While You Were Out Workshops

Don’t Cancel Class!

We realize that sometimes life prevents faculty from being on-campus during a scheduled class time. The Division of Student Success offers “While You Were Out” workshops to provide hour-long educational workshops to students during a faculty absence. These workshops are intended to provide students with support as they prepare for their college and professional careers. 

Workshops cover a variety of topics and are a great way for students to learn about important resources. To schedule a “While You Were Out” session, please read the following guidelines, review the available workshops in the drop-downs below, and complete the request form at the link here:

Schedule a workshop

Please note the following guidelines:

  • Offerings are intended for on-campus TUG faculty – online and graduate courses cannot be covered at this time
  • Workshops are designed to cover between 45min to one hour of class time. Workshops can be delivered in courses that run for longer periods, but please know only up to one hour of time will be utilized.
  • Presenters will not cover a course’s specific content area (i.e., history, English, accounting, etc.), but instead lead a session on a campus service or strategy for helping students succeed.
  • Coverage depends on availability of staff to deliver a workshop at a designated class time
  • Workshops must be requested at least two-weeks prior to the date needing coverage
  • Faculty may use this service once per class per semester.

Below are the workshops offered based on location: 

“Make It Stick”

  • A 45 min. session focused on providing students with resources to help them succeed in studying and preparing for tests. Introduction to study habits such as interleaving, self-quizzing, and spacing studies.
  • 25 students or less.

Communicating with Professors

This presentation helps students understand the nature of communicating with professors and professional staff members during face-to-face discussions, emails, texts, and other formats. Students will learn how to write concisely and respectfully, and will learn how to use formal tones in professional settings.

Growth Mindset

This workshop is designed to help students reframe their worldview to include a mindset geared towards growth instead of perfection. Students will learn what a growth mindset is, the dangers of perfectionism, and how reframing their experience can help them in their education as well as their daily lives.

Notetaking 101

The main goal of taking notes is to encourage active learning and to prepare study materials for exams. This workshop helps the students learn more about their strengths in note taking as well as the areas they need to improve. It also provides them with some note taking strategies and gives them the opportunity to decide which method works best for them.

You Failed, Now What?

For many students, the adjustment to college life can be difficult. Students may find themselves failing to reach goals or pass classes for the first time. This presentation aims to help students readjust after their first failure and to teach them that failing is a natural part of growth.

GRIT: The Attribute of Success

This workshop teaches students about grit, the attribute explored in Angela Duckworth’s book of the same name. Students will be taught about the long-term benefits of holding onto a fixed goal and pursuing it even when things get tough or they experience failure.

“Reading Scholarly Articles 101”

  • Students often struggle to read, understand, and synthesize scholarly articles – a genre and writing style that is new and unfamiliar to our students. This workshop style session focuses on practical reading strategies for scholarly literature, including how to annotate and make connections across readings.
  • 25 students or less
  • Location: Library or in the classroom

 

“University Archives”

  • Introduction to Gardner-Webb’s University Archive Collections. This session can focus on institutional history, digital preservation, research with primary sources, or a historical objects tour.
  • Up to 10 students
  • Location: Library/Archives Only

 

“3D Printing & Scanning”

  • Students can get a crash course in 3D printing and scanning in the library’s 3D lab. This session will focus on how to research 3D patterns, how to use the hardware, and how to manage a 3D print job.
  • 10 students or less.
  • Location: Library Only

 

“Podcasting 101”

  • Students can get a crash course in how to get started with producing their own podcast. This session will focus on how to book the library’s podcasting studio, how to use the recording equipment, and basic editing.
  • 12 students or less.
  • Location: Library Only

 

“Copyright and Credibility 101”

  • Students struggle to understand the value of copyright and finding credible sources due to the constant flow of information through social media and 24-hour news cycles. The rise of AI tools has also added some ethics concerns to the mix due to their ability to create text and images. This session will cover the basics of copyright and the importance of citing information such as images, videos, social media posts, and even AI generators in an age of information overload.
  • 25 students or less.
  • Location: Library or in classroom

“Elevator Pitch”

  • This presentation shares with students how to articulate themselves simply and professionally in under a minute to share their story with future employers. We tap into their creative side by having them create a personal brochure to highlight their strengths, identify skills needed, and much more. This workshop is intended for all students.

Refining Your Purpose

Explore strategies for developing a better understanding of your purpose, the factors that influence its development, and ways you can begin to align your academic, professional, and life goals with your purpose.

Align with Your Strengths:

  • Using Gallup’s Strengths Finder Assessment, students will explore their talents, develop strategies for developing these into strengths, as well as learn how to align their lives with these by using them to influence their academic and professional decisions. This session is offered as a two-part workshop with pre and post assignments.

Five Things Effective Leaders Do:

  • Explore strategies for developing a better understanding of your purpose, the factors that influence its development, and ways you can begin to align your academic, professional, and life goals with your purpose.

Lead with Emotional Intelligence:

  • Emotional Intelligence (EI) competencies are at the heart of effective workplace relationships and productivity. This workshop introduces students to these competencies as well as their importance, and offers strategies for developing and implementing these to lead others effectively.

LinkedIn 101:

  • LinkedIn is more than a social media platform. It provides opportunities for social networking, professional development and employment opportunities. This session demonstrates the basics for setting up an effective LinkedIn profile to appeal to potential employers as well as how to use LinkedIn to search for jobs and internships

Networking Now:

  • You Can’t Afford to Wait: Developing and pursuing professional networking opportunities are vital for students entering the job market. Now, more than ever, recent hires report that networking was the most beneficial part of the job search process leading directly to their successful employment. Don’t wait until you graduate to begin this process. Let us walk you through methods for networking and connecting to professionals now, and learn how you can participate in networking opportunities facilitated by the university.

“Faith and Spiritual Health”

  • For many students, college is the first time they have been away from their parents and home church. This presentation focuses on helping students develop healthy habits to strengthen their faith while becoming independent.

“Stress Management Techniques”

  • College is stressful. This presentation aims to provide students with the techniques and habits to minimize their stress. Students will learn how to identify stress factors and prioritize good habits to help them better manage life at school and beyond.

Global Cultural Awareness

This workshop is designed to improve participants’ comprehension of diverse cultures, promoting empathy, respect, and effective cross-cultural communication. Through interactive and informative sessions, attendees will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities of a globalized society, both personally and professionally.

Intercultural Communication

Participants will learn effective cross-cultural communication strategies, including active listening, empathy, and adapting to different cultural contexts.

Principles of Community

The workshop will highlight the significance of diversity and inclusivity. Participants will discuss strategies to foster a warm and accepting atmosphere for all members.

Social Construction of Identity

How we view ourselves is one of the most impactful factors on our lives and our orientation in the world. This presentation aims to help students understand how they form their own identity. Participants will examine how societal factors, culture, history, and individual experiences shape one’s sense of self and belonging.

Uncovering Bias

Everyone has thier own biases, but some can be more harmful than others. This presentation aims to help students understand the impact of biases in their own lives. Participants will learn what bias is, how to recognize it, and how to minimize its impact.

Understanding Oppression

Participants will gain a deep understanding of various forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and classism, to foster awareness, empathy, and empowerment.