Events

The Instructional Foundations Series is for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and instructors from all disciplines who have never taught at the university level (other than grading experience) prior to participation. The series is designed to provide people new to college teaching with some basic ideas they can use in their first teaching experience. The series includes 3 workshops focusing on best practices from the literature on teaching and learning, plus an assignment in which participants discuss teaching techniques with an experienced instructor in their discipline. For additional details, see https://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/instructionalfoundations.

Registration closes on February 16, 2026.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this free, non-credit, self-directed, and entirely asynchronous course, participants explore the rationale and research that supports designing learning experiences with UDL, read scenarios about UDL applications, and reflect on ways to apply UDL to their own instructional practices. This course is open to faculty of any rank or status, teaching assistants, and post-doctoral instructors and members of the learning design community.

Register anytime at the following link: https://psu.catalog.instructure.com/browse/wcfd/courses/ol-360001-universal-design-for-learning-2026 . You will have 90 days to complete the course.

This course is a collaboration between the Schreyer Institute and World Campus Online Faculty Development.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore practical strategies for planning individual class sessions, with special attention to the alignment of learning objectives, assessments, and learning activities.

Registration will close one hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

The Course in College Teaching (CCT) provides an opportunity for faculty, graduate students, and post-doc instructors from all disciplines to collaboratively explore successful teaching and learning. It is designed to allow participants to share ideas and strategies for successful teaching. This free, non-credit course includes discussion and practice based on information drawn from the teaching and learning literature, as well as from the teaching experiences of individual participants.

The Spring 2026 Course in College Teaching (CCT) will be held asynchronously in Canvas from February 2 - March 2. For more information, see schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/cct or contact one of the course facilitators Deena Levy at drl21@psu.edu or Mary Ann Tobin at matobin@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive webinar, you will find out more about the high impact practice (HIP) model (which includes global learning, service learning, undergraduate research, writing-intensive courses, learning communities, capstones, internships, and more) and why they have received support from both instructors and institutions. Join us to discover which HIPs may be right for you and your teaching practice.

Registration will close one hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop, we invite participants to examine student engagement from a curricular perspective. We will discuss how the design of activities and assessments can affect student engagement, and how reflecting on the structure of activities and assessments can lead to changes that promote student engagement. Participants will have opportunities to apply what is discussed throughout the workshop.

Registration will close one hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact SITE at site@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the role of culture in shaping classroom dynamics; the academic foundations of culturally responsive teaching; and how cultural (mis)alignment can impact the learning environment.

Registration will close 1 hour before the event starts. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.
   

The rise of generative AI is challenging traditional models of assessment. In this workshop, we will explore practical strategies for building flexible, resilient assessments that withstand evolving AI capabilities as well as assessments that harness AI to support learning. Includes an optional 30-minute design sprint at the end.

Registration will close 1 hour before the event starts. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 1 hour before the event.

As part of the Curriculum Innovation and Renewal Program, project leaders, faculty consultants, and SITE consultants come together to support the leaders' work by sharing successes, processes, and challenges, as well as best practices, experiences and expertise in curriculum development and curriculum committee processes.

This is a closed event customized for the CIRP community members. If you are interested in a Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access.

Disruptive situations can occur in any course. In this interactive workshop, we’ll discuss ways to create a climate where disruptive behavior is less likely to occur--and to get the learning back on track when it does.

Registration will close one hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Assessment of student learning enables us to establish appropriate and clear expectations of what students will learn in our courses, how they will demonstrate that learning, and how that learning will be evaluated. In this session, participants will discover the types of student learning assessments and identify some effective assessment strategies for use in their own teaching.

This is a closed event customized for the requesting department. If you are interested in a Custom Workshop for your area, contact us at site@psu.edu.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Penn State is part of the international CIRTL Network, which focuses on preparing the next generation of faculty to teach effectively. Join us for this brief overview of how CIRTL programming—both at Penn State and through the 43-university network—can help grad students and postdocs to 1) strengthen their teaching skills and 2) document their professional development through CIRTL certification.

Registration will close 1 hour before the event starts. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Do you view the people in your classroom as students ... or as learners? As those there for the grade ... or as those who will become future colleagues? In this workshop, we will discuss and investigate the ways we can nurture positive, productive identities in our students. We will explore topics such as identities, their effect on students’ experience in the classroom, and ways that we as teachers can play a role in identity development.

Registration will close 1 hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop -- of special interest to international instructors and TAs, but open to all -- we'll explore pedagogical values that are common in U.S. college classrooms, as well as practical strategies for creating an effective learning environment.

Registration will close 1 hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

During this session, participants will work on a draft of their teaching philosophy statement and will receive individual feedback/coaching from Schreyer Institute facilitators. Please bring a draft of your statement.

Registration will close 1 hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins. Space is limited.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

Transparency is a subtle idea: What happens when we make more of an effort to clarify our expectations, demystify the steps of an assignment, or discuss with our students what makes good work good? In this workshop, we'll consider what transparency is, what it looks like, and what difference it might make in your classes and assignments. Participants are encouraged to bring a draft assignment to discuss.

Registration will close one hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive webinar, you will get the opportunity to explore emerging approaches to re-centering grading. Referred to by various terms--including ungrading, specifications grading, standards-based grading, and more--these approaches all share a focus on recognizing and encouraging student growth. Join us to find out more about how these practices might become a part of your current or future teaching practice.

Graduate students, postdocs, and new faculty may find the program especially beneficial, but anyone in an instructional role is welcome.

Registration will close 1 hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins. Space is limited.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this interactive workshop, we'll explore decisions that instructors confront in relation to AI: when (or whether) to encourage students to use AI in a course; when (or whether) to constrain students from using AI; and how to communicate clear guidance and rationales to students.

Registration will close one hour before the workshop begins. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 45 minutes before the event begins.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.

In this webinar, participants will discover the types of student learning assessments and begin to consider how they might effectively measure learning in their courses.

Registration will close 1 hour before the event starts. Registrants will receive a Zoom link at least 1 hour before the event.

Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the access provided, please contact the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at SITE@psu.edu or call 814-863-2599 at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program to allow sufficient time to effectively meet your access needs.