Events and Workshops
Fall 2025 Events
CTL events are open to all Hood College faculty and staff. Interested in attending a CTL event? Please RSVP and we'll send you an Outlook invitation.
Assesstivus: Bringing Students in With Collaborative Assessment Practices
Tuesday, August 12 | 9:55-11:15
Facilitated by Cathy Breneman (Assistant Professor of Social Work), Sangeeta Gupta (Assistant Professor of Psychology), Jessica Hammack (Head of Research & Instruction and Director of the Tidball Center for Teaching and Learning), Jessica McManus (Associate Professor of Psychology), Heather Mitchell-Buck (Associate Professor of English), and Adelmar Ramirez (Assistant Professor of Spanish)
This session will focus on collaborative strategies to include students in the assessment process. Attendees will examine numerous classroom strategies such as peer review, co-creating rubrics, collaborative grading, and internship self-evaluations in this ‘speed dating’ -style session.
Course Design Sprints
Tuesday, August 12 & Thursday, August 14, 1-4 PM | Library 2028 and Zoom
Drop-in work sessions to GET. IT. DONE. We’ll have coffee, tea, snacks, and support for you to plan those first weeks of class.
Mixtapes and DIY Galleries: Technology & Techniques for Visual Analysis
Thursday, September 11 and Tuesday, September 16, 1-2 PM, 2028 & Zoom
Facilitated by Adelmar Ramirez, Assistant Professor of Spanish
Join us for two hands-on workshops where you’ll discover the power of IIIF and Mixtape—a tool for curating and sharing highquality, deep-zoomable, digital visual objects. Thanks to world-renowned institutions—including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UCLA, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, the Smithsonian Museum, and many more—who have opened their collections to the public, you’ll gain the skills to access, remix, showcase, and integrate once exclusive resources into teaching and research.
From Blackboard to Backpack: Developing a Faculty-Led Study Abroad Experience
September 30, 1-2 PM | Library 2028
Facilitated by Scott Pincikowski, Professor of German and Director of Study Abroad
Have you ever thought about traveling abroad with your students? Imagine immersing them in your course content by exploring the very places you have studied together. This CTL workshop will provide a practical overview of how to design and lead a faculty-led study abroad experience. Together we will cover key steps in organizing a fun and academically enriching experiential learning trip, including: using a study abroad provider or organizing the trip yourself, promoting the trip and recruiting students, navigating risk management, and learning about funding opportunities like the Susann Whaley Study Abroad Development grant and student scholarships. You will also hear firsthand from faculty members who have successfully led trips abroad in the past. They will share insights, challenges and offer advice to get you started.
CTRL +ALT + TEACH: Rebooting Education with Generative AI
Thursday, October 9, 1-2 PM | Library 2028
Facilitated by Beth Kiester, Associate Professor of Sociology
Come spend the hour learning about ways to both include AI in your classroom and AI-proof your assignments. We'll also discuss ways AI can make our lives easier when it comes to the more tedious parts of our jobs, including creating rubrics, question pools for multiple exam versions, and case studies or scenarios. Do you have an assignment where you include AI or one you have AI-proofed? Contact Beth Kiester to be a part of this discussion!
Nothing to Be Afraid of: AI Research Tools for Literature Reviews and More
Wednesday, October 29, 3-4 PM | Library 2028
Facilitated by Emily Belknap (Research & Instruction Librarian), Kathryn Ryberg (Research & Instruction Librarian), and Jessica Hammack (Head of Research & Instruction)
Suddenly, there’s an AI research assistant for every task. What are these tools, and how might they help you in your research? What are the limitations? Join CTL and the Beneficial-Hodson Library as we explore the capabilities and limitations of AI in the research sphere.
Color Your Classes: Low- and No-Tech Projects for You and Your Students
Friday, November 14, 2-4 PM, Library 2028
Facilitated by Heather Mitchell-Buck, Associate Professor of English
Past Events
Are Your Students "Glazed Over?": Enhancing Student Engagement Using Active Learning
Thursday, September 19, 2024, from 1-2 PM in Library 2028
Facilitated by Bridget Humphries, Nicole Pulichene, and Kristen Tzoc
How do you engage students in the classroom? Which course activities have energized student learning and which have fallen flat? In this casual discussion, we'll share ideas on how to move away from lectures, strategize invigorating course activities, and ways to involve students in their own learning. Come with questions and ideas to share with the group.
Open Book-It! An Introduction to Open Access and Open Educational Resources
Friday, October 18, 2024, from 2:30 - 4 PM in Whitaker 220
Facilitated by Emily Belknap, Jessica Hammack, and Kathryn Ryberg
Are you interested in removing the barriers of expensive textbooks? Join the Center for Teaching & Learning and the Beneficial-Hodson Library in a discussion about the impacts of open access and open educational resources on student success.
Opening Up About Open Pedagogy
Thursday, October 24, from 1-2 PM in Library 2028
Facilitated by Beth Kiester and Adelmar Ramirez
Join the Center for Teaching and Learning in a discussion about Open Pedagogy, the teaching and learning practices that invite students to move from consumers to creators of information and knowledge. In this session, Beth Kiester and Adelmar Ramirez will share the ways they've used open pedagogical practices in their own teaching.
Generative AI Happy Hour
Friday, November 1, from 1:30 - 3:00 PM in Dreiling Seminar Room, Coblentz Hall
Facilitated by Ashley Coen, Sangeeta Gupta, and Kathryn Ryberg
Join us for an informal forum to share and explore creative ways to integrate AI into teaching and learning. This collaborative event is an opportunity to exchange ideas and practical ways to use AI in our teaching and how students can leverage AI to enhance their learning.
The Anxious Generation
Thursday, November 7, 2024, 1- 2 PM in Library 2028
Facilitated by Cathy Breneman
In this session, we will talk about how technology has impacted the development of today’s college students. We will focus on the recent research of Jonathan Haidt and his new book The Anxious Generation and discuss how technology has changed childhood and the implications for education, families, and mental health. We will talk about how to address and support these challenges with our students and consider strategies to decrease their anxiety.
Course Design Sprint
Thursday, January 16, 1-4 PM, 2nd floor of the Beneficial-Hodson Library
In November, there’s the Butterball Hotline; in January, there’s the Course Design Sprint. If you find yourself looking for community, accountability, support, or coffee/pastries as you work on your Spring courses, drop by the second floor of the Library & Learning Commons on Thursday, January 6. You’ll be able to work amongst colleagues or get immediate help from our team of experts: Jeff Welsh (Blackboard, other educational technology); Jessica Hammack (library resources and information literacy); and Lisa Copenhaver (Beacon, tutoring, student success).
The New Normal? CTL at the Five-Year Anniversary of COVID-19
Thursday, February 13, from 1-2 PM in Library 2028
Facilitated by Nicole Pulichene and Adelmar Ramirez
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, things that once seemed strange became commonplace: “the new normal.” Join the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Humanities Council as we reflect on the five years since the beginning of the pandemic. What have we kept? What have we left behind? In the end, what really became normal?
Academic Innovation Grant Awardees: Where Are They Now?
Thursday, March 6, 1-2 PM; Apple 2
With Sangeeta Gupta, Amy Kilpatrick, and Tricia Strickland
Former grant awardees will chat about their academic innovation projects, and members of the CTL advisory board will share what they’re looking for in a successful grant application.
Software Palooza
Friday, April 11, from 2 - 4; 2nd Floor of the Library
Facilitated by Kelly Esposito, Jessica Hammack, Adelmar Ramirez, Jeff Welsh, and representatives from Blackboard, Adobe, and Respondus
Want to learn about the latest and greatest educational technologies? Join us for a choose-your-own-adventure style happy hour to try out Blackboard Ultra, AI research tools, screen recording, in-class polling, and more.
Getting to the Heart
Friday, September 29, from 12 - 2:30 PM in Dreiling Seminar Room, Coblentz
This workshop provides faculty with a space to collaborate with one another on ideas for linked courses relevant to the “Heart” part of the Hood’s core curriculum.
Universal Design for Learning
Friday, November 3, from 2-3 PM on Zoom
Shaun Hoppel, Director of Accessibility Services, will teach strategies for designing learning environments that increase access to engaging, meaningful learning for all students.
The Mentoring Relationship
Thursday, November 16th, from 1-2pm, in Whitaker 220
Jessica McManus (PSY) and Cathy Breneman (SOWK) will discuss:
- Advantages of mentoring students, best practices for mentoring
- Barriers to successful mentoring
- Examples of mentoring relationships with students in research and teaching assistantships.
Spring Forum
Monday, January 22, from 1-4:30 PM on Zoom
Mastering Difficult Conversations
Facilitated by Michelle Gricus
By participating in this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Use empathy to minimize challenging responses and strengthen the relationship
- Engage productively in difficult conversations with colleagues and students
AI for Educators
Facilitated by Marisel Torres-Crespo
By participating in this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Receive an overview of artificial intelligence tools
- Explore the positive applications of AI for educators
- Understand how AI can improve teaching and learning experiences
- Learn how to minimize academic dishonesty with AI tools
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Facilitated by Michelle Gricus
By participating in this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the importance of a feedback-rich environment
- Identify strategies for giving and receiving feedback
Creating and Supporting Service-Learning Projects
Facilitated by Amy Kilpatrick and Paige Eager
By participating in this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand how service-learning differs from volunteerism
- Understand why service-learning is considered a high-impact practice
- Understand how service-learning will be integrated into the Heart, Mind, and Hands Core Curriculum starting in Fall 2024
- Explore service-learning opportunities both on and off campus
Making the Grade
Explore effective grading practices in this two-part series. Focusing on diverse grading models and technology integration, this series equips course instructors to provide constructive feedback and enhance student outcomes. Perfect for both seasoned professors and new instructors.
February 16th, 2-3pm, via Zoom: In Part One, hosted by Jeff Welsh, Director of Instructional Technology, participants will learn about the tools available in Blackboard to facilitate traditional and non-traditional grading strategies.
March 1st, 2-4pm, Whitaker 220: In Part Two, Drs. Aaron Angello and Heather Mitchell-Buck will discuss their strategies for adopting and implementing “ungrading” and other alternative grading strategies in their courses.
Are you ready to say Hello?
Choose a Pathway
Information will vary based on program level. Select a path to find the information you're looking for!