Thank you!
To all who participated in the ALSSO conference at Wallace State on October 20th and 21st, thank you for taking the time to attend and support ALSSO! We would like to take the time to share some highlights from the conference as well as give some important information for the 2023 NOSS conference.
ALSSO Conference Recap: Award Winners Judy Barnes Educator of the Year - Mrs. Beth Reaves Gray Outstanding Alumnus of a Student Success Program - Mrs. Alma Briscoe Administrator for Outstanding Support of Student Success - Mr. Eddie Pigg ALSSO's Outstanding Research Award - Dr. Pamela White 2022-2023 ALSSO BOARD Past-President - Tenir Gumbs, Miles College President- Haley Nix, Wallace State President-Elect - Anissa Graham, UNA Secretary - Amanda Powell, Southern Union Treasurer - Marty Kellum, Calhoun Two-year Membership Chair - Sally Warren, Wallace State Four-year Membership Chair - Christa Raney, UNA Conference Keynote and Concurrent Sessions Keynote: Mrs. Ivy Watts, "Supporting The Mental Health of Your Students & Yourself: How You Can Make a Difference" Concurrent Sessions Putting the PULSE into Learning: Design and Implementation of a Campus-wide Student Development Experience (Dr. Kathy Buckelew and Dr. Andy Ball, Wallace State Hanceville) Pathways United for Learning, Service & Excellence (PULSE) is a campus-wide student development experience at Wallace State. PULSE promotes student-centered, engaging, and meaningful professional and personal growth. Held annually, PULSE brings our students together for workshops, service projects, and keynote events. Join us to find out how to put the PULSE into learning! Acceleration and Intervention in Corequisite Courses (Sydney Smith, Hawkes Learning) Actively engage students in corequisite courses with mastery-based learning and enhanced course materials that offer contextualized review and incorporate study skills. Attendees learned how to use data on class and individual performance to identify at-risk students and pinpoint commonly missed questions to tailor classroom instruction. The Power of Thinking: Shifting ours to Shift theirs! (Michael Cozart, Spring Hill College) This session will focused on two main thoughts: 1. As Educators, our thinking, actions, and attitude towards our students. 2. For Students, we need to create a space where they can begin to see themselves achieving the goal set for them. Developing an Intrusive and Immersive Support Program for Pell Students (Carrie West Harris, The University of Alabama) The Crimson Scholars program is an intrusive program to support the transition of incoming students who are Pell eligible. In order to earn the $4000 scholarship, students must attend bi-weekly Learning Community meetings, meet with their peer mentor once a month, and meet with the Program Manager once per semester. We’re Not in Kansas Anymore - Instructional Design for Student Success, Power Skills, Life, and the Classroom (Robert and Dawn Dunaway, Gadsden State) Educators should provide “power skills” within our courses, which include growth mindset, presence, empathy, and redesigning the way students think. Robert (English) and Dawn Dunaway (Instructional Designer) share how to create a course framework that integrates content and power skills to ensure our students thrive in mind, body, and spirit. Building Academic Relationships is Crucial to Positive Student Outcomes (Dr. Linda Ponder, Wallace State Hanceville) Students must be empowered to be successful in their academic journey. The impact of their relationships on success is beneficial and increases their engagement in the academic environment. Building strong academic relationships is crucial according to Maslow's theory of belonging. Previous research shows relationships have a positive influence on student outcomes and education success. The Inspiration Jukebox (Seth Terrell, Wallace State Hanceville) Music is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Incorporating music in the classroom empowers the minds and spirits of students through helping them sustain momentum while inspiring them to engage content. Music not only creates a positive classroom environment, but also makes learning more accessible. Using Jeopardy to Review in Developmental Math Courses (Melissa Arnold, Wallace State Hanceville) Game-based learning can provide opportunities for student-student interaction, student-content interaction and student-teacher interaction. In this team building exercise, participants will be divided into teams to compete against each other in a Jeopardy like game. The categories are based on MTH 100 Student Learning Objectives. In addition to playing a sample game, participants will be given information on how to develop and modify the game to other content areas. Integrating Strategies for Whole-Student Development in Science Courses (Dr. Jason FordGreen, Coastal Alabama) I've deployed methods that help develop soft skills within science students. Such strategies include networking, goal setting, conscious habit formation, advocating for development of hobbies, seeking mentorship, self-care, development of positive personal philosophy and self-image, and meta-cognition. Attendees will be shown how these strategies may be implemented within their course. Creating a Peer Mentor Team Structure to Promote Program Investment (Carrie West Harris, The University of Alabama) The Crimson Scholars program is an intrusive program to support the transition of incoming students who are Pell eligible. Going into the 2022-23 academic year and second year of the program, a peer mentor team structure was established to shift ownership and creativity from professional staff to the mentor team. Empathy: It Grows as We Learn (Christine Wiggins, Wallace State Hanceville) Empathy is about more than walking in shoes; it’s about accessing emotions. This session was a deep dive into listening to understand and communicating with empathetic responses to better connect with others. Inclusive Spaces (Dr. Kim Jones, Retired) This presentation discussed the necessity for and the ways to build inclusivity into our educational institutions, especially for our LGBTQIA+ students. No student can be successful without first having a space in our spaces. This presentation aimed to help all of us create these spaces for student success. Lead with Yoga (Ambar and Cody Hammack, Bevill State) Join us for leadership-infused yoga! Here, we l explored yoga’s foundational asanas (poses) and discussed leadership lessons learned from this excellent practice! Empowering Students by Reducing Classroom Stress & Anxiety (Vinod Kumar Mishra and Lindsey Robbins, Snead State) An overview of effective strategies to empower students by reducing their stress and anxiety in the classroom. A review of the published literature in this area and their experiences in the classroom. One of the presenters teaches Chemistry while the other teaches Psychology. Building a High-Tech Academy: Teaching Students How to Build in the Metaverse (Dr. Robert White, Alabama State University; Andre Williams, Madd Studios) This presentation taught participants how to build a course outline curriculum and activities centered on teaching students of all ages about the metaverse, avatars, etc. They also discussed how to build your academic team. 2023 NOSS Conference Information: Date and location: The conference is March 2-5, 2023 in Nashville, TN (Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center) Keynote: The keynote speaker from ALSSO'S 2021 virtual conference, Dr. Kyle Reyes, is the keynote speaker for the 2023 NOSS conference. This will be a great opportunity for all of us to learn from him again but in-person! For more information, visit the link below: https://thenoss.org/2023-Conference
Best, Amanda Powell ALSSO Secretary alstudentsuccessorg@gmail.com