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Fall 2012 Teaching EXPO Session Schedule
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 | 9:00am—7:00pm
180 New Montgomery
Registration is open to all current (Fall 2012) online, onsite, and hybrid Academy of Art University faculty. Sign up for as many (or as few) sessions as you like.
REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED
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Sessions are appropriate for all instructors unless otherwise note with
(N) for new faculty.
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SESSIONS |
Opening Sessions
9:00–9:45
[45 mins] |
The President's Welcome to First Time Attendees (N)
President Elisa Stephens |
Icebreakers: More than Breaking the Ice
P. Rachel Levin |
15 minute break
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Session I
10:00–11:30
[90 mins] |
Compassion and Connection in the Face of Challenging Behavior
Allyson Ritger, Dominica Kriz |
Vendor Fair | 11:00— 2:00
Vendors include:
- Apple
- Adobe
- Peachpit Press
- Pearson
- Whole Foods
- Patrick's and Co.
- Holbein
- Princeton
- ColArt
- Canyon
- Rembrandt
- Golden
- Pebeo
- Art Alternatives/Montana
- Savoir-faire
- Gamblin
- Faber-Castell
- Strathmore
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Crafting Effective Critique Feedback
Molly Flanagan |
New Teacher Orientation (N)
Marian Shaffner |
Planning for Effective, Engaging Demonstrations
Jennifer Russell |
Saudi Arabian Students at AAU: Anticipating Culture and Language Interference
Mona Shaath |
Teaching About Trees Without Losing Sight of the Forest
Natasha Haugnes |
Technology Show & Tell: Advanced Tricks and Tips for Online Teaching
Jenny Michael, Kevin Koczela |
Veterans in the Classroom, a Continuing Dialogue
Stella Dacy, Keith Armstrong, Bridget Leach, Gerard Choucroun, Drew Annis |
15 Minute Break
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Session 2
11:45–12:45
[60 mins] |
Art and Language: Empowering ESL Students & Fostering Community – Round Table
Carol A. Nunnelly |
Calling All Faculty Superheroes! Preparing for WASC and NASAD Reaccreditation
Melissa Sydeman, Cathy Corcoran, Rachel Platkin |
Creative Approaches to Teaching Freshman Writing (Round Table)
Kelly Holt, Katie Williams |
Understanding and Using the AAU Syllabus Template
Molly Flanagan, Tony Albert |
Rubric Census: What Have We Learned About Rubrics at the Academy?
Jennifer Russell, Natasha Haugnes |
Look Twice: Visual Resources at AAU Library
Abby Dansiger, Emily Vigor |
What the Best College Teachers Do – Reading group
Chuck Pyle |
Networking (1 hour break):
Keep the conversation going! Buy your lunch or brown-bag it. We'll be in the library.
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Session 3
1:45–3:15
[90 mins] |
A Creative Approach to Plagiarism
P. Rachel Levin |
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Are Good Art Students Born or Made?
Jenny Michael, Kevin Koczela |
Collaborate and Engage with Technology
Stuart Ralston |
Getting to Know Chinese Students
Sherise Lee, Shalle Leeming |
Grading with Integrity
Natasha Haugnes, Vanessa Spang |
Managing Time In and Out of the Classroom (N)
Tony Albert |
The SQVID that Ate the Class
Mark Badger, Jennifer Russell |
Work the Room: How to Engage Students in Your Classroom
Vera Jaye |
Homemade, Homespun Raffle (30 minute break)
Twelve winners!
Grand Prize: Lunch with the Faculty Developer of your choice.
Master of Ceremonies: Marian Shaffner
Must be present to win.
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Session 4
3:45–5:15
[90 mins] |
Accessibility is Good for Learning
Cate Naughton |
Dynamic Lesson Plans (N)
Scot Crisp |
Keys to Student Success
Mike Sciarappa and Marla Wick |
Teaching and Learning the Language of Art and Design
Susannah Schoff |
What Do You Look for in Student Work? Using Rubrics to Guide Your Way (N)
Vanessa Spang |
What We Talk About When We Talk About Research
Audrey Ferrie |
15 Minute Break
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Session 5
5:30–7:00
[90 mins] |
New Teacher Orientation (N)
Marian Shaffner |
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Teaching How to Learn
Scot Crisp |
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Accessibility is Good for Learning
Cate Naughton
Although many students learn in a typical or traditional way, many others have specific needs (disabilities, ESL, etc.) Learn why accommodations that help unique learners could benefit everyone, and learn how to make simple adjustments that while accommodating those who need them, will also serve the rest of the class.
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Art and Language: Empowering ESL Students & Fostering Community (Round Table)
Carol A. Nunnelly
International students have many valuable ideas to contribute to your class. Learn how to create a more dynamic environment and get your students talking. Find out ways to determine whether or not your students are learning what you are teaching. Learn how to ask questions so that you get answers. Determine how to stop, pause, and wait for students while giving them valuable thinking time to respond with intelligence. Learn to empower diverse groups of students to become a community of collaborative learners.
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Are Good Art Students Born or Made?
Kevin Koczela, Jennifer Michael
Research by psychologist Carol Dweck shows that your own teaching practices and beliefs train students to confront or avoid challenges. In this seminar we will explore the distinction between "Growth" and "Fixed" mindsets and learn what you can do to foster a hunger for learning in aspiring artists.
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Calling All Faculty Superheroes! Preparing for WASC and NASAD Reaccreditation
Melissa Sydeman, Cathy Corcoran, Rachel Platkin
Did you know AAU is preparing for WASC and NASAD reaccreditation ? We need you! Learn everything a Faculty Superhero needs to know! What skills should students graduate with? How do faculty communicate about those skills and make sure our students achieve them? How can we help more students succeed?
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Collaborate and Engage with Technology
Stuart Ralston
If your class is lecture or demonstration-based, this is the workshop for you. We will learn how to increase student engagement and improve collaboration with technology. Three tech demonstrations will be followed by lively discussions, so everyone will leave with something new for their class. This workshop is for for everyone from the Tech-savvy to the Tech-phobic.
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Compassion and Connection in the Face of Challenging Behavior
Allyson Ritger
All students look to us for respect, kindness, and a recognition that they have needs beyond the academic and professional. If we’re curious about students' experiences, we can connect to their universal human needs. Using Dr. Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication model, we'll practice responding compassionately to tough classroom situations.
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Crafting Effective Critique Feedback
Molly Flanagan
Instructor feedback is a critical part of the learning process, yet there are many potential barriers to students actually receiving, understanding and implementing our critiques. We will examine sample feedback statements to identify effective strategies, and practice crafting comments that will help students both grow artistically and improve their work.
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A Creative Approach to Plagiarism
P. Rachel Levin
Everything is a Remix is an online series that explores the link between creativity and copying that reminds us there are many ways to think about plagiarism. We'll address the challenge—and potential—of plagiarism by designing assignments that encourage creativity, reduce plagiarism, and allow students at any level to demonstrate their skills.
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Creative Approaches to Teaching Freshman Writing (Round Table)
Kelly Holt, Katie Williams
This roundtable discussion will allow instructors from all departments to share best practices, assignments, and approaches to teaching writing to freshmen. It will provide insight about what we teach in Liberal Arts Department Freshman writing courses. We welcome an inter-departmental discussion about how best to approach writing assignments with art students in mind.
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Dynamic Lesson Plans
Scot Crisp
Lesson plans are step-by-step guides for each class session that motivate students, provide new information, and allow time for practice and application of new knowledge. Create lesson plans to organize 3-or 6-hour sessions, use time as productively as possible and keep a record of what you've accomplished throughout the semester.
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Getting to Know Chinese Students
Sherise Lee, Shalle Leeming
Chinese students have differing assumptions about the role of teachers and students. Many teachers struggle with communicating their classroom and course expectations to this growing population. First, we'll share research-based findings and suggestions for the classroom. Second, Academy Chinese students will join us for a guided discussion on their challenges studying in the U.S.
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Grading with Integrity
Natasha Haugnes
"Artists need to learn to make mistakes, but the school is always asking us for grades!" Discuss solutions for this and other common "grading paradoxes" that teachers encounter at the AAU. Gather tools to help you set up a grading system that truly reflects the teaching and learning priorities of your course as well as the AAU. What do you look for in student work?
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Icebreakers: More than Breaking the Ice
P. Rachel Levin
Icebreakers are more than parlor games for learning names. Used strategically, they generate enthusiasm about your course and help gather information about students' existing knowledge. You can even use icebreakers to teach basic skills or concepts. Icebreakers also lay the groundwork for trust and empathy—skills students need to be productive members of working teams.
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Keys to Student Success
Mike Sciarappa, Marla Wick
Students procrastinate. Every teacher knows this. This seminar addresses numerous strategies for helping students overcome this avoidant behavior. We will focus on techniques for helping students with time management, project planning, and study skills. Learn how to cultivate an optimal classroom community and foster communication in your classroom.
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Look Twice: Visual Resources at AAU Library
Abby Dansiger, Emily Vigor
This session will introduce AAU Library's visual resources, including digital image collections, presentation tools, and an image citation guide. Participants will discuss visual literacy standards, compare their approaches to researching and using images in their classes, and share ways we can all support students to think and communicate visually.
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Managing Time In and Out of the Classroom
Tony Albert
What is your time management style? What are the barriers to your effective use of time? Are your students learning effective time management by watching you? This workshop will show you some tools to identify your time management strengths and weaknesses, and help you explore strategies to manage your class time efficiently.
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New Teacher Orientation
Marian Shaffner
New instructors, welcome to the Academy! Get your questions answered in a fun and informative session. Find out what to do with class rosters after you've taken roll, how to respond to typical student questions, and where to get help for yourself or your students. You will leave with tools, information, and ideas to make your first semester more successful.
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Planning for Effective, Engaging Demonstrations
Jennifer Russell
Demonstrations are often the centerpiece of our classes, but if they don't go as planned or if students tune out, then it can be difficult to recover. Examine successful setup strategies and troubleshoot common problems to keep this valuable time productive and engaging.
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Rubrics Census: What Have We Learned About Rubrics at the Academy?
Jennifer Russell, Natasha Haugnes
Last year, we asked you for your rubrics and you delivered: about 200 from across the University were submitted. Since then, we have been looking for patterns and trends in the rubrics at the AAU. Come learn about and discuss our initial findings and what they can mean for you and your teaching practice.
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Saudi Arabian Students at AAU: Anticipating Culture and Language Interference
Mona Shaath
Very soon, the number of Saudi students at AAU will increase dramatically. Marhaba! Attendees will leave this session aware of typical issues of the culture and language interference associated with this new student population. Together, we will have the opportunity to pose questions, engage in discussion and devise appropriate strategies.
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The SQVID that Ate the Class
Mark Badger, Jennifer Russell
Do you see the same old, same old solutions to problems every time? We're presenting a way to immerse your students in the "story" of their projects and brainstorm ideas to generate enthusiasm and interesting visuals. Dan Roam's SQVID provides a systematic approach to storytelling, visual communication, and creativity.
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Teaching About Trees Without Losing Sight of the Forest
Natasha Haugnes
Teachers and students can become so immersed in the fine details of a course that they sometimes forget to do what great teachers and students do habitually: connect the details to the big picture of their discipline. Based on What the Best College Teachers Do (Bain 2004), activities in this session will help us clarify the "big pictures" our disciplines as well as our own identities as practitioners within our disciplines. With this clarity, we can help our students see the "forest" and engage in the deep learning necessary to excel in their fields.
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Teaching and Learning the Language of Art and Design
Susannah Schoff
Do your students sometimes struggle to understand key concepts and communicate their ideas clearly? All of our students, international and domestic, need to know the professional language of their art/design field to think about, understand, and communicate concepts. This workshop will focus on how students acquire new language and provide strategies for instructors to make the process more successful.
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Teaching How to Learn
Scot Crisp
Metacognition is the idea of "thinking about thinking," which you can put to practical use in your class. Metacognition helps your students develop personal learning strategies and form self-reflective and self-regulated behavior. As a result, students can become expert learners and critical thinking problem solvers.
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Technology Show & Tell: Advanced Tricks and Tips for Online Teaching
Jennifer Michael, Kevin Koczela
Want to pick up some tips to enhance your online class? Have persistent teaching issues you'd like to discuss? This hands-on workshop answers your questions and presents our favorite strategies for working more creatively and efficiently online. Have great ideas to share? You'll have the chance: show us yours, and we'll show you ours!
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Understanding and Using the AAU Syllabus Template
Molly Flanagan, Tony Albert
Writing or updating a syllabus using the AAU template can be daunting and confusing. We will demystify the process of writing learning outcomes, connecting content with course goals, and sequencing an outline in this step-by-step workshop on how to fill in the blanks.
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Veterans in the Classroom, a Continuing Dialogue
Stella Dacy, Keith Armstrong, LCSW, Bridget Leach,, LCSW, Gerard Choucroun, Drew Annis
The number of military veterans at AAU has increased as has the need to support instructors working with this diverse and unique population. Guest speakers will cover a range of topics affecting veteran students. Open dialogue is encouraged, bring your questions and take advantage of the knowledge our veteran's affairs professionals provide.
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What Do You Look for in Student Work? Using Rubrics to Guide Your Way
Vanessa Spang
Do you find yourself listing the same phrases over and over as you respond to student work? Want a more efficient system? In this hands-on rubrics workshop, learn first how to identify what you are looking for when evaluating student work, then how to sort the information using "buckets" and descriptive details. Working in small groups with real examples of student work from AAU art and design classes, you will use your new skills to create a rubric.
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What We Talk About When We Talk About Research
Audrey Ferrie
This interactive workshop will explore the CRAAP test—a simple evaluation technique to work with digital natives' preference for online information—for better research results.
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What the Best College Teachers Do (Reading Group)
Chuck Pyle
Ken Bain's study of outstanding college teachers was published in a book by the same name in 2004. The principles that emerged are not a list of simple do's and don'ts, but sophisticated and provocative concepts. Discuss the applications of these principles with your Academy colleagues. Participants will receive a short excerpt from the book in advance that will inform our discussion about Bain's ideas.
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Work the Room: How to Engage Students in Your Classroom
Vera Jaye
How do you get students to focus? How do you keep their attention? In this session, you will experience field-tested techniques to get students intrigued and involved while they learn. Share and discuss ideas with colleagues and come away with a handful of practical, low prep strategies you can use right away.
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15 x 20’s: Order and Chaos
All Star AAU Cast!
What happens when you ask art and design teachers to respond to the concept of "Order and Chaos" and create 5-minute presentations, showing 15 slides for 20 minutes each? We are not sure either. Join us for this potluck of 5-minute presentations!
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Tony Albert is a faculty developer at the Academy of Art University and has been working as an ESL instructor for foreign students, immigrants and refugees in the university and non-profit sectors for 15 years. He holds a BA in Art (painting) and an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language from San Francisco State University.
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Drew Annis is an Academic Coach and Instructor and hails from Iowa City, Iowa. He studied Anthropology, Spanish and Cinema Production at the University of Iowa. He studied abroad in Seville, Spain and Morelia, Mexico and upon graduating, Drew joined the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, where he taught art and Spanish to elementary school students in Charleston, South Carolina. He worked as a Construction Site Supervisor for Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans and served as a guide/interpreter at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. He simultaneously pursued graduate studies in cultural anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and received his degree after completing fieldwork in La Guajira, Venezuela where he lived with the Wayuu indigenous tribe.
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| Keith Armstrong, L.C.S.W. is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He directs the San Francisco Veterans Administration's (SFVA) Veteran's Outreach Program at San Francisco City College, the SFVA's Family Therapy Program, and is a member of the SFVA's Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Clinical Team. In addition, he consults to the UCSF Intensive Family Therapy program. Mr. Armstrong is the co-author of the best-selling book, Courage After Fire, Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families and the recipient of the prestigious 2011 UCSF Department of Psychiatry George Sarlo Teaching Award.
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Mark Badger has drawn everything from Jewish vampires to Batman. He transitioned from comics to web development in the 2000's and has now moved back to doing comics again. Meanwhile he continues to teach interactive storytelling, and programming for the Web and New Media Graduate Department. He continues to be surprised how the basics of storytelling underlies everything from the electing Presidents, programming logic, teaching and even what hides in Batman's utility belt.
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Gerard Choucroun, MSW, is Director of the Veterans Health Integration Program at NCIRE-the Veterans Health Research Institute. He has worked in mental health research at NCIRE and the UCSF Department of Psychiatry since 2001. With experience and training in online communications and a Master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania, he served as outreach and intake coordinator for the PTSD Research Program at the San Francisco VA Medical Center from 2001 to 2006. He was project manager of the UCSF Death Notification and Survivor Care Program from 2003 to 2006.
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Cathy Corcoran, Vice President of Academic Administration and Accreditation, has worked at AAU for 15 years and coordinates our NASAD accreditation. Cathy received her Ed.D in Organization and Leadership from USF.
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Scot Crisp shares a love for both teaching and acting. He has a BA from the University of Oregon in Theater Arts: Acting and an MA from San Francisco State University in English: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. At AAU, Scot is a faculty developer and an ESL support teacher. Before joining AAU's faculty, Scot trained teachers and taught English in the Bay Area and abroad. Scot still lives in the Paris of his own mind and plans to live there again one day (Paris, that is).
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Stella Dacy is Classroom Services Administrator at AAU with a BA in Psychology from San Diego State. She comes from a varied non-profit background, serving at-risk youth in summer employment programs, and working with UNICEF in the Republic of Panama to provide care and housing for malnourished children. She has worked for San Diego county government in Health and Human services helping low income families with resources and aid. The daughter of a military veteran, being raised in the military culture opened up many unique experiences and exposed her to her personal love of theatre and fine art.
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Abby Dansiger is the Visual Resources Librarian at the Academy of Art University Library, where she manages all aspects of the Library's digital image database. Abby also serves as a reference librarian and the Photography subject specialist. She holds a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, and a Master's in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. Abby's prior experience includes indexing images for the Bettmann Archive at Corbis, and cataloging an artists' ephemera collection for the SFMOMA Research Library. Currently, she is Chair of the Northern California Chapter of the Visual Resources Association.
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Audrey Ferrie received her Master's in Library and Information Science from the Information School at the University of Washington in June of 2010. Audrey can be found leading tours, teaching workshops and helping students with research at the Reference desk. She has worked in public, academic, corporate and law libraries. Information behavior and literacy, digital archiving, and ESL learning in the library are where Audrey's nerdy passions lie.
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Molly Flanagan has been part of the Faculty Development team since 2008. She enjoys supporting instructors as they expand their skills and often draws on her own training and experience. She holds an MA in teaching ESL from the School for International Training and taught English in various corners of the world for a decade. Most recently, she has been building and teaching an online course for AAU students who want to teach. In her free time, Molly delights in dance, animal welfare, world travel, and foreign languages (Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese).
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| Natasha Haugnes first trained teachers for the Peace Corps in West Africa after her own stint teaching English in Morocco. She holds an MA in Teaching Composition and English as a Second Language from SFSU. She has authored two ESL textbooks, Northstar (now in 3rd edition) and Focus on Writing (2011). Natasha has worked at the Academy since 1995, as an ESL instructor, founding director of the ARC, and now faculty developer. Her online course: Professional Practices for the Teaching Artist launched last Fall.
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Kelly Holt has taught English Composition and World Literature at Academy of Art University since 2005 and has been the English Coordinator in Liberal Arts since 2009. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature, a M.A. in Literature, a M.F.A. in Creative Writing, and a double B.A. in Literature and American Studies. Teaching artists allows her to emphasize the similarities between textual and visual language: writing is another mode through which to express oneself creatively. She encourages students to consider how their attention to clarity, style, organization, and revision in their artistic projects also applies to their writing projects.
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Vera Jaye is a design business owner and has been an adjunct instructor at AAU since 2009. Her ability to work with diverse students and clients stems from many years teaching a range of students from high school to university and interacting with complex clients. She uses her honed experiences from the education and business fields to create successful learning environments for the student body at AAU. Her interests include how people learn, architecture, and ancient histories. She also enjoys her time as a volunteer for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS).
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Kevin Koczela manages the Online Instructor QA Review program and works with the Academy's academic directors to ensure quality instructor participation in online classes. Kevin holds degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the Graduate Theological Union and teaches in the Graduate Studies program at the Academy.
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| Dominica Kriz teaches writing courses at AAU and holds an MFA in Writing and Consciousness from New College of California. She recently spent a month in Prague writing a memoir about her family and exploring mythic themes in fiction. Dominica first taught communication skills to bodyworkers at the Gefion School in the early eighties and has continued to study the power, possibilities, and limitations of language in the art of communication. She considers the empathy principles of compassionate communication to be an invaluable tool for teachers wanting to foster better teacher / student relationships and diminish stress in difficult classroom situations.
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Bridget Leach LCSW is a social worker with the Mental Health Service at the Department of Veterans Affairs in San Francisco. She provides outreach and mental health services at the San Francisco VA's Veteran's Outreach Program at City College of San Francisco, and works closely with the CCSF Veterans Outreach Program clinical and administrative team on program development and administration. She graduated from Smith College, in 2003 with her MSW in Social Work and became licensed through the Board of Behavioral Sciences as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2010. Before working at the SF VA Medical Center she worked at the Department of Human Services with the City and County of San Francisco.
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Sherise Lee brings her love for both teaching and art into her role at the Academy. She graduated from the University of California at Davis (Go Ags!) with degrees in Art History and Sociology. She later completed an MA in second language education. Her experiences range from working in event marketing to teaching elementary school in China. When she's not traveling, Sherise enjoys running and pursuing her design interests. You can also find her on the hunt for good eats in the city.
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Shalle Leeming is the ESL Curriculum Coordinator and an English teacher at the Academy. Her interest in cultural differences and linguistics led her to pursue an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language from San Francisco State University and set her on a course of intercultural experiences while living and teaching abroad in Japan, Argentina, and Turkey. She enjoys travel and considers a 1998 three-week backpacking trip in mainland China one of her best trips.
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P. Rachel Levin integrates her passion for ideas with her devotion to teaching and learning. As a faculty developer, she loves working alongside Academy of Art instructors to develop creative approaches to teaching about the creative industries. Before joining the Academy in 2006, she developed original research-based curriculum materials, presentations, and workshops for universities, K-12 schools, museums, and community centers. This semester she'll teach her course, History of Art Education, online. Rachel's philosophy of teaching is "Work hard. Have fun. Take risks. Everything counts." Ask her about the details.
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Jenny Michael is Manager of Online Instructional Development & Training for Cyber Campus. She also teaches French online. After earning a doctorate in Folklore & Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania, Jenny taught folklore and American studies at UC Berkeley and USF (online). She has also done fieldwork in ethnic communities in the US and abroad, trained university faculty on using ethnographic methods in the classroom, and developed numerous workshops on campus diversity.
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| Cate Naughton is a coordinator in the Classroom Services department. Her background is in working with people with disabilities, ranging in age from birth to senior, in both educational and professional settings. Cate has worked primarily with Deaf students and holds a degree in Deaf Studies. Prior to joining the Academy, she was a teacher in a Deaf classroom setting.
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| Carol Nunnelly is an artist, illustrator, and teacher. She has over 60 semesters of classroom experience at the AAU. She is noted for her ability to bring out the best in her students through innovative teaching methods. She is currently a full time Instructor for the AAU in FSH and FA. Nunnelly is also a gifted illustrator, painter and muralist with numerous projects and publication contributions to her credit. She has been recognized for her ability to work with clients to realize their vision through research, design and innovative execution. Her book, The Encyclopedia of Fashion Illustration Techniques, was released in June of 2009.
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Rachel Platkin, Director of Assessment, supports our Academic Departments in trying to answer the burning question, "Are students learning what we're teaching?" She started at AAU in 2007 overseeing the Pre-College Art Experience and holds a MA in Education Administration from SF State.
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| Chuck Pyle, Director of BFA Illustration, was trained as an illustrator at the Academy, and comes from an impressive freelance career. He is an internationally sought-after artist, working with clients from New York to Tokyo. His past clients have included Microsoft, Pacific Bell, Safeway, Avis, Ask Jeeves, Sun Microsystems, Reader's Digest, the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Atlantic Monthly, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, McCall's, Penguin, Bantam, Book of the Month Club, Houghton Mifflin, Seattle Opera, Nisshin Foods, and the Chicago Museum of Science and Technology. His work has been widely exhibited, and is part of many permanent collections.
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Stuart Ralston holds a Master's degree in Education from the University of Minnesota, and has worked on education-technology integration for several years. He is passionate about using technology to make teaching and learning more engaging, creative and effective. Currently, Stuart is leading an iPad Pilot project through the Academy Resource Center.
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Allyson Ritger holds an MFA in Writing & Consciousness from the New College of California. She teaches composition and creative writing at AAU at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and has authored several online courses. Allyson is currently exploring compassionate communication in the classroom, as well as working on a book of interconnected short fiction and a children's book. Perhaps her most important writing is as a volunteer pen pal for SF Zen Center's Prison Outreach Program.
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Jennifer Russell was the founding director of Faculty Development. Before joining the Academy in 2001, she developed curriculum, taught at several local ESL programs, and trained teachers both here and abroad. Her topics have included German, ESL, literacy, linguistics, basic tech skills, and jazz history. She holds an MA in TESOL from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a BA from UC Berkeley.
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Susannah Schoff has been a teacher at AAU since 2009. Currently, she coordinates and teaches ESL Level 3 and the History of Art Education. After receiving her M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from SFSU, she taught and trained English teachers for two years as an English Language Fellow in Indonesia. She loves to write poetry and short stories, cook and eat vegetarian food, dance, read, and travel.
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| Mike Sciarappa and Marla Wick are Academic Coaches who teach a required success course for first-year students on academic probation. They work in Student Academic Support, providing AAU students with the critical skills and resources they need to meet their academic goals. Mike has a degree in psychology from the University of San Francisco and an MA from Boston College in School Counseling. Marla is a recovering academic with degrees from Montana State University, Ohio University, and the University at Buffalo. They are both passionate about supporting Academy students.
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| Mona Shaath is an ESL and Support Instructor here at AAU. Mona received her MA in Sociology from NYU, her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults). She has taught at NYU, Lehman College and at EF International Language Schools. Since 2000, she has worked as a writer/researcher for Alpha R&D, a consulting business. Also a student, Mona studied Arabic in Egypt at the American University in Cairo.
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Marian Shaffner, Director of Faculty Development, formerly worked for the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), where she was Assistant Director of Outreach. She has created numerous teacher-training materials for GLEF, Apple, and Broderbund. She has also taught for the Instructional Technologies departments at SFSU and USF, and has presented at numerous educational conferences nationally and internationally.
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| Vanessa Spang graduated from St. Lawrence University with a BA in French, Spanish and German and has an MA from SFSU in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Vanessa currently wears two hats: one as a faculty developer and the other as a Language Support person in the ESL department. She taught in both university and high school settings before joining the AAU in 1997, where she has felt privileged to work with a wonderful group of committed and talented colleagues.
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| President Elisa Stephens, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Vassar College and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco in 1985. She is a member of the California Bar Association and completed the Foundations curriculum at the Academy of Art University. She served as a Law Clerk at the San Francisco Superior Court, 1985-1986, as In-house Counsel at Cellular Holdings, Inc., 1987-1988, and as Contributing Editor to Barclays Law Publishers, 1986-1988. She also worked as counsel for the Academy of Art College until 1992. In 1992, Elisa Stephens became President of the Academy of Art College. As the third generation Stephens to lead the university, she continues the mission and commitment of her predecessors. She has led the Academy into the digital world and pioneered the Academy online education programs. Under her leadership, the Academy of Art University has become the largest private university of art and design in the United States, and the premier university to be educated by the art and design industry's top professionals.
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Melissa Sydeman (WASC ALO) has taught acting for AAU since 1998. In a previous life, she was a Rhodes Scholar.
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| Emily Vigor joined the Academy of Art University Library in spring of 2011, and is currently the Cataloging Assistant in the Library’s Technical Services department. She received her BA in Social Sciences from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2006 and her Master’s in Art History from Richmond University in London in 2008. Emily is currently working toward another Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. She has previously held positions in the National Gallery Picture Library in London as a digital image consultant and at Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco as an archivist of artist estates.
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Katie Williams has been a full-time writing instructor at Academy of Art University since 2007. She is also the curriculum lead for Composition for the Artist, the introductory writing course for first-year students. Katie earned her B.A. in English and University of Michigan and her M.F.A. in fiction writing at University of Texas, Austin. In addition to teaching, she has written two young adult novels, The Space Between Trees (Chronicle Books, 2010) and Absent (Chronicle Books, 2013), and so spends many hours thinking about the capturing and keeping of young people's attention.
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