KEYNOTE SESSIONS

Monday, May 27

Navigating 2024: Striving for Excellence in Leadership

Leadership excellence is a verb and a noun. As we journey through 2024, our unwavering focus must be on achieving excellence. Whether we lead, innovate or mentor, our commitment to excellence remains paramount. Each individual’s pursuit of excellence involves continuous refinement. But let’s rise beyond mere competence; let’s aim for the extraordinary. I advocate for Servant Leadership, a style rooted in humility, empathy, and service. Our accountability lies in this challenge, and this moment is our opportunity to ascend to new heights of leadership impact.

Falecia D. Williams
President
Prince George’s Community College

Tuesday, May 28

Higher Education Today: Reigniting Your Passion to Teach, Engage, and Grow!

Disruption in higher education is happening at an unprecedented pace. The traditional approach to teaching and learning is being challenged, as well as how we enroll and engage students. These conditions present an opportunity to explore new and innovative models of instruction and student services. To achieve our mission of graduating students, we need to develop a toolkit to help transition students in, through, and out with the necessary credentials to obtain economic and social mobility. Dr. Jones shares strategies to help you build the capacity and energy to navigate this revolution and ignite a renewed passion around your purpose. Dr. Jones shares his lived experiences and research to provide insights on how to break down institutional silos, advance community partnerships, and transform engagement by learning from and with students.

Gerald Jones
Principal and Founder, GET FIT Consulting, Inc.

PRECONFERENCE SEMINARS

Close the Metacognitive Equity Gap by Teaching Students How to Learn

Many students from underrepresented groups struggle in college—not from lack of ability, but because they lack the critical thinking skills required for success. These skills can be increased rapidly and substantially by teaching students metacognitive learning strategies. This interactive workshop presents effective learning strategies based on cognitive science research. Participants engage in activities that demonstrate strategies that transform students’ attitudes about the meaning of learning, leading to increased student success, confidence, and motivation.

Saundra McGuire, Professor Emerita and Director Emerita, Chemistry and Learning Support, Louisiana State University

Competency-Based Education: Lessons From the Trenches

Competency-Based Education (CBE) is a learner-centered, outcome-based approach to designing, delivering, and assessing learning. In addition, CBE provides proof of mastery to employers and to learners. Learn how to plan, design, and build a CBE program at your institution based on lessons learned from the workshop facilitators who implemented CBE models in Texas and Tennessee. Participants leave with a list of resources to consult as they embark on their own CBE adventures!

Sarah Hazelton, Interim Senior Director for TNeCampus, Tennessee Board of Regents; Amardeep Kahlon, Vice President, Education and Learning, Central New Mexico Community College; and Emma Miller, Program Chair, Organizational Leadership, South Texas College

Instructional Strategies for Community College Career and Technical Education Instructors

This interactive and engaging workshop is focused on guiding Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructors through the instructional design process from start to finish. So many times, CTE instructors arrive at the college directly from industry and are not properly guided on the purpose and reason for various types of instructional design. This workshop is an all-encompassing overview of instructional design from the “why” through the “how” to the “wow!”

Stephanie Duguid, Owner, Do Good Work

Start From Scratch: The No-Experience-Needed Boot Camp on Generative AI

Whether you’re new to the world of Generative AI or looking to enhance your existing knowledge, this Preconference Seminar is for you! We’ll start off learning about how to get started with ChatGPT. Then, a brief overview of the mechanics of Generative AI is discussed, offering insights into how ChatGPT and similar AI technologies work. We’ll compare popular GenAIs such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, Claude, Bing Chat, and Perplexity. We’ll wrap up with small group discussions to review the potentials and limitations of Generative AI, with an emphasis on sharing ideas and strategies for effectively integrating Generative AI into pedagogy, assignments, and assessments.

Daiju Hoshino, Instructor, Biology, and Department Chair, Life Science Department, Biology, Tarrant County College District

Teaching Introductory Computer Programming Using Project-Based Learning With Sail()

Learn about our project-based learning (PBL) approach in computer science education. Workshop participants gain a deeper understanding of the benefits and trade-offs of PBL and its impact on student success, confidence, and identity. The workshop facilitators share their experiences with content design, instruction, and research. Participants receive hands-on experience in the student and instructor roles with the Sail() platform and reflect on the benefits and challenges of incorporating similar techniques into their teaching practice.

Christopher Bogart, System Scientist, Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University; Jaromir Savelka, Researcher Associate, Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

ADMINISTRATOR SERIES

The Administrator Series, a one-day, upper-level leadership event taking place on Monday, May 27, 2024, in conjunction with NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, brings community and technical college leaders together to explore the issues, innovation, and insights of today as they deliberate about what’s needed to drive change for tomorrow.

As policy, practice, tool, and technology innovations continue to grow, what’s also increasing is the need for upper-level administrators to continue developing their skills so they can lead their institutions forward. What’s needed is the ability to lead toward a “new possible” in how we deliver learning, support students, shape finances, engage our regional education ecosystems, and so much more. The Administrator Series, a one-day, upper-level leadership event, held in conjunction with NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, brings community and technical college leaders together to explore the issues, innovation, and insights of today as they deliberate about what’s needed to drive change for tomorrow. Participants can expect a full day of engaged and interactive learning to help power the move toward this “new possible” in community and technical colleges.

Sessions facilitated by Mark Milliron, President and CEO, National University; Gerardo de los Santos, Vice President, Community College Relations, National University.

Seating is limited and is reserved for upper-level administrators registered for the conference.

Monday, May 27

Leading Toward a New Possible in Community Colleges

There is no going back to “normal” after the pandemic. We’ve been through too much, learned too much, and are too motivated than ever before to help more students learn and live well. And rather than adapt to a “new normal,” this session makes the case for leaders to guide their colleges toward a new possible. To continue the journey toward this new possible, we’ll (1) connect with the changing needs of our increasingly diverse students; (2) begin to unpack emerging learning modes and model colleges are embracing to meet these needs; and (3) learn together from leaders, innovators, and each other as we contemplate the road ahead. Finally, we’ll discuss how we better connect to the aspirations and needs of our students and figure out how together we can make the new possible far better than normal ever was.

Modality Matters for Leaders: On-Ground, Online, Blended, Metaverse, and More 

As we move down the road ahead, we’ll need to explore, understand, and embrace multiple modalities to reach and teach our diverse student bodies. This session explores how we can prepare our colleges to leverage multiple modalities to power the learning journeys of our increasingly diverse student populations, including first-gen, low-income, working, parents, and more. Moreover, we’ll unpack how we can think beyond just the classroom in this work, visioning how we leverage multiple modalities to connect effectively and serve well, advise effectively, and engage strategically the students in our charge.

Model Matters for Community College Leaders: A Time for Learning Experience Design 

Part of visioning the “new possible” is thinking expansively about our learning models. While 16-week semesters may work for some, other models are emerging that seem to power striving students even better. From shorter term models (e.g., five- or eight-week terms) to competency/mastery-based learning strategies, new models of learning delivery and service—powered by multiple modalities—are changing the game for many institutions and their students. Join the conversation about how we think about and lead toward new models on the road ahead using learning experience design—a blend of ed tech, instructional design, and design thinking—to help guide the build out.

Money Matters for College Leaders on the Road Ahead

Visioning new service and learning models matters. However, these innovations are unlikely to be stood up or maintained without a solid sustainability strategy. This session provides an opportunity for open conversations about how we can approach the very real challenges at hand, including expanding our fundraising, grant writing, and entrepreneurial partnerships.

Better Together in the New Possible

This conversation pulls together the day’s dialogs and explores the importance of inclusive and expansive internal work to build our team’s capacity to innovate and lead change. Moreover, we’ll open the aperture to discuss how we build early learning and K-12, university, private college, corporate, civic, and political partnerships to power this work and scale our impact.

FEATURED SESSIONS