OTL Updates and News

We are sad to have said goodbye to Dr. Becca Ciancanelli, the Director of Inclusive Teaching Practices, who was offered an incredible opportunity to rejoin CU Boulder as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). She will be missed!

Congratulations to Ellen Hogan whose role is no longer temporary with the OTL! We are thrilled that she is serving as the Faculty Developer for Instructional Accessibility. Thank you, Ellen, for all the work you've done over the last year and a half, and we are delighted to have you in a permanent role.

We are excited that current OTL Instructional Designer Kellie Ferguson will be taking on the role of OTL Faculty Developer of Integrative and Experiential Learning starting October 2nd! Kellie has been with the OTL since August 2022, and she is looking forward to taking on this role to help support faculty across campus with ePortfolios and other High Impact Practices.

This summer, Dr. Virginia Pitts, our Director of University Teaching, was invited to be an “Alumni in Residence” at Stanford University's d.School for their week-long Teaching and Learning Studio (TLS). The TLS is an in-person workshop that brings together educators and leaders from around the world to acquire Design Thinking tools and mindsets, expanding their capacity to navigate - and creatively respond to - the complex challenges of higher education, both in and outside of the classroom. Having first attended the TLS as a participant in January 2020, Virginia was honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to return to Standford and “pay it forward” by helping to facilitate this transformative experience for others as a TLS alumni, and is equally excited to apply all that she has learned to her work here at DU.

Share Your Teaching Memories as the OTL Celebrates 25 Years!

The OTL is collecting artifacts to celebrate our 25th anniversary as an office at the University of Denver. We are looking for artifacts and stories from colleagues across campus about the transformation of teaching and learning over the past 25 years.

Please fill out our OTL Artifact survey to share your memories! If you are not sure what to share, email [email protected] or drop by the OTL suite in AAC 350. We are looking forward to celebrating with you throughout this year!

Teaching Excellence: Apply for Department Action Teams!

The OTL and the office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA) extends an invitation to participate in Department Action Teams (DATs), an R1 Our Way initiative that seeks to expand how we measure and reward teaching excellence at DU.

Each DAT consists of 3-5 faculty and staff who will work with a facilitator to guide the department through a 10-month program aimed at sustainable change. Participating departments/programs will determine ways to apply the Teaching Quality Framework and ensure three voices (self, student, peer) are reflected in teaching evaluation for annual and consequential review.  

Proposal submission deadline: Monday, October 9th

Learn more about Department Action Teams and apply.

UDL Your Course Workshop Series

The UDL Your Course Series was designed to support faculty members on their exploration and understanding of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework. UDL is an inclusive model for teaching that centers the needs of students with disabilities, with the overall goal of creating a learning environment that is accessible by all students without the need for accommodations.

Join us for our upcoming UDL Your Course sessions:

Designing in Canvas with Accessibility in Mind

Tuesday, October 10, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Tuesday, October 17, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Inclusive Classroom Participation

Tuesday, October 24, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 26, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Flexible Assessment

Monday, October 30, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 2, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

All sessions are held online via Zoom and attendees do not need to attend the UDL Your Course Workshop Series in any particular order.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Research Symposium

The Office of Teaching and Learning is excited to host the inaugural Annual SoTL Research Symposium on October 12, 2023 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm on the 4th Story East and Overlook in Community Commons.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning involves systematic research in pedagogical and curricular design, as well as the empirical evaluation of practices that affect student learning. SoTL research is an example of reflective practice in higher education particularly when it is publicly shared and reviewed by a community of peers. At DU, the vibrant SoTL community is comprised of teacher-scholars from all disciplines.

The SoTL Research Symposium serves as a platform to inspire faculty members to embrace evidence-informed teaching practices and partake in the campus community of scholarly teachers. The Symposium will showcase SoTL research projects completed by the participants of the highly competitive SoTL Faculty Fellowship program from 2022-23. Attendees can engage in thought-provoking conversations on teaching and learning with these fellows, potentially forming collaborative relationships.



Click here to register for the SoTL Research Symposium.

OTL Pop-Ups!

This fall the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) will be popping up near you! Want to learn more about OTL services and programs, talk teaching, or have a quick Canvas troubleshooting question? You're always welcome to visit us in person in AAC 350 or reach out online at [email protected], and this year we're also excited to come to you.

The OTL's first-ever pop-up meet & greet event is this month in partnership with the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Join us on October 20th from 11:30 to 12:30 in Sturm Hall Room 286. A big thank you to our host, Andrea Stanton, for making this event possible!

More dates and locations will be announced soon!

DU Libraries' Support for AI Hallucinations

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are exciting resources that have the potential to streamline the research process. Like any resource, there are strengths and weaknesses that should be considered to use AI tools effectively. One potential pitfall is AI “hallucinations”—content created by AI that is factually incorrect or incomplete. At the Libraries’ Research Center, we’ve run across an increasing number of hallucinated citations generated by AI. We want to encourage students using tools like ChatGPT to vet and verify citations to make sure those items really exist. Want help introducing your students to library resources or tips for verifying citations? Use this form to request a library workshop. You can also direct your students to contact the Libraries’ Research Center or schedule a research consultation with a librarian to get help tracking down citations.

Other colleges and departments around campus have also been exploring AI and how to support faculty on the use of these tools. University College has new Guidelines for Student AI Use in Courses. You can also visit the OTL Sample Syllabus Statements web page and our AI in the Classroom web page for more guidance and resources.

Upcoming Events

The OTL and the VPFA are hosting several events throughout the next month. Join us to learn more about teaching strategies and academic technology, and visit our Events Calendar to discover other upcoming events this term!

Teaching with AI Workshop Series: Building Rubrics with AI

Tuesday, October 3, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Hyflex - Join us online via Zoom or in the OTL Conference Room (AAC 345)

UDL Your Course Series: Designing in Canvas with Accessibility in Mind

Tuesday, October 10, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Online

Tuesday, October 17, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Online

SoTL Research Symposium 2023

Thursday, October 12, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

The Fourth Story, Community Commons

Teaching with AI Workshop Series: Play with AI

Tuesday, October 17, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Hyflex - Join us online via Zoom or in the OTL Conference Room (AAC 345)

Heart of Higher Education Conversations

Thursday, October 19, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Hyflex - Join us online via Zoom or in the OTL Conference Room (AAC 345)