January

Strategies For a Great First Day of Class (ALL)
At this session we will discuss strategies for having a great first day of class. This session is for those who teach classes of all sizes. If you are looking for ideas on something to do besides going over the syllabus, this session is for you.

Dates: January 13 & January 14
Time: Jan. 13th from 10am – 11am; Jan. 14th from 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More information

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Part-Time Faculty Course Prep/Teaching Consultations (PTF)
Need to ask a quick teaching-related question? Maybe brainstorm an idea while prepping your course(s)? Visit a virtual consultation session just for PT Faculty!

Appointments Available January 6-24
Time: Varies
Location: Zoom
Registration & More information

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Writing Challenge For February 1st Writing Packets (ALL)

This challenge is especially for those who will be working on their packets for the February 1st submission date. Through a Brightspace site, you will be able to work at your own pace to set writing goals, get feedback from colleagues, and prepare your packets.

Date: January 6-17, 2025
Time: Asynchronous (some optional synchronous sessions) 
Location: Brightspace

Registration & More Information 
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Mental Health First Aid Certification Course for Faculty and Staff  (ALL)

Mental Health First Aid for Higher Education is designed with colleges’ and universities’ unique culture and resources in mind. The program trains students, faculty and others in higher education settings about how to recognize the symptoms of emerging mental illnesses or to assist young adults and colleagues in a mental health crisis and help lessen the severity and impact of mental illnesses. Participants receive a three-year national certification in Mental Health First Aid.

Date: January 17, 2025
Time: 8:30am – 4:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Large Lecture High-impact Teaching Seminar: Motivated to Learn, Session #1 (ALL)
Have you been facing the pressure to teach larger and larger classes? While your class size is increasing, are you also struggling to motivate students to attend, turn in assignments, or engage in deep learning? If so, this seminar is for you. We will apply research-based strategies about motivation so that you can balance the pressure of large class size with the desire to motivate students to engage in their own learning.

Session Dates: January 27, Feb. 10, 24, Mar. 17, 31, Apr. 14, 28

Date: January 27, 2025
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Well-being/Vitality Session #1 Defining Your Scope of Practice and Preserving Your Well-being (ALL)
Feeling overwhelmed? Looking for clarity, connection and revitalization? Instructors face many challenges that can lead to burnout or decreased well-being. And academia can perpetuate inequities across roles and labor. This workshop series is designed to invite reflection on these inequities and empower faculty with the knowledge to prevent (or manage) burnout and decreased well-being, while uplifting the importance of rest and clarity of roles. Join colleagues for thoughtful discussion and we’ll provide coffee, tea, and light snacks. You can attend individual sessions or all three, as your schedule allows.

Session #1 Description:

A scope of practice is a way to guide your work life toward greater balance, freedom, and clarity. A scope of practice focuses on two questions: 1) What am I qualified to do in this role? 2) What is my responsibility in this role? Join us for this in-person workshop where you will be invited to explore your scope of practice as an educator. Reflect on ways to clarify boundaries so you can be better positioned to support students while preserving your own well-being.

Date: January 28, 2025
Time: 11:00am – 12:15pm
Location: Multicultural Student Services Center, Room 203
Registration & More Information

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Alternative Grading #1 (ALL)
This session will introduce some key ideas in “alternative grading” so you can reflect on your existing grading schemes and consider if you would like to make a change in the courses that you teach.

Session Dates: Jan. 30 and Mar. 18

Date: January 30, 2025
Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Rhody Scholars Information Session (ALL)
Learn more about this opportunity to take a SoTL idea from start to finish! Rhody Scholars is a 1-year program that provides funding, one-on-one consultation, and group workshopping to support you in exploring a teaching idea or question that’s been nagging you! This information session will talk you through the program and application requirements, just in time for you to submit before the February 14th deadline.

Date: January 30, 2025
Time: 11:30am – 12:15pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

February

Part-time Faculty Community of Practice Session #1 (PTF)
Designed for all Part-time Faculty teaching at URI, this four-session Community of Practice will help faculty develop relationships with colleagues, explore teaching successes and challenges, and further establish their teaching practice.

Session Dates: Feb. 3, Mar. 3, Apr. 7, May 12

Date: February 3, 2025
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information
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Online Pedagogy Course (ALL)

4-week, asynchronous online workshop designed to provide background and knowledge of best-practices to enhance and hone online teaching skills using the Brightspace platform.

Date: February 3, 2025
Time: Asynchronous
Location: Brightspace

Registration & More Information

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Active Learning Strategies that Support Inclusivity (ALL)
What exactly is “active learning”? How can you leverage these strategies to create a more engaging and inclusive classroom experience? Come find out! In this 1-hour workshop, we’ll explore the active learning continuum and discuss strategies to promote student participation while fostering a sense of belonging.

Session Dates: Feb. 4 & 5

Date: February 4 & 5, 2025
Time: Feb 4th from 12:30pm – 1:30pm ; February 5th from 10:00am – 11:00am
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information
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Grading for Growth Book Club, Sessions #1-3 (ALL)
Have you ever wished grading could be different? Participants will become familiar with alternative grading practices (such as standards-based grading) and how it can encourage students to make mistakes, revise their work, and increase their understanding of course material. We will discuss both smaller steps to incorporate alternative grading and full course revision.

Dates: February, 6th, 13th and 27th
Time: 2:15pm – 3:15pm
Location: Tyler Hall, Rm 225
Registration & More Information
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SoTL Reading Club, Session#1: Innovations in Arts and Humanities: (ALL)
Keep up with the latest in teaching and learning research with this informal discussion group, each month featuring a different discipline and method. Join us from 10-11am on the first Friday of every month!

Additional Session Dates: Mar. 7, Apr. 4

Date: February 7, 2025
Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
Location: Zoom

Registration & More Information

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Large Lecture High-impact Teaching Seminar: Motivated to Learn, Session #2 & 3 (ALL)
Have you been facing the pressure to teach larger and larger classes? While your class size is increasing, are you also struggling to motivate students to attend, turn in assignments, or engage in deep learning? If so, this seminar is for you. We will apply research-based strategies about motivation so that you can balance the pressure of large class size with the desire to motivate students to engage in their own learning.

Session Dates: Feb. 10, 24, Mar. 17, 31, Apr. 14, 28

Date: February 10 & 24, 2025
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Experienced Part-time Faculty Panel Discussion (PTF)
Are you a relatively new PT faculty member at URI? Or just curious to learn from your PT faculty peers? Join us virtually for a panel discussion with experienced PT faculty who will share tips for successfully teaching at URI. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask your own questions during a Q&A. 

Dates: February 11th ( An additional date/time for this session is TBD)
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Strategies and Tools for Graduate Teaching Assistants, Sessions #1 & 2 (GTA)
Are you ready to elevate your teaching skills and make a lasting impact in the classroom? Join us for a series of dynamic workshops and level-up your teaching journey.

Session Dates: Feb. 12, 26, Mar. 5, 19, Apr, 2, 23

Date: February 12 & 26, 2025
Time: 9:00am – 10:00am
Location: Tyler Hall 225 or WebEx
Registration & More Information
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Rhody Scholars Program (ALL)

Join the Rhody Scholars and get support to take a SoTL project from initial idea to finished project. This 1-yr program will provide funding, one-on-one consultation, and group workshopping to support you in finally exploring that teaching innovation or idea you’ve been wanting to examine. Full details are available below and the application is open now!

Application Deadline: Friday, February 14th
More Information

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Mid-semester Feedback (ALL)

Don’t wait for IDEA feedback to get a pulse on your students’ experiences and learning! This session will cover approaches to gathering midsemester feedback, a valuable intervention tool for clarifying your teaching goals and re-aligning with students.

Date: February 24 & 25, 2025
Time: February 24th from 10:00am – 11:00am ; February 25th from 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Well-being/Vitality Session #2 Cultivating Vitality Through Intentional Rest (ALL)
Feeling overwhelmed? Looking for clarity, connection and revitalization? Instructors face many challenges that can lead to burnout or decreased well-being. And academia can perpetuate inequities across roles and labor. This workshop series is designed to invite reflection on these inequities and empower faculty with the knowledge to prevent (or manage) burnout and decreased well-being, while uplifting the importance of rest and clarity of roles. Join colleagues for thoughtful discussion and we’ll provide coffee, tea, and light snacks. You can attend individual sessions or all three, as your schedule allows.

Session #2 Description:

Are you feeling exhausted, more cynical, or less effective in your work? Burnout may be knocking at your door. Come learn about preventing (or managing) burnout by recognizing the signs, contrasting burnout with vitality-enhancing behaviors, and deepening your understanding of the importance of rest. Leave with a personalized plan for intentional rest and achieving greater well-being and vitality.

Date: February 25, 2025
Time: 11:00am – 12:15pm
Location: Multicultural Student Services Center, Room 203
Registration & More Information

March

Part-time Faculty Community of Practice Session #2 (PTF)
Designed for all Part-time Faculty teaching at URI, this four-session Community of Practice will help faculty develop relationships with colleagues, explore teaching successes and challenges, and further establish their teaching practice.

Session Dates: Mar. 3, Apr. 7, May 12

Date: March 3, 2025
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Strategies and Tools for Graduate Teaching Assistants, Sessions #3 & 4 (GTA)
Are you ready to elevate your teaching skills and make a lasting impact in the classroom? Join us for a series of dynamic workshops and level-up your teaching journey.

Session Dates: Mar. 5, 19, Apr, 2, 23

Date: March 5 & 19, 2025
Time: 9:00am – 10:00am
Location: TBD
Registration & More Information
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Grading for Growth Book Club, Session #4 (ALL)

Have you ever wished grading could be different? Participants will become familiar with alternative grading practices (such as standards-based grading) and how it can encourage students to make mistakes, revise their work, and increase their understanding of course material. We will discuss both smaller steps to incorporate alternative grading and full course revision.

Dates: February, 6th, 13th and 27th
Time: 2:15pm – 3:15pm
Location: Tyler Hall, Rm 225
Registration & More Information
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SoTL Reading Club, Session #2: Innovations in the Social Sciences (ALL)
Keep up with the latest in teaching and learning research with this informal discussion group, each month featuring a different discipline and method. Join us from 10-11am on the first Friday of every month!

Additional Session Date: Apr. 4

Date: March 7, 2025
Time: 10:00am – 11:00pm
Location: Zoom

Registration & More Information

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Large Lecture High-impact Teaching Seminar: Motivated to Learn, Sessions #4 & 5 (ALL)
Have you been facing the pressure to teach larger and larger classes? While your class size is increasing, are you also struggling to motivate students to attend, turn in assignments, or engage in deep learning? If so, this seminar is for you. We will apply research-based strategies about motivation so that you can balance the pressure of large class size with the desire to motivate students to engage in their own learning.

Session Dates: Mar. 17, 31, Apr. 14, 28

Date: March 17 & 31, 2025
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Alternative Grading Session #2 (ALL)
This session will introduce some key ideas in “alternative grading” so you can reflect on your existing grading schemes and consider if you would like to make a change in the courses that you teach.

Date: March 18, 2025
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Well-being/Vitality Session #3 Reflect & Reimagine: Equity-Centered Well-being in Educational Spaces (ALL)
Feeling overwhelmed? Looking for clarity, connection and revitalization? Instructors face many challenges that can lead to burnout or decreased well-being. And academia can perpetuate inequities across roles and labor. This workshop series is designed to invite reflection on these inequities and empower faculty with the knowledge to prevent (or manage) burnout and decreased well-being, while uplifting the importance of rest and clarity of roles. Join colleagues for thoughtful discussion and we’ll provide coffee, tea, and light snacks. You can attend individual sessions or all three, as your schedule allows.

Session #3 Description:

How and why might we center well-being in our work, given the inequitable distributions of labor across race, gender, and status lines in academia? What are the implications of our own rest and labor as educators? This in-person workshop for all faculty invites reflection on these questions by discussing excerpts from Community as Rebellion (García Peña, 2022), Rest is Resistance (Hersey, 2022), and Unraveling Faculty Burnout (Pope-Ruark, 2022). Through these conversations, we aim to reimagine our educational spaces through an equity lens and with a well-being focus, to shift academic cultures so everyone can thrive.

Date: March 25, 2025
Time: 11:00am – 12:15pm
Location: Multicultural Student Services Center, Room 203
Registration & More Information

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Innovative Education Conference (ALL)
The purpose of the Innovative Education Conference (IEC) is to bring together URI faculty with other faculty and practitioners from across Rhode Island, the New England region, and beyond to share and discuss best practice approaches to teaching, learning, faculty development and support in a higher education context. The IEC is a virtual conference, allowing for greater accessibility and flexibility for presenters and attendees. The IEC offers workshops, presentations, poster sessions, and roundtable/panel discussions focused on a theme and organized through various pre-planned conference tracks. The conference also includes a keynote speaker that brings forth relevant and timely research-based information to benefit attendees in their approach to teaching, learning, and faculty success.

Date: March 26, 2025
Time: All Day
Location: Virtual via vFairs

Registration Coming Soon & More Information

April

Strategies and Tools for Graduate Teaching Assistants, Sessions #5 & 6 (GTA)
Are you ready to elevate your teaching skills and make a lasting impact in the classroom? Join us for a series of dynamic workshops and level-up your teaching journey.

Date: April 2 & 23, 2025
Time: 9:00am – 10:00am
Location: TBD
Registration & More Information

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SoTL Reading Club, Session #3: Innovations in STEM (ALL)
Keep up with the latest in teaching and learning research with this informal discussion group, each month featuring a different discipline and method. Join us from 10-11am on the first Friday of every month!

Date: April 4, 2025
Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
Location: Zoom

Registration & More Information

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Part-Time Faculty Community of Practice Session #3 (PTF)
Designed for all Part-time Faculty teaching at URI, this four-session Community of Practice will help faculty develop relationships with colleagues, explore teaching successes and challenges, and further establish their teaching practice.

Session Dates: Apr. 7, May 12

Date: April 7, 2025
Time:12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Rhody Scholars Workshop, Session #2

Join the Rhody Scholars and get support to take a SoTL project from initial idea to finished project. This 1-yr program will provide funding, one-on-one consultation, and group workshopping to support you in finally exploring that teaching innovation or idea you’ve been wanting to examine. Full details will be announced and the application will open in December!

Dates: April 11, 2025
Time: TBD
Location: TBD
More Information

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Large Lecture High-impact Teaching Seminar: Motivated to Learn, Sessions #6 & 7 (ALL)
Have you been facing the pressure to teach larger and larger classes? While your class size is increasing, are you also struggling to motivate students to attend, turn in assignments, or engage in deep learning? If so, this seminar is for you. We will apply research-based strategies about motivation so that you can balance the pressure of large class size with the desire to motivate students to engage in their own learning.

Date: April 14 & 28, 2025
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Instructor Appreciation Luncheon (ALL)
Description

Date: April 24, 2025
Time: 11:00am – 2:00pm
Location: TBD
Registration & More Information

May

Part-Time Faculty Community of Practice Session #4 (PTF)
Designed for all Part-time Faculty teaching at URI, this four-session Community of Practice will help faculty develop relationships with colleagues, explore teaching successes and challenges, and further establish their teaching practice.

Date: May 12, 2025
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location: Zoom
Registration & More Information

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Summer Institute (ALL)
Description

Date: May 20-June 13, 2025
Time: TBD
Location: TBD
Registration & More Information