Engaging Minds: Creative Strategies to Spark Student Interest

This panel session explores three innovative techniques for enhancing student engagement in three academic disciplines. An introductory physics course was made engaging by having students analyze bad physics in popular movies. The videos and discussions captivated students’ attention and deepened their understanding and retention of core concepts. In a Human Development and Family Studies course, students used “pop photos” as a fun way to apply theory to real life. By encouraging students to connect theoretical concepts with real-life experiences captured in photos, this approach provided for the transfer of learning (TOL). In an Accounting Information Systems course, students brought real-life or movie clip examples of fraud schemes and discussed how these examples align with the definitions given in the text. This made a definition-heavy chapter into a lively and interactive learning experience. Join us to discover how these creative strategies can be applied to your own teaching to foster an engaging and effective learning environment.

Presented By:

• Carol Cowan-Crawford, MA TICP Lecturer of Human Development and Family Studies, Shenango
• Dr. Mario Freamat, Teaching Assistant Professor of Physics, Scranton
• Ms. Linda Hajec, Associate Teaching Professor of Accounting, Behrend

Facilitator: Kim Wick, Behrend