Perusall Exchange®

K. Chimène Gecewicz, University of South Alabama, Global USA, Mobile, AL United States: I have been using Team-Based Learning in my classes for the past five years. Normally the preparation phase is an individual activity, but with Perusall, I saw the potential to turn this phase of the cycle into an additional opportunity for team engagement. I instructed students to work with their teammates to anticipate questions that might appear on the in-class readiness assurance test. Students are now engaging more deeply with the text and their teammates.

Kristen D. Fulfer Centre College, Chemistry Danville, KY, United States In my general chemistry courses, I implement Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) where students are asked to respond to content before class. Recently, I started using Perusall for JiTT. I give students prompts either through assignment instructions or comments that I post throughout the text or video. Students respond as well as post their own comments and questions throughout. I am able to tailor our class time to focus on common areas of confusion.

Lama Masri Frederick Community College, Adult Education and ESOL Frederick, MD, United States Creating activities for ESL learners on Perusall allows learners to apply strategies needed to develop and improve their reading skill. Learners are able to interact with the reading passage, respond to prompts, and engage in discussions with other learners. Instructors are able to customize activities to meet the reading goals for their classes, and track, view, and respond to students’ posts. Reading in online ESL classes can be as engaging as in physical classes.

Vickie T. Fedele University of Delaware, Associate in Arts Program Wilmington, DE, United States "In this session, I will discuss the power of combining TED Talks with Perusall annotations to make remote classes seem more personal. The evocative subject matter of TED Talks inspires students to connect with the speaker, and the annotation of the talks inspires them to connect with each other. If synchronous class discussion follows the Perusall exercise, it is particularly robust and lively, providing even more opportunity for students to feel engaged in the course."

Lauren Barbeau, Assistant Director for Faculty Development and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at the University of Georgia, moderated a live discussion with instructors about how they use Perusall to increase student engagement in and outside of the classroom.

Carla Reyes The College of Wooster, Academic Resource Center Wooster, OH, United States Many college undergraduates begin their intensive higher-level learning with underdeveloped reading strategies and struggle to cope with the large amount of texts they are assigned. A modeling approach can induct developing readers into a more efficient community of practice, but it requires a significant time investment. By using the collaborative highlighting and conversations features in Perusall, it may be possible to give developing readers an “insider’s view” of the metacognitive strategies applied in real time by expert readers.

Karen A. Aicher Bridgewater State University, Communication Sciences and Disorders Bridgewater, MA, United States This session describes the process used for implementing Perusall as part of graduate coursework in allied health programs to foster increased engagement and develop asynchronous discussion skills regarding evidence-based practice. The goal of the interactive portion is to hold a brain-storming session with other workshop participants about how to gain interdisciplinary support and how to structure our assignments on Perusall in ways that are meaningful for our students, their faculty mentors, and our community partners.

Charles E. Youngs Bethel Park High School, English Language Arts Pittsburgh, PA, United States This session reports an English teacher’s experience in remote, concurrent teaching situations at a high school near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, using Perusall with students for the first time, and presents qualitative results suggesting the e-reader provides an effective means to improve study and discussion of complex literary texts. Where virtual class meetings often fell silent, Perusall's asynchronous small group discussions gained traction and promoted close reading, participation, and comprehension. Exemplars, assessment, and student response are presented.

Veronika Dolar, SUNY Old Westbury, Politics, Economics and Law, Old Westbury, NY United States I use Persuall for two separate sets of readings - together worth 40% of students’ final grade. The first one is for actively engaging with the textbook material. The second one is for Weekly Read and Annotate Assignments where we carefully read one or two newspaper articles related to the topic covered in class. These assignments are intended to cultivate a collaborative reading experience that allows us all to engage one another and the materials in a thoughtful, social, and dynamic way. Annotating in detail and in this collaborative form is a step towards developing larger analyses and strategic reading skills. This helps builds a community that promotes peer-to-peer learning and diverse cultural expression."

Susan E. Hrach, Columbus State University, English, Columbus, Georgia United States: Setting an inviting tone through your course materials and annotations can keep students motivated to persist in dense, difficult subjects. Instructors can model enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity by using Perusall's annotation tools, making the course welcoming and fun. In this session, we'll experience the visual impact of a wide variety of learning materials, as well as the difference it makes to encourage students to connect material to their own knowledge and experiences.

Edythe P. Wakevainen Macomb Community College, Psychology Warren, MI, United States Based on three true-or-false questions regarding Perusall, this interactive presentation addresses the use of Perusall in various activities designed to help students achieve learning outcomes. These activities are used in diverse subject areas and could easily be adapted across the curriculum. The presentation provides evidence that students react positively to their Perusall-based work.

Alison H. Melley George Mason University, Psychology Gaithersburg, VA, United States In this interactive presentation, I will describe an interteaching approach taken in large enrollment courses. Students work together to solve problems on an instructor-created pdf in Perusall, then identify their most pressing questions. They come to class to find out the answers to these questions and are then responsible for submitting their own answers to the questions posed in Perusall. This approach has been applied in face-to-face classes as well as synchronous and asynchronous online courses.

Pablo Valdivia, Hans Beldhuis, Koos Winnips, University of Groningen, European Culture and Literature, Groningen, The Netherlands: In our presentation, we will share our educational innovation at the University of Groningen, where we transformed traditional passive culture and literature courses into 21st-century learning experiences that efficiently prepare students to develop the skills to not only successfully complete their academic studies but also excel in their future professional career paths: from team-based learning to effective written and oral communication.

Vincent de Boer, Hans Beldhuis, Koos Winnips,University of Groningen, Educational Support and Innovation, Groningen, The Netherlands: Though the power of Perusall as a tool for student preparation is evident, collaborative and interactive learning is not always reached. In our presentation we will focus on (research on) how blended learning design, with a learning cycle of instruction and feedback on both content and approach strategies, can enhance interaction, collaboration and learning on higher cognitive levels. During the session we want to show participants ways to incorporate Perusall in a blended learning design.

Brokk Toggerson, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Physics, Amherst, MA United States: Graduate students face several important transitions: becoming a researcher, a teacher, and a colleague. These transitions require specific skills: reading research, giving presentations, and navigating issues of diversity in the workplace. At UMass-Amherst incoming physics Ph.D. students begin developing these skills in a dedicated seminar through the lens of TA training. Students read journal articles about physics education in Perusall: simultaneously honing students’ ability to read research articles and introducing them to teaching best-practices.

Comfort M. Ateh Providence College, Secondary Education Providence, RI, United States Instructors all around the world are excited about the benefits of Perusall in engaging students in reading prior to class. Another benefit of Perusall is enhancing formative assessment: A planned ongoing process to elicit and use evidence of student learning to improve student understanding of intended learning outcomes. On Perusall, students are more likely to share their authentic knowledge, which is at the core of effective formative assessment process.

Angélica Meza Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas and Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Education Bogotá, Colombia Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach (SOFLA) arises as an opportunity to engage and empower students who are enrolled in ESL and SSL teaching education programs. SOFLA outlines a cycle that requires interaction to develop in-class and out-of-class activities and this interactive component is facilitated and maximized through Perusall. Currently, my students benefit from learning together by posting reflections, questions and comments that make my lessons student-centered classes and make me a facilitator in their learning process.

Nuria Hernandez Nanclares Universidad de Oviedo, Applied Economics Oviedo, Spain With so many remote classes, the challenge of having students engaging in the learning process has become even more urgent. Perusall reveals itself as a "Swiss knife" tool that supports student engagement and active learning. A reflection framework is proposed, combining two dimensions: where students and teachers are and when and with whom students work.

Nuria Hernandez Nanclares, Universidad de Oviedo (Spain), Applied Economics department, Oviedo Spain: With so many remote classes, the challenge of having students engaging in the learning process has become even more urgent. Perusall reveals itself as a "Swiss knife" tool that supports student engagement and active learning. A reflection framework is proposed, combining two dimensions: where students and teachers are and when and with whom students work.

Blake, W., Laing, Southern Adventist University, Physics and Engineering, Collegedale, TN, United States: When I challenge my students to develop the new discipline of reading their textbook before class, the Perusall social reading platform lets me construct an asynchronous supportive learning community in which students can articulate a question and expect an answer. Participation is rewarded with attention. Knowing that students need encouragement to dive into a difficult reading, I record short “chapter trailers." Perusall has enabled a workflow in Just-In-Time teaching that is more natural and efficient.