Workshop Program

Participant Workspace »
(must be logged in to your SERC account)

Workshop Pre-Work

To prepare for the workshop, you must complete some pre-work exercises. These are designed to help you ramp up on a few core MATLAB online tools. Time constraints will not allow for spending workshop time learning tools hands-on. Given that, ramping up on your own in advance is necessary in order to make the most out of our time together. Your colleagues will appreciate the investment you put into preparation.

View the workshop pre-work »

Sunday, October 17 (10am-3pm EDT)

Note: All times below are recorded in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The daily workshop program begins at 10:00am EDT/2:00pm UTC and runs until 3:00pm EDT/7:00pm UTC. The workshop Zoom room will open at 9:30am EDT/1:30pm UTC daily. Plan to join 10 minutes before the workshop start each day to get settled.

NOTE: Change Categories for Working Groups

10:00-10:15am - Welcome and Introduction to the Workshop - Lisa Kempler, MathWorks

Workshop Introduction Slides (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 4.7MB Oct18 21)

10:15-10:30am - Norms and Expectations for the Workshop - Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

Workshop Norms and Expectations (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 86kB Oct4 21)

10:30-11:00am - Icebreaker - Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

Get acquainted with your fellow workshop participants.

11:00-12:45pm - Effective Approaches to Teaching Computation- facilitated by Don Baker, McGill University

In this session, invited participants will share effective strategies and assessments they use to teach computation using MATLAB. Pairs of short presentations will be followed by brief question and answer periods. The session will finish with a short breakout group discussion where group members will discuss effective concepts and strategies they have used or learned about for teaching computational thinking.

View the Effective Approaches to Teaching Computation invited presentations
Invited Presentations with Q&A (45 minutes)

Q&A (5 minutes)

Q&A (5 minutes)

Q&A (5 minutes)

  • Break (5 minutes)
  • Small Group Discussions (35 minutes)
    • In your group, identify important components to teaching computation raised during the presentations that are relevant to your courses. Record your discussion in the private workspace page assigned to your group.
  • Report out (5 minutes)
    • At the end of the session, spend some time viewing the recorded discussions from other groups. Use the discussion threads at the bottom of each page to add your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions.

12:45-1:00pm - Break

1:00-2:45pm - Embedding Online MATLAB Teaching Tools in Courses - facilitated by Kelly Roos, Bradley University

View the Embedding Online MATLAB Teaching Tools in Courses invited presentations
In this session, invited participants will share examples of tools and strategies they used in online settings to teach computation and programming using MATLAB. Short presentations will be followed by a panel-style Q&A session. The session will finish with short breakout group discussion where group members will discuss and identify key online and remote teaching practices and MATLAB tools that they use and/or want to incorporate into their own teaching.

Q&A (15 minutes)

  • Small Group Discussions (30 minutes)
    • In your group, identify key MATLAB online/remote teaching practices that you use and practices that you want integrate into an activity or course. Record your discussion in the private workspace page assigned to your group.
  • Report Out (15 minutes)
    • Each group shares one new or exciting practice/tool identified in the group discussion.
    • Group report out notes

2:45-3:00pm - Plan for tomorrow and fill out roadcheck - Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

To wrap up the day, participants will choose two topics of interest that they wish to focus on in day two and complete a workshop roadcheck. Options include:

  • MATLAB Live Editor and Scripts
  • MATLAB Grader and automated grading
  • Hardware projects (Arduino, sensors, robotics, Thingspeak, etc.)
  • MATLAB Online and MATLAB Drive
  • Code for teaching: File Exchange GitHub, code examples in the documentation
  • Resources to ramp up students: MATLAB/other Onramp, guided training videos
  • Project based learning (Simulink, labs, apps)
  • Toolboxes (describe)

Monday, October 18 (10am-3pm EDT)

Note: All times below are recorded in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The daily workshop program begins at 10:00am EDT/2:00pm UTC and runs until 3:00pm EDT/7:00pm UTC. The workshop Zoom room will open at 9:30am EDT/1:30pm UTC daily. Plan to join 10 minutes before the workshop start each day to get settled.

10:00-10:15am - Welcome Back, Introduction to Day 2 - Lisa Kempler, MathWorks and Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

10:15-11:15am - MATLAB Focus Area Breakout Groups Round 1 - Lisa Kempler, MathWorks and Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

In this session, workshop participants will have an opportunity to take a deep dive into a topic of interest. Participants will discuss in groups topics chosen at the end of Day 1. In these tool discussions, participants will share, learn about, and research key features and finds, experiences using the tools and resources, and tips and tricks for using them most effectively. Discussions can include how to use these tools in in-person, hybrid, and remote learning settings. Groups will record discussion, resources, and questions in the workspace.


11:15-11:30am - Break

11:30-12:30pm - MATLAB Focus Area Breakout Groups Round 2 - Lisa Kempler, MathWorks and Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

In this second session, workshop participants will have another opportunity to take a deep dive into a topic of interest. Participants will discuss in groups topics chosen at the end of Day 1. In these tool discussions, participants will share, learn about, and research key features and finds, experiences using the tools and resources, and tips and tricks for using them most effectively. Discussions can include how to use these tools in in-person, hybrid, and remote learning settings. Groups will record discussion, resources, and questions in the workspace.


12:30-12:45pm - Plan for Tomorrow - Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

We'll discuss the plan for the rest of the workshop and distribute the roadcheck.

12:45-3:00pm - Upgrading Your Teaching - Dan Burleson, University of Houston

This working session is designed to give participants time to consider the learnings from the workshop and incorporate them into their courses and teaching activities. The session kicks off with a presentation by Dan Burleson, the review editor of the Teaching Computation with MATLAB activity collection.

  • Teaching activities and the peer review process (Dan Burleson, 15 min)
  • Instructions for the working session (10 min)
  • Workplan development and individual work time, guided by coaches (pre-assigned working groups)
    • Group huddle: share plans for upgrading your teaching approach (30 min)
    • Individual work time: develop curriculum, collaborate with peers, check in with coaches (80 min)
    • Use your personal workspace or start a new draft activity (use method 1 of using the submission form)
  • Break as needed
  • Roadcheck

Tuesday, October 19 (10am-3pm EDT)

Note: All times below are recorded in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The daily workshop program begins at 10:00am EDT/2:00pm UTC and runs until 3:00pm EDT/7:00pm UTC. The workshop Zoom room will open at 9:30am EDT/1:30pm UTC daily. Plan to join 10 minutes before the workshop start each day to get settled.

View the Small Group Report Outs and Workshop Synthesis Session
10:00-10:15am - Welcome Back, Introduction to Day 3 - Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

10:15-1:45pm - Upgrading Your Teaching, Part 2 - Dan Burleson, University of Houston

Participants reconvene with groups from the previous day, continue work, and share progress.

  • Group kickoff and check-in (10 min)
  • Continue work and prepare to share (60 min)
  • Group sharing, feedback, and action planning (120-140 min)
  • Break as needed

1:45-2:15pm - Whole Group Report Out - Kristi Closser, California State University-Fresno

In this session, working groups will report on their updates to their curricula. Groups will choose 1 breakthrough to highlight, such as a new planned teaching approach or remaining challenge to resolve.

2:15-2:45pm - Workshop Synthesis and Next Steps - Lisa Kempler, MathWorks and Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College

Participants will share knowledge gained and insights from the workshop, how their courses or activities have evolved, and feedback to contribute to future workshops. We will also take a group photo.

2:45-3:00pm - Workshop Evaluation - Sarah Fortner, SERC, Carleton College