Teaching Commons > Events > Teaching & Learning Conference > Beyond Grades (2017)

Beyond Grades (2017)

​​Beyond Grades - Capturing Authentic Learning (2017)
 

DePaul University Teaching and Learning Conference
Friday, May 5th, 2017 | Lincoln Park Student Center, Room 120AB

All DePaul faculty and staff members were invited participate in the 22nd annual DePaul Teaching and Learning Conference. The theme of the conference, “Beyond Grades – Capturing Authentic Learning,” invited participants to think about student learning as the primary indicator of teaching effectiveness. Thinking about our own effectiveness as teachers has traditionally been associated with reports of student satisfaction or our own interpretations of how we teach—and not necessarily how and what our students are learning.

There has been a growing demand for us to shift focus from what we as instructors want to deliver to the outcomes we want our students to obtain as a result of their educational experiences. How do we best identify these outcomes? How do we know when students have met them? And how can we capture students’ progress in achieving the outcomes as a result of our teaching practices?

Materials

Keynote

  • Tom Angelo, Keynote Presentation (PDF) and Handout (PDF / DOC)

Concurrent Sessions

  • Craig Miller (School of Computing): Student Remarks that Make You Wince—And The Learning Opportunities They Present (Slides, PDF)
  • Jen Finstrom (Writing, Rhetoric & Discourse): Collaboration in the Classroom: Opportunities for Community Building Through a Service-Learning Lens (Slides, PDF)
  • Karyn McCoy and Lynne Copp (Career Center): It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College and Student Success (Transferable Skills Matrix for faculty & staff, XLS | Handout for students, PDF)
  • Cassandra DellaCorte (University Library):Why Wikipedia: Assigning Wikipedia Editing for More Versatile Student Learning (Slides, PDF)
  • Christopher Milan: Your Teacher Is Also Your Dungeon Master: Incorporating Role Playing Game Elements into In-Class Activities (Lab 1, Lab 2)

Video

Schedule

View schedule in new window

Keynote Session

Assessment and Feedback for Authentic Learning: How Less Can Often Be More 

Achieving DePaul's ambitious university authentic learning outcomes requires that both teachers and learners do their jobs effectively and efficiently. Time is the most valuable and scarce resource for both faculty and students -- particularly in 10-week quarters. This highly interactive session will focus on efficient, practical, and research-based strategies and techniques teachers can use to promote teaching effectiveness and learning quality. Examples and exercises will focus primarily on assessment and feedback as powerful levers teachers can use to enhance and document authentic learning -- and to increase the efficiency of teaching. Participants can expect to end this session with: clearer definitions of authentic learning, at least two or three promising new ideas to implement, and valuable resources and references for follow up.

Tom Angelo | Keynote Speaker

Photo of Tom Angelo

Thomas Anthony Angelo is clinical professor of educational research and innovation at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Over the past 30 years, Tom has served as a university faculty member, researcher, faculty developer, and academic administrator in the United States, New Zealand and Australia. He has also consulted on teaching and learning improvement, assessment, and curriculum design for more than 275 educational institutions and 65 associations and organizations in all 50 states and 18 countries. He has delivered more than 90 invited higher education conference keynotes, and authored or co-authored four books and more than three dozen articles and chapters. Tom earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government, with Honors, from California State University, Sacramento, a Master of Arts and a Master of Education from Boston University, and his doctorate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Conference Sponsors

The conference was jointly sponsored by Faculty Instructional Technology Services (FITS) and the Office for Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA). Student Affairs, the University-Center for Writing-based Learning (UCWbL), and Faculty Council's Committee on Learning and Teaching (COLT) contribute to the planning of the conference. The Quality of Instruction Council (QIC) provides financial assistance.

Be Social bubbles

Be Social

Read participants' takeaways and connect with colleagues on Twitter using the hashtag #TLCON17.

Photos from the event are available on the Teaching Commons Facebook page.