RiTL 2025 Symposium
Date & Time: April 24, 2025, 8:30 AM – 12 PM
Location: Reitz Union 3315
Keynote: Stephen L. Chew, Ph.D.
Registration for this event is closed.
RiTL (Research in Teaching and Learning) at UF is specialized research that delves deeply into how students learn within and across disciplines. UF’s RiTL community of researchers and educators will engage in the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance field-specific learning. RiTL at UF includes scholarly work related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Teaching as Research (TAR), Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER), etc. Who should attend? All faculty including clinical faculty, instructional faculty, practitioners, faculty considering promotion, department chairs, staff, and librarians interested in teaching-focused research.
Learn more about Stephen L. Chew, Ph.D.
Stephen L. Chew has been a professor of psychology at Samford University since 1993. Trained as a cognitive psychologist, one of his primary research areas is the cognitive basis of effective teaching and learning. His research interests include the use of examples in teaching, the impact of cognitive load on learning, addressing tenacious student misconceptions, and the importance of student trust in the teacher. He is the creator of a groundbreaking series of YouTube videos for students on how to study effectively in college (http://www.samford.edu/how-to-study/) which have been viewed over three million times and are in wide use from high schools to professional schools.
Chew has received multiple national awards for his teaching and research, including being named the 2011 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and receiving the award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training from the American Psychological Association in 2022. Chew serves as the chair of the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (NITOP).
Agenda:
8:30-8:50 AM – Welcome
Kick off the conference with our Welcome Session! Join us as we introduce the event, highlight key sessions, and provide essential information to help you make the most of your experience. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow attendees and get excited about the days ahead.
8:50-9:40 AM – Keynote: The Cognitive Challenges of Effective Teaching
No matter what teaching method you prefer, the more you know about how people learn, the better able you will be to teach effectively. Learning is a complex interaction of multiple factors. In this presentation, I will describe a research-based conceptual framework of cognitive challenges that teachers and students must negotiate for students to learn. It consists of nine interacting cognitive challenges that include student mental mindset, metacognition and self-regulation, student fear and mistrust, prior knowledge, misconceptions, ineffective learning strategies, transfer of learning, constraints of selective attention, and the constraints of mental effort and working memory. After describing the challenges, I will recommend possible ways of addressing each one. The framework is context-dependent; what is effective for one situation may not be effective in others, and no single teaching method will always be optimal for all teachers, students, topics, and educational contexts. The framework can guide the design, implementation, and troubleshooting of teaching practice.
9:45-10:45 AM – Poster Presentations
During this engaging conference poster session, we will explore a variety of posters focused on different RITL (Research in Teaching and Learning) topics in rooms 3315, 3310, and 3305. Be sure to grab a raffle card at the registration desk to participate in the raffle drawing during the closing session.
10:55-11:45 AM – World Café Conversations
It’s World Café Conversation time, where you will gather in small groups to discuss specific topics like experiential learning, collaboration, critical thinking and more. After a set period, you will rotate to different tables, sharing insights and ideas. The session will conclude with a collective sharing of key insights, fostering deeper understanding and connection. This is a great opportunity to harness the group’s collective intelligence in a relaxed setting.
11:45-12 PM – Closing
Get ready for an exhilarating closing session! Poster raffle cards will be drawn for a chance to win one of two baskets—make sure you’re present to win! We’ll also announce the winners of the top posters, celebrating exceptional contributions to research in teaching and learning. Plus, don’t miss the chance to participate in the feedback survey and share your experiences and suggestions for future conferences.
Poster Sessions:
| Sarah Bell, Ed.D., and Cleverson De Souza, Ph.D. | AI in Veterinary Education: Faculty vs. Student Perspectives | 3315 |
| Georgette Kluiters, Ph.D., and Allyson Fleischer | BUILD: Building Understanding, Inclusion, and Longevity in Distance Education | 3315 |
| Emily Bald, Ph.D. | Calibration and Critical Thinking: Assessing Writing in the AI Era | 3315 |
| Melanie Veige | Can AI Case Studies Improve Lab Experience for Students? | 3315 |
| Danielle Collins, Cole English, Iske Larkin, Ph.D., Heather Maness, Ph.D., Patrick Larkin, Ph.D. | Chatbots can increase student learning | 3315 |
| Diba Mani, Ph.D. | Curriculum Internationalization on Intercultural Skills and Content Comprehension in APK 3200 Motor Learning in the Classroom: Abroad versus Online | 3315 |
| Bethany Shoulders, PharmD, BCCCP, Anthony Casapao, PharmD, MPH, FIDSA, Skylar Johnson, M.A., Priti Patel, PharmD, and Kaitlin Alexander, PharmD, BCCCP | Enhancing CV Writing through AI-guided Interviews | 3315 |
| Ivone de Bem Oliveira, Ph.D., Keating Godfrey, Ph.D., Bert Foquet, Ph.D., Taylor Pierson, and Jaret Daniels, Ph.D. | Enhancing knowledge retention and coding application in genomics through interactive learning frameworks | 3315 |
| Martina Sumner, Ph.D.,and Kate Medla | Enhancing Student Success in Organic Chemistry: An Intervention to Reduce DEW Rates | 3315 |
| Ana Martin-Ryals, Ph.D. | Enhancing Undergraduate Systems Thinking and Collaboration through a Sustainable Development focused Team Project | 3315 |
| Sujata Krishna, Ph.D., Ryan Rushing, and Jennifer Parker, Ed.D. | Evaluating Students Exposure and Use of AI | 3315 |
| Erika Brooke, Ph.D. | Expanding Global Competency in Criminology Education Through Virtual Exchange | 3315 |
| Christine Wusylko, Larisa Olesova, Bojan Lazarevic, & Swapna Kumar, Ed.D. | Exploration and Potential of AI Generated Feedback for Promoting Cognitive Presence in Asynchronous Online Discussions | 3315 |
| Linda Nguyen, Ph.D. | Exploring AI in Undergraduate Learning: Insights from a Human Physiology Course | 3305 |
| Jamie Loizzo, Ph.D., Jacqueline Aenlle, and Caroline Barnett | Exploring Human-AI Podcasting: Science Communication Students’ Perceptions, Self-Efficacy, and Trust | 3305 |
| Yu-Chia Kao | Exploring Young Struggling Reader’s Engagement and Perceptions of AR Reading App | 3305 |
| Soohyoun Ahn, Ph.D. | Impact of Flexible Competency-Based Learning in Online Food Science | 3305 |
| Jennifer Parker, Ed.D., Troy Hicks, Ph.D. | Implementation of the FLUF framework in a Masters of Learning, Design, and Technology program for K-12 teachers to Assess their Experiences with GenAI | 3315 |
| Heather Young, Ph.D. | Integrating AI in Higher Education: Enhancing Competency with Experience | 3305 |
| Lindsey Reisinger, Ph.D. | Modifying active learning activities to enhance student engagement | 3305 |
| Melissa L. Moreno, and Wendy J. Dahl, Ph.D. | Optimizing Engagement and Learning: Faculty and Student Perceptions on Seminars. | 3310 |
| Matthew Gitzendanner, Ph.D., and Ian Lutticken | Student assessment of non-credit AI training outcomes | 3310 |
| Megan Mocko | Student Creation of Mnemonics with and without AI in a Master’s-Level Business Statistics Course | 3310 |
| Kaitlin Alexander, PharmD, BCCCP, Carinda Feild, PharmD, FCCM | Student Perceptions of Integrating AI into a Drug Information Assignment | 3310 |
| Margeaux Johnson | Teaching with AI at UF: Exploring Concerns, Support Needs, and Early Adopters | 3310 |
| Syed Tanvir | WIP: Immersive, Hands-On, and Interactive Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST): Empowering Undergraduate Students in Quantum Computing | 3310 |