Join our AI Literacy Faculty & Instructors Coffee Chats and be part of a collaborative community exploring the world of artificial intelligence in education. During these sessions, we will discuss the latest AI developments, share innovative teaching methods, and collaborate to create strategies for integrating AI literacy in the curricula. In this supportive environment, we will enhance our understanding of AI in education, develop strategies to foster student AI literacy, connect with colleagues about cutting-edge AI tools and trends, and be at the forefront of AI integration at UC San Diego. Join us for coffee and to exchange ideas.

Our coffee chats are designed to accommodate participants. Each session will have in person at Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, Rooms 217 or 255 and remote. On the registration, choose your modality and connect with us on the following dates:

Wednesday, April 9, 2025
11:00 a.m.  - 12:00 p.m. | Registration | Room 217

Wednesday, April 30, 2025
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Registration | Room 255

Wednesday, May 21, 2025
11:00 a.m.  - 12:00 p.m. | Registration | Room 255

Wednesday, June 4, 2025
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Registration | Room 255

We are pleased to release a Critical AI Literacy Canvas course for you to integrate into your course(s) if you so decide. This resource is designed to support you in introducing students to fundamental AI competencies, enabling them to become critical users who understand how to leverage this technology responsibly and ethically. For educators looking for guidance, please refer to the AI Literacy Educator guide.

Adapted from a module created by the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation at Rush University, this course aims to help students develop four key AI literacy competencies:

1. Recognition
2. Comprehension
3. Critical thinking
4. Proficiency

The module addresses essential questions about Generative AI:

1. What is artificial intelligence?
2. How does it work?
3. How do I use it?
4. How can I use it responsibly?

We suggest two ways you can use this course to help your students develop their AI Literacy:

1. Refer students to opt in to the course if they are interested in learning more about responsible and ethical use of AI tools.
2. Review the course yourself; then, borrow from it what you would like for your own lesson plan on AI Literacy.

Of course, these are just suggestions. We invite you to use the course in any way you decide is best for your course context. 

Our staff members at the Teaching and Learning Commons and the Academic Integrity Office can answer your questions or consult with you regarding your teaching practices in the context of Generative AI. 

Access the Critical AI Literacy Canvas

Schedule a 1:1 consultation with a learning specialist at the Teaching and Learning Commons. For more information, contact us at engagedteaching@ucsd.edu. For questions regarding academic integrity and the use of AI, contact the Academic Integrity Office at aio@ucsd.edu   

The Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion and the Teaching and Learning Commons Engaged Teaching collaborated to create the New Faculty Academy. The New Faculty Academy (NFA) is a cohort-based professional development program for new and early career faculty at UC San Diego. The year-long program consists of 8 sessions (at least 5 of which will be held online), including an orientation and closing ceremony to be held in person. NFA is designed to help new faculty understand general expectations and learn strategies for faculty success and advancement, while building a community of colleagues across campus.

Visit Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion for session details.

Empowering the Practice of Reflection for Social Justice Teaching
Self-paced | Asynchronous
Remote | Begin Here

Teaching is a complex process that is often informed by our unique values, goals, and beliefs about teaching and learning. Empowering the Practice of Reflection for Social Justice Teaching provides an introduction to thinking about ourselves as educators, and the influences and impact of our teaching choices and practices.

Based on the Teaching for Social Justice framework, we created a 3-part module that invites educators to explore race and racism in higher education, reflect on their social identities as educators and how they inform their worldview (Know Oneself), and reflect on how their social identities inform their relationships with students (Know Your Students).

We believe when these aspects of teaching have been deeply explored, other aspects of course design like choosing a theoretical framework to guide teaching and mentoring students (Implicit Messages), and selecting materials that reflect students’ social identities (Explicit Messages), will make (re)designing a course more meaningful and impactful for the educator and for the students. 

Participating in Empowering the Practice of Reflection for Social Justice Teaching will also be helpful when consulting with an education specialist on teaching pedagogies, and participating in workshops like Equity-Minded Course Design Series and programs like Community Engaged Learning and Antiracist Pedagogy Learning Community. Or, it can be a stand-alone, once in a while opportunity educators take to reflect on themselves. It’s up to educators to decide the pace and the level of engagement they will or can experience with this opportunity for their desired outcomes. We encourage educators to do this in community with peers for opportunities to talk through together what is coming up for them. 

We invite the campus community to share this resource as part of any program, orientation, or training related to reflecting on ourselves to be better educators and learners.

Those who complete Empowering the Practice of Reflection for Social Justice Teaching will, upon request, receive a certificate of completion.

Following two TILT workshops that were facilitated by Dr. Winkelmes, Founder of TILT Higher Education, the School of Biological Sciences and Teaching and Learning Commons created the Inaugural TILT Community of Practice. The Inaugural TILT Community of Practice is cohort-based and will be offered once a year.

The Inaugural TILT Community of Practice welcomes student-facing educators (faculty, graduate students/teaching assistants, and staff) committed to utilizing and disseminating  discourse about transparent pedagogical practices. To achieve our goals and the learning outcomes of the TILT Community of Practice, we will use three approaches: (a) design clinic approach to develop transparent assignments and projects, (b) collaborative approach to improve our practice of transparent design, and (c) explorative approach to create research possibilities on transparent design. 

Goal 1: Demystify the learning process for students and educators by providing explicit and accessible information. Learning Outcome 1: Participants will apply transparency practices in materials of their choosing (i.e., syllabus, assessment, student leadership training, student internship).

Goal 2: Develop culturally responsive and inclusive student learning spaces. Learning Outcome 2: Participants will apply transparency practices with an equity mindset to improve inclusivity in their learning spaces.

Goal 3: Broaden assessment or research on TILT. Learning Outcome 3: Participants will learn to implement assessment or research to better understand and share the effects of TILT.   

Goal 4: Collaborate, problem-solve, and reflect. Learning Outcomes 4: Participants will learn from and engage with peers in discussions about using TILT in an intentionally-fostered community. Participants will use the framework to enhance working relationships with colleagues and peers.

Educators who complete the commitments of the Inaugural TILT Community of Practice will receive a certificate of completion. 

The Inaugural TILT Community of Practice includes four (4) meetings scheduled Wednesdays at 9 - 10:30 a.m. on January 29, February 12, February 26, and March 12.

We invite interested folks to complete the interest form by Friday, December 6.

Please send questions to engagedteaching@ucsd.edu

There is a lot of tension and division going on in our society through the current political climate. While creating a classroom environment where students feel safe, heard, and valued has always been important, these recent and upcoming times are calling for a greater need for such an environment, including for faculty and graduate students doing the teaching. Teaching with Care in Challenging Political Times is a space to learn how to foster inclusive, empathetic, and supportive teaching strategies amidst contentious or emotionally charged political climates.

Throughout the consultation hour series, an education specialist will cover one technique related to teaching with care using a variety of mediums such as case studies and reflective discussions. Participants will learn how to balance care for student well-being with fostering learning opportunities through critical thinking, encouraging respectful dialogue, and acknowledging diverse perspectives students bring into the classroom.

Building Flexibility in Elements of Your Course
Friday October 4, 2024
10 - 10:50 a.m. 
Remote | Register Here

There is No Such Thing as Perfect Teaching
Thursday October 24, 2024
9 - 10 a.m. 
Remote | Register Here

The Day Before Elections: Creative Ways to Start Your Class Meaningfully
Monday November 4, 2024
12 - 12:50 p.m.
Remote | Register Here

Now What? Sustaining Care-full Working Relationships
Thursday, November 21, 2024
10 - 10:50 a.m.
Remote | Register

Founder of Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (TILT Higher Education), Dr. Mary Ann Winkelmes, will be facilitating a two-part workshop to UC San Diego’s teaching and learning community. Faculty, lecturers, graduate students, staff, and other community members who aim to improve transparency and equity in their work are invited. 

Transparency in learning and teaching (TILT) involves direct communication among students and their teachers or student support staff about the process of learning and instruction. It has demonstrably increased student success and faculty and staff satisfaction at hundreds of institutions of higher education in the U.S. and abroad. Data from several studies identify transparent instruction as a small, equitable teaching intervention that significantly enhances students' success, with greater gains for historically underserved students (first-generation, low-income, ethnically underrepresented). TILT has also enhanced students’ sense of belonging, confidence, metacognitive awareness of skill development, and retention (Winkelmes et al. 2016, Gianoutsos & Winkelmes 2016; Calkins & Winkelmes 2018, Winkelmes et al. 2019).

Introduction to TILT: How TILT Advances Inclusive Student Success
October 10, 2024 | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Remote | Recording Available

This highly interactive session introduces instructors and staff to TILT and engages them in small groups to apply transparent design principles to examples from TILT research projects and to their own examples, including assignments, student-facing documents, co-curriculars, staff meetings, and strategic planning. Participants will leave with:

• an understanding of how TILT works and what it looks like in practice
• TILT tools and strategies to enhance students’ success
• draft revisions to an assignment or student-facing document of their own that they can use immediately with students

From First TILT to Second TILT and Beyond
October 17, 2024 | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Remote | Recording Available

This workshop continues to engage participants to apply strategies to implement TILT in their learning spaces by:

• discussing how they and their students experienced the first TILTed interaction
• addressing common challenges of TILT
• gathering peer feedback on a second TILTed assignment, student-facing document, or other process
• considering how TILT can be applied broadly in student success programs

Workshops

The Teaching and Learning Commons Engaged Teaching offers a variety of teaching workshops to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who are interested in teaching and/or are currently teaching, from Instructional Assistants to Instructors of Record. These 60- to 90-minute workshops are designed to create community and opportunities for hands-on experience, and practical discussion of evidence-based teaching practices that support student learning. Of note, is the Instructional Assistant Teaching Symposium, Wednesday September 26 at 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Please see our flyer for more information.

Learn about support available to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars preparing to teach as course instructor at UC San Diego or beyond: https://tinyurl.com/course-instructor. 

Pathways to Expertise in Student-Centered Teaching

Which pathway will you take to develop Expertise in Student-Centered Teaching? Learn about the scaffolded badges and certificates of recognition you can earn as you engage with pedagogy programs in the UC San Diego Teaching and Learning Commons.

Email your questions to engagedteaching@ucsd.edu 

Writing Support

Visit the Writing Hub for support with writing your teaching and diversity statements and general writing services 

Introduction to College Teaching

This free one quarter long course will equip you with practical skills and theoretical knowledge about the fundamentals of student-centered college teaching and equitable teaching practices. You will try out and engage with evidence-based teaching practices, reflect on your philosophy of teaching and what it means to teach for equity, and apply your knowledge to structure a lesson or activity relevant to your discipline. The course is offered every Fall, Winter, and Spring with registration for the upcoming quarter opening 1 - 2 months prior. The registration form is here. View the course syllabus.

Advance College Teaching

This free one quarter long course will guide you through the creation of a student-centered course and syllabus, integrating prerequisite knowledge of foundations of teaching to plan the course structure, activities, and equity-minded course policies. You will try out and engage with evidence-based teaching practices, reflect on your philosophy of teaching and what it means to teach for equity, and connect this to your course context.

For more information about Introduction to College Teaching and Advance College Teaching, email engagedteaching@ucsd.edu *Open to graduate students. Open to postdocs on a space-available basis.

Foundations of Teaching is a 5-part workshop to introduce foundational concepts and skills for planning and facilitating a student-centered class session whether as a Graduate Student Instructional Assistant or Course Instructor. These concepts include building community, how people learn, and using class time effectively, monitoring student feedback, and planning effective discussions. Learn more about foundations of teaching.

Email your questions to engagedteaching@ucsd.edu 

CAMSEE supports educators in learning about tangible strategies to build inclusive classroom learning environments, sustainable practices to create welcoming educational communities, and learner-centered syllabi that address diverse needs of UC San Diego students. Together, they impact students’ learning experiences in our courses. Learn more about CAMSEE.

*Open to faculty and graduate students. Open to postdocs on a space-available basis. 

Holistic Evaluation of Teaching: Developing a Teaching Portfolio
Wednesday October 30, 2024
10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

In alignment with the campus’ move to a more holistic evaluation of the teaching process, we invite you to join this workshop to learn more about documenting teaching effectiveness through a teaching portfolio. Teaching portfolios provide faculty with the opportunity to paint a holistic picture of their teaching philosophy and practices, as well as their growth and development around teaching. In this session, we will share information about the holistic evaluation of teaching recommendations, including guidelines for the teaching portfolio and tips for writing an effective teaching statement. This workshop is interactive and includes time for attendees to begin planning elements of their portfolio and drafting a teaching statement.

Teaching Portfolio Development Retreat
July 9 and July 11, 2024

The Teaching and Learning Commons, in partnership with the Holistic Teaching Evaluation Oversight Committee, invites faculty applications to participate in a two-day Teaching Portfolio development retreat, scheduled for Tuesday, July 9 and Thursday, July 11, 12pm - 3pm. In alignment with the campus’ move to a more holistic evaluation of teaching process, we will share information about the holistic evaluation of teaching recommendations and guide you through the process of developing a teaching statement and portfolio. Our goal is for you to leave the retreat with a strong working draft of your teaching statement and portfolio content. 

Supporting Your Students While Preserving Yourself
Thursday April 18, 2024

Students are facing unprecedented difficulties, especially students of color, and are increasingly disclosing their struggles to faculty and instructional staff. Providing support to students is an important part of being an instructor; however, assisting students through crises can be overwhelming while faculty are also experiencing burnout. In this session, learn evidence-based strategies for providing support to students and students of color in one-on-one interactions and de-normalize solving students’ problems. Learn how to set up appropriate boundaries and preserve your own wellbeing.

Leading Effective Instructional Teams
Tuesday April 23, 2024

Instructional assistants, including teaching assistants, instructional apprentices, tutors, and readers, play a critical teaching role in a course. We will share and review a resource that outlines strategies for setting expectations and boundaries, gauging workload, managing communication and grading, and ideas for staying in touch as the course progresses. Formatted as a lunch and learn, the presenter will (a) share a 15-minute overview of key information about concrete strategies and (b) through a 30-minute Q&A, dive into your questions about applying the presented topic to your teaching context. Feel free to enjoy your lunch while listening. Videos are optional.

Learning About Your Students Through Early Student Feedback
Friday May 3, 2024

It's always a good time to get to know your students and about their learning in your class. We will discuss how to use early student feedback to learn about students’ experiences and make supportive adjustments to our courses. We will share resources and example surveys, brainstorm areas in which we are curious about students’ experiences, and provide work time to create or revise a student survey.

Equity-Minded Course Design Series
Monday June 10, Wednesday June 12, and Friday June 14, 2024

Join us for a three-part Course Design series to design, redesign, or update a course. Beginning with the end in mind, we will integrate backward design as the framework to guide you through developing an equity-centered course with student-centered learning outcomes, aligned assessments, and active learning experiences. Educators will reflect on how equity can be embedded through their curriculum to create safe, generative learning environments for their students. Leveraging social justice education frameworks, the interactive workshops will include synchronous (via Zoom) sessions and asynchronous learning. This Course Design Series specifically centers on building equitable learning experiences and is appropriate for instructors designing in-person and hybrid courses. This is open to UC San Diego faculty and graduate students across all disciplines and titles.

GenAI Workshop: Strategies for Facilitating a Conversation on ChatGPT as Course Policy
Wednesday January 17, 2024
Powerpoint Slides

Whether you’re allowing or not allowing your students to use GenAI tools (like ChatGPT) in your course, they will want to know why or why not. It’s a good idea to include a written policy for your course and to be prepared to facilitate a conversation about the policy with your students. In this workshop, instructors will work on developing/refining their GenAI course policies and we will discuss strategies for talking with students about them. We will also touch on how instructors can follow-up when it appears a student violates the policy. 

GenAI Workshop: ChatGPT: A Tool to Enhance 21st Century Skills
Wednesday January 31, 2024 
Powerpoint Slides

The learning outcomes of your course communicate knowledge, skills, and abilities your students should acquire by the end of the course. With ChatGPT, instructors are encouraged to review their learning outcomes for these reasons, as well as those based on the trajectory of the discipline. In other words, instructors must prepare students for how their field of expertise will develop in the future. In this workshop, we will use ChatGPT as a tool for students to practice learning outcomes specific to the course.

GenAI Workshop: Upgrade Your Assessments for Learning 
Wednesday February 21, 2024
Powerpoint Slides

An assessment is an activity that gauges the progress of a student’s learning of a concept. An assessment supports or is connected to the learning outcomes of the course. So, can ChatGPT be used as an activity to assess a student’s learning? The answer is, yes. In this workshop, we will provide examples of how to use ChatGPT as a tool to enhance assessment relevant to real-world issues that students will find useful.

How to Use Oral Exams as a Student-Centered and Equitable Assessment Tool and Pedagogy
Wednesday February 21, 2024 

Oral exams can be a student-centered and equitable assessment tool and pedagogy to better assess students’ knowledge and learning progress, foster deep learning and active reflection on learning, and enhance student engagement. In this workshop, faculty will learn about the nuts and bolts of successfully implementing oral exams to maximize the benefits and address potential challenges such as scalability. A cross-campus team of engineering faculty and Teaching and Learning Commons educational specialists, who worked together on an NSF-funded project, will share various ways of designing and implementing oral exams to generate a positive impact in the courses.

GenAI Workshop: Upgrade Your Writing Assessments for Learning
Wednesday February 28, 2024 
Handout

Writing assignments provide educators with a useful tool for measuring student learning: they can reveal the degree to which students are retaining course knowledge and meeting course learning outcomes. In this workshop, faculty will reflect on the “why” that drives their course, create assessment strategies attuned to their “why,” and adapt such strategies to better address the advent of GenAI in higher education. Faculty will leave this workshop with a better sense of alignment between their course outcomes and writing assignment strategies that promote student learning and GenAI literacy skills.

GenAI Workshop: Activate Active Learning With GenAI
Thursday March 14, 2024

Active learning is demonstrated through activities that keep students actively engaged by interacting with you, your course content, and with each other. Active learning activities can be used to move students from passive to active engagement in the classroom, to check for prior knowledge, to build connections, and to establish relevance, to name a few examples. With ChatGPT, you can, for example, engage students to compare two written papers on a concept, one produced by ChatGPT and one produced by a student. In this workshop, we’ll explore other ways ChatGPT, and other GenAI tools, can activate learning in the classroom.

Grading for Equity: Antiracist Assessment Strategies
Wednesday November 15, 2023
Powerpoint Slides

In this workshop, participants will evaluate their current grading practices to imagine equitable, anti-racist grading plans. The workshop will explore discipline-specific anti-racist assessment practices and consider alternative assessments that center students' identities, experiences, and goals.

Positionality and Pedagogy: "How These Shape the Way I Teach?"
Wednesday October 4, 2023
Powerpoint Slides

This workshop is designed to deepen educators’ critical understanding of how our identities and positionalities impact the classroom in which we teach. Through discussions and activities, participants will explore how knowing themselves influences pedagogical choices, fosters student belonging, and enhances student-teacher relationships.

To use or not to use GenAI in the Classroom: Opportunities, Limitations, and Reservations
Tuesday August 1, 2023

Without getting into the how to’s, what are you excited about? What opportunities do you foresee using technology as a tool for teaching and learning? How can GenAI enhance teaching? What is your apprehension for using GenAI tools? What support are you looking for in communicating your decision to students while still maintaining a learning community in the classroom? In this learning session, we will share our excitement and reservations for using GenAI tools in the classroom, as well as its limitations. 

Clarifying Course Objectives and Values 
Tuesday August 8, 2023

Faculty are encouraged to clarify the value of a course. What are ethical implications for using GenAI in your course? In this learning session, we will explore how you can clarify the value of your class and ignite students’ intrinsic motivations to attend and meet the learning objectives of the class with integrity.

Promoting Writing Assignments as Meaningful to the Student’s Voice 
Tuesday August 15, 2023

ChatGPT and other tools (e.g., Bing, Bard in Google Docs) can generate a paper once it’s prompted. But what does this mean for our students’ writing and critical thinking skills? In this learning community, faculty will consider how the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, revising, reflecting) can promote critical thinking even in the age of GenAI. We will discuss strategies for scaffolding writing assignments and related activities to enhance the learning process – either by crafting prompts that make it difficult for students to use GenAI tools or by incorporating GenAI tools into your writing assignments.

Part 1. How to use GenAI to Amplify Your Teaching 
Tuesday August 22, 2023

Education is evolving. Like the pandemic, GenAI presents an opportunity to rethink the way teaching is delivered and learning is acquired. You may be thinking about designing new assessments, rethinking rubrics, rethinking learning objectives, engaging students differently, or writing letters of recommendations. In this learning community, we will explore strategies using GenAI to amplify your teaching.

Part 2. How to use GenAI to Amplify Your Teaching
Tuesday August 29, 2023

In the previous learning community, we explored ways GenAI can amplify teaching. In this learning community, we invite faculty to share how they used or imagined using GenAI as a tool to deliver teaching.

Documenting Teaching Effectiveness
Thursday July 20, 2023 

In alignment with the campus’ move to a more holistic evaluation of the teaching process, we invite you to join this workshop to learn more about documenting teaching effectiveness through a teaching portfolio. Teaching portfolios provide faculty with the opportunity to paint a holistic picture of their teaching philosophy and practices, as well as their growth and development around teaching. In this session, we will share information about the holistic evaluation of teaching recommendations, including guidelines for the teaching portfolio and tips for writing an effective teaching statement. This workshop is interactive and includes time for attendees to begin planning elements of their portfolio and drafting a teaching statement.

Assessment Grant Proposal Workshops
Thursday April 13 and Wednesday April 19, 2023
Recording available

Are you interested in applying for an Assessment for Advancing Equity Grant? Attend this workshop to learn more about the application process and benefits of participating in the grant program.  Sponsored by the Executive Vice Chancellor and Division of Undergraduate Education, this grant offers units the opportunity to focus on curricular assessment with the goal of closing equity and opportunity gaps. The interactive workshop will include a synchronous (via Zoom) session, a zoom recording will also be made available on the grants website after April 13th. This session will give participants insight to the application process, pre-packaged grant templates, and support you with developing your assessment ideas. 

This is open to UC San Diego faculty across all disciplines, and recommended for those whose portfolio includes curricular assessment.