Steps to Leaps initiative offering virtual Lunch and Learn sessions for faculty and staff

The Steps to Leaps initiative will hold staff- and faculty-focused virtual Lunch and Learn sessions in May.

The free sessions will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on the following days:

Monday (May 18) -- Building Connections at a Distance

Building connections among staff members or students in a classroom can be challenging in the best of times. Trying to do so at a distance makes it even more difficult. Traves Freeland, assistant director – climbing and climbing education in Recreation & Wellness, has transitioned many of his in-person team building exercises to work online. During this presentation, Freeland will show participants how to facilitate some activities online to build networks and spark connections.

Wednesday (May 20) -- Theory of Distance Learning and Re-thinking Learning Outcomes

An earlier Steps to Leaps Lunch and Learn touched the surface of one theory about how to educate students online. In this follow-up presentation, Adrie Koehler, assistant professor of learning design and technology, and Carl Krieger, director of residential education for Student Life, will provide resources and guidance for developing learning outcomes online and the theory that guides online education.   

May 27 -- Connecting Students to Alumni

Alumni can have a huge impact for Purdue students. They help build their networks both while they are at Purdue and when they enter the workforce. Jimmy Cox, director of student-alumni programs, and Haley Atwell, assistant director of recent graduate initiatives, will give insight into the programs that are already in place for connecting alumni with students. They also will highlight some of the ways these programs have changed due to social distancing.

Registration is available through the links above on the sessions topics. Additional sessions may be scheduled for May. An updated list of Lunch and Learn sessions is available online.

For more information, email stepstoleaps@purdue.edu.

Steps to Leaps is a collaborative effort to foster lifelong habits and promote a growth mindset in the areas of well-being, leadership, impact, network building and grit. Steps to Leaps offers goal setting, action planning, worksheets, short motivational videos and more for self-assessment or facilitator-led assessments to help students celebrate their strengths while learning paths to improvement. Steps to Leaps aligns student-led initiatives with expert research through the Provost Road Map for Transformative Undergraduate Education to help Boilermakers maximize their potential now and in the future.