Teaching and Learning Days

If we are unable to connect with one another… How can we expect our students to connect to their material and their perspective industries? Technological advancements have saturated all industries. These advancements have paved the way for numerous benefits; however, development of soft skills is in high demand due to realities that have become more virtual. Come join us for a “playdate” as we explore the use of edutainment in our classroom to foster connection and engagement.

Discover how your existing Zoom experience transfers naturally into Microsoft Teams while unlocking new possibilities for collaboration. We’ll walk through equivalent tools, layouts, and meeting controls to ease the transition. You’ll also see how Teams’ advanced security and compliance protections strengthen the safety of your online courses.

Discover how trauma, chronic stress, and inequity shape the way students learn and what faculty can do about it. This interactive workshop introduces Trauma-Informed & Inclusive Pedagogy (TIIP), a research-based approach that helps instructors create psychologically safe, culturally responsive, and intellectually rigorous classrooms without lowering academic standards. Participants will leave with practical strategies and a redesigned teaching practice they can immediately apply to better support diverse learners and strengthen student success.

Traditional grading practices can undermine the very learning they are meant to measure. They may encourage performance over growth, compliance over curiosity, and anxiety over reflection. This interactive workshop introduces faculty to research-supported alternatives that better align grading with learning. Drawing on insights from Robert Talbert and David Clark’s Grading for Growth, Joshua Eyler’s Failing Our Future, and Linda Nilson’s Specifications Grading, participants will explore strategies such as standards-based assessment, contract grading, and writing clear performance specifications. Attendees will leave with practical approaches for increasing student motivation, reducing grade disputes, and creating assessment systems that emphasize improvement, transparency, and intellectual risk-taking.

We all got here the same way — building courses under deadlines, doing our best with the tools and the time we had. This workshop isn’t about what should have been done differently. It’s about what’s possible right now, in 2026, when making your course materials accessible has never been more approachable.
The good news? The heavy lift is largely over. AI tools have transformed accessibility remediation from a time-intensive, technical burden into a manageable, even routine part of course prep. In this working session, you’ll leave with a practical strategy and real progress made on your own materials. We’ll also explore the art of writing alt text and how AI can support the creation of clear, meaningful image descriptions. Bring your laptops and devices and let’s help each other level the proverbial playing field for all students.

Discover practical, research‑informed strategies for building and sustaining an effective mentoring program. This session will explore how thoughtful design, intentional maintenance, strategic growth, and cross‑campus partnerships can strengthen mentoring efforts and enhance support for first‑year students.