Attention U. of I. Instructors: New Academic Integrity Course For Students

The Provost’s Office, in partnership with the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, offers this asynchronous training course for students to understand how the University defines Academic Integrity and what students’ responsibilities are to maintain it in their coursework. This is a valuable resource for instructors who want to reinforce academic integrity without taking up class time. Here is how to do it:

✅ Make it a required component by sharing this link/QR code: https://go.illinois.edu/AcademicIntegrityCourse.
✅ Have students submit their completion badge via your preferred method, for example, creating a simple Canvas quiz where students submit their badge URL. 

Canvas Catalog and Professional Learning - Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar

Join us on Thursday, February 6, 2025, from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom for the February Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series. Gary Hecht (Gies College of Business) will share insights from delivering hybrid-remote courses to Caterpillar, Inc. employees, scaling from 50 to 200 learners using Canvas Catalog. Learn how this platform supports professional learning beyond Illinois students. Please register in advance to attend. 

Free Statistical, Data & Survey Consulting and Training – Spring 2025

Need help with data analysis, troubleshooting code, or survey research? Free consulting is available for Stata, SAS, SPSS, R, Python, Qualtrics, and Alchemer for all students, faculty, and staff. Offered through a partnership with CITL, the Library’s Media Commons, and Tech Services, all services are completely free! For more information on our services, please visit our website.  

📍 Drop-in Hours (220 Main Library & Zoom):
🕐 Monday: 1 - 5 p.m.
🕐 Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

📌 Request an appointment: Sign up here
📌 Software training available: Register here

Spring Quick Start Accessibility Workshop Series

We’re excited to offer Quick Start Accessibility Workshops to help you make your digital content and courses more accessible. Each workshop will be offered twice during the semester giving you plenty of opportunities to attend. Topics will include:

• Document Accessibility: Learn how to make your Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF files accessible.
• Course Accessibility: Ensure your Canvas or Moodle course meets accessibility standards.
• Video Accessibility: Discover how to make your video content accessible to all.
• Using Pope Tech: Get hands-on with the Pope Tech accessibility tool to assess and improve your Canvas course content.

This workshop series is part of our campus-wide Digital Accessibility and Excellence initiative. For full workshop details, visit the Make Your Course Accessible website and the Training Opportunities page for the full spring schedule and registration links.

Mark These Dates - The Spring 2025 Faculty Series on Teaching & Learning Begins February 12

Come join a dynamic learning community by participating in this specially designed seminar series for faculty (across all disciplines and rank). The theme is “Engaged, Evolving, and Energized Teaching & Learning: What, How, and Why". This series is open to first-time and previous attendees. Topics are: problem-based learning, multimedia assessments, documenting and assessing teaching excellence, and the teaching philosophy statement for promotion and tenure. And a great opportunity: there will be several “road trips” to visit classes of our exemplary teachers.

Dates and registration are now open. Click here for the flyer for more information and to register.

Collect Informal Early Feedback (IEF)

“If you don’t take any other suggestion we offer in this book, take this one. Don’t wait until the end of the semester to uncover problems – identify them while there is still time to do something about them.”  - from Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent (2016).

The next couple of weeks is the ideal time to collect Informal Early Feedback (IEF) from your students. Collecting IEF is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to improve your teaching and enhance your students’ learning. You can learn what works for your students so you can keep doing it. You can learn what doesn’t work for your students so you can stop doing it. You may also get interesting suggestions from students about what you should start doing.

Learn more on the IEF page of the CITL website or register in advance for the upcoming workshop:

• Informal (IEF) & Formal (ICES) Student Feedback for Reflection & Improvement: “I wish I had known that earlier” – Wednesday, February 12 at 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming CITL Workshops & Events

Explore these exciting workshops and events to enhance your teaching, engage students, and learn new skills

Quick Start Workshops:

🔹 Make Your Moodle Courses Accessible
📅 Friday, February 7 | ⏰ 1 - 2 p.m. | 💻 Online

🔹 Using the Pope Tech Accessibility Tool
📅 Friday, February 14 | ⏰ 2 - 3 p.m. | 💻 Online

Spring 2025 Faculty Seminar Series on Teaching & Learning:

🔹 Session 1: Informal (IEF) & Formal (ICES) Student Feedback for Reflection & Improvement of Teaching & Learning: “I wish I had known that earlier”
📅 Wednesday, February 12 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | 📍 Armory 182

🔹 Session 2: Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Preparing Students to Problem-Solve Creatively and Effectively
📅 Wednesday, February 19 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | 📍 Armory 182

🔹 Session 3: Innovative Multimodal Assessments of Student Learning: Going Beyond the Traditional Papers and Exams
📅 Wednesday, February 26 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | 📍 Armory 182

Special Workshops & Events:

🔹 Canvas Catalog and Professional Learning (The Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series)
📅 Thursday, February 6 | ⏰ noon - 1 p.m. | 💻 Online

🔹 Innovation Studio Open Hours
📅 Mondays & Tuesdays | ⏰ noon - 4 p.m. | 📍 Innovation Studio, Armory 172

🔹 Canvas Open Office Hours
📅 Thursdays | ⏰ 11 a.m. - noon | 💻 Online

Stay tuned for this spring's events! Bookmark the CITL Event Calendar for all upcoming workshops and the Training Services (formerly FAST3) Calendar for additional training opportunities.

Wise Feedback and UDL Strategies for Promoting Learner Agency

Most of us would agree that feedback can be a powerful teaching tool. When done thoughtfully, it’s much more than correcting mistakes—it’s about empowering students to see their potential and to promote a growth mindset. That’s where “wise feedback” comes in. Closely aligned with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) goal of creating learner agency, wise feedback encourages students by setting high expectations, offering actionable steps, and showing that you believe in their ability to succeed (CAST, 2024). It’s the kind of action-oriented feedback that helps students become what the UDL framework describes as “expert learners”—those who are purposeful, resourceful, and motivated (Thompson, 2024).

So, what does wise feedback look like in action? Imagine you’re teaching a biology class, and a student submits a lab report on mitosis. Instead of just pointing out errors, you might say, “You’ve done a great job outlining the stages of mitosis! To take this further, let’s connect each stage to a real-world example—for instance, how errors in cell division might cause medical issues. I know you can add this extra layer of analysis!” This kind of feedback celebrates the student’s effort while gently pushing them to think more critically. Or, in a creative writing course, you could say, “Your story has a compelling plot! I’d love to see your protagonist’s emotions explored and developed a bit more. Why not try adding a scene where they face a personal challenge—it may make their journey even more relatable.”

Wise feedback also helps create a classroom environment where students feel supported and capable (Bose, 2020). It’s not just about what you say but how you say it. Phrasing like, “I’m giving you these suggestions because I know you’re capable of achieving great results,” can make a big difference. It shows you’re invested in the student’s growth. If you’re teaching a business class, for example, and critiquing a student’s marketing proposal, you might frame it like this: “This is a strong start! I know you’re capable of developing an even more targeted strategy. Let’s think about how to refine your audience profile to make it sharper.” Coupled with tools like rubrics or samples of exemplary work, this kind of feedback feels more actionable and less overwhelming (CAST, 2024).

Finally, wise feedback encourages students to take the reins and reflect on their learning. In an art history course, for instance, you could ask students to review peer feedback on their visual analysis and create a short plan for improvement. Or in a math class, you could guide students to use a self-assessment checklist to track their progress based on your comments. The checklist might include questions like "Did I show my work clearly?" and "Did I communicate the reasoning behind each step of the solution path?” Students could then use your comments to identify areas where they can improve, such as explaining their reasoning more thoroughly or practicing a specific type of problem. These small actions build confidence and self-regulation, and help provide a strong foundation for future learning that will help students develop the skills they’ll need far beyond your course.

If you would like more information or a consultation on this topic or any topic related to UDL, CITL’s UDL Team is here to help! You can reach us at CITL-UDLTeam@illinois.edu.