Faculty Development Day - Fall 2024 - Saint Leo University Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence

Faculty Development Day – Tuesday, August 20, 2024

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The Courage to Care: Radical Hospitality in Teaching

As the modern world evolves with new innovations and technology, Saint Leo University remains steadfast in upholding the foundational Benedictine value of radical hospitality. By cultivating positive connections to everyone around us, students, faculty, and staff, our commitment to radical hospitality has become part of our identity. In our pursuit of retaining students and ensuring their success at Saint Leo, the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence is pleased to announce this Fall semester’s focus, The Courage to Care: Radical Hospitality in Teaching.

The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence is pleased to announce this Fall semester’s theme for Faculty Development Day: The Courage to Care: Radical Hospitality in Teaching. Rooted in the ideas of Benedictine tradition and Appreciative Education, we’ll explore what radical hospitality means on our campus, in our classrooms and online. We invite you to submit a proposal and share your insights and strategies that enhance teaching practices and empower all students to succeed.

Our virtual event will kick off with a guest speaker who will inspire us to examine the Appreciative Education approach to teaching and learning. Subsequent concurrent sessions will focus on the principles and practices of Appreciative Education which include

Fostering a positive and empowering learning environment.
Promoting student-centered learning.
Encouraging growth mindset.
Teaching strategies that help students connect and engage such as active learning, collaborative learning, problem-based learning, and authentic assessments.
Envisioning positive possibilities and empowering students to take ownership over their own learning.

This faculty development day, let’s share our best practices and explore how we can help students have the “Courage to Be More.”

Faculty Development Day Schedule

Opening Remarks

8:30 AM – 8:55 AM

Session 1 - Keynote Speaker

Jennifer Bloom, Ed. D.

Appreciative Education

9:00 AM – 9:50 AM

Session 2

10:00 AM – 10:50 AM

Event Track	Presentation Title	Presentation Description	Presenters
Techniques to Increase Student Agency and Increase Retention	Print Primary Sources in Archives and Special Collections: "Doors Open Days": Going Toward Radical Hospitality with our Closed Doors Resources	We want to share more regularly some of the Archives and Special Collections resources with the student body. Although we are not suggesting personal guided tours of the Archives and Special Collections facilities at this time, we are suggesting connecting students with a broader array of cataloged Archives and Special Collections materials than we have offered hands-on access to in the past.	Carol Ann Moon
Online Teaching	Embracing Radical Hospitality in the Online Classroom	This workshop addresses evolving student needs by integrating radical hospitality into teaching, especially for adult learners in online settings. Participants will learn to balance support and accountability, and explore practical strategies to create welcoming, inclusive, and effective online classrooms.	Khalilah Louis Caines, Courtney Wiest
Assessing Student Learning	Inclusive Excellence: Understanding and Implementing Advanced Accessibility Accommodations	Equip faculty to seamlessly integrate advanced accessibility accommodations for inclusive learning, fostering recognition and personalization.	Jasmine Cosme, Hannah Braverman
Classroom Community and Sense of Belonging	Modeling Inclusivity and Building Community: Classroom Experiences with the Unify Challenge College Bowl	The Unify Challenge College Bowl teaches students to engage in constructive and enriching dialogues with peers. Students are paired with another undergraduate from across the nation with divergent ideological positions to model inclusive community and respect. Two professors who have implemented the College Bowl in classes will discuss their experiences.	Austin Trantham, Christina Cazanave
Classroom Community and Sense of Belonging	Embracing the Pride: Cultivating Classroom Community while Fostering the Courage to Be More	Discover strategies to foster inclusivity and support in the classroom. Learn the importance of cultivating student belonging and how to nurture their growth with care. Drawing inspiration from the lion's courage, explore methods to instill resilience and unity. Together, empower students to thrive in their academic journey.	Paige Porter
Artificial Intelligence	Navigating the AI Divide: Bridging Faculty-Student Perspectives	This session will provide the admitted levels of AI use by students regardless of the syllabus statement prohibiting AI and the reasons students believe faculty won’t allow them to use AI. Strategies for introducing AI into classroom activities in manageable ways for both faculty members and students will be provided.	Cheryl Berry

Session 3

11:00 AM – 11:50 AM

Event Track	Presentation Title	Presentation Description	Presenters
Techniques to Increase Student Agency and Increase Retention	Suicide Prevention S.A.V.E (Signs, Ask, Validate, Encourage/Expedite) Training	S.A.V.E. Training is a training course that will help faculty and staff act with care and compassion if you come across a Veteran or student who is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide. The acronym S.A.V.E. helps individuals remember the important steps involved in suicide prevention: signs, ask, validate, encourage/expedite.	Anthony DeSantis,Lindsay Roberts, Lawson Jolly
Techniques to Increase Student Agency and Increase Retention	The Equity Focused Classroom: All Plants Do Not Need the Same Amount of Water	All plants do not need the same amount of water to grow or sunshine to bloom. Thinking about our students in the same way, they need us to create an environment for them to be successful. How can we provide equitable opportunities for our students who need more support?	Renee Sedlack
Online Teaching	Radical Hospitality: Discovering Individuality through Course Discussions	I discovered the individuality of students while reading through the Discussions for my online class teaching assignment. My discovery was sparked by a particular response to a prompt by a student late into the term expressing emotions of “feeling lonely” due to her status as an international student. She was experiencing difficulties adjusting to American culture and lifestyle. How can I, as an online instructor, radically address the personal struggles of my online student? Rather than ignore her need, I offered myself as a “listening ear” to her struggles. For the Fall Faculty Development Day, I would like to explore the approach of radical hospitality through discovery of individuality in online Course Discussions.	Marlene Reid
Classroom Community and Sense of Belonging	Radical Hospitality in and outside of the classroom	Four members of the Catholic Identity Advisory Committee -- Ed DeBerri, Tonya Mazur, Jacci White, and Lucius Amarillas, OSB -- will offer brief reflections on Radical Hospitality. Then, participants will share in breakout groups their own experiences of Radical Hospitality and hopes for implementing it. Finally, we will gather again as the entire group to synthesize our strategies and ideas.	Edward DeBerri, Jacci White, Tonya Mazur, Lucius Amarillas
Classroom Community and Sense of Belonging	Social and Emotional Needs of Doctoral Students	PhD students need to prioritize their social and emotional well-being and manage stress, time, and motivation. Building strong relationships with supportive individuals is crucial for maintaining a work-life balance, physical and mental health, and knowing when to seek support.	Christine E. Woods
Classroom Community and Sense of Belonging	Radical Listening: Teaching and Advising with Intention	The concept of Radical Listening, also known as deep listening or rhetorical listening, can be used as a pedagogical strategy to build a sense of community and belonging among students. This session will explain the concept and offer suggestions for use in the classroom.	Allyson Marino
Teaching Best Practices	Employing Problem-Based Learning in a Research Methods Course	Problem-based learning is a pedagogical and instructional strategy, using a real-world interdisciplinary problem to empower active learning in students. Students were placed in groups and given a current problem to apply to all the stages of the research process. Findings suggest positive outcomes in learning and reductions in anxiety.	Victoria Anyikwa, Lisa Rapp - McCall
Teaching Best Practices	St Benedict's insight for teachers: "Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else" (RB 4)	This paper and related session will explore the phenomenon of teacher frustration with student achievement and argue that for a Benedictine University this must take the form of a failure in love.	Thomas L. Humphries, Jr

Resources for Appreciative Education

Appreciative Education has its roots in Appreciative Advising which embodies a student-centered approach to education through encouraging positive interactions and experiences — in other words, extending radical hospitality. At the core of Appreciative Advising lies its framework of six tenets: Disarm, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, and Don’t Settle. Through these tenets, faculty, and staff engage with students to cultivate an environment that is not only inclusive but also tailored to their individual college experiences. From your very first interaction with a student (Disarm) to uncovering their strengths (Discover), demonstrating interest in their dreams and futures (Dream), advising them on their program evaluations and employing innovative teaching methods (Design), providing support as they navigate assignments and challenges (Deliver), to ensuring they never settle for less than their own expectations of success (Don’t Settle).

We warmly invite you to explore the various tracks and topics for Faculty Development Day that align with the principles of radical hospitality and appreciative education. The day will offer valuable professional development opportunities for both faculty. By sharing your expertise, you will contribute to the professional growth of your fellow faculty members, fostering a collaborative and supportive academic community. We encourage you to share your insights, experiences, and strategies, as they will not only enhance teaching practices but also empower our students for success at Saint Leo.