The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and Faculty Success Team are dedicated to fostering professional growth and community among faculty members. We host a variety of regular events designed to enhance teaching skills, promote collaboration, and celebrate achievements.
Our monthly workshops focus on professional development and alternate between in-person and virtual formats. We also invite guest speakers to share their expertise and insights on various topics related to teaching and learning. These events offer valuable perspectives and stimulate thought-provoking discussions, enriching the professional lives of our faculty.
Stay tuned for updates and join us in our mission to innovate and excel in teaching and learning.
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2:30 - 3:30 PM CST
Location: On Teams
Presenter: Casey L. Ford, MFA, Assistant Director, CITL and Faculty Success Team Lead
Panel: Dr. Adrienne Blackwell-Starnes, Interim Chair, English and Modern Languages; Dr. Daniel Bartlett, Director of Writing Programs; Karen Bartlett, MFA, Instructor of English; Dr. Tina Kibbe, Assistant Professor of History; Dr. Martha Rinker, Assistant Professor of Psychology; Darin Thompson, MA, Instructor of English; Dr. Craig Olsen, Director, LU Writing Center
Effective feedback is one of the most powerful tools for supporting student learning and development as writers. In this interdisciplinary panel, faculty who teach writing-intensive courses will share practical strategies for providing feedback that promotes revision, builds student confidence, and strengthens critical thinking. Panelists will discuss approaches to balancing encouragement with constructive critique, managing feedback workload, and helping students engage meaningfully with comments throughout the writing process. For teachers across the institution, this session will offer actionable ideas for using feedback to foster deeper learning and long-term growth as writers.
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2:30 - 3:30 PM CST
Location: On Teams
Presenter: Dr. Sarah Silverman, Independent Consultant & Faculty Developer; Instructor of Communications, Goodwin University
Neurodiversity, or the naturally occurring variation in human cognition, is becoming a popular topic in higher education and adjacent fields. Through a series of interactive activities, this workshop will introduce educators to the basic terminology of the Neurodiversity paradigm (including the terms “neurodivergent” and “neurotypical”) as well as the history of the Neurodiversity movement and its roots in the Autism rights movement. Participants will learn how the concept of Neurodiversity offers an alternative to a medical or pathological understanding of some disabilities and will come away with some foundational knowledge of neurodivergent students’ experiences in the college classroom. Participants will then explore case studies of interactions involving neurodivergent students and staff, building knowledge of how to develop effective communication in neurodiverse groups.
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM CST
Location: Dade Phelan Building, Training Room 113 A&B + Virtual via Teams
Presenter: The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Kick off Fix Your Content Week with quick, rotating presentations and demonstrations focused on making course content more accessible, usable, and student-friendly. Drop in for the topics that interest you, see practical fixes in action, and leave with ideas you can immediately apply to your Blackboard courses. This event is to prepare you for the events of Fix Your Content Day Nov. 10 and to move us all toward our institutional compliance obligations around Title II and accessibility in our courses.
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM CST
Location: Dade Phelan Building, Training Room 113 A&B + Virtual via Teams
Presenter: The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Bring your Blackboard course and let's fix some content! As we participate together in Blackboard's Annual Fix Your Content Day, CITL and University Innovation will host a hands-on workshop and open lab where faculty can work on accessibility and course-content improvements with support available along the way. Join us in person or virtually, stay for a few minutes, or settle in and make some real progress. We'll track LU's progress on Blackboard's FYC Leaderboard and the progress of participating faculty members.
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 10:30 - 11:30 AM CST
Location: Digital Learning Lab - Room 101, Carl Parker Building, & Teams
Presenter: Casey L. Ford, MFA, Assistant Director, CITL and Faculty Success Team Lead & Tim Smith, Executive Director, CITL
Student engagement is a key driver of learning, motivation, and success. In this interactive workshop, pedagogy and design experts will discuss and demonstrate evidence-informed strategies for designing courses and facilitating learning experiences that actively engage students. Participants will examine approaches for fostering connection, promoting participation, and creating meaningful opportunities for interaction in both face-to-face and online environments. The session will highlight practical techniques for aligning course design, instructional activities, and assessment practices to support student engagement throughout the semester. Faculty will leave with actionable ideas and resources they can immediately apply in their own teaching contexts.
Date: Friday, November 13, 2:00 - 4:00 PM CST
Location: Dade Phelan Building, Training Room 113 A&B
Presenter: The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Let's celebrate the difference a week can make! We'll wrap up Fix Your Content Week by recognizing leaderboard results, highlighting LU's accessibility accomplishments, and sharing the collective impact of the improvements faculty made throughout the week.
Faculty Success support is available 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. We are committed to the highest ideals of confidentiality in all matters.
Casey Ford | Assistant Director of Faculty Success
For questions about the CITL: CITL@lamar.edu
For questions about Blackboard: blackboard@lamar.edu