Departmental Customized Workshops

CRLT-Engin is available to facilitate in-person, hybrid, and remote teaching workshops and conversations during faculty meetings and department retreats during the academic year. Typical workshop topics shown below can be tailored to address specific department needs. For workshops specifically designed for graduate student instructors (GSI) and undergraduate instructional aides (IA), see the GSI/IA handout or any workshop listed below with an asterisk (*).

If departments are interested in topics not listed below, please connect with CRLT-Engin staff ([email protected]) to explore possible options. These customized topics may need more lead time for delivery.

All workshops are typically 45-60 minutes, unless otherwise indicated.

Download the Faculty Handout

Download the GSI/IA Handout

General

CRLT-Engin Info Session (30 min)

In this session, CRLT-Engin will communicate the broad range of services available to faculty & teaching teams and answer questions about our work.

Research-Based Instructional Practices

Actively Engaging Students in Engineering Courses*

Are you noticing lower attendance in your class sessions? Are you finding that students are struggling to comprehend concepts? In this session, participants will learn about the research-based evidence for the effectiveness of active learning teaching methods. Participants will also discuss ways to implement these strategies across multiple modes of instruction.

Alternative Assessment/Grading

Why do we assess and assign grades to students? How can our assessments motivate learning? How can we assess and grade in more inclusive and equitable ways? In this session we will explore these questions and examine evidence-based practices that can make your assessment plan more robust, inclusive and equitable.

Are They Getting It?: Classroom Assessment in F2F, Hybrid and Remote Environments*

Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) are quick and useful ways to gather information on what, how much, and how well students learn. Instructors can use the data to create more effective learning environments. Participants in this session will identify ways to use CATs in their own course context.

Begin with the End in Mind: Reexamining Course Learning Objectives

In this 2-part workshop series, engineering faculty will explore best practices for developing clear and effective course learning objectives. Through these sessions, faculty will be able to evaluate and enhance their current course objectives to ensure alignment with program-wide learning outcomes.

Building A Sense of Community with Your Students

Since the pandemic, students sometimes report feelings of isolation and lack of motivation, and have more difficulty staying on schedule with their work. Intentionally building a sense of community in your courses can help relieve these feelings. In this session, participants will learn strategies for helping students feel that they are part of a community of learners, and share ideas on how to apply these strategies in their particular teaching context.

Classroom Scenarios: Engineering Student-Centered Learning Environments*

In this session, faculty will examine a variety of classroom scenarios and brainstorm strategies to improve classroom climate and respond to problematic dynamics. New scenarios are available each year and can be customized for your context.

Creating Transparent Assignments to Support All Students

Clearly communicating with students about course norms, expectations, and evaluation criteria is an important element of inclusive teaching. In this interactive session, participants will explore the ways that a more transparent assignment design supports students’ learning.

Designing Successful Engineering Teams

How can instructors set up teams to succeed? In this session, engineering faculty will discuss their experiences using teams, gain insights from their colleagues, and explore research-based strategies for designing effective teams.

Encouraging Growth Mindset to Support Student Learning*

Research shows that an instructor’s beliefs about their own and their students’ intelligence and ability impact the classroom environment. In this session, participants will learn strategies to encourage a growth mindset for students in their courses.

Facilitating Difficult Discussions (60 min)

Successful navigation of difficult discussions is a vital skill that individuals and groups can develop. In this interactive session, participants will reflect on their own experiences of handling tense or high-stakes moments in teaching-learning settings and explore strategies for responding to ‘hot moments’, using a case study.

Generative AI Session

Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) are impacting many aspects of personal and professional life on campus and beyond. It is anticipated that an overwhelming majority of U-M students will be using GenAI tools in this term. During this session, departments can customize content to include facilitated dialogue with faculty on GenAI and assessment, academic integrity considerations, guidelines for talking to students about AI use, and more. Content will be aligned with U-M guidelines detailed in the Generative Artificial Intelligence Advisory (GAIA) Committee report.

Inclusive and Equity-Focused Teaching Strategies

In this interactive session, participants will learn about promoting equity-centered engineering through equity-focused teaching, be introduced to inclusive and equitable teaching strategies and discuss with colleagues how they can implement these strategies in remote, hybrid and in-person contexts. In this session, participants will learn about the research-based evidence for the effectiveness of active learning teaching methods. Participants will also discuss ways to implement these strategies across multiple modes of instruction.

Learner-Centered Syllabi

Learner-centered syllabi help to build greater student-instructor rapport and consider the instructor more approachable, encouraging, open-minded, and enthusiastic for teaching and learning. In this session, participants will learn the key elements for creating this type of syllabi and reflect on considerations for their context.

Reimagining Engineering Teaching

After years of disruption and transition in the learning environment, faculty and students are entering the classroom with varying expectations. This workshop focuses on a common challenge: How can we encourage student engagement in a way that is transparent, inclusive, and equitable? Participants will consider the type of engagement they hope to see, explore reasons why students might not be engaging, learn evidence-based principles to promote engagement, and share strategies they have found to be successful in promoting student engagement in their courses.

Teaching in Tumultuous Times in Engineering Classrooms

Global crises, political divisiveness, and social unrest take an emotional and cognitive toll on students and instructors, impacting teaching and learning. Research shows that instructor acknowledgment and recognition of these events positively impact student learning and sense of well-being. At the same time, instructors must also be mindful of their mental and emotional state during these times. In this workshop, faculty can work through several strategies for engaging with students about emerging events and learn about resources and strategies to support both student and instructor well-being.