Date: March 1-3, 2018 Location: Embassy Suites Hotel / Dallas Frisco Convention Center 7600 John Q. Hammons Drive Frisco, TX 75034
In conjunction with...
Registration Information
Registration for the 2018 conference will take place on site at the event. The overall cost is $125. This will give you access to all TCCTA and AAAE events with the exception of the Thursday evening banquet. If you are a member of TCCTA then you may register online.
The AAAE sessions are listed below. Participants are welcome to attend the TCCTA sessions as well. From discipline specific sessions, student success workshops, financial planning seminars, and legislative updates, there is something for everyone.
**For questions about registration or hotel information please call TCCTA at 1-800-288-6850.
Thursday, March 1, 2018 Banquet and Adjunct of the Year
The TCCTA banquet will be held on the first night of the convention. *AAAE will not name a recipient of the Adjunct of the Year award this year.
Friday, March 2, 2018 Coffee Session
8:00 am – 9:15 am “Be an Unstoppable Professor – Be Engaged, Be Connected“ Essie Childers, Professor of Learning Frameworks, Blinn College Sponsored by Cengage
An unstoppable professor is one who continues to elevate their learning and is willing to absorb new technology. This session will reveal an exciting new resource created exclusively for college and university faculty. Learn new ways to connect with faculty across the United States who teach in your discipline. The Cengage Higher Ed Faculty Community is unique – it is the only community actively managed by working higher Ed faculty. Our mission is to help instructors enliven their class discussions by providing posts on current and controversial topics, AND providing specific suggestionson how to create stimulating class discussions around those topics. Instructors will find ideas they will want to use in class today. Faculty writers in the community put to use ideas from educational researchers such as Ken Bain (“What the Best College Teachers Do”) and James Lang (“Small Teaching”) to offer instructors immediately useful suggestions that you will not find anywhere else. Bring your laptop or iPhone to learn how to be an unstoppable professor.
Student Success Sessions
1:00 pm - 3:45 pm 60x30TX • Accreditation • Dual Credit • Guided Pathways • Student Success • Digital Literacy All sessions will be conducted at the Dallas-Frisco Convention Center and Embassy Suites Hotel on Friday afternoon, March 2. No fee or pre-registration is required, but seating may be limited. Room locations will be published in the program, which is distributed at convention registration.
Friday, 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm “Student Engagement Tips for New Faculty” Mike Kowis, Adjunct faculty, Lone Star College – Montgomery
One of the biggest challenges facing new college instructors is how to effectively engage students in lectures and classroom discussions. This challenge is especially difficult given the many distractions available to most college students, including their smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices. To encourage students’ participation in the college classroom, new college instructors must assume all of the following roles: entertainer, coach, parent, law professor, and classroom teacher. It is important to understand that the first three roles relate to the connection between the college instructor and her students, and the last two relate to the instructor’s method of classroom instruction. By combining the above five roles, new instructors should be able to effectively engage their students in lectures and classroom discussions.
Saturday, March 3, 2018 Breakout Sessions
8:00 am - 8:45 am “How to Self-Publish Your Next Book!” Mike Kowis, Adjunct faculty, Lone Star College – Montgomery
The love of writing is a common trait for many college instructors. But finding a traditional publisher willing to print your work can be a huge challenge. Even if a writer finds a traditional publisher willing to publish her book, the process often takes several months or years before the finished product finally goes to print. In light of these challenges, the self-publishing option has become very popular lately. Attendees will learn the 14 practical steps to turn their rough manuscript into an attractive, well-written, and effectively marketed self-published eBook, paperback and hardcover available for sale at popular retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
10:00 am - 10:45 am “Overcoming Obstacles-Creativity a Catalyst for Problem-Solving Skills” Dr. Vimlarani Chopra, Professor of Biology, Houston Community College
Identifying obstacles can be healthy and cathartic, and opens the floodgates to develop problem-solving skills. Creativity can be characterized much the same way and is a challenging human endeavor that expends much emotional, mental, and even physical energy equally for students and faculty on daily basis. Both skills are linked to fundamental qualities of thinking and utilization of prior experiences to enhance clarity of thought, creativity, poise, and analytics. Hence, the process of listing obstacles and categorizing them allows us to overcome obstacles to strengthen unity.
11:00 am - 11:45 am “The Role of Adjunct Faculty in Retaining a Diverse Student Population” Cruz Imelda Wicks, HR Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, University of Texas Medical Branch
Many of higher education institutions have been focused more on the admissions process for diverse student population than on what happens to students of diverse backgrounds once they arrive on campus. “The question of retention of minority students is critical at many colleges around the country. As reflected in the 1996-97 status report from the American Council on Education on Minorities in Higher Education, the college graduation rates of African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians continue to trail significantly behind those of whites and Asian-Americans” (Alger, 1997). What can adjunct faculty members do to help with retention of diverse student population? After the admissions and financial aid offices have done their part in putting an entering class together, faculty members can play a critical role in follow-up with students in a variety of ways to provide a human touch in their higher education experience.
