Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) Workshops
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching 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.
Winter 2026 Workshops
CELT is inviting you to make the most out of your winter break by joining our winter workshop series, designed to help you refresh your teaching strategies and start the new term with confidence. All workshops will be help on Zoom to make it easy to participate from anywhere.
We encourage all faculty to register for the 2026 Winter Workshop Series so know that you are attending and so you can receive the Zoom link for each session.
January 13, 11 a.m. How to Encourage Deeper Student Engagement, Classroom and Powerful Learning by Rethinking Your Student Attendance Policy and Classroom Time. Michelle Veilleux, Teaching Professor, Political Science.
Description: Students love being treated like adults. Everyone loves having choices. No one likes other people telling them what to do. Discover practical strategies to create more dynamic, participatory learning experiences. This workshop explores evidence-based techniques to boost student attendance, motivation, increase interaction, and foster deeper learning. Participants will leave with adaptable ideas they can implement immediately to make their classes more engaging and student-centered.
January 14, 11 a.m. Start with the Finish Line: A Practical Guide to Backward Design. James Garrison, Assistant Professor, Philosophy.
Description: Backward design flips traditional planning on its head by starting with the most important question: What should students be able to know and do by the end of your course? From there, you intentionally build assessments and learning activities that directly support those outcomes. in this hands-on workshop, faculty will learn a practical, streamlined approach to backward design that strengthens course coherence, improves transparency for students, and reduces the "mid-semester scramble." Participants will leave with a clear sense of how to align learning outcomes, assessments, weekly topics, and classroom activities to create courses that feel more purposeful and more engaging for students.
January 15, 11 a.m. Understanding ChatGPT and Copilot: What Faculty Should Know. Steve Athanas, Deputy Chief Information Officer.
Description: As generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes part of everyday academic work, many faculty are asking, "What AI tools are available at UMass Lowell, and which should I use?" This hands-on workshop offers a practical, side by side look at ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, with special attention to Copilot as the newest addition to our campus toolkit. We will explore the strengths and limitations of each tool, highlight where their capabilities differ, and look at how Copilot's integration with Microsoft 365 can streamline instructional tasks, enhance productivity, and support responsible AI use. The session will include live demonstrations, and attendees are encouraged to follow along on their own devices. No prior experience with AI tools is required. Just bring your curiosity and a willingness to experiment with the tools that will shape the next chapter of teaching and learning at UMass Lowell.
January 16, 11 a.m. Teaching Without AI. Ann Dean, Associate Professor, English.
Description: Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, many faculty have found that their customary ways of moving through the semester no longer meet their goals. Homework assignments, discussion board posts, research papers and take-home exams have been negatively impacted, in many cases, by students' unproductive use of GenAI tools. Participants in this workshop will revise one assignment to make it work in a world where students have access to GenAI. The presentation will include a revision process informed by backward design and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Examples from multiple disciplines, adapted from Engaging Ideas (2021, Bean and Melzer, eds) and from Mazur's clicker-question protocol, will provide suggestions. Faculty will have camera-off time to analyze and redesign, and meet at the end of the hour to share results and questions.
Artificial intelligence (AI) 2025-2026 Workshops Series
CELT is excited to announce a year-long, hands-on AI workshop series created in response to faculty requests for practical support. We look forward to your participation as we build a practical, ethical, campus-wide approach to AI in teaching.
Respond to attend the AI workshops! Workshops will take place at the Faculty Success Center (University Crossing -140) and will be recorded and added to this website for future viewing.
AI Across Modalities: Adapting Tools for Online and In-Person Classrooms.
Date: December 10, 1-2 p.m..
Faculty Co-presenters:
- Pallavi Doradla, Physics, Kennedy College of Sciences
- Huimin (Amy) Chen, Accounting, Manning School of Business
Spring 2026 Schedule
Teaching Ethics, Equity and Critical AI Literacy.
Date: February 3, 1-2 p.m.
Faculty Co-presenters:
- Romy Guthier, Physics & Applied Physics, Kennedy College of Sciences
- Lewis Tseng, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Francis College of Engineering
Bridging the Gap: AI in Teaching and Research.
Date: Date, April 8, 10-11 a.m.
Faculty Co-presenters:
- Suri Iyer, Chemistry, Kennedy College of Sciences
- Michael Ross, Chemistry, Kennedy College of Sciences
- Alessandro Sabato, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Francis College of Engineering