Center for Teaching, Learning, and Leadership
The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Leadership (CTLL) supports the University of North Georgia’s commitment to “academic excellence in a student-focused environment.” Through our programs and outreach, CTLL seeks to foster our community of scholar teachers as they pursue research-based design and implementation of significant educational experiences.
Upcoming CTLL Events
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Teaching Conversations: All the World's a Stage: Setting the Scene for Motivation, Engagement, and Belonging —
All the World's a Stage: Setting the Scene for Motivation, Engagement, and Belonging
Led by Lori Furbush, Kelly McFaden, and Alison Hite
This presentation focuses on practical, high-impact strategies for creating a welcoming and purposeful start to the semester. While a clear syllabus is essential, the "stage" is truly set through the intentional development of instructor-student rapport. We will explore how early efforts to build connection directly fuel student motivation, increase classroom engagement, and foster a deep sense of belonging.
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Attention Please: Demystifying Artificial Intelligence for a General Audience —
Led by Yong Wei
How do ChatGPT and other modern AI systems actually work? This talk demystifies the fundamental ideas behind large language models and multimodal foundation models, including transformers, attention mechanisms, and vision-language models. Designed for a general audience, the presentation provides an accessible introduction to the algorithms that enable AI to understand and generate text, images, and more. -
Why Bother? Writing Lab Reports: Strategies for Combatting AI-driven Futility —
Led by the Writing Across the Curriculum Network
In this session, members of the WAC Network partner with colleagues in Psychology to look at why we write lab reports, ways we can teach and assess the report genre, and how to help students value the research and writing processes they are practicing when drafting lab reports. -
Coaching Faculty Toward Promotion and Tenure —
Led by Wendy Kurant, Bryan Dawson, and Ted Forringer
Department chairs play a critical role in assessing faculty performance and fostering professional growth. This session focuses on evaluating FARs, providing constructive feedback, and supporting faculty throughout the promotion and tenure process.
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Academic Advising Technology: An Overview —
Led by Erin Connelly
This workshop will provide a brief overview of key academic advising technology: the AdviseMe Appointment System, student records, and DegreeWorks. It will provide instructions and resources for implementing AdviseMe, a review of the DegreeWorks audit system, and practical tips for accessing and interpreting student records. -
Fostering Historical Empathy Through Active Pedagogy —
Led by John Romero
This session explores methods geared towards student acquisition of historical empathy. Historical empathy is defined as the continuous process in which we attempt to take seriously the humanity of historical actors and to think critically about human actors' agency, motivations, and actions. The development of historical empathy is rooted in particular pedagogical practices, such as the use of certain kinds of historical sources, the implementation of out-of-the-box assignments that foster different aspects of historical thinking, and non-traditional delivery methods. These approaches not only help students to grasp challenging historical concepts, encourage them to consider how individual human beings were involved in historic events and processes, and fosters a reflective approach to students' own roles as historical actors.
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High-Impact Capstones: Designing Transformative Culminating Experiences for Student Success —
Led by Caitlin Wills
Capstone experiences provide students with a powerful opportunity to integrate, apply, and showcase what they have learned throughout their academic journey. This interactive workshop explores the essential elements of high-impact capstone design, helping faculty create meaningful culminating experiences that promote student engagement, achievement, and post-graduation readiness.
Participants will examine evidence-based practices for developing capstones that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, reflection, collaboration, and real-world application. -
Teaching Conversations: The Un-Toasted Teacher: How to Stay Fresh During Heated Semesters —
Led by Andrew Jakiel and Susan Brantley
In the high-pressure environment of higher education, the line between professional dedication and personal exhaustion is often blurred. A proactive workshop designed to help faculty identify the warning signs of burnout and implement concrete strategies to reclaim their time, energy, and passion for academia. We will explore how to establish sustainable boundaries, streamline administrative "drifting," and recalibrate expectations without sacrificing teaching excellence or research productivity.
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AI in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Any Faculty —
Led by Jane Morris
This session introduces faculty to practical, beginner-friendly strategies for using artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom. Participants will explore how AI can support teaching, enhance student learning, and be integrated into assignments across disciplines, with a focus on simple approaches that can be implemented immediately.
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Translating Universal Design for Learning Theory into Your Classroom —
Led by Jennifer Sears
This hands-on workshop invites instructors to consider a current course component—whether an assignment, assessment, lecture format, or course policy—and work through a structured redesign process using UDL principles. Participants will learn practical strategies for building flexibility into their instruction and will leave with an action plan for revising at least one element of their course. -
Why Bother? Taking Notes, Annotating, and Reflecting —
Led by the Writing Across the Curriculum Network
In this session, members of the WAC Network explore assignment design and scaffolding to support note-taking skills, annotation practices, and authentic reflection. We discuss how to move students beyond "I learned a lot" toward more reflective and strategic interaction with content and their own thinking/learning process. -
From Assignments to Experiences: Designing Authentic Learning in Any Discipline —
Led by Ralph Hale
This session explores how faculty can transform traditional assignments into authentic learning experiences that align with course outcomes, mirror real-world practice, increase student engagement, and deepen learning. Participants will leave with practical strategies for creating meaningful, high-impact experiences without redesigning an entire course. -
From Theory to Practice: Designing Effective Service-Learning Experiences —
Led by Brandy Pass
This interactive workshop moves beyond the fundamentals of service-learning to help faculty design meaningful, course-based community engagement experiences that align with student learning outcomes. Through real-world examples, collaborative case studies, and a guided course planning activity, participants will leave with practical strategies and a draft framework for implementing or enhancing a service-learning component in one of their own courses. -
Supporting Faculty in Crisis and Developing Professional Improvement Plans —
Led by Steven Lloyd and Erica DeLana
Faculty challenges can range from personal crises to professional performance concerns. This session focuses on supporting faculty in difficult situations and developing professional improvement plans that promote positive outcomes.
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Curriculum at UNG: An Academic Advisor's Perspective —
Curriculum at UNG: An Academic Advisor's Perspective
Led by Erin Connelly
This workshop will examine the structure of UNG's curriculum and majors from the perspective of an academic advisor, starting with Core IMPACTS and Field of Study, and then transitioning into upper-level major-specific requirements. It will discuss the professional academic advising approach to guiding students through curriculum. This workshop will also discuss where to find information about curriculum, and best practices for assisting students who are considering a major change. -
AI Series: Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay —
Led by Wenxin Guo and Mohan Menon
Restructuring assignments toward multi-modal outputs (podcasts, video pitches, interactive portfolios) or scaffolding the writing process (grading the brainstorm, the outline, the AI-assisted draft, and the final reflection).
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