2026 Teaching and Learning: Exploring Possibilities

AI use and AI literacy among undergraduate and graduate students. (AITL)

Xiaoping “Ping” Fan, Jacob Hall, and Xiaolu Liu

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been increasingly integrated into higher education, and faculty are seeking ways to better understand how students are using AI. This session will explore undergraduate and graduate students’ AI use and their levels of AI literacy in educational contexts. Using survey data collected from students, we will share results regarding their experiences with AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini), frequency and contexts of use, and perceptions of AI’s role in teaching and learning. The survey also examines multiple dimensions of AI literacy, including operational skills, critical evaluation, ethical awareness, and self-efficacy in using AI. We will provide insights into students’ current practices, perceived benefits, and concerns. The session will also invite attendees to share their experiences and engage in discussion about why, how, and when to integrate emerging technologies into their courses.

Teaching Students to Think with AI (Not Just Use It). (AITL)

Michie Odle and Parker Gaboury. 

This session introduces the concept of using AI for real cognitive engagement through a mastery-based learning model that integrates AI as a thinking partner. Rather than using AI to generate answers, students engage in structured conversations to explore concepts, develop their own questions, and reflect on their thinking. Assessment focuses on depth, connection, and what I describe as “coherent exploration,” rather than correctness alone.

Importantly, this approach is not tied to a specific platform. While initially implemented using custom GPTs, the same model was successfully adapted to NotebookLM when system constraints limited access. The tool changed, but the learning did not - demonstrating that the core of this work lies in how the thinking and engagement components are structured, not in the technology itself.

This presentation will provide practical strategies for developing assignments that are focused on engagement and coherent exploration, reframing AI's role in learning.

Early Assessments that Support Student Success (IA)

Chris Ortega, Kati Ahern, and Paul Arras

This panel will discuss ways to engage and assess students early in the semester to encourage success. Ideas for different class sizes and approaches across disciplines will be shared.

Knowledge Reinforcement: Redesigning Quizzes. (AL)

Lara Shigo 

This short presentation will review a strategy for delivering in-class quizzes focused on student feedback and engagement. Weekly, low-point, open-book, notecard (not online!) completion-based quizzes take about 10 minutes during class time and involve 5-6 multiple-choice questions. Answers are reviewed immediately after each question is presented. Students receive full points (in a low point value) for completion, and quiz layout allows for faculty to quickly review common mistakes and assess student understanding in large lecture settings. Quiz setup is simple, content is flexible, AI use is devalued, and quiz doubles as an attendance check.

AI Assignment Redesign: Designing to Combat AI Misuse. (AITL)

Wylie Schwartz 

In fall 2025, Turnitin detected that 70 percent of my ATH 122 students submitted a final essay that was largely generated by AI. The following semester I implemented several strategies designed to address the issue. The strategy presented here aims to illuminate what’s lacking in generative-AI writing, while drawing attention to the environmental implications of relying on such software. The assignment is to rewrite a passage from a Chat-GPT-generated essay with a more personal or ‘human’ tone, highlighting to what extent the subjective or critical voice is missing from the AI version. Students are invited to consider how their own voice alters the overall effect of the writing and larger meaning conveyed. This exercise is followed by a discussion on whether the human presence is necessary in writing, art and other creative human endeavors and the implications of a world without it.

Using oral exams in online freshmen level science classes. (AL)  

Greg Phelan 

For the last few years, students completing either CHEM 227, General Chemistry 1, or CHEM 228, General Chemistry 2, were assessed using both online open note quizzes and exams that were administered orally. The class was designed to allow students maximum flexibility in completing their work. Students were provided with access to textbook materials (online homework, online practice content, chapter slides, etc..) and materials provided by the instructor (practice questions, audio and video recordings of textbook topics, access to previous semester classroom recordings, and rubrics for each assessment).

To assist in their learning, students were allowed to use any resources to help them understand the content and to help prepare for an oral exam. This included using AI resources. Additionally, the emphasis was shifted from knowing the “correct” numerical answer to being able to explain why equations were selected, why the answer is reasonable, and being able to properly explain what was done by using terminology from chemistry. The oral exam questions consisted of original questions that the students have not seen and questions from practice materials. Ultimately the goal of the assessment was to help students see the value of using resources to assist in their learning instead of just using the responses themselves.

Lisa Sieg

In this session, you will explore TrUDL, a framework introduced by María Choì-Peña in 2022. You’ll learn how translanguaging serves as an inclusive practice that values and leverages your students’ full linguistic repertoire. Together, we will examine examples of translanguaging and discuss how you can blend these practices with Universal Design for Learning to support all learners across any discipline—not just language courses. You will leave the session with practical strategies and the confidence to implement TrUDL quickly and easily in your own classes.

Michael Turner, Christine Uliassi, and Gwen Hawkins.

One response to AI in classrooms and ensuring student authenticity in writing has been to embrace in-class writing by hand. The overall goals of this panel are to think through how in-class writing by hand can be used to advance student learning goals, how it can be used to work with—rather than against—students’ writing processes, and how it can be deployed equitably so that students aren’t negatively impacted by the writing modality.

This panel presentation will address in-class writing by hand through multiple lenses. Panelist one will share their experience integrating hand written documents into their course. Panelist two will share information about research on writing by hand and its relation to learning and cognition. Panelist three will share information about student accessibility and experience as it relates to in-class writing.

Bridget Hier

Students’ active engagement with academic content during instruction is associated with increased achievement and retention (Lei et al., 2018; Truta et al., 2018). Despite the importance of academic engagement, in recent years, many faculty report high levels of disengagement from students (e.g., Richards, 2023). This presentation will describe practical, evidence-based strategies to improve students’ academic engagement in the classroom. The presenter will demonstrate a simple-to-implement instructional method that can be adapted to most classroom settings across most disciplines. Audience members will be given the opportunity to plan for implementation in their courses should they choose to do so.

Karen Dafoe and Casey Pennington

Collaborative art projects can transform classrooms into inclusive spaces where students develop a stronger sense of belonging while deeply engaging with course concepts. This session explores collaborative art-making as a pedagogical approach that fosters community, reflection, and creativity across disciplines in higher education.

Presenters will share a range of adaptable collaborative art projects that can be applied in diverse academic contexts. Participants will then engage in a hands-on creative experience inspired by a recent Literacy course. Each participant will create a paper quilt square representing an element of their personal literacy journey. Together, the group will assemble the squares into a shared quilt, creating a collective narrative. Through this process, participants will experience firsthand how collaborative making invites dialogue, supports reflective practice, and strengthens connections within learning communities.

Using "Six Thinking Hats" to Develop Analytical Skills in First-Year Writing. (W/J)

Andree Myers 
Six Thinking Hats, a critical thinking strategy developed by learning theorist Edward de Bono, can be used in the first-year writing classroom to help students analyze research topics from multiple perspectives, each of which is represented by a "hat". Students enhance their understanding of complex issues and improve their ability to produce sophisticated academic writing.

From Content Coverage to Meaning: Cultivating Joy, Identity, and Transformation in Undergraduate Biology Courses. (W/J)

Macarena G. Gomezdelatorre Clavel  
Undergraduate Biology courses, such as Anatomy and Physiology (A&P), are often characterized by high cognitive load, anxiety, and an emphasis on content coverage, which can limit deep learning and hinder students’ sense of belonging in STEM and healthcare pathways. Grounded in the vision of the transformational role of college, this session explores how integrating wellness, joy, and student-centered practices into biology classes can promote not only conceptual understanding but also student identity development.

Using the framework of backward design (Understanding by Design), this presentation demonstrates how aligning learning goals with transformational outcomes—such as thinking like a physiologist and developing a sense of professional belonging—can reshape course design. Participants will be introduced to practical, discipline-specific strategies including low-stakes exploratory activities (“play before precision”), creative approaches to learning complex biological processes, and techniques to foster sense of belonging, engagement, agency, and resilience.

Evidence from classroom practice and ongoing research will illustrate how these approaches support deeper learning, increase student confidence, and shift students from performance-oriented mindsets toward meaningful engagement. Attendees will leave with adaptable strategies to redesign biology or other STEM courses to support both academic success and holistic student development.

Creating AI-Generated HTML Tools for Assignment Grading and Feedback. (AITL)

Eunyoung Jung  
This session shares my practical process for transforming existing grading tools, such as rubrics and checklists, into HTML-based grading pages using Claude AI. I will walk through how I take materials I already use and convert them into structured, easy-to-navigate formats. A key part of this process is how I design prompts, provide clear context, and refine AI-generated outputs. Rather than treating AI as a one-step solution, I use my instructional knowledge to guide and revise what the AI produces, ensuring the final tool aligns with my original purpose. This approach has helped me make my grading process more efficient and better organized, while keeping everything clear and consistent. It also improves how feedback is presented to students, making it more readable, structured, and user-friendly.

Xander Jackson

How can students use common Artificial Intelligence tools when researching topic matter, but still understand what they are finding and how to use it? What methods are best for AI in this approach? How can we help students to be critical of AI responses?

Accessibility in the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse: Creating a Welcoming Space in the Face of Device Dependence.  (IA)  

Kim Wieczorek

This will either be a therapy or strategy session where we share tests and trials for removing and/or limiting devices from the in person university classroom space. From sharing research about the impossibility of multi-tasking within an attention economy to strategizing about creating classroom norms and engagement that support universal design principles, this session could allow us to both release some leftover semester tension and also to strategize for upcoming teaching opportunities.

Enhancing Learning & Engagement Through Interactive Notebooks. (HIPs) 

Krystal Barber, Christine Uliassi and Charleen Cornwell 

This session explores the use of Interactive Notebooks (INBs) as a personalized learning tool for blending course content and student-generated input (i.e., sketches and personal reflections). These tools can increase student engagement, enhance organization, and improve retention. INBs can model organization, scaffolded instruction, and active engagement that preservice teachers can apply in their own classrooms. INBs can enhance learning while encouraging creativity by combining text with drawings/sketches to show classroom connections or examples of concepts. Students can review material, find new ideas, or reflect on growth. This presentation will share examples of integrating INBs into coursework, including strategies for balancing paper and digital formats to ensure accessibility. Attendees will leave with concrete ideas for implementing interactive notebooks across disciplines.

Tracy Hudson

This session introduces the I CORT Framework 2.0 as a guide for using purposeful play to create caring and connected environments across diverse settings. The framework includes six elements that support meaningful engagement: Intentionality, Intersectionality, Care, Optimism, Respect, and Trust. These elements help practitioners design play experiences that foster belonging, strengthen relationships, and encourage participation for individuals of all ages. Participants will explore the I CORT Play Work Cycle, a process for preparing, introducing, facilitating, and reflecting on play activities. Through an interactive demonstration, attendees will observe how purposeful play reduces social barriers and promotes positive interaction while creating welcoming environments where individuals feel valued and connected.

Building AI Literacy and Writing Identities in First-Year Writing: A Cross-Institutional Study with SUNY Cortland and Cornell University. (AITL / SoTL)

Laura Davies   

Laura will present the results of a two-year, cross-institutional study about how first-year writing students write with and think about their use of generative AI.

Measuring the impact of providing speech-language pathology students’ opportunities for active learning on their knowledge and perceived competence on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). (SoTL) 

Nimisha Muttiah

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the professionals that are specially trained to provide services to individuals with severe communication disabilities. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools and strategies play an important role in allowing people with limited or no speech to communicate. However, past research has documented that SLPs report low levels of competence and self-efficacy with AAC service provision. Training opportunities incorporating principles of adult learning, hands on labs, and active learning strategies have been identified as important factors when teaching AAC courses. The current study proposes to examine SLP students’ knowledge and competence at three different time points using a survey instrument. The first time point will be prior to taking the AAC class, the second time point will be after taking the AAC class, and the third time point will be after taking a hands-on AAC technology lab course. The results of this study will inform the field of speech-language pathology about best practices to incorporate when delivering AAC curriculum to SLP students to better improve their knowledge and competence in AAC. This is a science of teaching & learning study.

Jen Phelan, Hilary Wong, Kristina Maricle, and Krista Natale

Are you a fan of providing equitable access to high-quality educational resources? Have you ever considered exploring what freely accessible resources are available to you and your students that could be used instead of a costly textbook? Or perhaps you have been curious about the quality of OER materials. Join us for a workshop session where you can explore what OER textbooks and supplemental materials are available in your discipline. We will have Librarians, an Instructional Designer, and a Technology Support Specialist on hand to help you find OER (Open Educational Resources) that could work for your courses, demonstrate how to include these resources in your Brightspace course, and answer any technology questions you have. In the words of Robin DeRosa, Director, Open Education Network, "Open textbooks save money, which matters deeply to our students. But they can also create a new relationship between learners and course content, and if teachers choose to acknowledge and enable this, it can have a profound effect on the whole fabric of the course."

Nimisha Muttiah, Rachel King, and Deborah Sharp

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults. The racial demographic of SLPs in the US consists of 92% identifying as being White. The homogeneous racial makeup of SLPs in the United States influences service provision to individuals with communication difficulties from multicultural backgrounds. Approximately, 21% of Americans use a language other than English as their primary language at home (Frick et al., 2022). Given this level of linguistic diversity there is a need for linguistically appropriate tools and services to be provided to these families. However, in a survey of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) membership it was found that only 8.3% of ASHA members self-identified as being multilingual (ASHA, 2023). Past research from the field has suggested that providing students culturally immersive experiences (e.g., through service-learning opportunities, study abroad programs) have resulted in students growing more culturally competent (Perry, 2012). The current study used a survey to explore SLP students’ knowledge, competence, confidence and attitudes regarding interacting with/working with multicultural clients at two different time points. The first point was prior to going on a study abroad program to Sri Lanka, the second was after completion of the study abroad. Studies have not systematically explored changes in these 4 variables following an immersive cultural experience in this manner. Specific research questions:

1. What is the impact of providing students with an immersive study abroad program on student knowledge on cultural competence?
2. What is the impact of providing students with an immersive study abroad program on students perceived cultural competence?
3. What is the impact of providing students with an immersive study abroad program on students perceived cultural confidence?
4. What is the impact of providing students with an immersive study abroad program on students’ attitude towards multicultural clients.

The study will use a survey to measure the students’ perception of these variables. The survey was developed based on a review of the literature (e.g., Moxley, 2003, Self-Assessment Checklist for Personnel Providing Primary Health Care Services) and consists of questions across five categories,

1. students’ demographic information;

2. knowledge of cultural competence;

3. experiences with multicultural clients;

4. perceived cultural competence,

5. perceived cultural confidence, and

6. attitude towards working with/interacting with multicultural clients who have communication/swallowing disorders.

The survey also included four additional open-ended questions related to course pedagogy. The open-ended questions were included at the 2nd time points of the survey.

Katie Laux and Sean Nolan

In this presentation, participants will have the opportunity to engage with active learning strategies they can use with small and large class sizes. These strategies will provide an alternative to traditional lecture approaches to teaching. We will present and work through two strategies: Assembly Line Thinking and Engineering Design. We have found success in using these strategies to increase student engagement, improve understanding of content, build community, and promote collaboration and conversation in otherwise silent lecture halls and classrooms.

Carrie Rood, Melinda Shimizu, Jean Costa, Paul Arras, Katie Ducett. 

Members of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Community of Practice discuss their experience redesigning their courses to include UDL considerations. They share their revisions and sample materials. 

Mary Schlarb, Robert Binnall, and John Suarez

Career-connected high impact practices (HIPs) are central to SUNY Cortland’s goals for career readiness and student success. The 2024–2030 strategic plan emphasizes improving equity in student achievement and ensuring that every student can access the opportunities and support needed to achieve their goals and complete their degree. Expanding participation in HIPs is essential to advancing these objectives.

Cortland offers a broad range of HIPs across academic and co curricular programs, and 2025 NSSE data show that 87% of seniors have engaged in at least one. While this is a point of pride, disaggregated results reveal notable gaps in participation across demographic groups and types of HIP experiences, underscoring the need for more equitable access.

In this session, members of the cross divisional High Impact Practices Council will share institutional data on HIP engagement, showcase the diverse HIP opportunities embedded throughout campus programs, and discuss strategies for scaling participation and increasing equity in experiential learning.

Sage Andersen, Suzanne Sprague, Cody Harrington, Kimberley Rombach, Gail Boone, Katie Ducett, Marybeth Yerdon, Julius Green (The Antiracism Taskforce Education Subcommittee)

Hosted by the SUNY Cortland Antiracism Taskforce Education Subcommittee, this interactive session offers a space for members of our campus community who are committed to building more antiracist classroom practices. Together, participants will engage in shared reflection and conversation about anti-racism and the hidden biases that influence our teaching, interactions, and decision-making.

Drawing on research-based tools, including Harvard’s Implicit Association Test on race, the session invites participants to reflect on how unconscious biases develop and how they may show up in educational spaces. We will explore the Johari Window as a framework for deepening self-awareness and understanding how we are perceived by others—an essential step in fostering inclusive learning environments.

Through reflection, dialogue, and practical activities, participants will begin the necessary work of examining the biases and assumptions that shape our practice, while also exploring concrete strategies for moving from awareness to intentional, antiracist action in the classroom. These conversations are not the endpoint, but critical first steps toward cultivating more equitable, reflective, and antiracist classroom practices across our campus community.

One Battle After Another: Supporting Graduate Student Distance Learning. (HIPs) 

William Gore and Yolanda Clarke 

In this session, an intervention aimed to enhance the research skills of students in an online graduate level health course is presented. Scaffolded activities, required one-on-one library appointments, and a subsequent meeting with course faculty encouraged: technological competence, information literacy, source evaluation, better writing, and improved outcomes for a majority of course participants on their position paper assignments.

The results demonstrate the need for skill building as well as higher intellectual development of advanced students. This is particularly for those returning to higher education after many years away from academic engagement. With a focus on student success, this presentation demonstrates an effective partnership between the library and teaching faculty. Unexpected outcomes mirrored some goals of Universal Design to enhance learner agency and encourage resourceful & authentic academic engagement.

All Terrain Answers: Collecting and Assessing Multimodal Student Responses. (W/J)

Jen Phelan and Lisa Czirr

Assessing student learning often defaults to a “one size fits all” situation, where all students are asked to provide responses in the same modality. Yet students may have a variety of communication preferences. In this presentation, we will share the results from giving students the choice to respond via Microsoft Forms in any format they preferred: text (document, PDF, slides, etc), video, photograph, etc.

Compared to filling out boxes in a form, this option is more culturally responsive, accessible, and is also more closely aligned to universal design for learning. It also has the potential to be more creative and engaging for the students, stimulating more thoughtful answers.

Participants will have the opportunity to try an activity from a student perspective, as well as viewing a demonstration of how Forms collects and displays these varying results.