Two-day Teaching and Learning Fair to examine ‘How Learning Works’

“How Learning Works: Strategies for Success’ is the theme of the Teaching and Learning Fair March 22 and 23. The Center for Faculty Excellence hosts the annual event, an opportunity for faculty and staff to learn from one another and guest speakers about the latest in academic technology and pedagogy.

Delivering the keynote address will be Dr. Chad Hershock, director of faculty and graduate student programs at the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation, and an educator in the Mellon College of Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He will speak from noon-2 p.m. March 22.

Hershock will also host a breakout session from 2:30-4 p.m. March 22.

Concurrent, interactive sessions will be held in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union throughout the two-day event, including “How Learning Works: Evidence-Based Teaching Strategies” and “Engaging Students via Effectively Implementing Active Learning.”

The fair is also an opportunity to see the University’s new Collab Lab in the Jerome Library. The new innovation space will host an Academic Technology Playground from 3-5 p.m. March 23, where BGSU faculty can learn about technology available for classroom use. Representatives from academic technology companies will be on hand.

In addition, BGSU faculty and staff will present poster sessions and/or presentations on Canvas Commons, teaching with Canvas, creating effective lecture videos and using them in Canvas, WebEx and Canvas conferences, telepresence rooms and tech tools in the Jerome Library.

At Carnegie Mellon, Hershock consults with and develops programs for faculty and graduate students on evidence-based teaching strategies, course design, effective uses of instructional technology and the assessment of student learning outcomes.  

He also collaborates with faculty on the scholarship of teaching and learning in disciplines ranging from the arts to science and engineering. He has authored peer-reviewed journal articles as well as book chapters on pedagogy and the professional development of faculty and graduate students as educators.  

Before joining the Eberly Center, Hershock served as assistant director at the University of Michigan’s center for research on learning and teaching, specializing in STEM education and instructional technology, from 2005-13. At Michigan, he taught courses on biology, ecology, environmental education and evidence-based teaching in STEM disciplines.  

He earned a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Michigan in 2002, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in ecology and evolutionary biology.