After doing nearly everything wrong when I started teaching, I dove into the research and started co-creating with students, collecting active learning tools and strategies along the way. Active learning is exactly what it sounds like–actively practicing and applying a new skill–and it’s the best way to make learning stick. Now, after years of teaching and interviewing hundreds of educators, I deliver talks and workshops for faculty and administrators so they are ready for today’s students and can help them take on a rapidly changing world.
Every talk is interactive, tailored to your specific audience, and includes practical tips and tools that faculty and administrators can implement right away. Below are some suggested topics, not an exhaustive list.
- The New College Classroom
- We want students to be excited to learn, and we need to set them up for success. A handful of student-centered principles and tools can prepare them to be citizens of the world.
- Transformative Assessments that Focus Students on the Joy of Learning
- Instead of relying on external motivators (like grades) to spur students on, what we really need to do is help them connect with their internal motivators. Watch a short demo.
- Group Work Without the Groans
- Teamwork is essential to our careers and lives. Some project management strategies help us to structure accountability and infuse joy into student collaborations.
- Active Learning with Confidence (and without the Burnout)
- Active learning is the best way to learn but it can also take time and labor to set up. We need to share a little more of the responsibility for learning with our students.
!["Christina's workshop and resources will likely be revisited for semesters to come. [It] was a great way to help us all become more grounded in [our] practices, as well as to reexamine some taken-for-granted aspects of our syllabi." - Center for Teaching and Learning, Pratt Institute](https://i0.wp.com/christinakatopodis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Pratt-Testimonial.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
Upcoming Talks
“Active Learning that Revitalizes Faculty in The New College Classroom,” Keynote and Workshops at Butler University
August 21, 2024
Faculty Professional Development Retreat, Pratt Institute
August 23, 2024
“Grades, Grading & Student Learning,” Panel at University of Michigan
October 10, 2024
“The Future is Co-Created: Toward Inclusive, Collaborative Digital Learning,” Keynote at the Online Learning Consortium’s Accelerate 2024 Conference
November 20, 2024
“The New College Classroom,” Keynote at University of Tennessee Knoxville’s College of Nursing
January 13, 2025
“Co-Create Expectations for Participation with Students,” Keynote at Middle Tennessee State University
January 15, 2025
Keynote and Workshop at University of Central Oklahoma’s Transformative Learning Conference
April 17, 2025
“Active Learning Methods and Mindsets,” Keynote and Breakout Sessions at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Summer Teaching Institute
May 19, 2025
Past Speaking Events & Podcasts
“Connecting Learners to Their Internal Motivators for Success,” Keynote at the 2024 Learning Ideas Conference in New York City
June 12-14, 2024
“The Future is Co-Created: Take Student Engagement to the Next Level ,” Keynote and Workshop at RIT Summer Institute
May 2024
“Active Learning is Messy: What to Do in the Last Two Weeks of the Semester,” Keynote at SUNY Geneseo
April 2024
“Active Learning in The New College Classroom,” Robert and Marie Secor and Fisher Family John Moore Teaching Mentorship Lecture and Workshop
March 2024
“How to Cultivate an Environment of Belonging in Our Classrooms” Keynote at the Teaching and Learning Innovation Conference, University of Tennessee
March 2024
“The New College Classroom,” Mentoring Workshop for Graduate Students at Western University, in Ontario
February 2024
“Cultivating and Environment of Belonging in Our Classrooms” Keynote and Workshop
February 2024
“Active Learning for Any Day of the Term,” Training at American Chemical Society (ACS) Two-Year College Active Learning
February 2024
“Recognizing, Reacting, and Reorganizing Education in The New College Classroom,” Keynote at the 11th Annual Conference on Community College Excellence
February 2024
“The New College Classroom,” Plenary, Dual Delivery with Cathy N. Davidson
January 2024
“Active Learning with Confidence (and without the Burnout),” Workshop
January 2024
“Virtual Forum: Meaningful Classroom Engagement,” Webinar Panel with The Chronicle‘s Beckie Supiano
October 2023
“Active Learning in the Classroom,” Keynote, Teaching Academy, Johns Hopkins University
October 2023
“Group Office Hours: Self-Care is Student Care” Fall Forum Talk at Pratt Institute
September 2023
“Group Work without the Groans” Keynote and Workshop at St. John Fisher College
August 2023
“The New College Classroom with Dr. Christina Katopodis” Interview with PJ Wehry
Click here to listen to the full interview.
“Critical Pedagogy and Social Justice” with Transformative Learning in the Humanities at Pratt Institute
June 2023
“The New College Classroom” Keynote and Workshop, Misericordia University
May 2023
“The Transformative Power of Ungrading to Focus Students on the Joy of Learning” at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH
May 2023
“The Role of Higher Education in Democracy and Sustainability” at Uppsala University in Sweden, Keynote and Workshop
May 2023
