CETL Workshops
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) offers a range of workshops and asynchronous courses designed to support faculty in developing inclusive, engaging, and effective teaching practices. These sessions provide practical strategies grounded in research and tailored to the needs of Virginia Tech educators. Workshops are offered both in-person and virtually to provide flexibility. Asynchronous course opportunities can be found at the bottom of this page and may be completed at any time through June 2026.
Workshops
Best Practices for Mentorship in Teaching
Monday, February 9, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Location: virtual
When we think about teaching, images of formal instructor-student classroom interactions might often come to mind. However, opportunities also exist to make a meaningful impact on students' learning experiences beyond the classroom through mentoring. This workshop will focus on the role of mentorship in teaching and will provide participants with strategies for building and maintaining mentoring connections with students in learning environments.
Registration will open soon!
Developing and Delivering Interactive Lectures to Promote Student Engagement
Thursday, February 12, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual
Lectures are a common and efficient way to convey information, but they also run the risk of inviting students to be passive learners. This workshop will focus on how to prepare and deliver an interactive lecture that includes active learning strategies to promote deeper learning and active listening. This session will cover a range of strategies that can be used in any discipline.
The Educator-Student Partnership: Defining Roles in Higher Education
Monday, February 16, 3:00–4:30 p.m.
Location: In person, TBD
In this presentation, we will explore the roles that both educators and students play in higher education and how they differ from secondary education. We will discuss strategies to create a supportive and respectful relationship between educators and students that emphasize engagement, accountability, communication, and feedback.
Foundations of Global Learning
Tuesday, February 17, 9:00–11:00 a.m.
Location: 3310 Torgersen Hall and virtual
This workshop is designed to provide faculty and staff with a shared understanding of global learning and intercultural development. This session introduces key concepts, institutional priorities, and practical steps for incorporating global perspectives into teaching, programming, advising, and campus life at Virginia Tech. Participants explore why global learning matters, what it looks like in different contexts (curricular, co-curricular, research, and advising), and how it aligns with Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission, Ut Prosim ethos, and Beyond Boundaries vision. By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Define global and intercultural learning in context
- Describe how global education aligns with Virginia Tech’s institutional mission and values
- Identify practical opportunities to contribute to global education and engagement at Virginia Tech through teaching, advising, programming, or research
- Recognize ethical considerations for global engagement, including best practices for local-global connections
- Gain access to Virginia Tech’s Global Education network, tools, and resources
Teaching With, Against, and Around AI: Pedagogical Strategies for Faculty
Wednesday, February 18, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: 3310 Torgersen Hall
How do we teach well when AI is everywhere? Join us as we review current AI capabilities while focusing on what matters most: our pedagogical goals and student learning. We'll move beyond reactive fixes ("How do I prevent ChatGPT on this assignment?") to intentional pedagogical design. Together, we'll explore:
- When AI tools genuinely support our learning objectives—and when they undermine them
- How to make purposeful choices about integrating, limiting, or reimagining assignments
- Strategies that center human connection, critical thinking, and meaningful learning
This isn't about either policing AI or adopting every new tool. It's about reclaiming pedagogical agency in a rapidly shifting landscape and making choices aligned with our teaching values and our students' growth.
Integrating Global Learning into Students’ Learning Experiences
Thursday, February 26, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual
In this workshop, we will explore how to intentionally design courses that foster students’ global and intercultural awareness and engagement. Participants will examine practical strategies for integrating global learning outcomes into their courses, facilitating meaningful student collaboration across multicultural teams, and leveraging technology to connect classrooms across borders. Through various faculty perspectives, case study examples, breakout discussions, and interactive activities, attendees will leave with actionable approaches to integrate global learning into their teaching and contribute to VT’s Beyond Boundaries vision of preparing students to thrive as global citizens in an interconnected world. Join us for an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas, and network with colleagues who are passionate about global teaching and learning.
How People Learn
Tuesday, March 3, 9:00–11:00 a.m.
Location: Virtual
There are many different teaching and studying methods, but not all of them are equally effective. Join us as we examine what neuroscience has taught us about how people learn and discuss strategies to promote learning in your courses.
Distilling Your Message for Teaching and Outreach: Brief and Compelling Interactions with the People You Need to Talk to
Monday, March 16, 12:30-2:20 p.m.
Location: virtual
Effective teaching begins with effective communication. Public outreach requires shaping one’s message for new audiences. Collaboration occurs only when collaborators can find a common language. In this interactive and experiential learning-based workshop facilitated by faculty from Virginia Tech’s Center for Communicating Science, participants will build their communication skills through engaging in exercises that help them move from “information overload” to engaging, clear, and simple communication. We will introduce the 5 W’s of clear communication and learn about the curse of knowledge. Participants will begin to translate their research findings or other complex information into messages that inspire curiosity and engagement. For this interactive Zoom workshop, please plan to have your cameras on and to be in a location where you feel comfortable speaking and moving.
Registration will open soon!
Exploring the Foundational Elements of PBL
Wednesday, March 18, 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Location: 3310 Torgersen Hall and Virtual
Join us for an interactive session that delves into the key principles and practices that support effective project-based learning (PBL). This workshop will introduce the foundational elements of PBL design, including strategies for developing authentic projects, aligning learning outcomes, and fostering student engagement through inquiry and collaboration. A panel of Virginia Tech faculty will share their experiences implementing PBL in diverse disciplines, highlighting approaches that worked, challenges encountered, and lessons learned. Participants will leave with practical ideas and inspiration to begin or refine their own PBL initiatives.
Current State of AI Technologies Impacting Education: April 2026 Edition
Wednesday, April 8, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: 3310 Torgerson Hall and Virtual
As the landscape of artificial intelligence continually evolves, so does the way we teach and learn. In this session, we'll break down the latest trends, tools, and shifts in the AI market as well as implications for your teaching practice.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify current trends in artificial intelligence technologies.
- Analyze how AI updates could inform or enhance your course design
Applying Motivation Science to Engage Students in Courses
Wednesday, April 1, 1:30–3:30 p.m.
Location: 3310 Torgersen Hall
What can you do to improve student motivation and engagement in your courses? In this workshop, you will learn how you can use motivation science to make changes in your classes, activities, and assignments that will lead to increased student motivation and learning. This practical workshop will help instructors connect motivation research to practical teaching strategies by answering questions such as: What principles of motivation science can be used in college courses? What specific strategies can be used to motivate and engage students? How can instructors assess students’ motivation? What can I do in my courses to motivate and engage students?
While teaching this semester is not a requirement for attendance, participants that are will be encouraged to, and supported with, implementing the MUSIC Model Survey following the in-person session.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to better:
- Explain principles from motivation science that apply to college courses
- Describe teaching strategies that they can use to motivate their students
- Assess student motivation in their courses to make data-driven instructional decisions
Asynchronous course opportunities
Building Community in the Classroom
Research shows that a positive classroom climate favorably impacts students’ persistence, channels energies toward learning, and engenders emotions that advance learning. One of the first steps toward creating a positive classroom climate is establishing community guidelines with your students. This session workshops the process of writing and communicating guidelines that foster community and accountability among students.
Fostering a Growth Mindset
Students’ beliefs about learning and intelligence influence their ability to persist in academic disciplines where they encounter difficulty. Students who view intelligence as innate, and failure as a threat to their identity are more likely to panic, give up, or cheat when the work is harder than anticipated. Students from groups stereotyped on the basis of social identity experience stress when asked to perform challenging tasks that converge with stereotypes about their group, and as a consequence, may underperform. Professors can counter the effects of stereotype threat and a fixed view of intelligence by fostering a growth mindset. A growth mindset affirms that intelligence is malleable, learning is effortful, and failure can prompt development. By the end of this session, participants will have proven strategies for reducing stereotype threat that can be implemented in their courses.
Handling Difficult Conversations
We want our students to grapple with challenging and controversial topics, but are we prepared to facilitate discussions when these topics evoke strong opinion and emotional response? By the end of this session participants will learn proactive strategies for creating classroom environments that foster dialogue. Participants will practice using tools that reduce tension, promote engagement, and develop critical communication skills.
Recommended prerequisite: Building Community in the Classroom
Neurodiversity in the Classroom
The term, neurodiversity, first used by sociologist Judy Singer in the 1990s, refers to neurological differences —like autism, ADHD, or dyslexia—that should be normalized and respected in learners. This course introduces the concept in relation to the social model of disability, and explores how we can go beyond accommodations to make the academic classroom more inclusive of and hospitable to neurodivergent learners.