{"id":3385,"date":"2026-08-18T17:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T17:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/?page_id=3385"},"modified":"2026-09-01T21:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T21:22:16","slug":"conversations-about-our-scholarship-and-teaching-cast-fall-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/conversations-about-our-scholarship-and-teaching-cast-fall-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"CAST Fall 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching (CAST) sessions are held most Mondays and Fridays from noon &#8211; 1pm in the Harmon Room of the DeWitt Wallace Library (unless otherwise noted) and are open to all faculty and staff. RSVP&#8217;s are preferred (but not required!) as lunch is provided! Sessions are also listed on the Serie Center Events google calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Friday, Sept. 11     Coffee with colleagues &amp; meet the new Serie Center Co-Directors<\/strong> (<em>meet in Serie Center)<\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Sept. 14     The Discussion Project: Simple Tools for Facilitating Inclusive Classroom Discussions<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A number of Macalester faculty and staff participated in a Discussion Project Workshop held on campus in May 2026. A few of those participants (Julia Chadaga, I-Chun Catherine Chang, Cari Gillen-O&#8217;Neel, Sonia Mehta and Layla Zbinden) will share ready-to-implement tools and strategies for facilitating inclusive classroom discussions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Sept. 18     Ebony Aya, Serie Center and WGSS <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Sept. 21     Teaching Writing: An International Perspective (David Martyn, German and Russian Studies, Rossmann Award Winner<\/strong>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other academic cultures teach writing differently from the way we do \u2013 as David learned, the hard way, during his five years teaching at the University of Bonn. He&#8217;ll share how this experience changed the way he teaches writing (no more thesis statements!) and how it gave him a new perspective on strengths \u2013 and weaknesses \u2013 of humanities scholarship in the US<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Sept. 25     TBD<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Sept. 28     What does AI look like at Macalester? (Chris Wells &amp; Shilad Sen<\/strong>, <strong>AI Advisory Board<\/strong>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What does AI look like at Macalester? Come learn about classroom recommendations for navigating AI, campus supported AI resources,  recent surveys gauging Macalester faculty and student usage and attitudes about AI, and an overview of June&#8217;s Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on Teaching in the Age of AI.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Oct. 2     Veiling in the Ancient Mediterranean<\/strong> (<strong>Susanna Drake, Religious Studies<\/strong>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Oct 5    Using Gradescope for Assessment (Tam Perlman, Andrew Beveridge, Abby Loe and Leah Witus)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Macalester is piloting Gradescope, an assessment tool integrated with Moodle. Gradescope can streamline the grading process and enhance quality, flexibility, and efficiency. Hear why and how longtime users integrate it into their workflows.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday Oct. 9     Generative AI hasn&#8217;t changed learning: It&#8217;s still hard to become an expert (Brianna Heggeseth<\/strong>,<strong> MSCS)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In July 2026, Brianna Heggeseth joined a group of 26 statistics, data science, and computer science educators at 10 liberal arts colleges and one R1 university to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing undergraduate higher education brought on by the rapid adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) tools. They were not of one mind: their approaches to GenAI in the classroom ran the gamut from \u201clet\u2019s ban it\u201d to \u201clet\u2019s embrace it.\u201d And yet, they arrived at a largely shared conception of how GenAI is currently affecting our students, our classes, and our profession, supported by peer-reviewed research and rooted in longstanding theories of learning. Come learn more about our ongoing research collaboration and conclusions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Oct. 12     TBD<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Oct. 16     Fall Break (no CAST)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Oct. 19     informal working time for midterm grade prep<\/strong> \/ <strong>developing end of course survey questions<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday Oct. 23     TBD<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Oct. 26    TBD <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Oct. 30     International Roundtable (no CAST)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Nov. 2     Dilemma Monday<\/strong>:<strong> Brainstorming Accessibility Concerns, Questions and Conundrums<\/strong> <strong>(Jaz Thomasian, Academic Technologist for the Social Sciences)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>During this&nbsp;Dilemma Monday&nbsp;session, join us to share pedagogical challenges and successes related to creating and facilitating accessible classrooms and assignments. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Nov. 6     Spectacles of Crisis and Possibility in a Changing Arctic<\/strong> &#8211; <strong>Mindy Price, Environmental Studies<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Arctic is frequently viewed within two simultaneous and contrasting spectacles: the spectacle of crisis (public and scholarly narratives that highlight dramatic climate change impacts on Arctic ecosystems and communities) and the spectacle of possibility (political visions and scientific models that envision new resource possibilities under climate warming). In this session, Professor Price unpacks the imaginary of Arctic agriculture, firmly in tension between the spectacles of crisis and possibility, and considers the implications for Indigenous lands and local livelihoods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Nov. 9   Sustainability Collaborations In and Out of the Classroom (Megan Butler, Christie Manning, I-Chun Catherine Chang, and Xavier Haro-Carrion) <\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Come to this session to hear about how faculty in departments around Macalester are integrating Sustainability into their teaching, research, and service. This session will involve a short panel presentation followed by a discussion about opportunities to integrate sustainability initiatives on and off campus into your work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Nov. 13     Beyond the Serengeti Lion: Understanding a model species in non-model systems<\/strong> (<strong>Stotra Chakrabarti, Biology<\/strong>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In this session, Professor Chakrabarti will draw on his long-term research on wild lions across diverse ecosystems and share recent sabbatical work establishing an NSF-funded research project in the semi-arid landscape of Tsavo, Kenya. From GPS-collaring 15 lions and following their daily lives to discovering new mothers and tiny cubs, deploying a vast camera-trap network across 2500 sq.km, outwitting rogue elephants, building a field research base, and training an inspiring team of researchers, he will take you behind the scenes of what it takes to study\u2014and understand\u2014lions beyond the savanna.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Nov. 16  <strong>Building the Foundation: Bringing Macalester&#8217;s New Core to Life<\/strong><\/strong> <strong>(Laurie Adamson, Amy Damon, Lauren Milne, and Mario Solis-Garcia<\/strong>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Macalester&#8217;s new Foundations Course is designed to facilitate students&#8217; academic transition to college, introduce them to the liberal arts framework, and develop foundational research and writing skills. In this session, faculty teaching Foundations pilot courses this fall, a staff member who helped shape the Foundations framework, and a member of the Curriculum Implementation Committe will share how they are bringing the new curriculum to life. Panelists will discuss the development of the model, course designs, teaching approaches, early insights, and the opportunities and challenges of implementing something new. Participants will also have time to ask questions and consider what these early experiences might mean for the Foundations Core moving forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Nov. 20 Meghan Markle: Monarchy, Race, and Colonialism<\/strong> (<strong>Duchess Harris, American Studies<\/strong>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Professor Duchess Harris will discuss her bold and timely anthology that interrogates the British monarchy through the lens of race, gender, and postcolonial critique. Her work uses an interdisciplinary approach to reveal how one woman\u2019s experience within the royal family brings into focus broader social and historical processes of racial identity-making and colonial power. This talk engages those seeking to understand the cultural and political significance of Meghan Markle\u2019s story, and what it tells us about the world we live in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Nov. 23     Thanksgiving week (no CAST)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Nov. 30     Dilemma Monday<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Dec. 4     TBD<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, Dec. 7     Experiences of Community Engaged Learning (CEL)<\/strong> (Derek Johnson, CEC and &#8230;.)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This session will highlight the experiences of 1-2 faculty who taught CEL courses this fall term. There will be an overview of the CEL components of the class, a summary on reflection and evaluation of CEL, and the presentation of lessons learned by the faculty member. The session will conclude with brief table conversations responding to the presentation and discussing CEL going forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friday, Dec. 11     Informal lunch and conversation about the semester<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<section class=\"cta-button-block block-container\" >\n    <div class=\"cta-button-block__inner\">\n        <div class=\"cta-button-block__text-column\">\n            <div class=\"base-lockup\">\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"cta-button-block block-container\" >\n    <div class=\"cta-button-block__inner\">\n        <div class=\"cta-button-block__text-column\">\n            <div class=\"base-lockup\">\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"cta-button-block block-container\" >\n    <div class=\"cta-button-block__inner\">\n        <div class=\"cta-button-block__text-column\">\n            <div class=\"base-lockup\">\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t        <span class=\"base-lockup__label\">Monday, Sept. 14<\/span>\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t        <h2 class=\"base-lockup__heading\">The Discussion Project: Simple Tools for Facilitating Inclusive Classroom Discussions<\/h2>\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t        <p class=\"base-lockup__copy\">A number of Macalester faculty and staff participated in a Discussion Project Workshop held on campus in May 2026. A few of those participants (Julia Chadaga, I-Chun Catherine Chang, Cari Gillen-O&#8217;Neel, Sonia Mehta and Layla Zbinden) will share ready-to-implement tools and strategies for facilitating inclusive classroom discussions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t        <div class=\"base-lockup__cta\">\n\t\t\t            <a class=\"base-cta-primary\" href=\"\" target=\"_self\">RSVP Preferred<\/a>\n\t\t\t        <\/div>\n\t\t\t    \t\t\t<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching (CAST) sessions are held most Mondays and Fridays from noon &#8211; 1pm in the Harmon Room of the DeWitt Wallace Library (unless otherwise noted) and are open to all faculty and staff. RSVP&#8217;s are preferred (but not required!) as lunch is provided! Sessions are also listed on the Serie Center [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3385","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3385"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3831,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3385\/revisions\/3831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/serie-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}