WTI Schedule and Abstracts

Morning Sessions

Session I: 9:15am to 10:15am

1. In-Person: Leveraging AI for Scaffolding Reminders
   Presenters: Kathleen D'Alfonso (Anthro-Hist-Poli Sci-Soc) and Melis Kural (Teaching and Creativity Center)

   This session will explore the importance of reminders in supporting student success and engagement, with particular attention to how AI can help close equity gaps for historically underserved students by automating timely reminders. Participants will explore the effects of active reminders (personalized emails) and passive reminders (course-wide notifications) in supporting a sense of belonging. Presenters will share key research on reminders and student equity as well as (1) demonstrate AI tools that can help faculty create personalized reminders and (2) share insights on designing effective scaffolding strategies for assessment reminders.

2. In-Person: Drawing Connections: The Interdisciplinary Art of Nature Journaling for Inspiration, Reflection, and Innovation
   Presenter: Erin Strobl (Biology)

   Nature journaling is a way to slow down to make mindful observations, ask questions, and develop connections with the natural world. It is also a great way to develop effective note-taking skills. On the surface, nature journaling may seem like a hobby for just naturalists and creative individuals, but diving deeper, it is an interdisciplinary and accessible note-taking practice for anyone to participate. Nature journaling is a useful tool for developing observational skills, creating hypotheses in science, a source of inspiration for artists and writers, a way to notice mathematical patterns, and a source of innovation in several fields of study. Some of our greatest innovations, like airplane design, originated from observations of the flight of birds. Nature journaling may also serve as a holistic approach to practicing mindfulness to destress. This session will provide an overview of nature journaling and its practical applications. Attendees will be provided a journal and get a chance to practice several quick journaling prompts to use in their classrooms.

3. In-Person: New Tech Panics: What Pencils, Calculators, and Wikipedia Teach Us About AI
   Presenter: Staci Tucker (Information Literacy and AI Librarian)

   From pencils to Wikipedia, every new classroom technology sparks a panic. This session applies lessons from past tech panics to AI, focusing on communication. We'll explore strategies for talking with students about using AI as a tool, reassuring parents about academic integrity, and engaging instructors on how to turn anxiety into thoughtful integration.

4. Hybrid: The Power of Belonging: Research and Practices for Inclusive Classrooms
   Presenter: Toya Manon (Education)

   In this session, we will explore teaching practices that foster a sense of belonging and strengthen community in our classrooms. Together, we will highlight research on belonging in higher education and consider how it applies across disciplines. Faculty participants will share the strategies they use, both in physical and virtual learning spaces, to create inclusive environments where students feel connected, valued, and engaged.

Session II: 10:30am to 11:30am

5. In-Person: AI Card Deck Game: Let's Play and Explore Human-Centered Approaches to AI
   Presenters: Katie Ghidiu (Library) and Melis Kural (Teaching and Creativity Center)

   In this interactive session, participants will engage in reflective conversations about the role of AI in both their teaching practices and their everyday lives as educators. Each card in the deck presents a theme or topic designed to spark dialogue around human-centered approaches to AI, encouraging us to consider how emerging technologies may shape—and be shaped by—our values. Participants will shuffle the deck, select a card, and challenge one another to reflect: How else could I bring this value into my course? How might I center this value more deeply in my design and practice? Through these conversations, we’ll explore meaningful ways to integrate AI while honoring the human elements of education.

6. In-Person: Faculty Innovation in Action: IDS Projects Advancing Student Engagement and Accessible Learning
   Presenters: Kay Morgan (Engineering Technologies), Terry Shamblin (Health and Physical Education), and Jason Szymanski (Chemistry/Geosciences)

   This session will showcase three Instructional Development Stipend (IDS) projects that highlight MCC’s commitment to accessibility, engagement, and student success. Spanning science education, college orientation, and applied technology, these initiatives show how faculty are leveraging IDS support to create impactful resources, strengthen teaching practices, and better prepare students for the modern classroom.

   SCI 131, Integrated Science for Future Teachers: The Physical World, equips pre service teachers with essential skills for 21st century classrooms. As part of an IDS project, the course now features Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned micro lecture videos paired with ADA compliant note slides, a format shown to boost engagement and retention. This innovation directly supports New York State’s 2026 requirement for NGSS competency-based testing and helps address teachers’ reported lack of preparation in teaching complex topics such as climate change.

   COS 101 and COS 133, College Orientation and College Orientation and Success Strategies, rely heavily on adjunct and full-time faculty outside of the courses’ home department. All instructors are provided a Brightspace shell with all assignments and course documents, continuing professional development, and an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook that all students use but can’t access in print because it’s too big. Because of the IDS stipend, the text is updated to reflect structural and other changes at MCC, all course materials are ADA compliant, and plans are in place to produce a reasonably sized and priced print version of the text and continue helping our COS and CDL faculty with ADA compliance.

   Designed specifically for technician-level students who struggle with traditional physics and math-heavy materials, this IDS project develops an accessible, calculus-free Open Educational Resource (OER) for Mechanical Dynamics. By adapting high-quality conceptual OER and pairing them with ADA-compliant hands-on laboratory activities, the project makes Dynamics more understandable, more engaging, and more aligned with how our MET students actually learn. The resulting 10 lecture handouts and 4 lab activities form a complete supplemental learning package ready for department-wide adoption.

7. Hybrid: From Data to Discovery: Leveraging AI and Action Research for Classroom Impact
   Presenter: Amanda Colosimo (Chemistry/Geosciences)

   How can we use our everyday observations as faculty to make informed changes that improve course outcomes? Action research offers a practical framework for doing just that. It allows instructors to systematically harness what we notice in our own classrooms across any teaching modality by gathering and analyzing data, developing actionable solutions, and implementing changes aimed at improving outcomes or fostering meaningful transformation. It’s a powerful tool already available to every faculty member.

   In my own teaching, I noticed that students in my Physical Geology late start courses were disappearing at alarming rates each semester. But why? While much of the literature suggests that compressed courses can enhance student success, that wasn’t what I was seeing. Were my results unique? Were my late start students different from those in my full-semester online classes—and if so, in what ways? Most importantly, what did those differences mean for my teaching practice? And where was I to begin as I faced the mountain of data provided by Institutional Research?

   This interactive session will address these questions through an exploration of how generative artificial intelligence can enhance the process of brainstorming, data interpretation, and insight generation, especially when combined with your own good sense. By integrating AI tools with action research and institutional data, participants will discover innovative ways to inform instructional decisions and improve course outcomes.

8. Hybrid: Practical Tools for Accessibility
   Presenters: Virtual Campus Crew

   Making your course materials accessible doesn't have to be an all-consuming chore. This session moves beyond the "why" of accessibility and dives straight into the "how," equipping you with practical tools to enhance digital inclusion in your courses. We'll explore user-friendly tools that can help you create and evaluate accessible content with confidence, some of them already familiar to you!

Session III: 11:45am to 12:45pm

9. In-Person: Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Case-Based Learning
   Presenter: Julie Babulski (Biology)

   This interactive workshop explores how artificial intelligence can streamline the creation, adaptation, and implementation of case studies across STEM and general education disciplines. Participants will learn to identify reputable case study repositories and AI-supported instructional tools that enhance teaching efficiency and engagement. Through guided demonstrations and hands-on activities, attendees will practice using AI prompting to generate or refine case studies aligned with specific course objectives and learning outcomes. The session will also address strategies for evaluating the quality, ethical implications, and pedagogical appropriateness of AI-assisted content. By the end of the workshop, participants will develop a personalized plan to integrate at least one new or modified case study into their own course, promoting active learning and critical thinking through technology-enhanced instruction.

10. In-Person: The Finish Line: Exploring Student Barriers Through Gameplay
    Presenters: Carlo Atene (Mathematics), Melis Kural (TCC), Christina Lee (Global Education/International Services), and Brayden Ottley (Marketing and Web)

    This session is inspired by Achieving the Dream to illustrate the systemic and institutional barriers faced by historically underserved students. Throughout the session, the participants will step into the student experience by playing different personas presented in the game. Throughout interactive game and a faciliated debrief, faculty will explore how access-related challenges shape student outcomes and identify actionable strategies for equitable and inclusive teaching.

11. In-Person: The professor's phone: Plickers and Zipgrade in the classroom
    Presenter: Andrew Knapp (Psychology)

    An interactive demo of Plickers and Zipgrade focused on ease of use, how-to, analytical tools provided by each platform.

12. Hybrid: General Education: Lightning Round!
    Presenter: Catharine Ganze Smith (English and Philosophy)

    The General Education Committee has invited facilitators from recent general education assessments to discuss the most interesting findings from their projects. All students in all degree programs at MCC have to meet general education outcomes. This presentation is designed to give you new insights into your students' academic success.