Tag: professional development

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Gear Up for the Fall Term 2026: Explore Harte Center Sessions at Fall Academy!

 

Promotional graphic for Washington and Lee University Fall Academy 2026. A campus scene with vibrant autumn foliage, orange and red leaves, a lantern-style campus light, and a Washington and Lee University banner featuring the university coat of arms. An open notebook and pen rest in the foreground. The text reads “Fall Academy 2026” and “View the full schedule and sign up at go.wlu.edu/fallacademy.” A campus building appears in the background amid fall colors.

As we prepare for another exciting academic year, the Harte Center team is hosting a full roster of Fall Academy sessions designed to support your teaching, spark new ideas, and streamline your digital workflow.

Whether you’re looking to polish your Canvas course layout, explore AI reasoning strategies, or connect with colleagues around wellness and pedagogy, there’s something on the schedule for everyone.

Check out the full list of sessions, organized by date and theme below! Sign up at go.wlu.edu/fallacademy!

📅 Schedule at a Glance (Chronological)

Monday, Aug 17

  • Organize Your Courses with Canvas (Brandon Bucy) — 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM | Leyburn Library 301
  • The Worst (AI) Professor (JT Torres & Jeff Schatten) — 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM | Leyburn Library 119
  • Canvas Basics (Helen MacDermott) — 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Parmly Hall 302

Tuesday, Aug 18

  • Design Magic in Minutes: Create Your Next Flyer with Adobe Express (Helen MacDermott) — 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Leyburn Library 301
  • Improve In-Class Time with Canvas (Brandon Bucy) — 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Leyburn Library 301

Wednesday, Aug 19

  • Gradescope + Canvas: Smarter Assessment, Faster Feedback (Brandon Bucy & Charlotte Hoopes) — 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | Leyburn Library 109

Friday, Aug 21

  • Prompt Engineering 2.0: Reasoning & Logic Strategies (Helen MacDermott) — 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Leyburn Library 109
  • Canvas Basics (Helen MacDermott) — 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Parmly Hall 302

Tuesday, Aug 25

  • Peer Classroom Observations (JT Torres) — 11:45 AM – 1:15 PM | Leyburn Library 119
  • Engaging Students In Class and Out: Online Polling and Annotating Tools (Brandon Bucy) — 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Leyburn Library 109

Wednesday, Aug 26

  • Wellness By Course Design (JT Torres & Laura Ulmer) — 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM | Leyburn Library 119
  • Teagle Funding Opportunities for You (JT Torres et al.) — 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM | Leyburn Library 119
  • Prompt Justice: Getting AI Agents to Do the Right Thing (Sybil Prince Nelson & Josh Fairfield) — 1:45 PM – 3:15 PM | Leyburn Library 119
  • Improve In-Class Time with Canvas (Brandon Bucy) — 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Leyburn Library 301

Thursday, Aug 27

  • Record Your Classes and Manage Course Videos with YuJa, Zoom, and Camtasia (Brandon Bucy) — 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Leyburn Library 109
  • Organize Your Courses with Canvas (Brandon Bucy) — 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | Leyburn Library 301

Friday, Aug 28

  • Learning Curve Fellowship: How Looking at the World as a Novice Makes Us Better Teachers (JT Torres) — 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM | Leyburn Library 119

  • How to Ban AI in Your Classroom (Sybil Prince Nelson) — 11:45 AM – 1:15 PM | Leyburn Library 119

💡 Explore by Focus Area

1. Canvas & Course Foundations

Build a clean, accessible course hub to keep students on track from day one:

  • Canvas Basics — Mon, Aug 17 (2:00 PM) | Fri, Aug 21 (3:00 PM)
  • Organize Your Courses with Canvas — Mon, Aug 17 (8:30 AM) | Thu, Aug 27 (3:00 PM)
  • Improve In-Class Time with Canvas — Tue, Aug 18 (1:00 PM) | Wed, Aug 26 (3:30 PM)

2. EdTech, Multimedia & Assessment

Level up your toolkit with tools for engaging discussions, efficient grading, and quick graphics:

  • Design Magic in Minutes: Adobe Express Flyers — Tue, Aug 18 (11:00 AM)
  • Gradescope + Canvas: Smarter Assessment — Wed, Aug 19 (10:30 AM)
  • Online Polling and Annotating (Poll Everywhere & Perusall) — Tue, Aug 25 (3:30 PM)
  • Record & Manage Video (YuJa, Zoom, Camtasia) — Thu, Aug 27 (1:00 PM)

3. AI & Emerging Technologies

Dive deeper into AI’s impact on learning and master advanced prompt protocols:

  • The Worst (AI) Professor — Mon, Aug 17 (11:30 AM)
  • Prompt Engineering 2.0: Reasoning & Logic Strategies — Fri, Aug 21 (9:00 AM)
  • Prompt Justice: Getting AI Agents to Do the Right Thing — Wed, Aug 26 (1:45 PM)
  • How to Ban AI in Your Classroom — Fri, Aug 28 (11:45 AM)

4. Pedagogy, Faculty Development & Wellbeing

Reflect on course design, collaborative feedback, and teaching as a practice:

  • Peer Classroom Observations — Tue, Aug 25 (11:45 AM)
  • Wellness By Course Design — Wed, Aug 26 (10:45 AM)
  • Teagle Funding Opportunities for You — Wed, Aug 26 (12:00 PM)
  • Learning Curve Fellowship — Fri, Aug 28 (8:30 AM)

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HHMI Biointeractive and SEAS Program’s FREE course on Inclusive Teaching

Painting of silhouettes of people. HHMI BioInteractive BioInteractive Online Professional Learning, Inclusive Teaching; SEAS | Science Education and Society

Inclusive Teaching is a FREE asynchronous professional development course that aims to deepen educators’ knowledge of inclusive teaching practices. The course was designed with undergraduate introductory life science educators in mind, but components of the course will resonate with educators in other contexts.   

Classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse. Learners come from different backgrounds, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and cultural backgrounds. They have varying abilities, levels of formal education, and preparedness. Some struggle with neurodivergent learning abilities, others work while attending college full-time, and in recent years many adult learners have been returning to higher education. Educators are faced with these nuances and challenges of how to meet the needs of the growing diverse student body, independent of the type of institution (small, large, research-focused, learning focused, etc.) and classroom size. Applying inclusive teaching practices and techniques in the classroom can help educators reach all learners in a way that is particular to them.

About the Course

The course consists of six modules:

  • Module 0, “Course Orientation,” includes information on reflective practice and sources of feedback to improve teaching practices and introduces the action plan. This plan enables educators to track progress on an area of focus for improvement in their teaching. 
  • Module 1, “Self,” encourages interrogation of self and systems to better understand how these factors affect learners’ educational experience. 
  • Module 2, “Empathy,” introduces the role of empathy, motivation, and sense of belonging and provides insights into relevant practices that educators can incorporate into their teaching. 
  • Module 3, “Classroom Climate,” discusses how an educator’s position of power and use of physical and verbal expressions set the climate for the course. The module includes practical ways to improve classroom dialogue between the educator and learner and learner-to-learner interactions. 
  • Module 4, “Teaching and Learning,” provides practical strategies and assessment practices to improve learner sense of belonging, equitable teaching practices, and learner outcomes. 
  • Module 5, “Networks and Structures,” returns to the educator, or self, and focuses on support structures at the institutional level and beyond. We recognize that teaching is hard, and having support structures improves the experience for both the educator and the learner. 

Sign up at https://www.biointeractive.org/professional-learning/online-courses/inclusive-teaching.

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Registration for Fall Academy Opens TODAY!

Registration for Fall Academy is now open!

orange background with tan and orange leaves and yellow flowers, with a little squirrel holding an acorn
Woo hoo! This year, Fall Academy will take place from Monday, August 22 through Friday, September 2.

ITS Academic Technologies and the Harte Center for Teaching and Learning, in coordination with the Provost’s Office, Office of the Dean, and other offices, have curated a variety of panel discussions, pedagogy workshops, technology tutorials, information sessions, guest speakers, specifically designed to support your success as a teacher, scholar, and mentor at W&L.

Please visit go.wlu.edu/fallacademy to see the full schedule and to register for sessions that interest you. There’s something for EVERYONE — all W&L staff and faculty are invited and encouraged to attend.

P.S. If you’re interested in any catered sessions, registration will close 7 days prior to the session in order to give Dining Services an accurate headcount. Please sign up as soon possible once you know you’re able to attend. Thank you.

P.P.S.S. If you’re a presenter at a session that is being catered, PLEASE register if you’d care to dine. Thank you again.

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Registration for Winter Academy is Now Open!

cute deer against snowy background. Winter Academy, Dec 13-16, 2021. go.wlu.edu/winteracademy

W&L is committed to supporting faculty members with all levels of experience in reaching their full potential as educators, scholars, and mentors.

Winter Academy offers learning opportunities for all staff and faculty to enhance their teaching, scholarship, and service in a collaborative and thought-provoking environment.

Whether you’re seeking new ways to better support students, deepen your familiarity with University resources, or take your scholarship to the next level, there’s a session for everyone. All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.

Sign up now at go.wlu.edu/winteracademy. Please note that registration for all catered sessions will close FIVE (5) business days before the session so that we can provide an accurate headcount to Dining Services. Kindly register for sessions as soon as you know you are able to attend. Thank you!

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Want to Present at Winter Academy? Let us know before November 5th!

We are accepting session proposals for Winter Academy, which will be Monday, December 13 through Thursday, December 16.

If you would like to offer a session, please complete the form below. We will do our best to honor requests in the order in which they are submitted.

Questions? Contact Julie Knudson (jmknudson@wlu.edu, x8125) or Helen MacDermott (hmacdermott@wlu.edu, x4561). Thank you!

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But at least registration for Fall Academy has opened!

Cartoon of man in orange putting his hands up (academics tryna enjoy the rest of summer) to defend himself against another man in gray (August 1)

Sign up for Fall Academy at go.wlu.edu/fallacademy. There’s something for EVERYONE. Don’t miss out on FREE staff/faculty development.

Fall Academy is two fabulous weeks — Monday, August 23 through Friday, September 3 — of technology instruction, pedagogy discussions, guest speakers, hands-on workshops, panels, and other information sessions for new and returning faculty and staff, offered in coordination with the Harte Center, University Registrar, Dean of the College, Office of the Provost, and other offices. 

NOTE: If you’re interested in any breakfast or lunch sessions, registration will close 5 business days prior to the session in order to give Dining Services an accurate headcount. Kindly register as soon as you know you are able to attend.

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Boost Business, Technology, and Creative Skills with Video Courses from LinkedIn Learning

An online learning resource for the W&L community

With W&L’s campus subscription to LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com), current faculty, staff, and students have unlimited access to a vast online library of thousands of video tutorials at no cost.

LinkedIn Learning is an award-winning virtual training resource with a digital library of over 16,000 courses covering a wide range of technical, business, software and creative topics. These expert-led courses are designed to refine and develop professional skills, teach new software, and explore other areas for those exploring career growth and personal development.

LinkedIn Learning courses are self-paced, so you’re able to learn and develop in-demand skills to achieve both personal and professional goals when it suits you. Courses range from less than five minutes to several hours long and can be accessed on any electronic device, anywhere.

Watch a 3 minute video to answer a quick question, gain skills or knowledge through a short course, or pursue a learning path of several courses for deeper growth at https://go.wlu.edu/learn.

Need help with LinkedIn Learning? Contact the ITS Information Desk at help@wlu.edu ,call 540.458.4357 (HELP), or stop by the the Main Level of Leyburn Library.