2026 Lightning Talk and Panel Details
Lightning Talks
Round 1 (sequentially 9:15–10:15 AM)
Not So Unanimous: Using Polls for Open Inquiry
Kirstin Haag, Teaching and Learning Hub, GSB
Ask Boldly with Poll Everywhere 2.0
Carlos Seligo, Human Biology, and Nhatrang Nguyen, Law Library
Bold as Love: Measuring and Scaling Bravery and Compassion
Daniel E. Martin, Ph.D./Center for Compassion, Altruism, Research and Education (CCARE)
Cultivating Courageous Curiosity with Experiential Learning
Brian Thomas, VPUE
Game for Learning: A Case Study Using In-Class Games to Teach Principles of Citizenship in COLLEGE102
Kirsten Isabel Verster, Ph.D., COLLEGE
Curiosity Across Cultures: Building Global Community at The Bechtel International Center
Amber Abunassar, Bechtel International Center
The Hidden Classroom: Welcoming International Families to Boost Student Focus and Belonging
Kate Khatseyeva, Bechtel International Center
Public Service Immersion: A Bridge Between Campus and Communities
Reza Rezvani, Haas Center for Public Service
Round 2 (sequentially 10:25–11:10 AM)
Exploration before explanation, OR, how to not ruin the movie for everyone
Meenu Singh, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school)
College Students of the AI Future: Different Possibilities
Beth Seltzer, GSB
Engaging peers about AI futures via social media
Jacob Hellman, Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program
Beyond the Benchmark: Curiosity-Driven Technical Training Across Multidisciplinary Research Teams
Dinara Bogetic, School of Medicine
AI Meets Education at Stanford (AIMES)
Kenji Ikemoto, Center for Teaching and Learning
Morning Panel Discussion
Writing, Technologies and Pedagogies: With, Against, and Beyond AI
Join Stanford’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric and guest panelists from across the US to explore perspectives, challenges, and approaches to teaching writing in the current moment.
David F. Green Jr. is an associate professor of Literature and Writing and associate chair of writing at Howard University. He has served as Director of First-Year Writing at Howard University, the secretary of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and is currently the Vice President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators. His research focuses on the role of critical pedagogy and African American rhetorical reading and writing practices in the development of college-level writing and culturally sensitive public-facing writing. Specifically, he focuses on the role of memory and storytelling in theorizing Black music and Hip-Hop culture's dispersal of African American rhetoric nationally and across the diaspora and in the theorization of critical and creative writing. He served as a member of the Modern Language Association and Conference on College Communication’s joint Task Force on AI and Writing and is currently a member of the MLA Task Force on AI in Research and Teaching. His recent work considers the role of fugitivity in understanding the practice of resistance across the Black writing tradition.
Holly Hassel is professor of Writing Studies and director of First-Year Writing at Michigan Technological University. She has served as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication as well as editor of the journal Teaching English in the Two-Year College. Her research focuses on college writers’ transition to academic literacy practices and writing pedagogy education. She served as co-chair of the Modern Language Association and Conference on College Communication’s Task Force on AI and Writing which produced three working papers on AI and writing and the MLA “Student Guide to AI Literacy” and is currently a member of the MLA Task Force on AI in Research and Teaching. Her most recent book is Reaching All Writers: A Pedagogical Guide to the Evolving College Writing and Classroom.
Jennifer Sano-Franchini (she/her) is the Gaziano Family Legacy Professor of Rhetoric and Writing Studies and an associate professor of English at West Virginia University where she teaches courses on professional writing theory, multimedia writing, and cultural rhetorics. She is the Immediate Past Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) and a Co-Chair of the CCCC Special Committee on Generative AI in College Composition and Writing Studies. She is also one of the creators of the website Refusing Generative AI in Writing Studies.
Student Panel Discussion
What I Wish My Instructors Knew About Flourishing Together
The Stanford Introductory Seminars Learning Experience and Technology Support (LETS)team
Afternoon Collaborative Workshop
From 0 to Research: Prototyping a Research Project in 60 Minutes
Tom Mullaney will lead a hands-on “Rapid Prototyping” exercise, leading participants from “first encounters” with primary sources to a draft research project in 60 minutes (or less). Drawing on the lessons and methods of Scaling Up Undergrad Research (an initiative that Tom has been leading at Stanford for 15 years now), and his co-authored book Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project that Matters to You (and the World), he will share methods and techniques that can be implemented in both small- and large-scale class formats, with students at all levels.