Academics

Symposium to help prepare instructors for Nov. 20 pivot to remote instruction

'Transition to Remote Symposium' to be held Friday, Nov. 6

Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will hold a remote symposium to help University instructors prepare for the Nov. 20 planned pivot to remote instruction, to be held via Zoom from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6.

The "Transition to Remote Symposium" will comprise eight 45-minute roundtable sessions on five focused topics. Each session will be offered at least once; sessions expected to be most popular will be offered twice. Topics to be covered include:

  • Strategies for supporting remote labs
  • Remote assessment strategies to promote academic integrity
  • Engaging students during remote instruction 
  • Advising and supporting students [e.g., hours of instructional activity, supporting students’ academic pivot, helping faculty advisers support students]
  • Remote teaching of experiential courses

Participants are encouraged to bring their questions, challenges, tips, etc., to share during the sessions.

“The symposium brings together experts from across Penn State to help prepare our instructors for the planned pivot to remote instruction on Nov. 20,” said Yvonne Gaudelius, associate vice president and senior associate dean for Undergraduate Education. “The event is a truly collaborative effort and is a culmination of the excellent work our faculty and staff have been doing all semester to support students and ensure their success. We are excited to share out best practices, tools and support resources during this event.”

Each roundtable session will be led by content experts, which may include faculty, instructional designers, advisers and IT consultants from across Penn State colleges and campuses. Sessions will consist of both formal presentation and time for informal discussion and Q&A.

All Penn State instructors are encouraged to attend. Attendees do not have to attend all sessions.

Attendees do not need to register in advance. A symposium schedule, Zoom links and complete information about the sessions will be available at keepteaching.psu.edu.

The symposium was designed by Crystal Ramsay, from Teaching and Learning with Technology; Liz Huck, from Penn State Hazleton; Mary Ann Tobin and Adam Smith, from the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence; Dawn Pfeifer Reitz, from Penn State Berks; Amanda Price, Penn State Harrisburg, Center for Teaching Excellence; Lindsay Wood, from Penn State Abington; and Cathy Holsing, Office for Digital Learning, College of Engineering. 

Last Updated October 22, 2020