Modality: P (In Person)
The Faculty Center holds monthly professional development events during the semester. These events offer two or more concurrent sessions in each of three time slots, much like a mini-conference. They are held in person only, with remote options only available when the entire event is held online.
Each Teaching and Learning Day is announced several weeks before the event, and participants sign up to reserve a spot; participation is capped at 75. This event is for full-time faculty only, and we provide a casual lunch that typically includes salad and subs. Since participation is limited, we ask that faculty only sign up if they can attend at least two sessions.
We do not record these sessions since we prioritize the networking and sharing elements of the face-to-face experience. You are always welcome to contact presenters to see if they would be willing to share materials with you separately.
Fall Dates
Thursday, November 19, 2026
Teaching and Learning Day, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026
Session 1 — 9:00 a.m.
- Best Practice for Teaching Large Classes (That Also Work for Smaller Ones) — Kevin Yee, Faculty Center; CB1 205
UCF has a very large student body, and as a result, we sometimes have large classes. Seemingly, everything is more challenging when classes are large: learning names, encouraging/requiring attendance, grading volume, academic integrity issues during testing, and even classroom management. This will be a highly interactive, crowdsourced exploration of do’s and don’ts, with an emphasis on practical, use-immediately ideas. Of course, we’ll provide our own list of best practices at the end as well! - Play your Part: Teaching through Role Immersion — Laurie Uttich, Faculty Center; CB1 202
What happens when students stop studying a moment and step inside it? In this hands-on workshop, you’ll take on a role, argue for a goal that may not be your own, and experience the role-immersion approach Mark Carnes describes in Minds on Fire. We’ll look at the research on why taking on a new self deepens engagement, empathy, and critical thinking, and you’ll leave with simple ways to bring role-immersion into your own courses, whatever your discipline.
Session 2 — 10:10 a.m.
- Prompt Engineering Essentials for Effective AI Use — Liz Giltner, Faculty Center; CB1 205
AI tools are only as effective as the instructions we give them. In this hands-on workshop, faculty will learn practical ways to write clearer, more effective prompts they can use to improve the quality of AI outputs. Through interactive activities and real-world examples, participants will practice refining prompts, learn about AI’s working memory limitations, and develop strategies for evaluating AI-generated content critically. Faculty will leave with a reusable prompting process, a stronger understanding of human oversight in AI-supported work, and at least one improved prompt they can immediately apply to teaching, research, service, or administrative tasks. - Promoting Student Learning and Belonging with the Jigsaw Method — Eric Main, Faculty Center; CB1 202
The jigsaw method is a collaborative learning strategy in which students become temporary “experts” on one part of a larger topic and then peer teach what they have learned. In this workshop, faculty will experience a short jigsaw activity and examine how the method can promote active learning, individual accountability, and peer teaching. Participants will receive a worksheet to adapt the jigsaw structure to a lesson, reading, problem, case, or other learning activity from their courses.
Session 3 — 11:20 a.m.
- From AI Pilot to Judgment-Centered Learning Theory: Rethinking Instruction in the Age of AI — Rachid Ait Maalem Lahcen, Dr. Yvette Kanouff School of Data, Mathematical, and Statistical Sciences; CB1 205
This session traces the journey from an AI-integrated Intermediate Algebra pilot (summer 2024), in which students used AI as a reasoning partner and reflected on its risks and benefits, to a new theory I’m proposing, Judgment-Centered Learning Theory (JCLT). It begins from the premise that learning is shaped not simply by the instructional inputs provided, but by the interpretive quality of the instructional judgment applied to those inputs. As AI increasingly levels what instructors and students have access to, understanding what still has to be taught, practiced, and studied will be an ongoing discussion, one this session hopes to open rather than settle. - Align, Build, and Connect: AI-Enhanced Assessment Design for GEP — Yeidaliz Garcia, Office of Undergraduate Studies, GEP; CB1 202
This workshop is designed to help GEP faculty design or refine assessments that clearly demonstrate student learning. Participants will use AI (LLMs) to align and rank GEP learning outcomes with course learning outcomes, then use the results to determine the most effective assessment focus. We’ll cover best practices for assessment formats in Canvas (Assignments and Classic vs. New Quizzes) and offer guidelines for writing high-quality prompts and questions. We’ll end with interdisciplinary assignment ideas that connect GEP courses through an interdisciplinary lens and support the GEP Pathways we are developing.
Lunch will be served at 12:20 p.m.
Registration caps at 75 participants. Please register at this link.