Novel teaching strategies on display

By Janette Neuwahl Tannen [email protected] 10-21-2025

There will be examples of active learning strategies used in classes across the University; a conversation about using BodySwaps-a virtual reality app-to practice patient interactions at the Miller School of Medicine; and novel ways to help Canes study with AI agents.

And these are just a few of the sessions available at the 11th annual Faculty Showcase this Friday at the Lakeside Village Expo Center, hosted by the Platform for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETAL).

"Faculty who have attended in the past walk away feeling like they got some great ideas they could use in their classrooms," said Miriam Lipsky, director of PETAL and an adjunct lecturer in the School of Education and Human Development. "There's something for everyone and lots to choose from, so whether faculty can attend for an hour or the whole showcase, we'd love to have them attend to learn about these innovative pedagogies."

The showcase is this Friday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and will feature a variety of discussion panels and roundtables, where faculty members will share new teaching methods or projects they have piloted recently.

This year's showcase will include a morning of learning circles, where participants can choose which new teaching strategies they want to learn more about, as well as a panel discussion with faculty who have recently piloted the use of student "consultants" to partner with them on course redesign. After lunch, Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, will offer a keynote lecture titled "The AI-ducation Problem." Mazur, who pioneered active learning to encourage students to work together in his physics courses, has since become a renowned education researcher.

Mazur also co-founded Perusall, a software platform that offers a collaborative online space for learning. His lecture will explore how powerful AI tools are disrupting the education world and exposing a decline in students' incentive to learn. To counteract this trend, Mazur believes schools and universities must re-center their curriculum to focus on human motivation, social learning, and the kinds of intellectual struggle and human skills that no machine can replace.

"Eric is an incredibly dynamic speaker and an internationally known educator. Every time he presents I have learned things I could apply to my classes," Lipsky added.

Last year, Mazur was the University's inaugural Ilene M. Dresner Distinguished Presidential Scholar, in a partnership between the School of Education and Human Development, the University President's Office, and PETAL. He spent time with 15 faculty members to help integrate active learning in their classes with the help of student consultants. This spring, PETAL will be relaunching a similar faculty learning community called Partners in Education, where students will be paired with faculty members who want to infuse more active learning into their classes, Lipsky said. Faculty can apply for this experience before Nov. 5.

Other learning circles at the Faculty Showcase will include:

• In-depth information about Canvas, a new learning management system at the University that is replacing Blackboard
• How to incorporate zines-handmade, miniature magazines-into any curriculum
• How experiential learning, digital mapping, and storytelling brought historic Sephardi spaces to life through a virtual reality experience
• How collaborating with business partners can make learning more impactful
• Cooperative learning with international partners through the COIL program
• Creating more inclusive learning spaces using Perusall software

If you are interested in attending the upcoming showcase, please visit the website and register here. All faculty members are welcome.