Workshops and Events

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) offers teaching workshops and seminars to help interested faculty, teaching assistants and instructors improve their teaching effectiveness and course management skills. These training programs provide opportunities to gather with colleagues to listen, discuss, interact, learn about and reflect on a number of topics to enhance teaching and learning.

Our list of programming is constantly growing. Make sure to check out past video recordings and future offerings.

Your feedback is very valuable to us. The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching welcomes feedback, suggestions and requests for workshops; email: CELT@uml.edu.

For Information Technology (IT) sponsored workshops, please visit the IT Trainings / Workshops page.

Summer 2026

Join colleagues from across UMass Lowell this August for the CELT Summer Workshop Series, a collection of engaging, faculty-led sessions designed to spark new ideas and enhance teaching, learning, mentoring and student success.

This summer series features practical, evidence-informed workshops on timely topics such as artificial intelligence, career readiness, graduate student support, writing feedback, and innovative teaching practices. Facilitated by UMass Lowell faculty who are bringing insights from national conferences, research, and classroom experience, these sessions provide opportunities to learn new strategies, exchange ideas with colleagues, and prepare for the upcoming academic year.

All workshops are open to UMass Lowell faculty, teaching assistants and staff.

Use the CELT Summer Workshops registration link to sign up for the upcoming 2026 Summer Workshop Series and receive updates.

The Times They Are a-Changin': Incorporating AI in Courses to Prepare Students for Their Future Careers

Suzanne Young, Chemistry
August 12, 10-11 a.m.

Workshop Description: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the workplace, and employers increasingly expect graduates to understand how to work effectively with AI tools.

In this interactive workshop, Professor Suzanne Young will share practical strategies for integrating AI into existing courses in ways that enhance learning and prepare students for the realities of today's workforce. Participants will explore how AI can be incorporated into course activities and assignments, aligned with current learning objectives, and leveraged as a research and problem-solving tool.

Drawing on real-world examples and classroom-tested practices, the session will also examine how AI is being used across industries and why AI literacy has become a sought-after skill in many professions.

Whether you are just beginning to explore AI or looking for new ways to incorporate it into your teaching, this workshop will provide practical ideas and resources to help students develop skills they will need in an AI-enabled future.

Beyond Prompts: AI Literacy and Ethical Decision Making Across the Student Experience

Lewis Tseng, Electrical and Computer Engineering
August 14, 10-11 a.m.

AI is showing up everywhere in the student experience - from the classroom to career preparation and student services. What do faculty and staff need to know to help students navigate it thoughtfully and responsibly? In this interactive workshop, we will look beyond tools and prompts to explore AI literacy, ethical decision making, and our collaboration with the UMass Lowell Career and Co-Op Center. Participants will leave with a practical set of questions for evaluating student-facing uses of AI and a clearer sense of how to apply them in their own work.

Creating a Positive Impact by Incorporating a "Pause" in Class

Kelly Willard-Bray, Career and Co-Op Center
August 17, 11 a.m. - noon

During spring 2026, one section began each week with a brief mindfulness activity or "pause" lasting five minutes or less. Activities included mindful breathing, guided meditation, drawing/doodling, breathing while in a superhero pose, and "pick your pause" where students chose what to do. To gauge the impact of the pause activity, two words were collected from students about how they felt upon arrival to class, and two words were collected after the pause activity. Common words students wrote down upon arrival to class were tired, stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious. After the pause, students used words including calm, focused, present, and relaxed. As the semester progressed, students shared that they looked forward to this aspect of class, and one indicated that it was "the only opportunity all week to simply pause and breathe."

This session will include details on the impact of pause activities from week to week (spoiler... drawing/doodling was a class favorite) and information on how to incorporate pause activities in the classroom.

AI in Service of Effective Pedagogy

Kevin Petersen, English
August 19, 10-11 a.m.

This interactive workshop introduces faculty to evidence-based uses of AI in teaching, drawing from the new publication The Science of Learning Meets AI (Ludwig and Zakrajsek, 2026). During the workshop, participants will explore selected ideas from the book and practice exercises to revise a syllabus or assignment using AI-informed strategies that support student learning and academic integrity. Attendees should bring a syllabus and/or assignment they would like to revise and have access to an AI tool, such as Microsoft Copilot, so they can fully engage in the activities.

Professor Petersen will offer a brief preview of key concepts from the book during the workshop. Faculty who are interested in exploring the book more deeply will have the opportunity to join a fall semester reading group. Participants who commit to the reading group will receive a copy of the book and meet twice during the semester to discuss, apply, and evaluate the techniques in their own teaching contexts.

Oh No... AI Can Do Every Assignment! Starting the Conversation About Authentic Assessment and Learning Beyond the Classroom

Johanna Choo, Biological Sciences
August 20, 10-11 a.m.

Today, AI can complete almost any homework assignment or take-home exam. The pace of change is so rapid that none of us has all the answers! We are all discovering this new landscape together. Understanding what AI can do is as important today as learning how to use Zoom during the COVID-era transition to remote teaching.

Whether you prohibit AI, encourage it, or fall somewhere in between, join Professor Choo for a faculty dialogue about what is happening to student learning outside the classroom and why this is concerning. Share your experiences, questions, and concerns about how AI is changing the way our students learn. Together, we will explore AI's impact on students and support one another as we rethink how best to help our students learn in the age of AI.