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Welcome Session

Facilitated by Tolu Noah, Ed.D., Educational Developer, ATS

Join us for the opening session of the event, where we will formally welcome you and provide an overview of what to expect.

Simple But Helpful Canvas Ideas to Create Clarity for Students

Facilitated by Erin Biolchino

A well-organized Canvas course can save time for students and instructors. When students don't have to spend time searching for information in Canvas, they can instead use that time to complete course readings, assignments, and learn! 

In this session, I will share how I set up my Canvas courses to maintain clarity for students. I am not an expert in online teaching, but I want to share what works well for me and facilitate a conversation about others’ experiences, too.

Teaching Behind the Walls: What Correctional Education Can Teach Us About Inclusive Teaching

Facilitated by Dr. Dale Lendrum Ed.D.

What can teaching inside a correctional facility teach us about creating more inclusive college classrooms? 

This presentation explores correctional education as a powerful lens for understanding effective teaching practices that can benefit all students. In environments where access to technology, educational resources, communication, and personal autonomy may be limited, the importance of belonging, trust, student voice, clear expectations, meaningful feedback, and strong faculty-student relationships becomes especially visible.

Drawing on lessons from correctional education, participants will examine practical strategies for recognizing students as scholars, incorporating their lived experiences and strengths, maintaining rigorous academic expectations, and fostering meaningful engagement. Rather than treating correctional education as a specialized area relevant only to those teaching incarcerated students, this session demonstrates how lessons learned behind the walls can inform inclusive teaching across higher education. Participants will leave with practical approaches for strengthening student belonging, agency, engagement, and academic success.

When Students Are in Crisis: How to Recognize, Respond, and Refer

Facilitated by Vanessa Dixon

Faculty are often the first to notice when a student is struggling. This presentation explores how to recognize signs of distress, respond with confidence, connect students to the right resources, understand safety and reporting considerations, and safeguard your own well-being in the process.

Students may disclose concerns related to mental health, trauma, housing or food insecurity, family crises, substance use, grief and loss, or other personal challenges that can affect their academic success. Participants will learn about campus resources, referral options, and practical strategies for responding to students with care while maintaining appropriate boundaries.

The session also examines the personal impact these situations can have on faculty (including stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout), and highlights the importance of self-care and support. The goal is not to make faculty counselors, but to help them feel prepared, informed, and supported in recognizing concerns, responding appropriately, and connecting students with the resources designed to help.

From Aisles to Outcomes: Using a Virtual Reality Grocery for Nutrition Classes

Facilitated by Amanda Sauceda & Yovanna Cifuentes-Goodbody

Deciding what to eat for dinner is hard enough; reading a food label shouldn't add to the stress. In this virtual reality assignment, we bring the grocery store to nutrition students. As students navigate the aisles, they are prompted to think critically about how to identify healthier food options in three different scenarios. This assignment enables students to develop practical, real-world skills while providing an engaging way to achieve learning outcomes.

Checking for Understanding to Guide Teaching and Learning

Facilitated by Dr. Layla Bahar Al-Aloom

This interactive workshop explores how checking for understanding helps educators identify and respond to learning needs during instruction. Participants will examine practical ways to gather evidence of learning and use it to provide actionable feedback, adjust instruction, and support student progress. Through modeling and guided practice, they will explore digital and nondigital strategies adaptable across subject areas, educational settings, and diverse student learning needs.

During collaborative discussions, participants will review student responses and identify appropriate next steps, including reteaching, providing additional practice, or extending learning. They will then design an activity aligned with a learning outcome, develop digital and nondigital options, and refine their work based on peer feedback. Participants will leave with practical routines and an activity ready for classroom use to guide instructional decisions, encourage student reflection, and support meaningful next steps in teaching and learning.

From Prison Classroom to College/University Campus: A Faculty Guide to Supporting Formerly Incarcerated Students

Facilitated by Dr. Dale Lendrum Ed.D.

As opportunities to pursue higher education while incarcerated continue to expand in California, growing numbers of formerly incarcerated students are continuing their education on college and university campuses. For many, this transition brings unique challenges that may not be immediately visible to faculty, including unfamiliarity with educational technology, navigating complex institutional systems, stigma, rebuilding a sense of belonging, and adjusting from a highly structured correctional environment to one requiring greater independence and self-advocacy.

This interactive session examines these challenges from a faculty and academic affairs perspective and explores how everyday teaching practices can support—or unintentionally create barriers for—formerly incarcerated students. Participants will examine issues involving course design, Canvas and technology expectations, classroom climate, faculty communication, academic policies, and student belonging. The session emphasizes strengths-based approaches that recognize formerly incarcerated students as capable scholars while maintaining rigorous academic expectations. Participants will leave with practical strategies they can incorporate into their own classrooms to promote inclusion, engagement, belonging, and academic success.

Closing Session

Facilitated by Tolu Noah, Ed.D., Educational Developer, ATS

Join us for a brief closing session where we will reflect on our learning from the day.