Upcoming Events

Donuts & Discussion are informal talks about pedagogy amongst colleagues. For the Fall 2024 semester, these discussions will take place on Wednesdays from 12pm-1pm. Donuts and coffee will be provided. Location is Campus Center rm 220.

Do you have a question, topic, or technology tool you'd like to see highlighted as the focus of an ITE session? Please share your suggestions in the Requests and Suggestions for ITE Topics form. 

Fall 2024 Schedule

• September 11- Topic: "Gamifiying the Engineering Classroom with Badgr and Active Learning Activities," lead by Rich Cimino
• September 25- Topic: "Instructor Reflections on Integrating DEIBJ and Inclusive Design Concepts in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Engineering Course," lead by Ashish Borgaonkar and Jaskirat Sodhi
• October 9- Topic: "Engaging Students in the Evening Class through Active Learning," lead by Haisu Zhang
• October 23- Topic: "Emotional Responses to Hard Data: Taking Students from the “Magic of Reality” to Life Skills," lead by Gareth Russell
• November 6- Topic: “A Different Solution for Class Note-Taking,” lead by Jon Porus
• November 20- Topic: "Predictive Analysis of Engineering Students' Grade Point Average (GPA)," lead by Prateek Shekhar
• December 4- Topic: "Crime Scene Investigation: An Active Learning Initiative," lead by Kevin Parmalee 

Spring 2024 Schedule

• January 30- Topic: “Bridging the High School to College Gap through Active Student Engagement,” lead by Bruce Bukiet, Pete Ward, and Donivyn Schmidt
• February 27- Topic: “Using ChatGPT in the Classroom,” lead by Cesar Bandera
• March 19- Topic: “Interactive Tools to Engage Students,” lead by Padma Natarajan 
• March 26- Topic: “Successfully Integrating Innovative Teaching Approaches in the Science and Engineering Classroom,” lead by Joshua Young
• April 2- Topic: "Advancing Student Achievement: An Integrated Approach," lead by Laurent Simon
• April 16 - Topic:  ***CANCELED*** 

Fall 2023 Schedule

• September 27- Topic: Experiences from Coordinating and Teaching a Large First-Year General Chemistry class, lead by Bhavani Balasubramanian
• October 11- Topic: Getting the most out of office hours (student and professor perspectives), lead by Melodi Guilbault
• November 1- Topic: Experiences from Authoring an Open-Source Textbook, lead by John Carpinelli 
• November 8- ***Canceled due to AI Panel Special Event***
• November 15- Topic: Abolishing Cheating at the Source–is it Possible?, lead by Nikki Bosca  (participants are encouraged to read this article from the Chronicle in preparation for the discussion)
• December 6- Topic: Experiences from Developing and Launching a New Undergraduate Degree Program, lead by David Fisher

Spring 2023 Schedule

• February 15 (Wednesday)- Topic: Confronting the Challenges Students Face in Learning Math via the Math Tutoring Center (lead by Jon Porus)
• February 28 (Tuesday)- Topic: “But I Don't Like Writing:” The Role of the Writing Center at a STEM-Centered University (lead by Catherine Siemann) 
• March 28 (NEW DATE)- Topic: Using Canvas Quizzes to Effectively Counter Solutions Archived in the Web (leady by Sanchoy Das)
• April 4 (Tuesday)- Topic: Collaborative tool(s) to promote student engagement and learning (lead by Padma Natarajan)
• April 19 (Wednesday)- Topic: Connecting Classroom with Boardroom via Business Examples​ (lead by Junmin Shi)

Fall 2022 Schedule

• September 28 (Wednesday)- Topic: Assessing Student Group Work (lead by Dave Ullman)
• October 13 (Thursday)- Topic: Teaching Students How To Study (lead by Andrew Pole)
• October 26 (Wednesday)- Topic: New Policies for Online Proctoring (lead by Nikki Bosca and Justine Krawiec)
• November 10 (Thursday)- Topic: Accessibility Services, Accommodations, and OARS (lead by Scott Janz)
• December 7 (Wednesday)- Topic: Strategies for Active Learning (lead by Jaskirat Sodhi)

Fall 2024 Guest Lecture

The Institute for Teaching Excellence (ITE) is pleased to invite you to the Fall 2024 lecture

“Mastering Gentelligence®: Understanding & Leveraging Generational Diversity in the Workplace and the Classroom” 

presented by:

Dr. Megan Gerhardt

Date: October 25, 2024

Time: 11:30am-1pm (please arrive 10 minutes early)

Location: CKB 116

Event Description: 

Featured in Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, NBC News, and more, Gentelligence® was developed to help organizations change how they approach generational differences. Learn why the Gentelligence approach was named a Harvard Business Review Big Idea in 2022 and chosen as one of the 10 most definitive management ideas of the year in 2024! 

With five generations currently in the workplace, many leaders view this dynamic as frustrating and challenging. These dynamics persist in educational spaces as well, especially in the domain of Higher Education. In this engaging workshop, you will go beyond the core concepts to now activate and apply the strategies of Gentelligence® to your instructional practices to best address unique generational challenges. 

We will:

• Explore the barriers that often prevent organizations (and individuals) from effective intergenerational collaboration.
• Conduct an assumption audit to push beyond lazy stereotypes to understand generational and age differences as a valuable and complex form of diversity.
• Practice replacing generational judgment with curiosity 
• Examine how to develop university cultures that normalize intergenerational learning and collaboration.
• Learn how to have smarter intergenerational conversations using power questions

Please RSVP for this event.  To add this event to your calendar, click here. 

Speaker Bio:

Megan W. Gerhardt, Ph.D. is a Professor of Management and Leadership at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, where she also serves as Robert D. Johnson Director of Leadership Development.  Megan speaks and consults with top organizations around the world on ways to leverage generational diversity in the workplace. In addition to her academic research, she is author of the book Gentelligence: A Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce. Her Gentelligence work has been showcased as Harvard Business Review’s Big Idea in March 2022 and was also chosen as one of Harvard Business Review’s Top 10 Must Reads for 2024.  Megan’s work on leveraging generational diversity has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, NBC News, The Washington Post, and CNN, among others. All of Dr. Gerhardt’s work (www.profgerhardt.com) focuses on leveraging unique differences to achieve impact and extraordinary levels of performance. 

Previous Speakers

Spring 2023 Lecture

“Inclusive Teaching through Active Learning” 

presented by:

Dr. Kelly Hogan and Dr. Viji Sathy 

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Date: Apr 21, 2023

Time: 11:30am-1pm (please arrive 10 minutes early)

Location: SCALE-UP classroom (CKB G08)

Event Description: 

Teaching strategies that emphasize structured active learning can create more equitable classrooms and improve learning for all students. As an introduction to inclusive teaching techniques, Professors Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy of the University of North Carolina will ask participants to reflect on inequities and diversity in their classrooms through interactive, hands-on activities. After providing a framework for inclusive design and their own research results, Hogan and Sathy will lead participants through active learning exercises and case studies that explore inclusive techniques. Drawing upon their own teaching experiences and educational research, they will model approaches that can be readily implemented with any discipline or class size to help all students achieve their potential. 

Workshop Objectives:

• Explain the inequities that arise in an unstructured learning environment.
• Describe techniques that add structure and equity to a classroom.
• Brainstorm ways to reduce the inequities in your own courses.

Please register as soon as possible—space is limited! 

Presenter Bios: Dr. Kelly Hogan and Dr. Viji Sathy are both award winning instructors with a combined 25+ years in the classroom at the University of North Carolina. They are passionate about student success, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. They have expertise on inclusive techniques and active learning in any size crowd, because both teach courses routinely with hundreds of students. On their campus, they lead innovative classroom and diversity administrative initiatives that benefit all students, faculty, and staff. Both are leading the campus in curriculum reforms, bringing course-based undergraduate research experiences and makerspace courses to all disciplines. Kelly and Viji have shared their work with faculty through hands-on workshops at numerous types of institutions. Both are featured experts in ACUE's Course on Teaching Effectiveness, have been active in the scholarship of teaching and learning in their respective disciplines of biology and statistics, and their work has been featured in a number of national publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times.

Check out their website, inclusifiED. 

The ITE has print copies of Dr. Hogan and Dr. Sathy’s new book, Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom. Please email ite@njit.edu if you are interested in picking up a copy to read before the event. Quantities are limited. Alternatively, NJIT's Van Houten Library has a copy of the eBook with unlimited access. 

Title: Examining Marginalization in Engineering Education

Date: April 6, 2022

Time: 1-2:20 

Location: Video Conferencing

• Register for the Webex: https://njit.webex.com/njit/j.php?RGID=rdb9c745e85ea25cd195acdb1d1a57226
• Webex Link: https://njit.webex.com/njit/j.php?MTID=m4d41e001ec9fde8dc66e6a0766fc99c2
• Webex Password: ITE

Presenter: Walter C. Lee, PhD  
Associate Professor, Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education | Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity

Abstract: Creating learning environments that empower diverse student groups in their pursuits of engineering degrees is a national imperative. To support this goal, colleges and universities provide numerous forms of support intended to increase the success of their students. However, student outcomes and previous research reveal the need for more responsive student support tailored to individual student’s needs. To support this effort, Dr. Lee’s research focuses on advancing the extent to which the engineering community understands how marginalized students navigate undergraduate engineering degree programs. Dr. Lee will discuss an ongoing effort to establish a theoretical foundation for a recently-awarded NSF CAREER project aiming to critically examine the experiences of marginalized students in engineering. By better understanding their experiences, we can create educational environments that are more responsive to the cultural backgrounds of the student populations.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Walter Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and the Director for Research in the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity, both at Virginia Tech. Dr. Lee is broadly interested in inclusion, diversity, and educational equity—particularly as it relates to students from groups that are historically underrepresented in engineering. He has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University, an M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. His career vision is to be a driving force in the national efforts to diversify engineering and ensure that institutions provide students with the necessary support to succeed regardless of their background.

August 2024 ITE Workshop

Date: August 27, 2024

Time: 8:30am-4:00pm

Location: CKB G08 (SCALE-UP classroom)

Fill out this form to RSVP and reserve your spot!

Agenda

Previous

August 2023 ITE Workshop

Please RSVP for the Institute for Teaching Excellence’s annual August professional development workshop. All instructional staff are welcome to attend. This year we will be organizing the workshop around the theme of inclusive teaching. 

Date: August 31, 2023

Time: 9:30am-4:00pm

Location: CKB G08 (SCALE-UP classroom)

Click here to RSVP. 

Agenda

Spring 2024 ITE Mini Session

Please register for the Institute for Teaching Excellence's Spring 2024 mini workshop event centering around active learning and student engagement. This two-hour double session will feature presenters previously scheduled for the ITE January full-day workshop, which was canceled due to inclement weather. Please see below for event details.

Date: April 18, 2024

Time: 10:30am-12:30pm

Location: Eberhardt 112

Light refreshments will be provided. 

Please register for this event, as space is limited.

Session descriptions:

Previous:

ITE Panel Discussion and Workshop

AI: The Classroom and Beyond

Please register for the Institute for Teaching Excellence's Fall 2023 mini workshop event centering around a panel discussion on AI in Education. 

Date: November 8, 2023

Time: 11:30am-1:00pm

Location: Weston Hall Gallery, rm 210-230

Light refreshments will be provided. 

Click here to register.

The event will be moderated by Dr. Fadi Deek from Informatics and Mathematical Sciences. Please see below for the featured panelists:

• Nikki Bosca

  Associate Director for Online Teaching and Course Development and also Associate Director for the Institute for Teaching Excellence

  Nikki is currently collecting data for her dissertation research on Generative AI in First-Year-Writing courses for her PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning Science. Nikki is currently focused on applications of Generative AI tools in teaching and learning to enhance the student learning experience and improve students' achievements of course learning outcomes.

• Theresa Hunt 

  Senior Lecturer of Humanities & Social Sciences

  Dr. Hunt received her PhD in Global Affairs from Rutgers University. She has published on social movements and youth activism, and is interested in equitable global diffusion of information technologies. Her teaching focuses on Technology and Human Values, Technology and Global Development, and Digital Sociology. Theresa was the recipient of ITE's VITAL grant on active learning, and has worked closely with the Office of Online Programs staff to design effective online courses.

• Ioannis Koutis 

  Associate Professor of Computer Science

  Dr. Koutis received his PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. He views Artificial Intelligence as a fascinating natural phenomenon that presents new philosophical and scientific challenges for Human Intelligence, and has expanded his research in that area. Yiannis believes that AI and Large Language Models are powerful teaching tools, and he has already incorporated them in his classes, including the two AI courses on Machine Learning and Deep Learning that he has designed with the Office of Online Programs. 

• Justine Krawiec 

  Director of NJIT’s Learning Technologies

  Dr. Krawiec has a background in Chemistry and holds a Doctorate in Educational Technology Leadership. She investigates AI tools and their implications for teaching and learning, with a focus on privacy, security, pedagogy, data integrity, and accessibility. With her efforts toward advancing NJIT’s adoption of AI, Justine is interested in seeing the benefits university-wide, including student success, teaching and learning, research, and the entire working environment.

• Hai Phan 

  Associate Professor of Data Science

  Dr. Phan received his PhD from Université de Montpellier. He  focuses on developing Trustworthy and Generative AI and machine learning, particularly health informatics applications, natural language modeling, and social network analysis. Hai is interested in how AI can be applied responsibly, with reliable outcomes, in critical applications in which fairness, privacy, robustness, and transparency are assured. He believes that Trustworthiness will enhance the applicability of AI while complying with ethics and social values, and offering tremendous opportunities

• Joshua Young 

  Assistant Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering

  Dr. Young received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University. His research focuses on the use of computational methods, including data science, machine learning, and AI to design new materials for energy and sustainability applications. Josh teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in data science that prepare students to apply machine learning and AI techniques in solving engineering problems. Josh’s research is funded by the National Science Foundation, New Jersey Water Resources Research Institute, and a variety of seed grants.

Attendees will earn attendance points for our ITE recognition badges for this upcoming year. A list of last year's recipients can be found on the ITE site.

You may also add this event to your Google calendar. A reminder email will also be sent to all registrants prior to the event.

Companies that work with NJIT will periodically offer free training workshops and webinars, open to university participants and/or the public. These trainings are not designed or sponsored by NJIT, but they are available to NJIT faculty and staff who wish to take advantage of the opportunity for extra training and information. In order to make these offerings available to you, a schedule of upcoming events is shared below. We would love to hear feedback from you if you decide to participate in one of these events!

Please fill out our Feedback Form after attending a Vendor-Offered training.

Vendor Descriptions:

Canvas: A web-based learning management system that allows the University to access and manage online course materials to support learning and skill development. All registrar scheduled classes at NJIT automatically have a new Canvas page each semester. Canvas has many On-Demand Webinars. 

Gradescope: A part of Turnitin, Gradescope is a tool designed to standardize paper-based, digital, and coding assignments to streamline them for the student and instructor. Gradescope saves time in grading through the use of rubrics and artificial intelligence. It also offers plagiarism detection for coding assignments. Gradescope contains various tutorial videos for Getting Started and has a Chaptered Walkthrough. 

Kaltura: The primary media and video repository for NJIT. It allows users to share, search for, and watch a variety of media. Lecture recordings, presentations, screen captures, and more can be uploaded directly into Canvas.

Respondus LockDown Browser & Monitor (Proctoring Solution): LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks participants in the learning management system testing environment, known as Canvas for NJIT. Monitor further builds upon this proctoring solution by using the student’s webcam and video-analytics to prevent cheating during exams.

Turnitin: A system used through Canvas to promote academic integrity through streamlining grading and feedback while deterring plagiarism.

Vocareum: A cloud platform that can be integrated with Canvas for online coding lab projects and scales across a number of technical disciplines.

Voicethread: A collaborative media tool where a user can put together a presentation using video, images, documents, and other media. Other users can also interact on this media.

Webex: A web conferencing system that allows for live, two-way interaction between participants. Video conferencing possibilities include hosting of online meetings with video, audio, screen sharing, and breakout groups. The new All-in-One Webex allows for connection through messaging, whiteboard, calling, and file sharing.

To view the calendar below, you must be logged into your NJIT Google account.