Memorandum
Collaborative workshop for STEM faculty
You are invited to attend Pedagogy in Practice: A Course Design Summit with Dr. Justin Shaffer! Aug. 14 & 15.
You are invited to attend Pedagogy in Practice:
A Course Design Summit with
Kick off the new school year with a collaborative workshop for STEM faculty focused on research-informed teaching and intentional course design! Dr. Shaffer will be leading workshops aimed to equip University of Mississippi faculty to provide undergraduate students with the best educational and classroom experience possible.
Thursday, August 14
11:00 am - 12:30 pm | Meet & Greet Luncheon
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm | High Structure Course Design Workshop
High structure course design involves scaffolding students through the learning process via pre-class content acquisition and formative assessment, in-class active learning and problem solving, after-class review and practice, and frequent summative assessment. The literature on high structure course design has shown that this model improves student learning and reduces performance gaps. Participants will leave this workshop with the skills and resources necessary to start designing a new high structure course from scratch or add elements of high structure to existing courses.
Friday, August 15
9:00 am - 10:30 am | Problem-Solving for Engineering Workshop
In this workshop participants will explore various methods that can be used to scaffold students through solving problems in an engineering context. Participants will identify methods that can be tailored to their own courses and disciplines that engage and challenge students during class.
11:00 am - 1:00 pm | New Instructor & Graduate TA Luncheon
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Discipline-Based Education Research Workshop
Getting started with discipline-based education research (DBER) can be daunting but in this workshop we will cover the main steps necessary for entering this rewarding and enriching field of work. Participants will be introduced to an overview of the DBER process, from articulating research questions to finding avenues for publication, and will be provided with resources for designing and conducting their own DBER studies.
REGISTER TODAY for this event! Registration will close Monday, August 11, 2025, at noon CST. If you have any questions, please reach out to Meredith Pyle (mapyle@olemiss.edu).
About Dr. Justin Shaffer: Dr. Shaffer specializes in what is known as "high structure" course design -- a process used to engage students in the learning experience with work that is thoughtfully assigned to be completed before class, in-class, after class, and with frequent summative assessment. High structure course design has been shown to improve student performance, reduce or close achievement gaps, and increase student belonging. He in fact has written this book: High Structure Course Design: An Evidence-Based Guide for Designing, Implementing, and Assessing STEM Courses.
Pedagogy in Practice will be hosted by the Center for STEM Learning, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, College of Liberal Arts, School of Engineering and Department of Biology. All events will take place in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation.