December 2025
Hello and happy winter holidays from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE)! We are pleased to present our December newsletter, which includes information about our new Course Redesign Institute Syllabi Archive and upcoming events, plus sign-up info for our Spring 2026 pedagogical partnership program, Students Consulting on Teaching (SCOT).
REVISED ANNOTATED SYLLABI ARCHIVE
The August 2025 CTLE Course Redesign Institute (CRI) participants completed a revised and annotated syllabus based on ideas and insights gained during their time at the Institute. Check them out and get some ideas yourself for your Spring 2026 syllabus! View the Archive here
DECEMBER 2025 CTLE PROGRAMS
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 from the audience. (Note: If you are interested but unable to attend the panel, we will be hosting another student panel discussion about generative AI early next semester.)
- December 2, 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
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Workshop: Maintaining Rigor and Academic Honesty in the Age of AI with Transparent Teaching Practices
Join us for an information-packed session about the many ways that research-based transparent teaching practices are a proven, high-impact way to facilitate student learning and success–even in this moment, when generative AI is dramatically altering many aspects of higher education. Facilitated by Ebony Graham, CTLE Faculty Developer and SCOT Coordinator; Kate Marzen, Director, Office of Academic Integrity; and Jessamyn Neuhaus, Director, CTLE. This interactive presentation will include time for questions and short discussions. We are offering one in-person session and one Zoom session.
- December 3, 10:00-11:30 a.m., 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- December 3, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Zoom
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Faculty Portfolio System (FPS) Work Session: Documenting Your Teaching Effectiveness
Although it’s standard practice to consider an instructor’s Course Feedback Forms during employment, tenure, and promotion reviews, these forms are only one type of limited evidence about teaching and should never be the sole basis for evaluating teaching. Fortunately, the Faculty Portfolio System and the CV update form allows faculty to include and upload numerous different types of evidence when documenting teaching improvements, innovations, and effectiveness. In this working Zoom session, CTLE Director Jessamyn Neuhaus and Victoria Weber, FPS Administrator and Functional Business Analyst, will be on hand to answer all your questions about the variety of artifacts and evidence you can present to demonstrate your teaching efficacy, and where and how to upload it in the FPS.
- December 8, 3:00-4:00 p.m., Zoom
JANUARY 2026 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
“BEYOND AIO POLICY” BLOG
December 2025 Blog Post: Beyond Academic Integrity: Reestablishing Rapport After a Responsible Finding
CTLE FACULTY FELLOW DROP-IN HOURS
Come brainstorm with MP Faculty Fellow Mark Brockway about ways to increase your students’ active learning and engagement in the classroom any time between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the following days (no registration required):
- December 4: 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
- December 8: 550 Bird Library (CTLE)
PEDAGOGICAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH STUDENT PARTNERSHIP
Looking for a way to make your Spring semester bloom? Plant a seed by signing up for the SCOT program now!
If you’re unfamiliar with the SCOT (Students Consulting on Teaching) program, it is a short-term partnership between a faculty member and a student consultant who is trained to help faculty gather learner feedback. The purpose of SCOT is to support faculty in making small, meaningful teaching changes that are informed by both broad research on learning and student feedback in a specific course.
For more information on the program, please visit the CTLE site. If you’re interested and ready to apply, you can apply here! The faculty application window is November 3rd to December 16th and spots will be filled on a rolling basis.
If you have any questions about the SCOT program, please contact the SCOT Coordinator, Ebony E. Graham.
INFO ABOUT THE SU FEMINIST PEDAGOGY COLLECTIVE
The Feminist Pedagogy Collective is comprised of faculty, students, and staff interested in the politics and praxis of feminist pedagogy. Launched in 2025 and co-organized by Dr. Dana Olwan and Dr. Jiwoon Yulee from the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, the group focuses on the joys and challenges of teaching in higher education and the role of the feminist classroom in creating spaces for radical conversations, action, and social change. The group meets for a Feminist Pedagogy Hour, organizes workshops on feminist pedagogies led by teachers from multiple fields and disciplines, collective reads work by educators and pedagogues, shares teaching strategies, and attends to the changing realities of the higher education classroom from critical, intersectional, and decolonial perspectives. All are welcome to join to learn about their events and participate in shaping their goals and upcoming initiatives. You can join the collective by using this sign-up form: Feminist Pedagogy Collective Sign-Up. If you need more information about the Feminist Pedagogy Collective, you can reach Dana Olwan at dmolwan@syr.edu or Jiwoon Yulee at jlee388@syr.edu.