An instructor and a student cheer at one another with arms raised in the air.

Guest lecturer Lisa Barker (left) leads an improvisational exercise with a student in a Curriculum & Instruction class. (Photo by Jeff Miller)

Meet the keynote speaker

Photo of Christina Katopodis

Christina Katopodis on Active Learning that Revitalizes Instructors in The New College Classroom

Christina Katopodis, Ph.D, is Mellon Senior Researcher at the City University of New York’s Humanities Alliance, pursuing research on the indispensable role of a humanities education. With Cathy N. Davidson, she is co-author of The New College Classroom (Harvard University Press, 2022), winner of AAC&U’s 2023 Frederic W. Ness Book Award.

Her talk focuses on the question: How do we make the transition from the hierarchical, inequitable, output-driven academy we inherited from the 19th century to a higher education that empowers all students to be their own best selves, modeling a more democratic, flourishing, and just society? How do we make this transition in our own classrooms?

In this interactive keynote, Katopodis will present the latest science of learning on inclusive learning. She will share teaching strategies that anyone can adapt easily and effectively in every field, as well as grab-and-go activities that educators around the world are using successfully to ensure their students’ lifelong success and to revitalize their own commitment to a better world. Participants will come away with at least three practical things they can implement in their classes in the coming semester.