The Center for the Advancement of Teaching is pleased to invite you to the plenary talk for the 47th Annual Teaching Assistant Conference. The TA Conference Plenary Session features talks from Drs. Howard and Casey, distinguished UCLA instructors who represent the strength and skill of our teaching community. In this 1-hour session, attendees will learn more about who our students are at UCLA, understand why teaching is an important part of one’s role as an academic, and hear more about recommended teaching strategies and techniques. As instructors with extensive teaching expertise, Drs. Howard and Casey will also offer best practices for being a more inclusive and engaging remote instructor and meeting the diverse needs of the students in your classroom, no matter what else 2020 may bring.
The link to join the webinar will be on the TA Conference CCLE site the day of the Plenary session. This talk will be recorded for those who are unable to attend in person.
About our speakers
Tyrone C. Howard, Ph.D.
Tyrone C. Howard is professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies’ at UCLA. Dr. Howard is also the inaugural director of the new UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families, which is a campus wide consortium examining academic, mental health, and social emotional experiences and challenges for the California’s most vulnerable youth populations. He is also the former Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Professor Howard’s research examines equity, culture, race, teaching and learning. Professor Howard has published over 75 peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports. He has published several bestselling books, among them, Why Race & Culture Matters in Schools and Black Male(d): Peril and promise in the education of African American males. His two most recent books, All Students Must Thrive, focuses on equity, race, trauma, and learning has become a must read for all educators. And “No More Teaching Without Positive Relationships ” examines the importance of relational trust between teachers and students to enhance students’ learning. Dr. Howard is considered one of the premiere experts on educational equity and access in the country. Dr. Howard is also the Director and Founder of the Black Male Institute at UCLA, which is an interdisciplinary cadre of scholars, practitioners, community members, and policy makers dedicated to examining the nexus of race, class, and gender of school age youth. A native and former classroom teacher of Compton, California, Dr. Howard named the recipient of the 2015 UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, which is the highest honor provided to teaching excellence at the university. In 2019, Dr. Howard was listed by Education Week as one of the 50 most influential scholars in the nation informing educational policy, practice and reform.
Jennifer Casey, Ph.D.
A California native, Dr. Casey attended California State University of Long Beach (CSULB) where she majored in chemistry and minored in mathematics as a Presidential Scholar. She performed research in organic chemistry with Dr. Kensaku Nakayama and in physical chemistry with Dr. Brian McClain. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from CSULB in 2007. After graduation, Jennifer joined the group of Dr. Benjamin Schwartz at UCLA as a physical chemistry graduate student where she investigated the structural properties of the hydrated electron using mixed quantum/classical molecular dynamics simulations. While at UCLA she also acted as a teaching assistant for many quarters, eventually earning the Hanson-Dow Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009. She participated in the NSF GK-12 program where she acted as a resident scientist for local high schools from 2010-2011. She completed her dissertation in 2014. After obtaining her Ph.D., Dr. Casey worked as a visiting-assistant professor at Sonoma State University from 2014-2015. There she worked on developing a Foundational Level General Science Waiver. In 2015 she lectured at Loyola Marymount University and participated in the Center for Teaching Excellence Credential Program. Dr. Casey is currently an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA, where she primarily teaches general chemistry for life-science majors. She has recently won the prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award for Non-Senate Faculty in 2019, as well as the 2020 Hanson-Dow Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Casey’s work at UCLA also includes chemical education research conducted under the advisement of Dr. Arlene Russell.