Speaking Engagements

LeighAnn regularly delivers keynote, invited talks, workshops, and consults with educators. She has worked with those in higher education, secondary educators, or other organizations that support learning, skill development, and/or the use of technology to enhance learning. I offer every client a 15-minute free consultation to determine if I am the right person for your needs.

I have earned a reputation as a dynamic speaker who engages every audience no matter the length of workshop, keynote or offering. My hope is to inspire and renew educators commitment to teaching and help them stay up-to-date with the latest teaching strategies and techniques. Workshops are designed for your unique context, your goals for your educators and the desired topic(s).

"LeighAnn was excellent and delivered the information clearly. I found that whether a person was a newbie to AI or a novice, she did a phenomenal job in delivering to the skill levels."

~Participant of AI Workshop, May 2024

Choose What Works Best For You

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15 Minute Workshops

These workshops are great for faculty meetings. Their purpose is to provide a shared language around a specific topic and to plant the seed for further exploration and discussion.

male and female faculty raising their hands while someone is presenting

45 - 90 Minute Workshops

These workshops are long enough to explore topics in more depth. I am sure to engage the participants whether virtually or in-person to help ensure everyone meets the goals of the workshop.

faculty working at a table collaboratively, looking like they are enjoying themselves

Half-Day to Multi-Day Programming

For a more immersive, extended learning experience, I offer half-day or multi-day events with 3 or more workshops per day. These workshops are designed to connect across topics or offer a deeper dive on a theme, such as GenAI, or a design institute focused on the flipped classroom approach.

Each workshop can be designed for a face-to-face, virtual or hybrid environment. Depending on the audience size, location/environment and goals, all workshops are built with deliberate engagement for each participant. Shorter workshops typically have more simple engagement while longer workshops provide the opportunity for more in-depth activities and engagement. All of my offerings prompt educators to reflect on their unique course contexts, consider application of the topic to their course(s), and leave participants with at least one strategy they can implement tomorrow.

Highlighted Topics

design an icon that represents artificial intelligence in higher education

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)

I provide a balanced perspective that focuses on how AI can support faculty & student learning while being critical of its biases, issues with privacy, sustainability, and other issues.

Create an icon that shows all students engaged

Engaging All Learners

Before & During Class

Activities can engage all learners when designed effectively, whether they are tech-enhanced or not, have game or collaborative elements, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is at the center of it all.

"I enjoyed the massive amounts of resources that are easily accessible."

"I really appreciate the workshop giving me a very good introduction to using AI."

"I appreciated viewing AI websites to practice creating lesson plans. The instructor walking through using AI website to create a lesson plan was very helpful."

~Participants from AI Workshop, May 2024

Other Topics

LeighAnn has facilitated hundreds of workshops over the past 10 years. Below are 6 themes and a few selected within each. Not all topics and offerings are listed so please explore them and email your ideas/needs and during that 15-minute free consult, we can strategize together.

"I look forward to working together to make your session align with your needs and audience."

Assessments

Feedback for students and instructors is crucial to the learning environment. Below are a select few of the workshop topics I have facilitated.

Beyond Tests & Essays: Rethinking Assessments as Learning Experiences
Cognitive Wrappers & Post-Exam Analysis
Data-Driven Decisions: Pre & Mid-Semester Student Surveys
Helping Students Help Themselves: Retrieval & Distributed Practice
Quick Assessment Strategies
(re)Designing Feedback: Helping Students Use It
Streamline Grading & Support Student Success with Rubrics
Universal Design for Learning and Alternative Grading (Ungrading)

Technology has the potential to enrich educational experiences. It is important to remember that technology should be used to help students learn or instructors teach. Rarely is it used for the sake of using it, unless those align with the learning objectives.

Gamification Tools to Level-up Student Learning
Getting Students To Come Prepared: Class Preparation Assignments
Process Not Product: Using AI as a Writing Tool
Unlocking Increased Instructor Efficiency and Creativity with Generative AI
Utilizing Tools to Engage All Students in Large Classes
Videos of Tomorrow, Today: Quick & Easy Strategies to Elevate Engagement
Wrestling with AI: Considerations for Using AI

Curriculum Design

Engaging Lectures

Lectures are not a bad thing but there is a time and a place for them. These topics help participants to find a balance they are comfortable with engaging students and breaking up lectures, connecting with students, and motivating students to show up.

Getting Students to Come Prepared: Connecting Asynchronous with Synchronous Experiences
Group Work that Works
Large Class Engagement
Quick Engagement Strategies to Engage All Learners
- Think-Pair-Share
- Peer Instruction
- Minute Papers (Admission & Exit Tickets, Muddiest Point, Mindful Moment)
Playful and Gamified Learning

Thinking about changing aspects of your course? I've got some frameworks and focus points that can be useful in your journey. These topics usually prompt participants to reflect on their design and how they may be able to include different evidence-based prcinples.

Align with the End in Mind: Backward Design
Considerations for Engaging Neurodivergent Learners
Data-Driven Decisions: Pre & Mid-Semester Student Surveys
Inclusive Teaching Practices
Its in the Syllabus: Crafting a Welcoming Syllabus
Universal Design for Learning: Considering All Learners

Community

Building a sense of community can have monumental impacts to student success. Their building of connections not only with each other and you but also with the content can be powerful. I have facilitated workshops including but not limited to

Building a Sense of Belonging
Community Agreements
Designing Meaningful Discussions
Effective Collaborations
Generations & Student Learning
Navigating Difficult Conversations
Student Questionnaires and Connections

Helping students help themselves is a part of our role as instructors. These workshops provide a background on the topic and strategies you can integrate into your classroom.

AI Literacy
Critiques & Productive Feedback
Critical Thinking
Metacognition
Motivation
Resiliency
Self-regulated Learning

Speaking Engagements

Choose What Works Best For You

Highlighted Topics

Other Topics

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