CTL Newsletter - August 2025
“The greatest sign of a teacher’s success is to be able to say, ‘The students are now working as if I did not exist.’”
— Maria Montessori
📚 New Semester, New Learners — We’ve Got You Covered
The CTL staff is here to support all campus educators throughfree consultations, online teaching resources, workshops, and other programs! We invite you to email our team with any questions related to teaching or to learn more at CTL@colorado.edu.
Active Learning Strategies to Jumpstart Student Engagement
Looking for a way to get students engaged from day one? Active learning strategies can help you create a dynamic and welcoming learning environment where all students feel valued from the start of the semester. These approaches center students in the learning process, encouraging them to engage, reflect, and apply what they’re learning in meaningful ways.
Rather than passively receiving information, students participate in activities that promote critical thinking, collaboration, and deeper understanding. These strategies can range from short, low-stakes exercises to full-class projects and discussions. When thoughtfully integrated, active learning not only improves retention, it builds classroom community, increases motivation, and supports a wider range of learning styles.
Explore our Active Learning webpage for practical ways to make your teaching more interactive, whether you’re in a lecture hall, seminar room, or teaching online. You might also consider using Classroom Assessment Techniques to check student understanding and foster engagement in real time.
📚Recommended Reading of the Month:
- - by Magna Books
This book offers straightforward strategies and evidence-based techniques to help instructors create more engaging, student-centered learning environments across a variety of course formats and disciplines.
🌟 Buff Spotlight: Active Learning Card Deck - Simple Strategies. Big Impact.
Looking to spark more engagement in your classroom? TheActive Learning Card Deck offers50 practical, creative, and flexible teaching strategies to energize your class sessions.
This deck was developed byAlexis Block, a previous graduate assistant with ASSETT and Amanda McAndrew, CTL Assistant Director - ASSETT, to help educators bring active learning into any discipline or course format.
Use the Deck to:
- Pull a card at random for quick inspiration
- Plan intentional activities as you design your course
- Adapt strategies to online, hybrid, or in-person settings
How to Access the Cards
Want a physical deck?
If you're part of the CU Boulder community, email us atctl@colorado.edu to request one from our limited stock.Prefer a digital version?
📅 What’s Ahead - Events & Announcements:
- 📚 Kick off the semester with the Fall Intensive, a 3-day conference packed with over 40 workshops to support and energize educators across campus. Whether you're a new TA, GPTI, faculty member, or exploring career options in or beyond academia, you’ll find valuable sessions tailored to your needs.
- 👥 Looking to connect with fellow educators and get supportive feedback on your teaching? Then apply for our Fall 2025 Teaching Circles program. This cross-disciplinary opportunity brings together small cohorts of educators to reflect on their teaching practices, exchange ideas, and grow in a collaborative setting. Participants receive a $250 Professional Development Award upon completion. Space is limited to 10 educators, so be sure to !
- 🧑🏫Want to rethink your teaching by collaborating directly with students? We're now accepting faculty applications for our鶹Ժ as Partnersprogram, returning in Fall 2025. This unique initiative pairs faculty with undergraduate students to explore partnership-driven teaching, participate in a dynamic seminar series, and co-create a student-centered project that enhanceslearning. Participants receive a $500 professional development award. to be part of this transformative experience.
- 📘 As you prepare your Fall 2025 courses, consider adopting the new Canvas template! With resources like a start-of-semester survey, campus resources page, and fillable student-centered syllabus, the course template aims to reduce the time spent building out your courses, while promoting promising practices in teaching and learning, digital accessibility, and design.
- 📅 Join us for the Fall Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference on October 2–3, 2025, hosted by the CTL and OIT. This two-day hybrid event centers on the theme “Engage Every Learner” and will feature workshops, panels, and hands-on sessions exploring innovative approaches to teaching. From student engagement and large course design to technology, AI, and creating learning environments where all students thrive, the conference offers something for every educator. Morning refreshments and lunch will be provided— to reserve your spot!
- 📚 Teaching a Large Course? Let’s Connect! Join the Large Course Community of Practice (LCCoP)—a space to exchange ideas, share resources, and discuss practical strategies with fellow instructors. Our first in-person meeting will be on September 17 from 2–3 p.m. in CASE E390. Visit the LCCoP webpage for details and to stay connected.
- 🤖 As the impacts of generative AI on higher education continue to snowball, we can resource our campus community with a collective proficiency in AI Literacy which is the defined as possessing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to understand, evaluate, and effectively interact with artificial intelligence systems. developed collaboratively by the Office of Information Technology and the Center for Teaching & Learning. Upon completion of the course, you'll earn a recognition badge to share with you colleagues and students.
- 🌱 The Well-being and Resilience Community of Practice (WBRCoP) is here to support your personal well-being as an instructor and to build a supportive community around burnout awareness. This is a space to exchange strategies, explore wellness-focused teaching practices, and connect with others who care about sustaining themselves and their students. For more info, head to the WBRCoP webpage for more details and .
- 📚 Fall 2025 Book Club: Read and discuss Restorative Resistance in Higher Education by Richard J. Reddick. The group will meet remotely on Wednesdays from September 10 to October 15, 10:00–11:00 a.m. MT, and explore how equity-focused leadership can shape our teaching and campus culture. to take part.
- 🎓 Are you a graduate student looking to deepen your skills as an equity-oriented educator? The Critical Dialogic Pedagogy Micro-Credential Program is a free, 10-week workshop series co-sponsored by CU Dialogues and the CTL that explores dialogic teaching, somatic reflection, and intersectional equity. Space is limited to 20 participants, so be sure to apply by August 22, 2025.
Join Us for Other Upcoming Events!
Fri, Aug 15, 2025, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM MT, Fall Intensive 2025
Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM MT, Fall Intensive 2025
Tue, Aug 19, 2025, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM MT, Fall Intensive 2025
🎉Celebrating Our CTL Community
The"2025 AI Summer Design Studio: Teaching, Learning & AI – Discover the “Right Fit” for You" was a fantastic success! Co-hosted by ASSETT and the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), this two-day immersive event brought together faculty, staff, and students to explore the dynamic role of generative AI in higher education. From thought-provoking sessions on student perspectives to hands-on planning time, participants walked away with personalized strategies for approaching AI in their teaching. The studio’s themes—belonging, intention, agency, andinnovation—sparked rich discussions and inspired new ideas for meaningful classroom engagement.
Thanks to everyone who joined us in-person or virtually, and all the speakers. A special thank you goes to the organizers Amanda McAndrew, Blair Young, and Jacie Moriyama. We’re already excited for the nextAIDesign Studio.
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🎓 InspirED✏️📚 - What We See in Today’s Learners
Shared by Kalpana Gupta, Professional Development Lead at CTL
“They’re curious, bold, and constantly questioning the world around them and also questioning us as educators. Teaching today's learners reminds me daily that education isn’t just about content delivery, but about building trust, relevance, and flexibility into every interaction. They want to know why something matters, and they’re not afraid to ask. That kind of engagement pushes us to grow too.”
—Kalpana Gupta
Kalpana’s reflection reminds us that today’s students seek purpose, connection, and authenticity. When we meet them with intention and empathy, we don’t just support their learning, we evolve as educators, too.
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