SPIN

SPRING PEDAGOGY INSTITUTE

SPIN 2025: DESIGNING FOR EDUCATION

May 20, 2025 

Join us on Tuesday, May 20th for the second, annual Spring Pedagogy Institute focussed on “Designing for Education.” This year, we will be kicking off the three-year Designing Forward grant from the Davis Foundation by spending a day as a community thinking about what it means to design intentionally and creatively for teaching and learning. The morning will include a guest keynote presentation and workshop; in the afternoon, we will have faculty panels and presentations. All PSU faculty and staff are invited to join us for this event. 

On Wednesday, May 21st we will be hosting a second day of programming for those who have been accepted to Season One of the Designing Forward grant. 

Register for SPIN now! 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

The Pedagogy we Practice

Sean Michael Morris

In this keynote, Sean Michael Morris explores how educational design shapes expectations and behaviors in learning environments. Challenging traditional notions that separate teachers from students, Sean invites educators to examine the unspoken frameworks that guide our practice. Through personal reflection and audience participation, this presentation advocates for a pedagogy that balances intentional design with space for zeal and unexpected discovery—one where everyone remains a perpetual student, approaching learning with wonder rather than expertise.

photo of a man with a beard looking directly into the camera and smiling
Sean Michael Morris has been working in digital education for 23 years. Beginning in 2012, he helped to surface the research field critical digital pedagogy, and co-founded the journal Hybrid Pedagogy. In 2015, he became the director of the global professional development event, Digital Pedagogy Lab, which was held on campuses across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. In his positions at Middlebury College, University of Mary Washington, and the University of Colorado Denver, he worked to empower K20 teachers with a deeper understanding of educational technologies and their impact on pedagogy and learning design. 
 
His work has been featured by National Public Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Times Higher Ed, The Guardian, Forbes, Fortune, and by numerous podcasts across the education space. He has spoken to audiences on six continents on an array of topics from critical digital pedagogy, critical instructional design, alternative assessment, AI, and the role of imagination in teaching and learning. He is the co-author of An Urgency of Teachers: the Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy, and most recently published chapters in The Ends of Knowledge (Bloomsbury) and Virtual Identities and Digital Culture (Routledge).

SCHEDULE

8:30 – 9:00

Breakfast & Registration

BOYD 144

9:00 – 10:30

 Sean Michael Morris

BOYD 144

10:30 – 11:45

Activity: Practicing a Critical Instructional Design

BOYD 144 (and breakout rooms)

11:45 – 1:00

Lunch

Lamson: Study Valley

1:00 – 1:45

Peer-to-Peer Session One

Room A: Lamson 124

Room B: Lamson 031
Level up Your Classroom: Exploring Game-Based Learning Techniques, Jason Charrette
NOTE: This workshop runs from 1:00-3:40, with breaks; Please indicate your interest in this when registering for SPIN

Room C: Lamson 003 (CoLab)
Breath and Movement for Teaching and Learning, Shannon Ford & Aimee Pascale

Room D: Lamson 115
Drop-In Help: Programmatic Assessment, Elisabeth Johnston, Tina Coit, Lourdes Aviles

Lamson Learning Commons

1:45 – 1:55

Break

Lamson: Study Valley

1:55 – 2:40

Peer-to-Peer Session Two

Room A: Lamson 124

  • Embodied Humanities, Sarah Parrish
  • The OER Course-Marking Grant: Opportunities for Faculty, Robin DeRosa

Room B: Lamson 031
Level up Your Classroom: Exploring Game-Based Learning Techniques, Jason Charrette
(CONTINUED FROM ABOVE)

Room C: Lamson 003 (CoLab)
Rekindle Your Spark: Fun Mindfulness & Play to Brighten Your Teaching, Brad Moser & Lena Moser

Room D: Lamson 115
Drop-In Help: Programmatic Assessment, Elisabeth Johnston, Tina Coit, Lourdes Aviles

Lamson Learning Commons

2:40 – 2:55

Break and Afternoon Refreshments

Lamson: Study Valley

2:55 – 3:40

Peer-to-Peer Session Three

Room A: Lamson 124
Teams for Accessibility and Engagement, Hannah Mallon, Nic Helms, Lindsey Page, Sydney Bellimer

Room B: Lamson 031
Level up Your Classroom: Exploring Game-Based Learning Techniques, Jason Charrette
(CONTINUED FROM ABOVE)

Room C: Lamson 003 (CoLab)
New Faculty Mentorship Q&A, Aimee Pascale

Room D: Lamson 115
Drop-In Help: Programmatic Assessment, Elisabeth Johnston, Tina Coit, Lourdes Aviles

Lamson Learning Commons

3:40-3:50

Break

Lamson: Study Valley

3:50 – 4:50

Reaching Every Student: Bookending the HoME Program with TWP and INCP
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Elisabeth Johnston
Panelists: Eden Bowditch, Abby Goode, Nic Helms, Megan Heidenreich, and Hannah Mallon

Lamson Learning Commons

4:50 – 6:15

Reception and Raffle

Lamson: Study Valley

Register to Attend

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