Workshop & Professional Development Series
- What the Best UT Faculty Do Workshop Series
- Lifelong Learning Book Club Workshop Series
- Alternative Assessment Learning Community
- Inclusive Teaching Learning Community
- CIRTL F.U.E.L.
- Check out CIRTL’s “Upcoming Events” webpage to sign up to participate in additional CIRTL offerings.
Additionally, we are planning on offering our Curriculum Refresh Collaborative (CRC) program again this 2023-24 winter mini term. More information about this year’s program will be available later in the semester. In the meantime, feel free to learn more about the 2023 CRC and our past participants by clicking either of the highlighted links.
Series Information
This fall, we are teaming up with faculty members across UT for insightful conversations around timely topics related to teaching at an R1 university. These topics include but are not limited to: divisive concepts, large classroom engagement, graduate teaching assistant support, and scholarship of teaching and learning. We hope you will join us this semester as we seek to discover “what do the best UT faculty do” in their classrooms.
All instructional staff (including graduate student instructor and TAs) are welcome to participate. Registration links can be found below.
What the Best UT Faculty Do: Large Classroom Engagement
Friday, September 15th | 12:00pm – 1:30 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: This session in our series brings together a panel of outstanding faculty who teach in a large classroom context. They will share their stories about how they developed their practice, offer suggestions regarding practice, and engage the participants in the session through questions and dialogue.
What the Best UT Faculty Do: Navigating Divisive Concepts in the College Classroom
Thursday, September 28th, 2023 | 1:00pm – 2:30 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: In this workshop, faculty will get updates on current state legislation concerning divisive concepts in higher education and walk away with a “toolkit” for navigating divisive concepts in college classes.
What the Best UT Faculty Do: Defining Teaching Excellence with Outstanding UT Faculty
Friday October 20th, 2023 | 12:00pm – 1:30 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: This session in our series brings together a panel of outstanding faculty who have been nominated for the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. They will share their stories about how they developed their practice, offer suggestions regarding what they consider best practices, and engage the participants in considering how they would define teaching excellence in their context.
What the Best UT Faculty Do: Graduate Teaching Assistants and Associates Edition
Tuesday, October 31st | 1:00pm – 2:30 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: During the course of their teaching practice, Graduate Teaching Assistants and Associates may need to navigate various kinds of classroom dilemmas. These dilemmas often arise from unforeseen circumstances in the lives of students or among students and can, unfortunately, create barriers to positive experiences for students and graduate instructors. In this roundtable-style workshop, participants will read real-world classroom dilemmas and brainstorm possible solutions that help to create more positive outcomes for students and instructors.
What the Best UT Faculty Do: Get Acquainted with SoTL
Thursday, November 9th | 1:00pm – 2:30 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: This November, join faculty members from several different departments across UT in a conversation about conducting research on our teaching methods, a process also known as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This will be an informal opportunity to learn more about faculty projects in progress, and engage in discussion about how SoTL works.
UT Libraries, the Department of Psychology, and Teaching and Learning Innovation invite anyone from UT to participate in the Lifelong Learning Book Club this Fall 2023 semester.
This upcoming Fall 2023 semester, we will be reading Improving Learning and Mental Health in the College Classroom By Robert Eaton, Steven V. Hunsaker, & Bonnie Moon.
This book club aims to promote a community of support around lifelong learning for teachers and students a like. So faculty, staff, and students are all welcome!
To access the book and learn more about this workshop, visit The UTK Libraries Website. Registration links and meeting times can be found below.
Lifelong Learning Book Club: Session 1
Thursday, September 28th | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: This session will cover chapters 1-3.
Lifelong Learning Book Club: Session 2
Thursday, October 26th | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Register for Zoom Link
- About: This session will cover chapters 3-6.
Lifelong Learning Book Club: Session 3
Thursday, November 30th | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Mary Greer Room, Hodges Library
- About: This session will cover chapters 7-8.
Teaching and Learning Innovation will be hosting a learning community focused on “alternative assessments” this fall. Our vision for alternative assessments includes deemphasizing grades in our courses and involving students in decisions regarding the grade they receive.
Topics we propose discussing could include contract grading, specification grading, mastery grading, collaborative grading, gamification, or others.
The learning community will spend an hour discussing and exploring alternative assessments through readings, demo videos, and interactive sessions during which faculty with significant experience in this area, and TLI staff will facilitate conversations around session topics.
All instructional staff (including graduate student instructor and TAs) are welcome to participate. Registration links can be found below.
Alternative Assessment Learning Community: Session 1
Wednesday, September 6th | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Mary Greer Room, Hodges Library 268
Alternative Assessment Learning Community: Session 2
Wednesday, October 4th | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Mary Greer Room, Hodges Library 268
Alternative Assessment Learning Community: Session 3
Wednesday, November 1st | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Mary Greer Room, Hodges Library 268
Teaching & Learning Innovation will be hosting a learning community for the 2023-2024 academic year that is focused on inclusive teaching practices.
We will be reading about and discussing the following topics during our monthly meetings: Instructor positionality and bias, trauma-informed teaching, culture of caring, student identity, storytelling as a way of teaching, and setting the tone for an inclusive classroom.
This learning community will be held in-person and have its own Canvas site so that members can stay up-to-date with the community, even if they need to miss meetings.
During the hour long meeting, we will briefly discuss the readings and/or videos and how these practices can be, or have been, brought into the classroom. Some sessions will feature faculty with significant experience in the classroom practice discussed that month, in order to provide a deeper understanding of how these practices work in learning environments.
Inclusive Teaching Learning Community: Session 1
Tuesday, September 12th | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Greve 629
Inclusive Teaching Learning Community: Session 2
Tuesday, October 17th | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Greve 629
Inclusive Teaching Learning Community: Session 3
Tuesday, November 21st | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Greve 629