CITL Newsletter - Issue 16 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.

The Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series: Creating a Pedagogically Appropriate Curriculum

Presenters: Kara Yarrington and Michelle Dutton (LAS)

Textbooks often outline learning outcomes designed to prepare students for the next level of coursework. But what if research shows that these outcomes aren’t appropriate for your students’ actual skill level? In this session, we’ll explore how to bridge that gap. You’ll learn strategies for selecting instructional materials, designing meaningful assessments, and setting realistic, research-based learning outcomes. Join us to gain practical tools for building a curriculum that supports evidence-based teaching and helps students succeed. Watch the recording here.

Fall into AI Event - Teaching With AI, Not To AI: Practical Strategies for Improving Teaching and Learning

How do we harness generative AI to elevate, not replace, teaching and learning? In this hybrid session, Abdussalam Alawini (Siebel School of Computing and Data Science)will survey current, evidence-informed uses of AI in classrooms and then get hands-on with faculty-ready workflows. He’ll look at classroom assistants and virtual tutors, AI-supported assessment and feedback, and ways to weave AI literacy into the curriculum. Concrete demos include drafting new lectures, mapping a literature review to course modules, building quick simulations/visuals for lectures, and auditing assessment quality—complete with guardrails for verification, privacy, and ethics. Attendees will leave with practical prompts, templates, and adoption checklists they can use in their next course offering.

This hybrid presentation will take place on Friday, October 17 at 1 p.m. in CITL’s Innovation Studio (Armory 172) and on Zoom. No registration is required. Learn more about Fall Into AI and attend future events

Thinking About Trying GenAI — But Haven’t Started Yet?

If you’re curious about generative AI but not quite sure where to begin, you’re not alone. Opening a blank AI chat can feel like being handed a powerful tool with no instructions.

That’s exactly why we built the Guided Introduction to Using GenAI. This custom experience is designed for absolute beginners. Instead of guessing what to type, you’re guided through your first few prompts in a friendly, conversational way. No jargon. No prep. Just a low-stakes way to finally explore what AI can actually do for you. 

ChatGPT Guided Intro | Copilot Guided Intro (login required on both platforms) 

Want to talk to a real person, instead? Schedule a consult at citl-info@illinois.edu.

Register Now for the Fall 2025 MCOT Cohort

Join David Favre for CITL’s Master Course in Online Teaching (MCOT) — an in-depth program on effective online teaching strategies and course design. MCOT offers a supportive, interdisciplinary learning community focused on practical applications and peer collaboration.Register here to join the Fall 2025 cohort!

📅 Course Opens: Thursday, October 9, 2025
💻 Live Sessions: Thursdays, October 23, October 30, November 6 & November 13 | 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
🏆 Certificate awarded upon completion

List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students

The Summer 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

🔹 Fall Into AI Events
📅 Friday, October 17 | ⏰ 1- 1:50 p.m. | 📍CITL Innovation Studio (Armory 172) &💻 Online (Teaching With AI, Not To AI: Practical Strategies for Improving Teaching and Learning by Abdussalam Alawini)
📅 Thursday, October 23 | ⏰ 10 - 10:50 a.m. | 📍CITL Innovation Studio (Armory 172) &💻 Online (Elucidating Boundaries on Ethical AI Use in Higher Education: Synthesizing Governance and AI Literacy by Dr. Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo)
📅 Friday, October 24 | ⏰ 1 - 2 p.m. | 📍CITL Innovation Studio (Armory 172) &💻 Online (Creative Thinking with Gen AI by Jena Marble)

🔹 Faculty Workshop Series in Teaching & Learning
📅 Wednesday, October 15 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. | 📍 Siebel Center for Design, Sunset Studio 1050 (Syllabus Review by Manny Rodriguez Rivera and Lucas Anderson)

🔹 Quick Start Accessibility Workshops
📅 Tuesday, October 14 | ⏰ 3 - 4 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your PDF Documents Accessible, Part 1 by Ky Merkley)
📅 Wednesday, October 15 | ⏰ 11 a.m. - Noon | 💻 Online (Checking Documents for Accessibility by Ky Merkley)
📅 Thursday, October 16 | ⏰ 2 - 3 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your Excel Spreadsheets Accessible, Part 3 by Lori Lane)
📅 Tuesday, October 21 | ⏰ 3 - 4:30 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your PDF Documents Accessible, Part 2 by Marc Thompson)

🔹 General Workshops
📅 Wednesday, October 22 | ⏰ 10 - 11:15 a.m. | 💻 Online (Get in the Flow: Promoting Student Learning Engagement by David Favre)

Recurring Events

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

🔹 Innovation Studio Open Hours
📅 Mondays and Tuesdays | ⏰ Noon - 4 p.m. | 📍Armory 172

🔹 Master Course in Online Teaching (MCOT)
📅 Thursdays | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | 💻 Online

🔹 CITL Faculty Book Club
📅 Tuesday, October 14 | ⏰ 10 - 11:30 a.m. | 💻 Online Group
📅 Friday, October 17 | ⏰ 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.

The Flipped Classroom Approach to Teaching

By Erin Creuz (CITL)

Are your class sessions feeling a little routine lately? Maybe you find yourself lecturing at the front of the room while students dutifully take notes, only to send them off to wrestle with the hardest parts of learning on their own? If so, it might be time to flip your thinking about what your “class time” should look like.

The flipped classroom model inverts the traditional approach: instead of delivering lectures in class and assigning practice afterward, students first encounter new material outside of class through videos, readings, or online modules. Then, when they return to class, the focus shifts to applying that knowledge through discussions, problem-solving, and collaborative projects. This means the easier tasks of memorization and comprehension happen on students’ own time, while the more challenging work of analysis, application, and creation takes place with peers and instructors nearby for guidance. Not only does this provide immediate feedback, it also ensures responsible use of AI, since students can experiment with AI tools where it makes sense outside of class, and then instructors can model and observe appropriate, ethical use during in-class assessments.

Read on for strategies to make your teaching more interactive, engaging, and strategic with the flipped classroom approach!