The Essentials of Teaching and Learning

Creating Inclusive Learning Environments  
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
10:10 AM – 11:40 AM , Butler Library Room 203

Learn about the key terms, frameworks, and principles of inclusive teaching. Join the CTL for a workshop for graduate students focused on strategies and tools for including all of your students in the learning process. We will ask how instructors can create inclusive classroom environments that set up all students for success, as well as how instructors can help students learn through the diversity of experiences and perspectives they bring to the classroom.

By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

• Identify and reflect on teacher and learner identities and their relationship to inclusive teaching
• Describe key terms in inclusive teaching scholarship
• Develop strategies for creating an inclusive course climate
• Apply inclusive teaching principles to their own teaching practice

Learning Objectives and Backward Design  
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
10:10 AM – 11:40 AM , Butler Library Room 203

Learn about and engage with backward design: a scalable, end-in-mind approach to instruction that will help you effectively plan an activity, a class session, or an entire course. In this workshop for graduate students, we will discuss how to use previously-determined and described learning objectives as part of the backward design approach to drive assignments, feedback, and in-class activities for students. Prior to this session, participants are expected to have completed the Learning Objectives Generator tutorial available on Canvas (takes 15-20 minutes) .

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Describe the Backward Design process and how to use this approach to their own teaching practice.
• Develop learning objectives for their students.
• Explain the connection between learning objectives, assessments, and assignments.

Active Learning  
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
10:10 AM – 11:40 AM , Butler Library Room 203

Practice developing class activities that align with your learning objectives for students and incentivize all students to participate. Join the CTL for this workshop for graduate students focused on giving you strategies to better engage students in their own learning. In this workshop, we will discuss the evidence and efficacy of a variety of active learning strategies, and consider how these approaches can make our classrooms more inclusive.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Apply reflections of learning experiences to help determine how participants want to facilitate student learning in their classrooms.
• Practice and apply frameworks with which participants can plan effective learning experiences based on defined learning objectives.
• Describe the benefits of active learning and address challenges that may arise when facilitating active learning in the classroom.

Assessment & Feedback 
Wednesday, February 26, 2019
10:10 AM – 11:40 AM , Butler Library Room 203

Join the CTL for a workshop for graduate students focused on giving you tools to assess students accurately, efficiently, and encouragingly. In this workshop, you will learn approaches for assessing student learning and providing feedback that encourages students to focus more on their improvement and less on bottom line scores. We will introduce tools to help streamline and standardize assessment and feedback, while helping students better understand what is valuable in the topic and discipline. Breakout groups during this session will allow you to focus your discussion on written assignments or problem sets.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Describe the difference between formative and summative assessments.
• Develop the values and concepts that underlay a rubric.
• Practice marking papers with and without a rubric to understand value of developing one.