Events

The Dutton Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence, The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, The World Campus, and Teaching and Learning with Technology have joined together to secure open attendance for anyone at Penn State to attend the 17th Annual Transforming the Teaching and Learning Environment Virtual Conference. 

No advance registration is required—simply go to the 2025 Schedule of Sessions and choose Join Session—then register through that link using your PSU email address. You will be sent a link to each session you register for. In addition, every session will be recorded, so if you can’t attend one, stop back at the Schedule later to view the recording.

The Course in College Teaching (CCT) provides an opportunity for faculty, graduate students, and post-doc instructors from all disciplines to collaboratively explore successful teaching and learning. It is designed to allow participants to share ideas and strategies for successful teaching. This free, non-credit course includes discussion and practice based on information drawn from the teaching and learning literature, as well as from the teaching experiences of individual participants.

The Spring 2025 Course in College Teaching (CCT) will be held asynchronously in Canvas from February 3 through March 23. For more information, see https://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/cct or contact one of the course facilitators Deena Levy at drl21@psu.edu or Mary Ann Tobin at matobin@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

As part of the interview process for a faculty position, you may be asked to lead a teaching demonstration. In this interactive workshop, we’ll discuss ways to go into your teaching demo with preparedness, confidence, and adaptability. Participants will explore considerations related to their audience, factors affecting content, logistics (including technology), and teaching/learning interactions. Participants will also strategize ways to cope with unexpected challenges that could emerge during a teaching demo.

Registrants will receive the Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the workshop begins.

 Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Members of the University Academic Integrity Leaders Community will talk about the current state of academic integrity across the university, the impact of artificial intelligence, and the evolution of the academic integrity process. Panelists will address questions and concerns submitted to an anonymous questionnaire at https://tinyurl.com/AcadIntegrityQuestions available through January 26.

Registration will close one hour before the event. 

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

The Commonwealth Campus New Faculty Group, sponsored by the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, will hold its first meeting of Spring 2025 from noon to 1 p.m. on February 5. All faculty of any rank or title are welcome, but the group is especially for faculty who are either new to Penn State, new to their teaching role, or new to teaching in general. The day's topic will be the importance of practice to help students learn.

Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the meeting.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore practical strategies for planning individual class sessions, with special attention to the alignment of learning objectives, assessments, and learning activities.

This is a closed event customized for the requesting department. If you are interested in a Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Many factors can impact students’ motivation for learning. The good news is that instructors have a major influence on those factors, including students' sense of the value of the course material, their mindset about growth, and their sense of belonging. In this interactive workshop, we'll explore research-based approaches for leveraging students' motivation to promote learning.

This is a closed event for the requesting department. If you would like a similar event for your department, course, or group, please email SITE@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.  

The Inclusive and Ethical Pedagogy Series explores how instructors might implement inclusive and ethical pedagogy, as described in the Elements of Effective Teaching.

Panel Session: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Grading

Join us for a discussion in which a panel of experienced educators will share their alternative approaches to grading, including specifications grading, consultative/collaborative grading, and completion-based grading. This session is ideal for instructors seeking to explore practical ideas for alternative grading methods that promote student growth and align with effective course design. Participants are encouraged to share their own questions and experiences. 

Panelists:

Mark Capofari (Supply Chain Management, Lehigh Valley) uses Consultative Grading (CG) that is used to mimic a conventional business model where a supervisor provides an objective (here an assignment) that needs to be completed at a certain time. No grades are given throughout the semester and at the close of the assignment students and instructor agree to the grade. The goal in CG is to have students more comfortable/ prepared to meet requirements using time management & interpersonal skills thereby become more comfortable in an objective setting discussion & outcome. 

Russ deForest (Math, University Park) uses specifications grading to create an assessment structure where students come to identify the instructor's objectives as their own objectives. Student work is graded on a pass/fail basis with opportunities for improvement through revision or reassessment. Requirements are specified for each final letter grade with outcomes linked to course learning objectives. 

Matthew Levy (Art History, Behrend) employs specifications grading in his general education art history courses. By using frequent, low-stakes, pass/fail assignments and offering opportunities for revision, Dr. Levy’s approach gives students greater agency in determining their final grades. 

Ellen Stroud (History, University Park) uses what she calls “completion-based grading,” in which every assignment attempted and submitted in good faith (from low-stakes, in-class writing assignments, to exams, to research projects) is considered complete. Students complete different bundles of assignments and hit different attendance thresholds to achieve the end-of-term grade they are aiming for in the class, including an oral final exam for each student aiming for an A.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at  site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.  

Seeing Differently: A Conversation about Spatial Thinking across the Disciplines 

We live, work, and play in an increasingly visualized world. Spatial thinking encompasses our abilities to solve problems of navigation; recognize relevant spatial patterns or details; and visualize objects from different angles (Paultanis, 2014). While long recognized in engineering, emerging research suggests that spatial thinking may also be beneficial in strengthening learning outcomes such as creative problem solving, critical reasoning, and digital fluency in nearly all disciplines. We invite you to join us for a lively conversation about spatial thinking as a 21st century general education competency.

Register: https://forms.office.com/r/y2aesYMDsY

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

The Ethical Pedagogy short course is an introductory overview of ethical pedagogies as a productive framework. Using these ethical pedagogies as a framework assists instructors in incorporating and engaging in equitable pedagogical practices in their courses. The course includes research-based lessons, workshops and interactive coffee hours, journal activities, and lesson plan/activity development opportunities to support early-career graduate students seeking to diversify and deepen their pedagogy and teaching materials. Upon successfully completing the course, participants will have produced initial teaching materials (e.g., teaching philosophy statement, revised assignment, revised unit, lesson plans, etc.) and earn a certificate of completion.

Facilitated by John Elia and Shannon McClellan Brooks, this course will be conducted in both asynchronous and synchronous Zoom formats and will run from February 10th to March 16th. This non-credit short course requires an application as there are limited spots available. The application deadline is February 3rd, and selected participants will be notified by February 5th. If you have any questions about the application, selection process, or the course in general, please contact John (jre9@psu.edu) or Shannon (sum1423@psu.edu) via email. Apply any time before February 3rd using this link: Microsoft Form

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop, participants will explore strategies for writing a teaching philosophy statement that effectively communicates their goals, practices, and evidence of effectiveness. 

This is a closed event for the requesting department. If you would like a similar event for your department, course, or group, please email SITE@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

José Antonio Bowen, PhD, offers unique insights into how generative artificial intelligence (AI) can strengthen learning outcomes assessment while helping institutions navigate the complex challenges AI poses to academic integrity for students, faculty, and staff. AI is rapidly changing how humans work and think, and it's shattering expectations around assignments, assessment, class preparation, and attendance. AI is also changing how we think about “average” grades. If AI can produce consistent “C” work, then we need to update our grading policies. In this webinar, we'll examine the skills and curriculum that will matter most in this new age, why articulation of “quality” is essential, and what policies and practices improve motivation and decrease cheating. Attendees will learn practical techniques to transform their assignments and assessments.

Bowen provides strategies for integrating AI in teaching and assessment, which could ensure Penn State’s academic community is well equipped to effectively and ethically utilize the technology. Bowen will enrich our understanding of AI’s impact on education and empower us to adopt forward-thinking approaches that advance pedagogical innovation, assessment, and academic integrity standards.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research and the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence.

Registration will close 1 hour before the event starts. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 1 hour before the event.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

This endorsement is part of the Provost Endorsement Program.

This endorsement engages experienced instructors in implementing inclusive and equitable teaching in their current or upcoming course(s).  This program assumes participants already understand the need for inclusive and equitable practices. Eligible participants must have teaching responsibilities in the current or upcoming academic year so that they can most immediately benefit from the content of the program by applying program concepts to their teaching. Participants will revise a syllabus or assignments for future use, reflect on their teaching based on student feedback and peer interactions, and consider how they might cultivate belonging in their courses.  Once participants have registered, they will be added to a Canvas course and connected with a SITE faculty consultant. 

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Assessment of student learning enables us to establish appropriate and clear expectations of what students will learn in our courses, how they will demonstrate that learning, and how that learning will be evaluated. In this session, participants will discover the types of student learning assessments and identify some effective assessment strategies for use in their own teaching.

This is a closed event customized for the requesting department. If you are interested in a Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

This workshop will give an overview of rubrics and how they can be used to score assignments. See full description and register at https://opair.psu.edu/assessment/resources.

Registrants will receive a Zoom link prior to the event.

This event is co-sponsored by the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at  site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Penn State is part of the international CIRTL Network, which focuses on preparing the next generation of faculty to teach effectively. Join us for this brief overview of how CIRTL programming—both at Penn State and through the 44-university network—can help grad students and postdocs to 1) strengthen their teaching skills and 2) document their professional development through CIRTL certification.

Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the presentation begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Have you ever wondered what makes your students curious? In this interactive workshop, we will explore how insights from recent research in curiosity, wonder, and awe can be integrated into your classroom practice.

Registration will close one hour before the event starts. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the workshop.

In this interactive workshop we invite participants to examine student engagement from a curricular perspective. We will discuss how the ways that activities and assessments are designed can affect student engagement, and how reflecting on the structure of activities and assessments can lead to changes to promote student engagement. Participants will have opportunities to apply what is discussed throughout the workshop and have time to think how they may apply it to their own teaching.

Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Penn State is part of the international CIRTL Network, which focuses on preparing the next generation of faculty to teach effectively. Join us for this brief overview of how CIRTL programming—both at Penn State and through the 44-university network—can help grad students and postdocs to 1) strengthen their teaching skills and 2) document their professional development through CIRTL certification.

Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the presentation begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.
   

This Universal Design for Learning (UDL) course is self-directed and asynchronous. The course provides an introduction to the rationale for UDL, supporting research, applications of UDL. We welcome instructors and designers who embrace student variability, strive for equity, and seek to empower students. Participants will explore UDL terms, principles, structures, and applications, and ways to adapt teaching practices.

Facilitated by Mary Ann Tobin, this course is a collaboration between the Schreyer Institute and World Campus Online Faculty Development.

Visit the UDL course page at https://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/udl to enroll before April 1, 2025. You will have 60 days to complete the course.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

While students come to our classes with varying experiences with writing in college, it is often a challenge for them to write in the ways we expect them to as members of a particular field. If you’re a grad student or postdoc who is preparing or facilitating writing tasks in your teaching, you’re invited to bring a current writing assignment or draft of a proposed writing assignment for developmental advice and feedback. Schreyer Institute consultants will facilitate individual and peer activities to help you design writing assignments that support your students in writing like a scientist, critic, analyst, extension communicator, etc. We will consider teaching strategies for setting students up for writing success and providing useful feedback to diverse student writing. Space in the workshop is limited, but you can also schedule an individual consultation at a different time this spring, if desired. 

*NOTE: The date of this workshop has been changed to 2/26.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.