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CITL Teaching and Learning News: September 15, 2025

Sep 16, 2025, 11:59 AM
CITL Teaching and Learning News September 15, 2025
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CITL Newsletter - Issue 14 for 2025

 
 

Welcome to the CITL Newsletter, your go-to resource for professional learning, teaching strategies, and innovative practices in education. Stay informed, get inspired, and explore new ways to enhance student learning and engagement.

 
 

Instructor Voices

 
     
 
 

The Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series: Guiding Students to Explore Scientific Literature

Presenter: Konstantinos Kourtikakis (LAS) 

As part of the Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series, Konstantinos Kourtikakis (LAS) explored how instructors can help students engage with challenging scientific works. Dense terminology and advanced methods often discourage students, leading them to disengage or rely on simplified summaries. This talk introduced a structured approach to guide students through complex texts, encouraging deeper engagement and helping them become more confident and sophisticated readers of scientific literature. Watch the recording here.

 
 

Announcements

 
     
 
 

Register Now for the Fall 2025 MCOT Cohort

CITL's Master Course in Online Teaching (MCOT) is a deep-dive into online teaching strategies that goes beyond earlier summer teaching institutes. Prior participation in an instructional development series is not required, but professional experience with university-level instruction is strongly encouraged. MCOT provides an opportunity for social learning and networking with a supportive interdisciplinary learning community.

The MCOT Canvas Course opens on Thursday, October 9, 2025, and our synchronous meetings occur at 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. on the following four Thursdays - October 23, October 30, November 6, and November 13. Certificates will be presented to those who complete all course requirements. Register here to join the fall 2025 cohort.

Join the CITL Faculty Book Club: Strengthening Teaching Through Relationships

One book, two formats, endless opportunities to connect! This fall, we’ll explore Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College (Felten & Lambert, 2020). Research shows that strong relationships are the single most powerful factor in shaping meaningful college experiences—and we’ll discuss what that means for our own teaching and mentoring.

Faculty and post-docs are invited to join us for engaging conversations across disciplines. Benefits include a free copy of the book, a CITL notebook, an Accredible badge, and the chance to recommend future reads.

Choose your format:

  • 💻 Online (Zoom) on Tuesdays: September 16, September 30, October 14, October 28 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. | Register Here

  • 🏛️ In Person (103 Armory) on Fridays: September 19, October 3, October 17, October 31 | 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Register Here

Free Statistical, Data & Survey Consulting and Training – Fall 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 – Thursday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
🕐 Friday: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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

List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students

The Spring 2025 List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students is now available. If your course is missing, check your instructor report against the criteria in the list. At least five students must have completed the relevant item(s) and you must have released your name and course for inclusion on the list if you qualify. For questions or corrections, please email ices@illinois.edu or call 217-244-3846.

 
 

Upcoming Workshops & Events

🔹 Faculty Workshop Series in Teaching & Learning
📅 Wednesday, September 17 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. | 📍 Siebel Center for Design, Sunset Studio 1050 (Informal Early Feedback)
📅 Wednesday, September 24 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. | 📍 Siebel Center for Design, Sunset Studio 1050 (Active Learning Strategies
📅 Wednesday, October 1| ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. | 📍 Siebel Center for Design, Sunset Studio 1050 (Assessment Strategies

🔹 Quick Start Accessibility Workshops
📅 Tuesday, September 16 | ⏰ 3 - 4 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your PDF Documents Accessible, Part 1)
📅 Thursday, September 18 | ⏰ 2 - 3:15 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your PowerPoint Documents Accessible)
📅 Friday, September 19 | ⏰ 2 - 3 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your MS Excel Spreadsheets Accessible, Part 1)
📅 Tuesday, September 23 | ⏰ 2 - 3:30 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your PDF Documents Accessible, Part 2)
📅 Thursday, September 25 | ⏰ 11 a.m. - Noon | 💻 Online (Make Your Moodle Courses Accessible)

🔹 General Workshops and Events
📅 Thursday, September 18 | ⏰ 1:30 - 3 p.m. | 💻 Online (Using Informal Early Feedback)
📅 Thursday, September 25 | ⏰ 9:30 - 11 a.m. |📍 Siebel Center for Design, Sunset Studio 1046 (Developing Your Teaching Philosophy Statement for a Faculty Job Search)

Recurring Events

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

🔹 CITL Faculty Book Club
📅 Tuesday, September 16 | ⏰ 10 - 11:30 a.m. | 💻 Online Group
📅 Friday, September 19 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | 📍 In Person Group, Armory 103

Bookmark the CITL Event Calendar for all upcoming workshops and check with Technology Services for additional training opportunities.

 
 

Teaching Tips

 
     
 
 

Human-AI Collaboration: Your New Creative Partner

By David Favre (CITL)

We are just beginning to look at the benefits of collaborating with AI partners in teaching and learning. It’s clear that how we structure our collaboration can impact the quality of results we achieve, but it can also affect our efficiency, innovation, and even how we understand the problem itself. This Google NotebookLM produced video examines strategies and roles that are useful for leveraging the synergy of Human-AI collaboration. Watch the video here

References

D^3 Insights & Experiences & D^3 Affiliate Research (2025, Jan 23). The creative edge: How human-AI collaboration is reshaping problem-solving. Harvard Business School.

Eastwood, B. (2025, Feb  3). When humans and AI work best together - and when each is better alone. MIT Sloan School.

Google. (2025). AI Mode (Aug 22 version). [Large language model].

 
 
 
 
 
 
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