Weekly CTL Teaching+Learning Lunches
Upcoming Events
- Workshops explore specific topics of teaching and learning with practical applications (hybrid format);
- Salons foster collegial conversations about teaching and learning (in-person).
Upcoming Events (Fall 2023)
October 3, 2023
October 4, 2023
Oct 4, Wednesday, 10am - 12pm (This is an online event: please register here for the Zoom link.)
Faculty and staff are invited to join colleagues from the Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) to learn about the issues modern students are facing related to technology-enabled abuse and digital safety: online stalking, sexploitation, deep fakes, non-consensual image sharing, and more. Adam Dodge, founder of Ending Technology Enabled Abuse (EndTAB.org) will discuss the ways that the digital world is evolving, the types of image-based and AI-based harm students are facing, and how to support those students who have experienced online abuse or tech-enabled trauma.
Please register in advance and reach out to PARC with any questions.
October 6, 2023
Oct 6, Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Gardner Jackson Classroom on the top-floor of Goldfarb Library (Mezzanine level)Join colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Irina Dubinina
October 20, 2023
Oct 20, Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Gardner Jackson Classroom on the top-floor of Goldfarb Library (Mezzanine level)The Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT) offers grants to support community engaged research and pedagogy. In this workshop, we will discuss what community engaged scholarship is, how to begin a community engaged project, and how to get funding to support it.
Facilitators: Dr. Sara Shostak and Dr. Megan Ross
November 3, 2023
Nov 3, Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Gardner Jackson Classroom on the top-floor of Goldfarb Library (Mezzanine level)Join colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Irina Dubinina
November 17, 2023
Nov 17, Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Gardner Jackson Classroom on the top-floor of Goldfarb Library (Mezzanine level)Join colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Irina Dubinina
December 1, 2023
Dec 1, Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Gardner Jackson Classroom on the top-floor of Goldfarb Library (Mezzanine level)In this workshop, led by three Brandeis faculty members, faculty will learn about innovative approaches to grading, known as Specifications Grading and Mastery Grading. We hope that Brandeis faculty presenters will help you find inspiration to change the way you evaluate student learning and streamline the grading process.
Facilitator: Irina Dubinina (Russian Studies), Tim Hickey (Computer Science), Rebecca Torrey (Mathematics)
Past Events
October 28, 2022
Location: Goldfarb Vershbow Classroom
Introducing interactivity into the classroom has been shown to improve student learning while at the same time making the act of teaching more fun! Irina, Dan, and Marty will share their experiences and practical advice and look forward to learning new ideas from faculty attendees.
November 2, 2022
Location: Farber 2 ClassroomThe CTL cordially invites new faculty to an informal meeting as an opportunity to meet colleagues, share successes, challenges, and advice, and learn about the programming we’re planning for next semester. We are offering two times in hopes of accommodating our widely varying teaching schedules.
November 3, 2022
Location: Vershbow room (Goldfarb)The CTL cordially invites new faculty to an informal meeting as an opportunity to meet colleagues, share successes, challenges, and advice, and learn about the programming we’re planning for next semester. We are offering two times in hopes of accommodating our widely varying teaching schedules.
November 11, 2022
Location: Goldfarb Vershbow ClassroomCTL program director Marty Samuels will present current research on ways to help students feel more confident speaking up in class. We will then consider how to apply such techniques in our classrooms.
Materials from today's workshop:
January 27, 2023
Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Gardner Jackson room in the LibraryResearch has shown that active learning significantly improves student learning, but how can we best incorporate it into our classes? In this workshop, we will discuss a variety of easy-to-implement active learning techniques from a variety of disciplines, and discuss how to apply some recent research about what makes active learning work best and how to get student buy-in.
Facilitator: Dr. Marty Samuels
Materials from today's workshop:
February 3, 2023
Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Gardner Jackson room in the LibraryJoin colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Dr. Dan Perlman
February 6, 2023
Monday, 1:00 - 2:00 pm, Goldfarb Vershbow Classroom in the LibraryGiven the recent advent of chatGPT and other AI-generative tools, the CTL has drafted a preliminary set of evolving guidelines for reconsidering assignment and course design to emphasize student learning in light of these new technologies. We know each course and discipline will face its own unique challenges, and we are ready to help you find acceptable solutions. Please reach out to us at ctl@brandeis.edu or fill out a CTL Help Request form with your specific questions!
Facilitator: Dr. Timothy Hickey
February 8, 2023
Wednesday, 9:00 - 10:00 am (Virtual)Given the recent advent of chatGPT and other AI-generative tools, the CTL has drafted a preliminary set of evolving guidelines for reconsidering assignment and course design to emphasize student learning in light of these new technologies. We know each course and discipline will face its own unique challenges, and we are ready to help you find acceptable solutions. Please reach out to us at ctl@brandeis.edu or fill out a CTL Help Request form with your specific questions!
Facilitator: Dr. Timothy Hickey
February 10, 2023
Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Gardner Jackson room in the LibraryGiven the recent advent of chatGPT and other AI-generative tools, the CTL has drafted a preliminary set of evolving guidelines for reconsidering assignment and course design to emphasize student learning in light of these new technologies. We know each course and discipline will face its own unique challenges, and we are ready to help you find acceptable solutions. Please reach out to us at ctl@brandeis.edu or fill out a CTL Help Request form with your specific questions!
Facilitator: Dr. Timothy Hickey
February 17, 2023
Friday, February 17, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Gardner JacksonGrowth mindset—the belief that your skills and intelligence are malleable and can be improved with hard work and practice —has been shown to be a vital aspect of learning (including recently in Yeager, et al. Nature (2019) and Canning, et al. Sci Adv. (2019)). In this workshop, we will discuss how we can support our students to develop a growth mindset to help them recognize that intellectual abilities are not “fixed,” but are capable of growth in response to dedicated effort, trying new strategies, and seeking help when appropriate. It is often all too easy to think of ourselves as finished products with set skills, but this can hinder our attempts to be willing to learn new knowledge and skills. Fostering a “growth mindset” can motivate us- and our students- to focus on the process of learning, to embrace challenges as learning opportunities, and to improve our abilities through practice. Teaching students to have a growth mindset has been shown to improve student performance and reduce achievement gaps between student groups, and in this workshop we’ll discuss how to put some of these principles into practice in our classrooms.
Facilitator: Dr. Marty Samuels
Materials from today's workshop:
March 3, 2023
Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Vershbow Classroom in the LibraryJoin colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Dr. Dan Perlman
March 10, 2023
Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Vershbow Classroom
It can be easy to focus our attention on what students are learning and doing during class time, but how do we want them to study and make use of course and University resources outside of class time? In this journal club, we’ll discuss study strategies that have been proven to be most effective for student learning, and studies that investigate the impact faculty have had on their students by briefly explaining how to study effectively in their courses.
Facilitator: Dr. Marty Samuels
March 17, 2023
Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Vershbow Classroom
What does it mean to foster learning environments that are equitable and inclusive, promoting all of our students to succeed and thrive? In this workshop, we will discuss several strategies for teaching equitably and inclusively and for helping students feel like they belong in our classrooms. We will also address several challenges that can prevent classrooms from feeling inclusive and consider solutions.
Facilitator: Dr. Marty Samuels
March 24, 2023
March 24, Friday, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Goldfarb Vershbow ClassroomAs the proportion of students with documented disabilities continues to rise, faculty need support for implementing the wide range of accommodations. Join us for tips on managing accommodation letters, communicating with students about their needs, effectively implementing complex accommodations, and collaborating with Student Accessibility Support.
Facilitator: Dr. Cara Streit
Materials from today's workshop:
April 21, 2023
Friday, April 21, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Vershbow ClassroomJoin colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Dr. Dan Perlman
April 26, 2023
Wednesday, April 26, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Goldfarb Gardner Jackson
How can we help multilingual students approach writing assignments in English more confidently as they use their various language skills as an asset? In this workshop we will discuss multilingual teaching from a language justice perspective and think of strategies through the lenses of “access, assets, and agency” for multilingual students. The workshop is directed to graduate student instructors and tutors whose roles include providing feedback to students on writing assignments across disciplines. We will discuss best practices for effective feedback focusing on empowering multilingual students to improve their clarity and building up their repertoire to succeed across genres of academic writing.
Facilitators: Emiliano Gutiérrez Popoca and Rachel Kramer Theodorou
Materials from today's workshop:
- Feedback for Multilingual Writers from a Language Justice Perspective slides
- Feedback for Multilingual Writers from a Language Justice Perspective handout
- Starbucks analogy that grounded our group conversation: Westerlundruslana (2015) “Sociocultural Context of Starbucks” from Reclaiming The Language for Social Justice. Available at: https://reclaimingthelanguage.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/sociocultural-context-of-starbucks/.
- Shapiro, S. (2022). Chapter 9 Infusing CLA into Classroom Instruction. In Cultivating Critical Language Awareness in the Writing Classroom. Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brandeis-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6829822.
May 5, 2023
Friday, May 5, 9:00 - 2:30, International Lounge in the Usdan Student Center
The Center for Teaching and Learning invites Brandeis community to celebrate the ways that faculty are transforming their courses and pedagogies to support and advance learning.
- Honoring teaching award recipients
- Faculty panels on teaching and learning
- Lunch, hors d'oeuvres, and raffles
- Faculty Appreciation Reception by seniors!!!
May 12, 2023
Friday, May 12, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Goldfarb Gardner Jackson room in the LibraryJoin colleagues for discussions about learning and teaching. These informal conversations are about issues that interest you – or with which you are wrestling. We’ll follow your lead, but we always have good topics on tap if there’s nothing on your mind at the moment. Bring a friend (or two)!
Facilitator: Dr. Dan Perlman
May 22, 2023
Mon-Thurs, May 22 - May 25, 9:30am - 2:00pm each day, G'zang (Gerstenzang) 135
Want to revise an existing course or create a new course? Interested in exploring and enhancing your teaching? If you answered ‘Yes’ to either of those questions, then the CDI may be exactly what you want!
Dan Perlman, the CTL faculty advisor and the Center’s founder, will facilitate this year’s CDI; Marty Samuels and Irina Dubinina will help lead the workshop.
- an opportunity to reflect on your courses with 20-25 dedicated colleagues;
- a chance to design a course that is rewarding for you and your students;
- a tune-up for your course and your teaching (recommended every five years or 60,000 miles);
- a promising course syllabus that invites students to learn!
September 22, 2023
Sept 22, Friday, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, Gardner Jackson Classroom on the top-floor of Goldfarb Library (Mezzanine level)As the proportion of students with documented disabilities continues to rise, faculty need support for implementing the wide range of accommodations. Join us for tips on managing accommodation letters, communicating with students about their needs, effectively implementing complex accommodations, and collaborating with Student Accessibility Support.
Facilitator: Dr. Cara Streit
Materials from today's workshop: