Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) Workshops
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching offers teaching workshops and seminars to help interested faculty, teaching assistants and instructors improve their teaching effectiveness and course management skills. These training programs provide opportunities to gather with colleagues to listen, discuss, interact, learn about and reflect on a number of topics to enhance teaching and learning.
Our list of programming is constantly growing. Make sure to check out past and future offerings.
Your feedback is very valuable to us. The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching welcomes feedback, suggestions and requests for workshops; email: CELT@uml.edu.
For IT sponsored workshops, please visit the Information Technology (IT) Trainings/Workshops page.
Winter 2025
Join us for CELT's 2025 Winter Workshops!
Looking to enhance your teaching strategies and connect with colleagues during the winter break? Sign up for our upcoming CELT Winter Workshops! These interactive workshops are designed to equip you with innovative tools, practical approaches, and fresh perspectives to energize your teaching and support student success.
Please respond through the registration link to take advantage of these valuable opportunities for professional growth. Let's start the new semester strong - together!
Register for CELT Winter Workshops
January 13, 10 a.m., Zoom: Incorporating In-Class Activities to Increase Knowledge Retention and Student Engagement. Facilitated by: Taylor Caleb (Mechanical & Industrial Engineering), Pia Markkanen (Public Health), Elissa Magnant (Management), Lindsey Tulipani (Biomedical Engineering)
Professor from Public Health, Business and Engineering will present strategies for in-class activities incorporated in their Fall 2024 semester based on lessons learned from the 2024 Teaching Professor Conference. In-class activities enable students to engage with the material and teach themselves while doing so. These activities also allow the professor to model learning strategies that students can use while studying, as well as gauge students' understanding in a low-stakes environment. Results of various approaches to in-class activities will be discussed, along with strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for future use. Additionally, the role of pen-and-paper activities and the use of AI and digital tools will be addressed.
Workshop Learning Outcomes:
- Build Student-Centered Classrooms: Foster an environment where students feel empowered to actively contribute to their own learning
- Design Interactive Activities: Develop or adapt a classroom activity using at least one engagement tool introduced during the workshop
- Recognize Key Engagement Principles: Understand the role of student engagement in enhancing active learning and classroom participation
January 16, 10 a.m., Zoom: Flexibility in Practice: Practical Solutions for Complex Requests. Facilitated by Kaitlin Duquette (Psychology), Stephen Lam (Chemical Engineering), Keith Mitchell (English), Lauren Tornatore (Disability Services)
Students today face a growing array of challenges, balancing academic pressures with personal commitments, health issues, and unforeseen life events. As a result, requests for greater flexibility in coursework have become more common. While some courses are naturally adaptable, others present more obstacles. Faculty members often struggle to find a balance between granting flexibility and maintaining the integrity of course learning objectives. In this workshop, UML faculty will share effective strategies for incorporating flexibility into their teaching while maintaining academic standards. Participants will also explore a practical guide to help evaluate and manage requests for flexibility in their own courses.
Workshop Learning Outcomes:
- Understand how flexibility can be built into your course
- Thoughtfully prepare your syllabus to account for questions regarding flexibility
- Define your boundaries with flexibility
- Share ideas with the group/each other regarding flexibility
Video Recordings
Winter 2025
- Evidence-Based Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged and Attentive in Both Small and Large Classes.
- Beyond Traditional Grading: Ungrading Strategies and Collaborative Rubric Design.
Fall 2024
- Opening Remarks.
- Keynote: Who's Cheating Who? Reconsidering the Value Proposition of Generative AI, Higher Education & The Way We See Students. Speaker: Lance Eaton.
- 1st Panel: Who Can It Be Now? Confronting the Complexities of Cheating in College. Panelists: Elizabeth Altman, Keith Mitchell, Charles Thomas Wilkes and Students: Adjoa Adjepong and Himani Pareshbhai.
- 2nd Panel: The Impact off AI on Campus Integrity and Academic Success. Panelists: Michael Black, Leslie Farris, Romy Guthier, Karen (Jingrong) Lin, Donna Mellen and Student Nadia Sahila.
- 3rd Panel and Closing Remarks: Managing and Mentoring Academic Integrity at UMass Lowell: A Campus-Wide Approach. Panelists: Stephanie Block, Amit Deokar, Wael Kamal, Shaina Roy.
Summer 2024
- Setting the Stage for Effective Learning
- Designing Project-Based Assignment Learning
- Teaching Students How learning Works: Transform Your Student Learners to Master 5 Effective Learning Strategies
- Assessing Project-Based Learning Assignments
- Gradescope: A Tool for Grading Paper-Based Exams/Assignments & A Scantron Alternative for Multiple Choice (MCQ) Questions
Winter 2024
Summer 2023
- Facilitating Community in the Classroom
- High-Impact Pedagogies in Practice: Introduction to Service-Learning
- Creating Service Learning Assignments for Any Course Level
- How to Provide Individuated Instruction and SURVIVE
- A 2023 Learner Centered Syllabus
- Providing Meaningful Feedback to Students
Spring 2023
Winter 2023
Fall 2022
Summer 2022
- How Universal Design Supports Learning & Equity
- 8+ Ideas to Incorporate Universal Design into your Classrooms
- Strategies for Teaching the Class of 2026
- Student Roundtable -10 Ways Faculty Can Support Student Success
- Using Metacognitive Learning Strategies in the Classroom
- Navigating Student Identities in the Classroom
- Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Every Discipline
Spring 2022
Previous Workshops
Looking for a topic that was discussed in previously? Explore all previous CELT Workshops: