How Students Learn: Strategies for Teaching from the Psychology of Learning

Presented by: Todd Zakrasjek

LOCATION: Maucker Union Ballrooms A & B

SCHEDULE:

9:00-9:30 a.m.              Continental breakfast/social time   

9:30-9:45 a.m.              Welcome, Provost Gloria Gibson

9:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.   Workshop, "How Students Learn: Strategies for Teaching from

                                           the Psychology of Learning" with Dr. Todd Zakrasjek 

12:00-1:00 p.m.            Lunch

1:00-4:00 p.m.              Workshop, continued 

Research shows that students learn best when the mind is actively engaged, and there is a great deal of scholarly literature that deals specifically with how we can increase such engagement.  Dr. Zakrasjek’s workshop draws on this literature to show how we can teach so that students can learn more effectively, can successfully encode information into long-term memory, and know when they’ve learned well. The workshop is set up to give faculty from all disciplines a number of different strategies for enhancing student learning.  In describing his workshop, Dr. Zakrasjek writes, “the overall goal is for faculty to have a really fun time and leave with a plethora of tips they can use in their own courses.”

A dynamic and engaging speaker, Dr. Zakrasjek received his Ph.D in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Ohio University, and has given workshops and keynote speeches in over 30 states, as well as internationally.  Currently a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at University of North Carolina, Dr. Zakrasjek has been the Executive Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Inaugural Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University and the Founding Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Oregon University, where he also taught as a tenured associate professor in the psychology department.  He directs two Lilly Conferences on Teaching and Learning at Traverse City, Michigan and Bethesda, Maryland.  Dr. Zakrajsek also sits on two boards pertaining to the use of technology in higher education: the Teacher Education Initiative (Microsoft) and the Education Research Initiative (Lenovo Computer).

Sponsored by: The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost