Numerous faculty earn awards for presenting at Purdue’s first Festival of Teaching and Learning

Several Purdue faculty earned awards after presenting at the university’s inaugural Festival of Teaching and Learning, a vibrant showcase of innovative pedagogical practices from across the institution. The event, which took place April 12 in Honors Hall, brought together educators, researchers and students to celebrate excellence in teaching and explore new approaches to learning.

Nearly 40 participants and teams presented their projects during the festival, representing a diverse array of academic disciplines. Notably, almost every college at Purdue was represented, highlighting the institution's dedication to promoting teaching innovation across all academic areas.

The festival was hosted by the John Martinson Honors College’s Blue Sky Teaching and Learning Laboratory, with the collaboration of Innovation Hub, Teaching Academy and Center for Instructional Excellence. The event, which billed itself as a hands-on teaching expo, featured a wide range of topics, reflecting the diverse interests and expertise of Purdue's faculty and staff.

Clusters of interactive presentations emerged around themes such as artificial intelligence (AI), community-focused pedagogy and educational games. These presentations provided attendees with valuable insights into cutting-edge teaching methods and strategies for enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes.

According to Liz Brite, clinical associate professor and associate head of academic affairs for the John Martinson Honors College, the event helped foster collaboration and provided a platform for sharing best practices among educators.

Pictured: Liz Brite (right) stands next to her poster with poems her student, Kathryn Malerbi (left), collected as part of her course HONR 399: Beyond Afghanistan.

“It’s great to see teaching at Purdue elevated in a format that is commonly used for research efforts,” said Brite, who earned an award for presenting learning outcomes related to her course HONR 399: Beyond Afghanistan. Brite’s project focused on critical service-learning in the aftermath of the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan. Brite credited her students for demonstrating remarkable dedication and initiative in addressing the needs of Afghan refugees, showcasing the transformative power of education in real-world contexts. She also remarked on the variety of other projects and presentations during the event.

“Walking around the room, I gained a better sense of the breadth of teaching practices at Purdue and learned about exciting innovations that can improve my own work in the future,” she shared.

Jacob Adler’s presentation on community-focused experiences in biology laboratories also received an award for its innovative approach to student engagement. Adler emphasized the importance of connecting students with research communities, departmental resources and local partners to create enriching learning environments.

Reflecting on his experience at the festival, Adler expressed enthusiasm for the diverse range of ideas and the passion exhibited by educators across disciplines.

Pictured: Jacob Adler, assistant professor of practice in biological sciences, presents his project at the inaugural Festival of Teaching and Learning in Honors Hall.

“The festival was wonderful because we were able to see, touch and discuss practices that are working well in our disciplines yet are adaptable to other areas,” he said. “I felt the excitement in the room. It was electric. It was encouraging to talk with my fellow instructors as we learned from each other across disciplines about engaging best practices in higher education pedagogy.”

Haiyan Li, a lecturer of the PLaCE program from the College of Liberal Arts, won an award with her team for a project on integrating ChatGPT into research writing instruction. They created instructor-guided training modules that lead students through the process of generating ideas, refining research questions, doing literature reviews, writing drafts and proofreading their argumentative essays, all with the help of Chat GPT.

"Talking about our work at the festival was fantastic. We got to showcase our unique teaching methods to a diverse crowd and get input from educators across disciplines,” she shared. “The best part was how interactive it was. We could really dive into conversations with everyone there about how AI can enhance teaching methods."

Beth Fines, managing director of the Innovation Hub, said it was exciting to see so many different iterations of projects related to AI, especially because it’s a growing focus for her area.

“Being able to engage directly with faculty and instructors who are creatively utilizing AI tools across a variety of teaching and learning use cases was a real highlight of the event,” Fines said. “Their insights into how AI can best support student learning helps us to collectively deepen our understanding of this new landscape.”

Emily Allen, the lead organizer of the event and director of the Blue Sky Lab in the John Martinson Honors College, said she’s looking forward to continuing the event as an annual opportunity to showcase excellence in teaching.

“Our main goal was to provide a space for educators to collaborate, innovate and inspire one another, and overwhelmingly positive feedback suggests that we achieved that,” she said. “I’m excited to see how the festival will continue to evolve to further inspire our teaching community.”

Full List of 2024 Winners

Teaching Academy Awards ($1,000)

• Liz Brite, international service-learning model (HONR 399: Beyond Afghanistan)
• Rustin Webster, catapult design challenge (MET 10200)

Innovation Hub Awards for Innovative Uses of Generative-AI ($1,000)

• Haiyan Li, Minsun Kim, Ty Climer & Lixia Cheng —Chat GPT in ESL classrooms (ENGL 11100)
• Ramses Martinez—AI tools for critical thinking (IE 37000)

IMPACT Festival of Teaching and Learning Recognition ($1,000)

• Beatriz Castro Bohorquez—tools for transforming large lecture classrooms (BIOL 203/4)
• Michael Johnson—self assessments in the writing classroom (ENGL 106)
• Corrinne Lim-Kessler-models for crafting and exploring cultural narratives (PSY 39200)
• Jason Ware—performance-based experiential education (HONR 312: Jazz)

Blue Sky Awards for Excellence in Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Pedagogy ($1,000)

• Jacob Adler, “Research for All: Community Focused Experiences” (BIOL 135)
• A Fay Barber-Dansby—design thinking with community orgs (TECH 120)
• Thomas Lucas, science communication podcast “Most Significant Bit” (MFET 374)
• Zahra Tehrani, models for ethical reflection in science policy (HONR 299: Modern Eugenics)

Andrea Mattingly

Director of Communication for Teaching and Learning, andrea@purdue.edu