Lilly East Conference on College and University Teaching, April 16-17, 2009
Participant Take-Aways

At the Lilly Conferences, participants learn from research on teaching, best practice, engage in dialogue, and return to their campuses to share what they have learned. Here are some participant take-aways from past Lilly-East Conferences.

• "One take-away that I plan to implement in my classes is on how to encourage students to do the readings. I learned that it helps to give an assignment from the readings every week-- this could be a one page summary—and giving feedback and credit for it encourages students to read. Such summaries lend themselves to peer discussions in class and provide the instructor with diagnostic feedback on students’ level of comprehension."

• "Networking with people is still the best part of the Lilly conference. The camaraderie, access to educational experts and open atmosphere are refreshing!”

• “It’s been a treat to have a couple of days just to think about how I can enhance student learning in my courses.”

• "It was very inspiring to talk with other educators from many disciplines who are passionate about high-quality teaching, student learning and service in higher education.”

• "I am taking away many new ideas and strategies that I am excited about applying in my program. I was able to reflect on my students and how they learn. A great group of instructors who are willing to learn and share!"

• “I have a much better understanding of various way to incorporate PBL in my courses. By participating in PBL activities myself, I gained a deeper understanding of what students may experience in this setting.”

• “I left with concrete ways to better structure the science lab preparation time such that it will lead to deeper student learning.”

• "I plan to conduct a seminar for faculty in my department to introduce them to interactive learning methods.”

• "Barbara Millis’ pre-conference session was amazing! I really appreciated how she modeled concrete group-based learning activities and involved us as students. I'm ready to start incorporating group work in my teaching."