PDA Event: Centering Humanity to Connect with Students
Regardless of our roles, many of us interact and engage with students online. In an increasingly digital world with continuously evolving technologies, it can be difficult to connect with students, especially across spatial and temporal distance. Grounded in both research and practice, this session will explore how we can center humanity – ours and our students’ – to foster connection and support learning in online spaces. Participants will learn actionable strategies for translating characteristics like humor and creativity into teaching and engagement practices. While this session will focus on the asynchronous environment, participants will be able to apply strategies to other learning and engagement contexts.
Presenter:
Grace Therrell is an Associate Professor and the Student Success Librarian for Online Pedagogy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With 9 years of teaching experience and 7 years of online teaching and learning experience, she identifies sustainable and effective approaches to support students who are learning and engaging with UT Libraries online. She is an active contributor to campus initiatives that support librarians and teaching faculty as educators and lifelong learners. Broadly, Grace conducts research on teaching and learning in academic libraries. She is also pursuing a PhD in Adult Learning from the University of Tennessee, where she is studying how academic instruction librarians construct meaning and find value in their work.
Hosted by FLVC