New Approaches to Teaching and Learning Conference 2020

2020 Keynote Session

Thank you for joining us on Friday! You will find links to several presentation files below. This page will be updated as we receive more presentations from presenters.


8:30 am – Breakfast & Check-In
CCB Lobby

9:00 am – Welcome Remarks
CCB 149

9:10 am – Provost’s Teaching & Learning with Technology Award
CCB 149


9:40 am – Sessions

Thinking About Students’ Learning: Metacognition Across the Disciplines
CCB 247

Hyperlink Literacy: Reading in the Age of the Internet
CCB 248


10:40 am – Lightning Rounds

Strategies for Teaching and Learning in Large Classes
CCB 247

  • Danya Reda, Jeremiah Ho, Laura Franz, Heloisa Alves

Exploring “Controversial” Topics with Students
CCB 248


11:30 am – Sessions

Considering Introverts in the University Classroom
CCB 247

  • Anna Dempsey, Jacqueline Einstein, and Olivia Piepmeier

Working with Honors Students
CCB 248
An Honors education at UMass Dartmouth: Best practices, course design, and what are “carve-outs” and “contracts”?

  • Catherine Villanueva Gardner, Brian Ayotte, Kristen Sethares, Nicholas Santavicca

Accelerating Active and Agile Learning
CCB 340


12:30 pm – Complimentary Lunch for Attendees
Claire T. Carney Library Living Room


1:00 pm – Keynote
Claire T. Carney Library Living Room

Get Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades: Metacognition is the Key!

21st Century students come to college with widely varying academic skills, approaches to learning, and motivation levels. Faculty often lament that students are focused on achieving high grades, but are not willing to invest much time or effort in learning. This session will focus on the importance of helping students acquire simple, but effective learning strategies based on cognitive science principles.

Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire will engage in interactive reflection activities that will allow attendees to experience strategies that significantly improve learning while transforming student attitudes about the meaning of learning.

Speaker Biography:

Saundra McGuire
Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire

Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire is the Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success, Professor Emerita in the Department of Chemistry, and retired Assistant Vice Chancellor at Louisiana State University. She is an internationally recognized chemical educator, author, and lecturer who has traveled the globe promoting sure-fire strategies to help students, including those underrepresented in science and math professions, to be successful in their coursework and careers. She has delivered keynote addresses or presented workshops at over 400 institutions in 47 states and ten countries. Prior to joining LSU, she spent eleven years at Cornell University, where she received the coveted Clark Distinguished Teaching Award. Her best-selling book, Teach Students How to Learn, was published by Stylus in 2015 The student version of this book, Teach Yourself How to Learn, was released in 2018.

McGuire’s most recent accolades include the 2019 Distinguished Lecturer Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), the 2019 Commitment to Excellence in Academic Support Award from the Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education, the 2017 American Chemical Society Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students to Pursue Careers in the Chemical Sciences, and induction in 2017 into the LSU College of Science Hall of Distinction. She is an elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA).

More information can be found on Dr. McGuire’s website.


Conference Sponsors

Each year the Office of Faculty Development and Instructional Development partner with colleagues from across campus to host this full-day conference.

Please email us at tlconference@umassd.edu with any conference-related questions.