Professional Development - Fall 2026

Ludwig & Zakrajsek, The Science of Learning Meets AI
Facilitator: Wilson Rojas (CETL)
3 meetings (once a month, Sept. - Nov.); schedule TBD based on participants’ availability.

This research-grounded guide helps college educators use generative AI to strengthen, not sideline, what they already know about effective teaching.

Drawing on decades of experience in faculty development and learning science, Ludwig and Zakrajsek propose a three-stage progression model—Adapt, Create, Embed—to help faculty from any discipline thoughtfully incorporate AI into their teaching. Rather than chasing the latest tech tools, this book focuses on how AI can deepen student learning by enhancing time-tested frameworks such as TILT, Universal Design for Learning, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Backward Design, all summarized in a handy appendix. Each chapter includes classroom-tested examples, reflection prompts, and activities ready for individual exploration or group discussion.

Whether you’re skeptical, curious, or cautiously optimistic, this book offers a clear, practical path to using AI as a partner, not a replacement, in ways that support students and reinvigorate teaching.

Manoush Zomorodi, Body Electric
Facilitator: Jonathan Chenoweth (CETL)
4 meetings (Sept. - Nov.); schedule TBD based on participants’ availability

From award-winning journalist and host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour Manoush Zomorodi, a timely investigation into how screens and sitting are reshaping our bodies―and how a simple shift can change everything.

In today’s world, a perfectly normal day means sitting in front of a screen for eight to ten hours. Meeting after meeting. Task after task. Email after email. If we’re not chained to our chairs, we’re attached to our devices, looking down at our phones and plugging in headphones. And then we go home, sit down on the couch, and scroll some more before going to bed and doing it all over again. Even children are not exempt: Many hours of their social and academic lives are spent on a screen.

We all know there has to be a better way—but what is it? In Body Electric, Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour and the Body Electric podcast, draws on expert interviews, cutting-edge research, and real experiences from tens of thousands of everyday participants in her own citizen experiment to reveal the surprising physiological costs of our digital existences, from posture problems and dwindling eyesight to disrupted breathing and weight gain, and shares scientifically-backed, easy-to-manage tactics and solutions for better health and well-being. Along the way, she also debunks myths and misconceptions about what helps and hurts us, offers useful insights into the labs, offices, schools, and homes where small shifts are making big difference, culminating in an easy-to-apply protocol that will get us all moving. 

Do you fondly recall a history of ideas course from college and want to rekindle that flame? Are you teaching a UNIFI Responsibility course and want to broaden your ethics focus beyond utilitarianism and deontology? Hoping to investigate moral philosophy from an interdisciplinary perspective alongside your UNI colleagues? Please join: read and chat with us. 

This semester, over four monthly meetings, we will discuss Benjamin Lipscomb's 2021 book The Women Are Up to Something: How Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch Revolutionized Ethics (OUP).

The meetings will take place on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm. The group will select, from among the following dates, four main meetings, and then determine together whether to schedule additional ones: September 10, September 24, October 8, October 22, November 5, November 19, and December 10.

If there is interest, we hope this will be just the first of many semesters ahead for the Ethics Reading Group. - Robert Earle and Reza Lahroodi

This project is made possible with support from the Wilson College of Business Ethics Chair.

Friday, September 4, 2026 | 11 AM to 12 PM | Rod Library Room 378 or Zoom
Presenter: Wilson Rojas

In this hands-on workshop, faculty will learn how to develop clear and effective guidelines for AI use in their courses and assignments. We’ll explore how to help students understand when and how to disclose AI assistance in their work, as well as how to set expectations that support academic integrity and creativity. Walk away with practical strategies, sample language, and the confidence to guide your students through the evolving world of AI in education.

Tuesday, Sept. 8 | 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM | Zoom
Facilitators: Caran Howard and Gayle Rhineberger
Move beyond feeling like the cheating police by promoting learning using a Professional Integrity Mini-Module and adding AI-use notes to each assessment. Shift the focus from "not cheating" to "authentic learning" to create a more resilient and rewarding educational environment without having to totally change all of your assessments.

If you would like a calendar invite to any or all events, please email gayle.rhineberger@uni.edu.

ZOOM lINK →

Friday, September 11, 2026 | 11 AM to 12 PM | Rob Library Room 278 
Facilitators: Caran Howard and Wilson Rojas

Join us for a practical, hands-on workshop designed to streamline PDF creation and remediation without forcing you to rebuild your files from scratch. Learn actionable strategies to make your course documents fully accessible through quick demonstrations and dedicated lab time. Support staff from both CETL and OEIS will be on hand for 1-on-1 assistance. All faculty and staff are welcome. Bring a file you want to fix! 

Thursday, September 17 | 11:30am-12:30pm | Faculty Commons, Rod Library (Center of the 3rd floor)

It’s a word wrapped in layers of nasty connotation. But while academic responsibility is not a new concern, it is at the heart of novel challenges to teaching in the age of AI. Help us inaugurate the Faculty Commons space in Rod by joining an open forum about academic ethics. We will surface your values and contextualize the threats, as you see them. From those concerns we will find practical ways to move forward.

Friday, September 18 | 10:30am-11:30am | Faculty Commons, Rod Library (Center of the 3rd floor)

It’s a word wrapped in layers of nasty connotation. But while academic responsibility is not a new concern, it is at the heart of novel challenges to teaching in the age of AI. Help us inaugurate the Faculty Commons space in Rod by joining an open forum about academic ethics. We will surface your values and contextualize the threats, as you see them. From those concerns we will find practical ways to move forward.

Monday, September 21, 2026 | 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM | Rod Library Room 378 or Zoom
Presenter: Wilson Rojas

Explore several design strategies to make your assignments more AI-resistant. This session will introduce faculty to key principles, including crafting thoughtful grading criteria, designing multi-layered assignments, and encouraging personal reflection. You’ll leave with practical ideas to promote authentic student work while still embracing innovation in your classroom.

Wednesday, September 23 | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Rod 378 
Presenter: Jonathan Chenoweth (CETL)

How do our students experience the “unknown”? Is it something to be feared, or an invitation to explore? This session will follow up on ideas raised by Sarah Cavanagh at the Fall Faculty Workshop. Specifically, we will examine the student experience of uncertainty, which can lead to anxiety, but also to motivation. What does research tell us about these “appraisals,” and what needs to be in place to make uncertainty palatable, even desirable?

Thursday, September 24 | 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Rod Library 387
Presenter: Community Engagement Staff

What this session covers:  

A friendly introduction to service‑learning (SL) and how it enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real‑world learning. Faculty explore simple SL models and see examples of how SL can be integrated without redesigning an entire course.

You will leave with:

• A clear understanding of what SL is (and isn’t)
• 2–3 easy ways to incorporate SL into any course
• A sense of how SL naturally connects to Day of Service

Friday, September 25 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Zoom
Presenter: Community Engagement Staff

What this session covers:  

A friendly introduction to service‑learning (SL) and how it enhances student engagement, critical thinking, and real‑world learning. Faculty explore simple SL models and see examples of how SL can be integrated without redesigning an entire course.

You will leave with:

• A clear understanding of what SL is (and isn’t)
• 2–3 easy ways to incorporate SL into any course
• A sense of how SL naturally connects to Day of Service

Friday, Sept. 25 | 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Zoom
Facilitators: Caran Howard and Gayle Rhineberger
Emotions, Motivation, and Learning in an Online Environment (based on information from Cavanagh (2016), The Spark of Learning).

Wednesday, September 30 | 11:00am-12:00pm | Rod 378
Panelists: Arti Mann, Elise DuBord, Danielle McGeough

It is common to hear that we should value the learning process over its product, but what does that really mean for the work of teaching and learning? This yearlong series of panel sessions will take you into your colleagues’ courses and offer specific examples of rebalancing the focus of teaching away from artifacts and towards the learning activities and experiences behind them.

This session will focus on the activities of listening and speaking, including discussion (vocally, or on discussion boards) and storytelling.

Tuesday October 6, 2026 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Zoom
Facilitators: Caran Howard and Gayle Rhineberger

Part of retaining students and reducing their cognitive load so they can learn is understanding where they are as a group and as individuals. Talk through some strategies for addressing student needs and directing them to help.

If you would like a calendar invite to any or all events, please email gayle.rhineberger@uni.edu.

ZOOM lINK →

Friday, October 9, 2026 | 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM | Rod Library Room 378 or Zoom
Facilitator: Wilson Rojas

Discover how to boost your productivity with Gems, Gemini’s personalized AI assistants! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to set up and fine-tune your own Gems to handle tasks, organize information, and support your unique workflow. Through real-world use cases, we’ll explore how these smart assistants can adapt to your needs and help you work smarter, not harder.

Monday, October 19, 2026 | 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM | Rod Library Room 378 or Zoom
Presenter: Wilson Rojas

While the idea isn't new, AI has brought cognitive offloading to the forefront of higher education! Join us for an engaging session to swap insights with colleagues and explore how this concept is reshaping your specific field. You'll walk away with practical strategies to empower your students to use AI effectively and purposefully across diverse learning environments.

Friday, October 23 | 10:00 AM- 11:00 AM | Zoom
Facilitators: Caran Howard and Gayle Rhineberger

Online learners are all about what is relevant for their future needs. When we address this throughout our courses, they feel seen and heard (and may be more engaged in learning and doing their own work). 

If you would like a calendar invite to any or all events, please email gayle.rhineberger@uni.edu.

ZOOM lINK →

Language Craft as Learning
Days/times to be determined 

It is common to hear that we should value the learning process over its product, but what does that really mean for the work of teaching and learning? What if we don’t learn as a result of reading & writing – or by listening & speaking, researching & applying, observing & reporting – but only in the reflective and iterative learning practices that accompany these tasks? This yearlong series of panel sessions will take you into your colleagues’ courses and offer specific examples of rebalancing the focus of teaching away from artifacts and towards the learning activities and experiences behind them. 

Days/times to be determined 

When does a class become “large”? There is no single threshold, but if your pedagogy is not aligned with your enrollment numbers, it can lead to exhausting, frustrating, and ineffective teaching/learning experiences. It turns out that size does matter! What are some strategies for “scaling up” when a class is bigger than the last time you taught it? We’ll hear from colleagues who teach 30, 50, 100+ students, and consider both in-person and online modalities.

Days/times to be determined 
This panel session will respond to September’s open forum on old and new challenges to academic responsibility. This is not a transactional problem to be solved with a single best practice, and we should not expect to be aligned in our responses, but it should help to know that 1) we aren’t alone and 2) we do have some choices.

Bring your priorities and your experiences. We’ll assemble a panel of colleagues [and students?], offer an assortment of concrete responses, and make room for discussion. Let’s wrestle with this together, and also build a network for following up.

Thursday, November 3 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Zoom
Facilitators: Caran Howard and Gayle Rhineberger

Design in-time self-checks and group-checks that help students gauge their understanding before they submit an exam or big paper. These can be self-grading or group-evaluated. Scaffold the learning so they feel less pressure to turn to AI. 

If you would like a calendar invite to any or all events, please email gayle.rhineberger@uni.edu.

ZOOM lINK →

Friday, November 6, 2025 | 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM | Zoom
Facilitator: Wilson Rojas

Join us for an engaging session exploring the fundamental principles of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its growing impact on higher education. Through hands-on examples and collaborative discussions, participants will gain a foundational understanding of how AI systems function, explore the ethical implications of their use in academic settings, and discover the AI tools and resources available at UNI to support teaching and learning. 

Tuesday, November 10 | 9:00am – 12:00pm | Rod Library Room 278

Fix Your Content Day 2026 is a 24-hour, worldwide competition where institutions come together to improve the accessibility of their digital course content using Ally. Every fix, big or small, helps create a more inclusive learning environment for your students, while showcasing your institution’s commitment to accessibility.

Use this opportunity to improve the accessibility of your content! Drop by anytime between 9:00 am - 12:00 pm in the  (Rod 278) in Rod Library. Whether you have questions, need a second opinion, or want to learn something new, our friendly team members from CETL, ETMS, and OEIS will be on hand to help you make your content accessible. No appointment needed—just swing by whenever it works for you. We will have coffee and snacks!

Last year, participants made nearly 42,000 fixes—this year, let’s go even further! Be part of a worldwide movement to turn insight into action.

Why participate?

• To be counted in the competition, fixes must be made through the Anthology Ally user interface.

Every fix counts

• From small edits to major improvements, every fix you make using Ally contributes to a more accessible learning environment for all students.
• Showcase your institution’s commitment
• See your institution’s progress on the global leaderboard and celebrate your staff’s dedication to inclusive education.

Accessibility is a journey

• Fix Your Content Day is a great way to make an immediate impact—but the real goal is embedding accessibility into everyday teaching and learning practices.

Friday, November 20, 2026 | 11 AM to 12 PM | Rod Library Room 378 or Zoom
Facilitator: Wilson Rojas

Get ready for a hands-on dive into NotebookLM, where you'll discover how to streamline the creation of classroom materials. We will explore how to leverage content summarization, infographics, and video and podcast generation to build resources that resonate with students. Join us to learn how to create impactful educational content that saves you time and enhances your teaching materials.

Days/times to be determined 

Too often, the syllabus has become a contested space. Frustrated faculty throw up their hands in response to familiar questions and offer the rejoinder “It’s in the syllabus!” Overwhelmed students don’t know how to make use of a document that they see as clearly “TL;DR.” Accountability and vulnerability mix in a new mandate that puts our course information online for searchers with varied motivations. 

As you prepare for spring classes, join us to learn more about our new interactive syllabus builder resource. It’s not so much a template as a way to refresh a task that might sometimes feel tiresome, unappreciated, or fraught.