January 2026
Hello and happy new year from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE)! We are pleased to present our January newsletter, which includes recommendations for syllabus language about generative AI and information about our January and February programs.
MODELING RESPONSIBLE USE OF GENERATIVE AI
An emerging best practice for teaching in the age of generative AI is transparency with students about our own use of AI in the creation of course materials. This not only models ethical and responsible use of AI but also increases trust and mutual respect. The Office of Academic Affairs recommends including a syllabus statement such as: “I, as the instructor, may use generative AI tools to help develop course materials such as [e.g., discussion prompts, practice problems or assignment ideas]. When I do, I take full responsibility for reviewing and verifying all AI-generated content to ensure it is accurate, appropriate and aligned with our learning objectives. All final course materials represent my professional judgment about what will best support your learning.”
Here are some more examples of how to communicate with students about your use of generative AI, taken from The Transparency Paradox: Unveiling Faculty’s Secret AI Habits | AI Innovations Unleashed:
- “This syllabus was outlined using Claude 3.5 to ensure all learning objectives were met, but the content was refined by humans.”
- “These lecture slides were visually enhanced using Midjourney to make the concepts clearer.”
- “I used ChatGPT to brainstorm these essay prompts, but I verified their logic personally.”
JANUARY PROGRAMS
Workshop: 10 Ways to Make Students Feel Welcome During the First Week of Class
As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The first few days of a new class lay the groundwork for the whole semester, and it’s a uniquely valuable time to help students feel welcome and to cultivate a sense of belonging for everyone in your classes. Join Jessamyn Neuhaus, CTLE Director, and Carrie Murawski, Director of Education and Development in the Office of People and Culture, to explore ten specific and adaptable strategies for maximizing first week opportunities for making your students feel welcome.
- January 7, 2026: 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
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Workshop: AI Usage Statements and Citations for Teaching and Learning
The ways we utilize generative AI is expanding so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up. Come to this hands-on workshop for implementing practical and immediately applicable best-practice strategies for ethical and responsible AI use in teaching and learning next semester. We will review the benefits of AI citation, disclosure, usage, and process statements–for learners and for educators–including promoting a classroom culture of academic integrity and building trust between students and faculty at this challenging moment in higher ed.
- January 8, 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., Zoom
FEBRUARY PROGRAMS
Three-Part Seminar: Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences
The CTLE and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) is pleased to announce a new co-facilitated in-person three-part seminar, “Designing and Implementing a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE).” The seminar will offer participants a detailed overview of how teaching CURE courses facilitates engaged student learning and creates professionally and personally rewarding teaching environments, plus resources, information, and direct support for designing or redesigning a course as a CURE. Full-time instructors in any discipline are eligible to register. After attending all three meetings, submitting a CURE syllabus, and completing a post-program survey, participants will receive a $250 stipend.
- February 6, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- February 13, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- February 27, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
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Student Panel Discussion: Student Perspectives on Using Generative AI
What do our students really think about generative AI? The answers may surprise you! Come to this panel for insights and real talk about students’ experiences, perceptions, and concerns about generative AI in learning and teaching. The panel will include time for questions, and will be held via Zoom.
- Feb 9, 2:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m., Zoom
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Lunch and Learn: Conveying Enthusiasm in Your Teaching Practice
You’ve probably heard that students readily recognize and positively respond to an instructor’s demonstrated enthusiasm for the subject and for student learning. But what you might not know is that there are many and widely diverse ways and means for communicating enthusiasm in your teaching practices. You do not have to be an extroverted performer or entertainer to convey your enthusiasm in the classroom and during your interactions with students. During this lunch and learn, we’ll look at some of the different ways instructors show students that they love their subjects, and love helping students engage with those subjects. Space is limited to 10 participants. Registration closes January 30, 2026.
- February 11, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
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Symposium Presentation: New Database for Student Engagement Tools
2025-2026 MP Faculty Fellow Mark Brockway will present at the Office of People and Culture’s Engagement Symposium in February 2026 on a new tool instructors can use to easily and effectively incorporate engaged learning modules in their classes.
- February 20, 9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m. in Schine 304a
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Discussion Game: Using the Analog Inspiration Card Deck
The Analog Inspiration card deck is a 48-card deck designed to help college educators “explore how generative AI can support values-driven, human-centered teaching and learning. Each card features a human value, concern, or skill paired with one or two practical ideas for integrating AI to center that concept in your classroom.” In this session, each table will use these cards in a discussion game to “reflect on how critical human values, concerns, and skills will be impacted by the emergence of generative AI.”
- February 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
MP FACULTY FELLOW VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS
Zach Huitink, Associate Teaching Professor in Public Administration and International Affairs and a 2025-2026 Meredith Professorship Faculty Fellow will be holding virtual office hours this semester for consultations on topics such as strategies and approaches to developing engaging asynchronous content; live session lesson planning and activity development; assessment in online formats; and community building when working with classes in distance learning formats. No registration or appointment necessary! Zoom in (https://syracuseuniversity.zoom.us/j/9625020800) between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the following days:
- January 21
- February 4
- February 18
- March 4
- March 18
- April 1
- April 15
- April 29
Professor Huitink is also available by appointment (zshuitin@syr.edu).
RESEARCHER SURVEY ON FACULTY WELL-BEING
Here is an opportunity to contribute to a current research project by Chavella T. Pittman, Professor Sociology at Dominion University, Visiting Consultant at the University of Virginia’s Center for Teaching Excellence, and founder of Effective and Efficient Faculty, a faculty development company that provides faculty success services. I am a big admirer of Dr. Pittman’s work and the subject of faculty well-being is much on my mind, so I’m sharing this with the CTLE newsletter readers. Dr. Pittman writes: “I’ve spent several decades committed to faculty well-being by helping them navigate institutional obstacles. My current research project examines faculty well-being by focusing on a core but often overlooked component: meaningful leisure and recreation. If you are a faculty member, you are warmly invited to participate in a brief, anonymous, IRB-approved survey that takes about 10 minutes to complete: Well-Being Research Survey.”