News

Instructors invited to weekly online Pedagogy Circles

The Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) invites all Purdue instructors to join weekly Pedagogy Circles, informal one-hour online discussions led by Purdue’s Student Pedagogy Advocates (SPAs). The Pedagogy Circles will take place every Wednesday, 3:30-4:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 12 via Zoom. Each session of Pedagogy Circles will feature topics for conversation, such as how to create scaffolded learning structures while also encouraging students to embrace challenges and uncertainty.

Please complete this short Qualtrics survey to join the conversations this semester. You will receive email updates on topics and summaries of the discussions. Questions may be emailed to Dan Guberman (dguberma@purdue.edu). 

CIE’s SPA program matches instructors with undergraduate students interested in enhancing teaching and learning at Purdue. SPAs serve as a catalyst, helping instructors think through potential class structures and activities, observing and reporting back on the class to the instructor, and supporting communication between instructors and students enrolled in the course. Email Guberman for more information. 

CIE is a member of Innovative Learning, Purdue’s hub approach to connect instructors to the resources they need to engage students, develop courses in any instructional modality and enhance learning across the University. Other members include Libraries and the School of Information Studies and Purdue University Online. To learn more, visit www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning or email InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu. 

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Join Problematizing Education & Digital Technology Community Discussion Feb. 19

Researchers, educators, activists, parents, and students are invited to come together on Wed., Feb. 19, to discuss some of today’s most pressing questions about the future of education technology (EdTech), including:

• What are some issues regarding EdTech in the Greater Lafayette area?
• What harms are we seeing with digital technology in our schools and universities?
• What role are Big Tech companies or policymakers playing?
• And finally, what possibilities and hopes do we have for the future?
  
  

Purdue’s Tech Justice Lab (TJL), Governance and Responsible AI Lab (GRAIL), Innovation Hub, and Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) invite you to attend this discussion as part of the Critical Studies of Education and Technology (CSET) 2025 worldwide event. This is a hybrid event, onsite at the Klondike Branch of the Tippecanoe County Public Library and on Zoom.

Please register and join us for the following three short (5-minute) presentations, followed by an interactive discussion:

• Anjali Bhati, Purdue, UX Design, “Transdisciplinary Approaches to Critical Teaching with AI”

• Daniel S. Schiff, Purdue, Political Science, “Do You Know Where Your Children Are? Deepfakes in the Classroom”
• Lucas Wiese, Purdue, Computer & Information Technology, “Guiding the Next Generation: Teaching the Ethics of AI”

All are welcome and snacks will be provided! Those who pre-register will receive optional pre-readings and more details about the services available through the Tippecanoe County Public Library. Children are welcome, but no childcare is offered.

Problematizing Education & Digital Technology
a Critical Studies of Education and Technology discussion
Wed., Feb. 19, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Tempest Room, Tippecanoe County Public Library – Klondike Branch
3062 Lindberg Rd, West Lafayette or via Zoom
Register here

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Apply for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellowships by Feb. 28

The Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) invites Purdue faculty and instructors to apply for a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Fellowship. This two-year fellowship includes an online six-week faculty learning community (FLC) in which fellows will design their SoTL project. Following the FLC, fellows will participate in a monthly virtual community of practice that will provide support as they carry out their SoTL projects.

The six-week FLC will take place in Summer 2025 and will allow fellows to:

• Explore different types of potential SoTL projects,

• Identify an actionable research question related to a class they are teaching,

• Examine previous literature related to their research question,

• Design a SoTL project around their research question, and

• Complete an IRB proposal, if required for their project.

Further details are available on the SoTL Fellowship webpage. Applicants for the SoTL Fellowship program should complete this online application by Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. SoTL Fellows will be notified of their acceptance by Monday, April 3, 2025. Questions may be directed to Emily Bonem, CIE assistant director of SoTL, at ebonem@purdue.edu.

CIE is a member of Innovative Learning, Purdue’s hub approach to connect instructors to the resources they need to engage students, develop courses in any instructional modality, and enhance learning across the University. Other members include Libraries and the School of Information Studies and Purdue Online. To learn more, visit www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning or email InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu.

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SIGN UP BY JAN. 21 FOR FOUNDATIONS IN COLLEGE TEACHING PROGRAM

The six-week Spring 2025 session of the Certificate of Foundations in College Teaching runs Mon., Jan. 27 through Fri., Mar. 7 and is open to all Purdue West Lafayette, Purdue in Indianapolis, and Purdue Polytechnic Statewide faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and staff. Register here by Tues., Jan 21. We can accept the first 50 registrants in this semester’s cohort. 

Foundations is offered by the Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE). It provides an overview of evidence-based teaching practices and strategies. The six-week, online program is delivered in a 100 percent asynchronous format. Foundations covers central topics in college teaching and asks participants to reflect on concepts, experiences, and applications at the end of each topic.

The program consists of four main modules: Reflecting on Teaching & Learning, Defining and Assessing Student Learning, Creating a Learner-Centered Environment, and Becoming a Scholarly Teacher. Participants should plan to devote approximately three hours during each week of the program.  

What a typical week will look like: 

• Engage with content in each unit module.
• Share a short reflection in a small discussion group.  
• Optional: Join facilitators for weekly Office Hour Discussions. 

Questions about the Certificate of Foundations in College Teaching Program may be emailed to Annika Kraft and Frances Sobolak at teachercertificate@purdue.edu. 

CIE is a member of Innovative Learning, Purdue’s hub approach to connect instructors to the resources they need to engage students, develop courses in any instructional modality, and enhance learning across the University. Other Innovative Learning members include Libraries and the School of Information Studies and Purdue University Online. To learn more, visit www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning or email InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu.

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Spring 2025 reading groups to discuss Against Technoableism and Minding Bodies

Innovative Learning and the Purdue Teaching Academy invite Purdue instructors and staff to sign up in January to join two reading groups in Spring 2025.

• The new Accessibility Reading Group will explore Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shewduring three virtual meetings.

• Purdue’s Faculty Teaching and Learning Reading Group will meet on-site at West Lafayette and Indianapolis locations to discuss Minding Bodies: How physical space, sensation, and movement affect learning by Susan Hrach.

Accessibility Reading Group:
Against Technoableism

The new Accessibility Reading Group, sponsored by Innovative Learning, brings together readers from Indianapolis and West Lafayette locations to discuss accessibility, ableism, and their implications on teaching and learning. For the Spring semester, participants will read Against Technoableism: Rethinking who needs improvement, 2023, by Ashley Shew, a bioethicist professor, self-described as a “hard-of-hearing chemobrained amputee with Crohn’s disease and tinnitus.” Using witty prose, Dr. Shew takes us on a thoughtful journey about creating more accessible futures by intentionally including perspectives from the disabled community. Shew coined “technoableism,” which is a “belief in the power of technology that considers the elimination of disability a good thing…it’s a classic form of ableism…a bias in favor of nondisabled ways of life.” Against Technoableism is part of Norton Shorts, which are books written by leading scholars. We will discuss Shew’s ideas together and make connections to what we do on a daily basis.

Participants in the Accessibility Reading Group will read Against Technoableism over three virtual meetings to discuss ideas, theories, and the implications on our learning environments. These meetings will be held Thursdays, 1-2 p.m. ET, on the following dates: Feb. 13, March 13, and April 17. There will be opportunities for asynchronous engagement as well.

Interested readers should fill out the online questionnaire by Friday, Jan. 17. Some physical copies of the book are available, but you may request your own copy via the questionnaire. 

Accessing physical copies of the book: 

• Indianapolis campus library link to Against Technoableism 

• West Lafayette campus library link to Against Technoableism 

Those who cannot make it this semester but are interested in future accessibility reading communities, or who have suggestions for future books/topics, may contact Leslie Miller at mill3160@purdue.edu.  

Faculty Teaching & Learning Reading Group: Minding Bodies

The Teaching Academy and the Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) will again sponsor Purdue’s Faculty Teaching and Learning Reading Groups, which bring together faculty in small groups to discuss how recent books about the classroom and teaching and learning may inform their approach to teaching. The Spring 2025 sessions will discuss Minding Bodies: How physical space, sensation, and movement affect learning by Susan Hrach. This book explores how attuning to aspects of the learning environment and the learners themselves can shift the focus of learning from purely mental efforts to a more embodied, sensory-rich experience. As humans we are not robots or “brains on sticks,” we have emotions and dreams, we need food and rest, and our bodies work as an integrated system to support our thriving. This book explores the idea that all thinking is grounded in the body and its environment. It offers practical strategies for educators to create more effective and inclusive learning environments. The book is available online through Purdue Libraries and physical copies will be available for those who prefer.

Participants will read the book over three sessions throughout the semester to discuss the ideas, theories, and application for this semester and in the future. Onsite sessions will be held in both Indianapolis and West Lafayette. Participants can choose their date and location according to their schedules for each week:

• Thursdays, 1-2:30 p.m., Feb. 20, March 6, and April 3 at Purdue’s Indianapolis location
• Fridays, 1-2:30 p.m., Feb. 21, March 7, and April 4 at Purdue’s West Lafayette location

Faculty who would like to participate during Spring 2025 should fill out an online questionnaire by Friday, Jan. 31, providing information about themselves and their availability. Those who cannot make it this semester but are interested in faculty reading and learning communities, or who have suggestions for future books/topics, should contact Annika Kraft at arkraft@purdue.edu or Tracey Birdwell tbirdwel@purdue.edu.

Innovative Learning is Purdue’s hub approach to connect instructors to the resources they need to engage students, develop courses in any instructional modality, and enhance learning across the University. Innovative Learning members include the Center for Instructional Excellence, Libraries and the School of Information Studies, and Purdue University Online. To learn more, visit www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning or email InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu. 

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Register for Jan. 8: Creating Accessible Learning Environments using Brightspace’s Creator+

Innovative Learning invites instructors to join a virtual workshop on Wed., Jan. 8, 2025, 1-2 p.m., to explore the use of Creator+, a new feature in Brightspace, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to create an accessible learning environment for all Purdue learners. This session, titled “Accessible Purdue: Creating an Equitable Learning Experience For All,” will highlight the use of Creator+ to help instructors quickly build engaging, accessible content directly into the learning management system. In addition to this just-in-time demonstration of Creator+, we will also discuss practical strategies for incorporating UDL and accessibility. There will also be time for questions. 

Go to the Innovative Learning Events webpage for information on other sessions and drop-ins. Innovative Learning is Purdue’s hub approach to connect instructors to the resources they need to engage students, develop courses in any instructional modality, and enhance learning across the University. Innovative Learning members include the Center for Instructional Excellence, Libraries and the School of Information Studies, and Purdue University Online. To learn more, visit www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning or email InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu. 

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