Day 3

The workshop on assessment "Alarmed by assessment? Facing the fear factor" was very helpful. The participants discussed benefits, fears, and myths associated with the concept of assessment. In addition, we were provided with some useful tools aimed to ease the assessment process. The first step is to start with learning outcomes i. e. to determine what students will learn at the end of a unit, chapter, semester, etc. Learning outcomes must be measurable. The attendees were asked to develop knowledge-based and skill-based outcomes pertaining to our content areas. Then we shared them with the colleagues. This was a great exercise. We were actively engaged in a discussion about productive approaches to assessment of student learning outcomes. 
Many presentations at this conference were focused on student engagement that increases motivation and enhances learning. One such talk was about a university professor, who stopped lecturing her students and  challenged them to engage in active learning. This point resonates with the ideas underlined in the keynote address. For 3 days I attended many wonderful presentations and took away some ideas that can be applicable in my own classroom. This was a great professional development opportunity! 

Day 2

It was difficult to decide what sessions to attend because there were so many choices! One of the most amazing presentations was about experiential learning activities. It was a hands-on presentation. The attendees participated in a group juggling exercise followed by a very fruitful discussion. The researchers also shared with the audience their findings from a semester-long project. They use this activity in their introductory writing classrooms  to promote critical thinking, organization, productivity, community building, collaboration, etc. It is a wonderful motivational tool as well. I believe that it can certainly be used in many other classes. In the future I am planning to use this exercise in one of my advanced Spanish classes. 
Another great presentation was focused on effective service-learning projects. The presenter shared some of her successful and unsuccessful experiences with the audience. This presentation generated a very interesting discussion about multiple challenges of service-learning projects. We also talked about some great ideas for service-learning activities. I found this session and the group discussion  very useful because I have included a service-learning component in my Spanish 450 classes before and would like to include it in other advanced classes in the future. I learned that in some universities (e. g. Tulane)  participation in service-learning projects is a requirement for graduation!
I also enjoyed a presentation on mistakes that teachers make in the classroom. The audience was comprised of students and professors and we had a powerful debate about teaching and learning in today's world. It was a lot of food for thought for everyone.
 The conference is well organized and the topics are absolutely essential for American educators. Tomorrow will be the last day, but it is an annual conference and hopefully I will be able to attend it again :-) 

Day 1

The first day of the conference was very productive.  It was great to meet many enthusiastic and dedicated educators from a variety of disciplines, who are committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning. I have attended several great sessions including the keynote address by Dr. Anne Nardi "Telling is Not Teaching." She focused on the "telling all to students" approach and its implications. Dr. Nardi emphasized the importance of learners' active participation in the learning process. Research studies have shown that when students are actively involved in the learning process, they retain more of presented information. Therefore, instructors have to guide students rather than "telling them all." We should not do too much lecturing. Dr. Nardi encouraged student-centered meaningful activities. I really liked her closing remark: if instructors are not enthusiastic about what they teach, their students will not be enthusiastic about learning it. We should always remember this simple principle when we enter our classrooms.  
Many other presenters talked about different ways to increase student engagement. Service-learning projects and experiential learning activities are very helpful approaches in this respect. They help students to develop a sense of belonging and a sense of personal responsibility, which are absolutely essential for their success in college and in life. Several colleagues shared their experiences with service-learning projects. I am looking forward to another day full of challenging and thought-provoking professional discussions.