FTTC 2024: Focus on Teaching and Technology Conference

Learning (and teaching) is often framed as work, the opposite of play. Play is framed as an improper pursuit in higher education; however, as academics, we play- with words, with ideas, with colleagues as we challenge and debate theories and approaches and build new ones. Let’s explore playful pedagogy and how “playful knowing” can strengthen learning, build community, and spark joy and imagination in both professor and learner. Come play with us as we explore the scholarship of playful pedagogy, the science and value of play in adult learning, and how you might incorporate playfulness into your courses as well as strategies to teach your students to play like a historian…or like a biologist…or like a literary critic…etc.

Switching to an OER text can be intimidating to those who care about accessibility. This panel explores ideas on abandoning publisher created activities for more inclusive and affordable options while still maintaining a high standard of accessibility.  

This faculty panel session features award-winning faculty from FTTC sponsoring institutions who offer insights and practical examples to illustrate low-tech and high-tech ways to hold students' attention and focus on learning.

Sessions Moderators: Kella Thornton and Lindsay Meador, Washington University in St. Louis

Panelists include award-winning faculty from the following institutions:

University of Missouri--St. Louis: Zac Cairns, Associate Professor, Department of Music, College of Arts & Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis: Katie Brown, Director, English Language Programs
McKendree University: Brian Frederking, Professor of Political Science
St Charles Community College: Amanda Turner, Assistant Professor of Nursing
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: Adriana "Didi" Martinez, Professor of Geography