WKU News

The College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, College of Health & Human Services, Gordon Ford College of Business, Potter College of Arts & Letters, Ogden College of Science & Engineering, Office of the Provost and Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning would like to invite you to join us for what we hope will be an ongoing conversation about student success and engagement at WKU. This year’s event will be held on Friday, October 13^th and will feature Dr. James Lang and his most recent book “Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It.”

About James Lang

Keynote Presentation | 9:30-11:00am | DSU Auditorium REGISTER

Many faculty have voiced concerns about rising levels of student disengagement throughout the pandemic; before the spring of 2020, their concerns were more focused on the distractions caused by our ubiquitous technologies. One remedy for both of these ills can be found in the literature on attention, which reminds us that humans have always struggled with the kind of focus that drives deeper learning. This keynote will draw upon scholarship from history, neuroscience, and education in support of the idea that if we want students to engage fully in their learning, we must create educational experiences that support and cultivate attention. Participants will learn about a variety of potential pathways to developing such experiences for their students.

Afternoon Workshops | 1:00 & 2:30pm | DSU 3024

In each of the hour-long workshops, participants will be offered additional ideas for creating attention-based classes, and then be invited to work with each other to revise or develop new classroom strategies or assessment strategies for their current or future courses. In addition to small group brainstorming, the workshops will offer plenty of time for questions and discussions with colleagues.

Inclusive Teaching: The Power of High Structure 1:00-2:00pm REGISTER

Creating and Re-Creating Major Assessments in the Age of AI 2:30-3:30pm REGISTER