fall 2020 (n=177) and then again in spring 2023 (n=209). This TAL closes the loop on this assessment by reporting the results to the faculty, who invested substantial time in completing the surveys.
RSVP please.
March 8: Maximizing Collaboration: How to Intentionally Scaffold Group Projects
Erin Cohn and Megan Lyster (Wurtele Center) with Marta Almazovaite (‘24), Sirohi Kumar (‘26)
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Campus Center 208
When launching a group project, students and faculty alike often engage in “magical thinking,” hoping that the group’s chemistry will be perfect and the stars will align for smooth collaboration. However, it takes careful and intentional work within a group to facilitate strong group dynamics. Join this session with the Wurtele Center to hear from two STRIDE students about their recent research into effective collaboration in the liberal arts classroom, and then work with the Wurtele Center’s “Collaborative Leadership Project Deck,” a resource that helps scaffold teamwork and metacognition for students to become effective collaborators.
RSVP please.
March 15: Teaching Circles
March 29: What makes a good syllabus?
Members of the Sherrerd Advisory Board and members of the SGA Curriculum Committee
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Members of the Sherrerd Advisory Board and the SGA Curriculum Committee have been working together this spring to revise the Sherrerd’s Sample Syllabi Language for Inclusive Teaching document. During this TAL, this process will be discussed and participants will be asked to help reflect on the role of the syllabus in articulating and achieving pedagogical goals and consider what are the most important pieces, and what articulates inclusivity in a good syllabus. We want to hear your thoughts so that we can provide useful advice to all of our instructors, especially new and incoming faculty.
RSVP please.
April 5: Making Connections: Languages Across the Curriculum
Maureen DeNino (FRN), Ilona Sotnikova (REES) and members of faculty teaching languages
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
This TAL will focus on examples of cross-disciplinary teaching and learning developed by faculty across several departments, with the aim of both drawing attention to the crucial role of language study in Smith’s identity as a “global college,” and gathering feedback from faculty on ways to increase collaboration and cooperation across disciplines. What purpose does language education serve at Smith? What can language learning bring students in terms of academic and personal development and career opportunities? How can language teaching and learning nurture collaboration across the divisions? After a brief roundtable discussion, we hope to gather feedback and hear perspectives both from faculty teaching languages and faculty in other disciplines.
RSVP please
April 12: Self-Reflection, Not Blame: Smith faculty/staff learning from student-reported (micro)aggressions -- An opportunity to talk more
Valerie Joseph, AEMES Director
12:20-1:15 presentation in McConnell 103 with lunch beginning at noon in McConnell foyer
Follow-up to the September 29th 2023 TAL: Self-Reflection, Not Blame: Smith faculty/staff learning from student-reported (micro)aggressions.
RSVP please.
April 19: NO TAL--Canceled due to Collaborations
April 26: Teaching Circles
September 8th: Welcome back TAL/new director presentation
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Patty DiBartolo will welcome back all for the fall semester along with the Sherrerd Center’s Teaching Mentors, Liz Pryor (HST) and Kate Queeney (CHM). Come hear about the shape of Sherrerd’s offerings and share your thoughts about what most excites and intimidates you on the teaching front as we begin a new academic year.
RSVP please.
September 15th: Big Question Series: What now?
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Link to the chapter to read for this TAL
The pace of change and challenge in higher ed seems to have escalated in recent history. How can faculty build a model of teaching and learning flexible, robust, and compassionate enough to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges? This workshop will present a brief overview of what we know about how people learn and use that as a framework to help faculty members explore how to connect their discipline’s ideas and their own pedagogical principles to their course design. Please bring a syllabus along to annotate and help ground your reflections and conversation.
RSVP please.
September 22: Sara Eddy on best practices for faculty advisers of honors projects
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
How can we best support students writing theses so as to ensure they produce their very best work and enjoy rich learning experiences along the way? This TAL will crowdsource best practices from experienced thesis advisors in attendance; Jacobson Center writing support staff (who work with students on theses) will contribute; and assistant director Sara Eddy will supplement with approaches taken from across teaching research and literature, as well as from other comparable SLACs. We’ll also hear anonymous testimony from alum about strengths and weaknesses they encountered when working with their thesis advisors.
RSVP please.
September 29: Valerie Joseph and Dave Gorin on Self-Reflection, Not Blame: Smith faculty/staff learning from student-reported (micro)aggressions
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
This Teaching Arts Luncheon shares student experiences of (micro)aggressions in interacting with faculty and staff, as reported to AEMES. We highlight patterns in communication with students that have gone wrong and provide a process to explore improving our communication as teachers and administrators.
RSVP please.
October 6: Sherrerd Prize Panel
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
This year's Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prize recipients for Distinguished Teaching are Jay Garfield (PHI), Barbara Kellum (ART), and Erin Pineda (GOV). The award is given annually to Smith faculty members to recognize sustained and distinguished teaching by long-time faculty members as well as to encourage younger faculty members whose demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence influences students and colleagues. Jay, Barbara, and Erin will participate in a panel (moderated by Sherrerd Director Patty DiBartolo) to discuss their teaching experiences, practices, and philosophies.
RSVP please.
October 13: Teaching Circles
October 20: Presidential Inauguration Weekend--TAL cancelled
October 27: Big Question Series: Varied learners and so much content: How do you manage it all?
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Every classroom has many different learners and every course has so much to cover. Managing these demands simultaneously often feels impossible. How can you design learner centered classrooms that focus on the knowledge most important to you, your students, and your discipline? Come hear a panel of colleagues: Traci-Ann Wint (AFR), Gary Felder (SCCD Chair - Science Center Committee on Diversity), Roisin O’Sullivan (ECO), and Kevin Shea (CHM) share their perspectives about navigating these demands and how they strove to create learning spaces that are student and idea centered; moderated by Patty DiBartolo, Sherrerd Center Interim Director.
RSVP please.
November 3: Big Question Series: Workshop on how to design student and idea centered learning spaces
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Building on the previous Big Question panel event, this week’s lunch will provide prompts and opportunities for faculty to self-reflect and engage in small group conversation about how to foster student centered classrooms centering ideas that will stick in new contexts and well into the future. Remember to bring your syllabus along to annotate and help ground your reflections and conversation.
RSVP please.
November 10: Teaching Circles
November 17: Big Question Series: How do you know that what you do matters?
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Sometimes, it is hard to know whether students have gained a deep understanding of course content that will matter beyond the context of the class. Complicating matters further, it is often really hard to know whether what you are doing as a teacher is effective. Come hear a panel of colleagues share their perspectives on how to navigate through such challenges, including evaluating their own teaching and assessing their students’ understanding, in ways that gauge and propel learning and idea improvement.
RSVP please.
December 1: Big Question Series: Workshop on how to know that what you do matters
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
Building last week’s Big Question panel event, this week’s lunch will provide prompts and opportunities for faculty to self-reflect and engage in small group conversation about how to build assessments that deepen student learning rather than merely evaluate it as well as how to understand and evaluate your own teaching effectiveness, beyond what we get from the college’s formal process of course feedback. You are invited to bring your syllabus along to annotate and help ground your reflections and conversation.
RSVP please.
December 8: Teaching Circles
Please RSVP for our events by visiting the forms below; RSVPs will help us better plan for lunch and seating, reduce waste and better utilize valuable resources, and add a Zoom option for larger events if needed (since the capacity for the Browsing Room is only 50 if seated at tables). Lunch will be available for the first 50 attendees beginning at noon and presentations will occur from 12:20-1:15 pm. Additional details about presentations will be posted later.
Friday, February 3 - Disability & Academic Curb Cuts: From Accommodations to Accessible Design
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with EJ Seibert (Director of Accessibility)
EJ Seibert, Director of the Accessibility Resource Center, will offer cultural and theoretical grounding for our considerations of disability, a very brief overview of legal underpinnings of college disability services, summary of tensions between cultural and legal definitions, and suggestions for concrete application of ideas. We will discuss accommodations and universal design, with time for questions and dialogue.
RSVP.
Friday, February 10 - Digital Pedagogy Fellowship Showcase
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with Susan Fliss, Jean Ferguson, Travis Grandy (LRT) and faculty including Kelly Anderson, Josh Birk, Lucretia Knapp, Miranda McCarvel, Kathleen Pierce, Maria Succi-Hempstead, Luce Ward, Lynn Yamamoto, and Alexis Ziemba
Smith faculty who participated in the Fall 2022 Digital Pedagogy Fellowship will share their experiences developing digital scholarship projects and working with staff and resources in Neilson Library's new digital innovation spaces. Learn about their successes, challenges, and lessons learned on projects ranging from infographics, podcasts, to digital storytelling, and more.
RSVP.
Friday, February 17 - Teaching Circles
CANCELED*****Friday, February 24 - Conversation with Faculty on Alumnae Careers
This TAL has been canceled for this date.
Friday, March 3 - Recommendations from the High Impact Practices (HIPs) Working Group
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with Floyd Cheung (OEI) and Sarah Moore (EGR)
Research in higher education has identified evidence-based high-impact practices (HIPs), such as study abroad, research experiences, and internships, as leading to improved student persistence, achievement, and learning outcomes. We will report on recommendations towards equitable access to HIPs coming out of a recent Smith College working group, and progress in implementing these ideas.
RSVP.
Friday, March 10 - Teaching Circles
Friday, March 24 - Botanical Imaginations in the Liberal Arts: From Germination to Fruition
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with Tim Johnson and Sarah Loomis (Botanic Garden)
Join Tim Johnson and Sarah Loomis, both of the Botanic Garden, for a discussion on the ways plant collections are uniquely situated to support courses across the liberal arts. This presentation will share the garden's approach to collaborative teaching and provide examples of ways Smith faculty from various disciplines are engaging with our spaces, staff and collections. Hear directly from faculty in Anthropology, Art and Geosciences, as they share their own experiences integrating the botanic garden into their courses, ranging from one-off projects to multiple year exhibits. You will leave with new ideas for meaningful engagement and a clear understanding of just how easy it can be to make use of this special resource.
RSVP.
Friday, March 31 - Teaching Stories We Never Tell: An Honest Conversation
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with Patty DiBartolo (PSY), Elizabeth Pryor (HST), and Caroline Melly (ANT)
Have you ever experienced a truly unsettling teaching situation…and had no one to tell? Has a classroom incident ever felt truly unspeakable? This teaching arts lunch works toward creating space for conversations about teaching that are the scariest of all. It reflects on and resists the instinct to stay quiet when things go awry with our students. And it highlights the tremendous emotional and psychological labor involved in working through things alone.
RSVP.
Friday, April 7 - Creating Trauma-Resilience: Trauma-Informed Pedagogy for a Resilient Learning Environment
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with Kelly Vogel (Integrative Studies)
Kelly Vogel, Lecturer in Integrative Studies, will lead a conversation about Trauma Resilience: Trauma-Informed Pedagogy for the Resilient Classroom. Kelly will share research on the prevalence of trauma and the impacts on college students’ learning, as well as ways to create a trauma-resilient environment. Kelly brings over 5 years of experience supporting Smith students with executive function-related issues and is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Studies with a focus on Trauma-Informed Pedagogy in Higher Education.
RSVP.
Friday, April 14 - Ungrading Analysis: Course Design for (un)Grading
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon, Neilson 102
with Jennifer Beichman (MTH)
Figuring out how to use alternative grading methods and ungrading in courses can feel overwhelming. In Fall 2022, I adopted ungrading in MTH281 a proof and inquiry based class on the mathematics behind calculus. In this talk, I will discuss my planning process, structuring the course around identified learning goals and the needs of the students, and how it went with a few months of perspective on the experience.
RSVP.
Friday, April 21 - Teaching Circles
Friday, September 9, 2022 – Welcome Back/New Director and Teaching Mentor Presentation
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Caroline Melly (new Sherrerd Center Director), Patty DiBartolo and Liz Pryor (Sherrerd Center Teaching Mentors)
Caroline Melly will welcome all back for the fall semester along with the Sherrerd Center's Teaching Mentors Patty DiBartolo (PSY) and Liz Pryor (HST).
Friday, September 16, 2022 – The Mid-Semester Assessment (MSA) Program: A Tool for Improving Teaching and Learning
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Debra Carney (MSA Program Coordinator/Specialist) with Michael Barresi (BIO), Miranda McCarvel (Jacobson Center), and Anna Mwaba (GOV)
Debra Carney, MSA Program Coordinator/Specialist will provide an overview of the MSA program and discuss its value to faculty and students. She will be joined by three faculty members who will discuss their own experiences with MSAs: Michael Barresi, Biological Sciences; Miranda McCarvel, Jacobson Center; and Anna Mwaba, Government.
Friday, September 23, 2022 - Teaching Circles
Friday, September 30, 2022 - Building the Foundations for Effective Peer Review
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Peter Sapira (Jacobson Center)
Depending on how it is structured, peer review can be a wonderful teaching tool or a waste of time. In order to ensure that peer review is effective, Peter Sapira will discuss how to build and model proper feedback practices long before students review each other’s work.
Friday, October 7, 2022 – Advising International Students
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Caitlin Szymkowicz, Associate Dean of International Students
Caitlin Szymkowicz, Associate Dean for International Students & Scholars, will give an overview of the rules and restrictions placed on our F-1 International Students during their degree at Smith. We will discuss how this framework might affect advising conversations with international students, in terms of planning their courses, their major courses of study, and internship/job opportunities both during their degree and after graduation. The International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) certainly doesn't expect - or want - faculty and staff to act as visa officers, but this is an opportunity to better understand the immigration framework within which our F-1 international students must operate. We want you to be empowered to help students navigate their time in the US, and to know when a situation might have a 'red flag' or need additional advising from our office.
Friday, October 14, 2022 – Being Human in STEM (HSTEM): Using the HSTEM model to develop inclusive teaching practices
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Sarah Bunnell, STEM Specialist and Associate Director Amherst College Center for Teaching and Learning and Megan Lyster, Assistant Director, Wurtele Center for Leadership
In the fall of 2015, Amherst College students organized a four-day sit-in protest which brought to light the experiences of marginalization and exclusion of many students on campus. In response, faculty, staff, and students at Amherst worked together to develop the Being Human in STEM (HSTEM) model, a framework for thinking about how we can create inclusive classrooms, laboratories, and other student-facing spaces through intentional partnership with students. In this Teaching Arts Luncheon series, Sarah Bunnell and Megan Lyster will discuss the HSTEM model, share examples from faculty at Amherst and Smith, and encourage participants to consider how the model can support the work they are or would like to be doing towards enhancing inclusion and equity in their teaching.
Friday, October 21, 2022 - Sherrerd Award Winners Panel Discussion
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Caroline Melly (Panel Moderator) and Sherred Prize Winning Panelists Sam Ng (AFR) and Jeff Ahlman (HST)
This year's Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prize recipients for Distinguished Teaching are Sam Ng (AFR), Jeff Ahlman (HST), and Candice Price (MTH). The award is given annually to Smith faculty members to recognize sustained and distinguished teaching by long-time faculty members as well as to encourage younger faculty members whose demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence influences students and colleagues. Sam and Jeff (Candice is on sabbatical) will be in a panel moderated by Caroline Melly and will discuss their teaching experiences, practices, and philosophies amongst other topics about their teaching.
Friday, October 28, 2022 - Teaching Circles
Friday, November 4, 2022 – Apply Your Faculty Expertise to Addressing the Climate Crisis - Especially If You Haven't Identified As a "Climate Expert." A Panel Discussion with Faculty Across the College
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Benita Jackson (PSY), Melissa Parrish (ENG), Andrea Stone (ENG), and Bozena Welborne (GOV)
One barrier to incorporating climate crisis material into our courses is when faculty feel inadequately trained to do so. In this panel conversation, faculty from Divisions 1, 2, and 3, respectively, discuss ways - big and small - that they have incorporated discussions of the climate emergency into their classes, barriers they've faced, and creative ideas for doing it anyway. Though challenges on this scale bring to surface a profound sense of existential powerlessness, it's also true that as faculty we have great potential for shaping how students learn, frame, and act upon these issues.
Friday, November 11, 2022 - Teaching Circles
Friday, November 18, 2022 – Teaching with Writing in larger courses
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Magdalena Zapędowska (Jacobson Center)
It can be challenging to teach with writing in larger courses. However, there are strategies to integrate writing into a larger class without overwhelming yourself. Students can learn a lot by writing short papers, focused exercises, and self-reflections. Such writing gives you valuable information about students’ understanding of the material, and not all of it has to be graded. Informal writing done in class or outside of class enhances learning as well. This session will discuss these and other ways to make teaching with writing in larger courses more manageable and enjoyable.
Friday, December 2, 2022 – Collaborating in Advising
12:20-1:15 with lunch beginning at noon
Andrew Dausch, Ph.D., Director of Fellowships & Postgraduate Scholarships; Lisa Johnson, Associate Dean for International Study and Lewis Global Studies Center; Faith McClellan, Dean of Career Services and Lazarus Center for Career Development; and Adela Penagos, PhD, Associate Dean of the College for Advising and Mentoring and Dean of the Senior Class
As partners in the educational process that enables our students to utilize our various offices as wayfinders at Smith and explore opportunities to learn, grow and engage in inquiry, we’ll share with you collaborative approaches to better support Smithies as they venture in pathways beyond the classroom.
Friday, December 9, 2022 - Antiracist Learning Community (ALC) Teaching Circle (rescheduled from 11/11)
12:15-1:15 pm with lunch available at noon
Friday, January 28, 2022 – Democratizing the Classroom Part I
12:20-1:15 over Zoom
Sara Pruss, Patty DiBartolo, Caroline Melly (Sherrerd Center); Alex Keller (Kahn Institute); Magdalena Zapędowska (Jacobson Center); and Candice Price (MTH)
The first in a series of teaching arts lunches focused on democratizing the classroom, co-sponsored with the Kahn Institute, Sara Pruss will welcome all back for the spring semester and along with the Sherrerd Center's Teaching Mentors Patty DiBartolo and Caroline Melly, Alex Keller from the Kahn Institute, Magdalena Zapędowska from the Jacobson Center and Candice Price in the Math department will lead a conversation about democratizing the classroom and some of the tensions that exist as faculty move to this space of sharing authority in the classroom with students.
Friday, February 4, 2022 – Building the Foundations for Effective Peer Review
Canceled and rescheduled for fall 2022.
Friday, February 11, 2022 - Teaching Circles (all on Zoom on this date)
Friday, February 18, 2022 - The Covid-19 Pandemic’s Effects on Students
12:20-1:15 pm
Baishakhi Taylor (Dean of the College) with Kayla Crossley '22, Laura Campuzao, Ada '24, and Jamie Leigh Rambin, '24
Much research and reflections have gone into documenting the effects of the pandemic on current college students. Yet we can only anticipate and speculate how learning and living through a pandemic continues to impact student’s lives even in an endemic state. In this session we will hear from current students about their experience during the pandemic, examine current data on pandemic impact, and discuss ways in which we can support students inside and outside of the classroom.
Friday, February 25, 2022 – Online Nondegree Program Highlights
Canceled.
Friday, March 4, 2022 – Democratizing the Classroom Part II on Ungrading
12:20-1:15 pm
Magdalena Zapędowska (Jacobson Center) and Candice Price (MTH)The second in a series of teaching arts lunches focused on democratizing the classroom, co-sponsored with the Kahn Institute, Magdalene Zapędowska from the Jacobson Center and Candice Price in the Math department will lead a conversation about ungrading and changing the dynamics of your classroom.
Friday, March 11, 2022 - Teaching Circles
Friday, March 25, 2022 – Breaking Silos: Helping Students Learn to Collaborate Across the Curricular and Co-Curricular
12:20-1:15 pm
Erin Cohn, Wurtele Center
Faculty and staff work with student teams and seek to support their collaborative work inside and outside of the classroom. While we engage in that work separately, students experience it holistically. What can faculty and staff learn from one another, and what can we all learn from the learning sciences, to help us support students’ growth as collaborators across their curricular and co-curricular experiences? Join the Wurtele Center for Leadership for this facilitated monthly series of conversations about what it means to work collaboratively in a team at Smith College. Open to all faculty and staff, regardless of title or position.
Friday, April 1, 2022 – Advising Students in Distress
12:20-1:15 pm
Adela Penagos (Class Dean), Susanna Howe (Class Dean), Michelle Marchese (Director of Counseling Services)
Student distress presents in many different ways and has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Through teaching and advising, faculty are often early points of contact for students in distress; however, faculty need not be the only support or be equipped to answer all questions. In this session we will discuss our experiences with how student distress presents specifically on our campus and we will offer suggestions for advising students and helping students find the Smith resources to assist them. Come with your questions and concerns.
Friday, April 8, 2022 – Lessons learned from our Posse Mentors
12:20-1:15 pm
Marnie Anderson (HST), Denise McKahn (EGR), Kate Queeney (CHM)
Smith offers 10 full scholarships per year, focused on access and success for low-income students, and provides a faculty or staff mentor for each multi-cultural Posse class and a summer enrichment program for the Posse students.
Friday, April 15, 2022 – Democratizing the Classroom Part III: Linguistic Bias in Writing
12:20-1:15 pm
Miranda McCarvel, Jacobson Center
The third in a series of teaching arts lunches focused on democratizing the classroom, co-sponsored with the Kahn Institute, Miranda will discuss linguistic bias in writing, including creating a space in the classroom for students’ native dialects, how to approach the grading of work written by multilingual speakers, how to create a safe space for all dialects in the classroom, and how course and lesson design can accommodate linguistic diversity.
Friday, April 22, 2022 - Teaching Circles
Friday, September 17, 2021 – Teaching and Learning with our Sherrerd Teaching Mentors
12:20-1:15 over Zoom
Sara Pruss, Patty DiBartolo, and Caroline Melly
To kick off the fall, Sara Pruss will welcome all back to campus for Sherrerd events and along with the Sherrerd Center's Teaching Mentors will lead a conversation about aspirations for the upcoming year, and teaching and learning as we move into the Fall.
Friday, September 24, 2021 – Neurodiversity and Space Planning over Zoom
12:30-2:00 pm over Zoom *Please note extended time
Jeffrey Ashley (Thomas Jefferson University) and Scott Montemerlo (WELL AP & WELL FACULTY, Teknion)
These events (9/24, 11/5 and 12/3) are a collaboration with Dano Weisbord (Associate Vice President for Administration & Campus Planning), the Classroom Committee, and the Sherrerd Center.
Read about Neurodiversity and Space Planning on our website here.
Friday, October 1, 2021 - Teaching Circles
Friday, October 8, 2021 - Conversation about Designing Your Path: IDP 132
12:20-1:15 pm over Zoom
Jess Bacal, Fraser Stables, and Sarah Moore
“It takes a while for our experiences to sift through our consciousness,” writes Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones (p. 15). The goal of IDP 132: Designing Your Path is to allow time for Smith students to gain perspective through what Goldberg calls “composting,” turning over “the organic details of your life until some of them fall . . . to the solid ground of black soil” (p. 15). Students surface prior knowledge and link it to new knowledge, synthesize learning from different contexts, setting goals, developing theories and making use of mistakes and failures as opportunities for learning. Our group will describe what happens during the class, and invite participants to engage in a version of one of the class exercises. In addition, we will present our theoretical framework, along with three semesters of data collected about the impact of Designing Your Path on Smith students so far.
Friday, October 15, 2021 – Anti-racist Pedagogy
12:20-1:15 over Zoom
Lina Rincón (Sacramento State), Kevin Shea (CHM), Nate Derr (BIO)
“The Anti-Racist Pedagogy Academy” led by Lina Rincón, Director of Faculty Diversity & Inclusion and founder of the Anti-Racist Pedagogy Academy, with Smith College faculty presenters of the Academy, Kevin Shea (Chemistry) and Nate Derr (Biological Sciences). The Academy created a space for faculty to reflect on the historical foundations of racism in the United States, discuss how racism affects the practice as teacher scholars and engage in concrete steps to transform space where students can feel a sense of belong and can thrive. A variety of pedagogical and culturally responsive communication practices that emphasized anti-racist and equity driven topics were explored.
Friday, October 22, 2021 – Sherrerd Award Winners
12:20-1:15 pm over Zoom
Maren Buck (CHM), Gaby Immerman (BIO), Michelle Joffroy (SPN)
This year's Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prize recipients for Distinguished Teaching are Maren Buck (CHM), Gaby Immerman (BIO), and Michelle Joffroy (SPN). The award is given annually to Smith faculty members to recognize sustained and distinguished teaching by long-time faculty members as well as to encourage younger faculty members whose demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence influences students and colleagues. This year's winners will discuss their teaching experiences, practices, and philosophies; as well as how they infuse innovation, generosity, empathy and respect into their teaching.
Friday, October 29, 2021 - Teaching Circles
Friday, November 5, 2021 – Panel on Neurodiversity, Inclusive Pedagogy, and Learning Spaces
12:20-1:15 pm in person (with lunch available beginning at noon) in Neilson Browsing Room AND on Zoom
Abby Baines (Head of Public Services, Libraries), Shannon Audley (EDC), Caroline Melly (ANT)
These events (9/24, 11/5 and 12/3) are a collaboration with Dano Weisbord (Associate Vice President for Administration & Campus Planning), the Classroom Committee, and the Sherrerd Center.
Faculty and staff who have thought about neurodiversity in different spaces, both in terms of inclusive teaching and space design will share some thoughts and ideas.
Friday, November 12, 2021 – Pedagogical Partners Panel
12:20-1:15 pm in person (with lunch available beginning at noon) in Neilson Browsing Room
Maren Buck (CHM), Jack Loveless (GEO), Roisin O’Sullivan (ECO), Jon Caris (SAL)
Each will discuss their experience as a pedagogical partner. The Pedagogical Partnership Program engages students as partners to work with faculty in the classroom over an entire semester. Both faculty and staff teachers, as well as student partners are supported by the Sherrerd Center in this flexible model.
Friday, November 19, 2021 – Use of the Jacobson Center and Results of the Self-study
12:20-1:15 pm in person (with lunch available beginning at noon) in Neilson Browsing Room
Sara Eddy (Jacobson Center), Minh Ly (Institutional Research & Educational Assessment)
The year-long self-study that the Jacobson Center conducted last year with Minh Ly's help will be presented, including surveys of faculty, students, and administration. The data from this study prompted some major changes to the organization of the writing center starting this year and planned for rollout over the next three consecutive years.
Friday, December 3, 2021 – Updates and Discussion about the Young Science Center Classroom from the Design Team
12:20-1:15 pm in person (with lunch available beginning at noon) in Neilson Browsing Room
Dano Weisbord (Associate VP of Sustainability and Campus Planning), Michael Tyre, AIA, LEED AP (Principal/Design Director), Jenna McClure, AIA LEED AP (Associate Principal)
The third in a series of teaching arts lunches focused on supporting a neuro-diverse community in the classroom. This TAL will feature a presentation by architects from the firm Amenta/Emma, sharing designs for a new flat-floor classroom in the basement of the former Young Library. These designs will specifically consider the needs of neuro-diverse learners as well as a wide range of pedagogical approaches.
Friday, December 10, 2021 - Teaching Circles
Please note: Location change for some circles (now in CC 103/4 for December).