CETL Event Schedule
The CETL hosts a variety of workshops and other learning activities throughout the year. Below you will find information about our upcoming sessions so you can add them to your calendar. Registration links for each event are included below; we appreciate you registering for any workshops you are interested in attending. Please reach out to us at CETL@chapman.edu if there is a topic you’d like to see covered in a future workshop, or if you’d like us to host a workshop for your program, school, or college specifically. Deans and other program leaders can submit a request for a workshop for their unit. We hope to see you at some of these sessions this term!
Those who register will receive a calendar invitation the week prior to the event. Dates, times, and locations are subject to change. If you have questions or suggestions for future events, please reach out to us at CETL@chapman.edu.
September Events
Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) Workshops: Introduction and Application
Date & Time: Friday, September 25, 10:00am/11:00am-2:00pm (lunch provided)
Location: Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship, Orange Campus
Session Description:
Join us to learn more about the TILT framework and how transparency supports student learning and success. Participants will have the opportunity to apply the TILT framework to one of their course assignments in a collaborative working environment. The application portion is designed specifically with those who attended the August CETL conference in mind. Click here to learn more and register by September 17 (registration required).
Structures for Success: Designing Effective Rubrics
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 30, 10:00-11:30am
Location: Orange Campus, Argyros Forum, 201
Session Description:
We know that timely and specific feedback promotes student growth, but how can we realistically provide such feedback to the many students we teach? Grading rubrics, when well designed, can simultaneously support student growth and reduce your time devoted to grading. But what makes a rubric useful for both the instructor and student? In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore and apply principles of effective rubric design to improve an existing rubric or create a new rubric for an existing assignment. Come prepared with an assignment that needs a grading rubric or an existing rubric that you would like to revise.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
October Events
The Teaching Table, Session 1
Date & Time: Thursday, October 8, 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Argyros Forum, 209C
Session Description:
The Teaching Table is a brown bag series focused on key elements of human learning. Each session introduces a learning concept, features faculty who have designed classes to capitalize on that concept, and offers a collaborative space for questions and ideation among peers as they develop their courses. This month’s teaching table will focus on authentic learning experiences and develop ideas for designing them in our courses.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Discovering Your Philosophy of Teaching: Reflect, Align, Communicate
Date & Time: Friday, October 9, Friday, October 16, & Friday, October 23, 11am-12pm (series of three workshops)
Location: Memorial Hall, 212L (CETL Office)
Session Description:
Central to becoming an impactful educator is the ability to identify and articulate 1) what you believe about teaching, learning, and students, 2) how those beliefs shape your daily decisions, and 3) how your classroom practices and policies support student success.
What do your “go-to” classroom practices reveal about your beliefs and/or assumptions regarding teaching, learning, and students? How do you feel about the results?
Can you identify specific classroom practices and policies that align with your philosophy? Do you employ any practices or policies that run counter to your philosophy? If so, why are they used – and are there ways you might achieve better alignment and improve your teaching?
Join us for dynamic conversations with colleagues from across the university as we name the philosophies that drive our teaching, assess the coherence between what we believe and what we do, and identify ways to improve teaching and learning in our classrooms.
Through guided reflection, discussion, and brief writing activities, attendees will:
- Identify the philosophical foundation(s) of their beliefs about teaching and learning.
- Identify any misalignment between their philosophy and practices and subsequently set goals to improve their teaching through a tighter alignment.
- Create a brief statement (i.e., “elevator speech”) that describes they are as an educator and why they do what they do.
Participants must attend all three sessions, as sessions 1 and 2 provide the foundational reflective exercises that guide the teaching improvement goals set in Session 3.
| Sessions | Date & Time | Location |
| Session 1: Name the Philosophical Foundations of Your Teaching | Fri. Oct 9, 11am-12pm | Memorial Hall, 212L |
| Session 2: Identify Alignment Between One’s Philosophy and Instructional Choices | Fri. Oct 16, 11am-12pm | Memorial Hall, 212L |
| Session 3: Interrogate Counter Evidence (misalignment) and Set Goals for Teaching Improvement (re-alignment) | Fri. Oct 23, 11am-12pm | Memorial Hall, 212L |
Lighting the Flame of Learning: Motivation and Emotion in the Classroom
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 13, 2:30-3:30pm
Location: Argyros Forum 207
Session Description:
How do I ignite in my students a desire to know more and the endurance it takes to know well? This workshop will engage participants in an exploration of the role that motivation and emotions play in student success and how we might leverage these to support meaningful learning.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Coffee & Conversation #1
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 28, 10:00-10:30am
Location: Doti Hall, 105
Session Description:
Join with colleagues for engaging 30-minute facilitated conversations focused on various topics to improve our instructional practices. Each session will explore a different strategy to enhance student engagement and learning. This session’s driving question: Is getting students to speak in class primarily the students’ responsibility? Or is it a design challenge for the instructor?
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Structures for Success: Designing Effective Rubrics
Date & Time: Thursday, October 29, 2:00-3:30pm
Location: Argyros Forum 209C
Session Description:
We know that timely and specific feedback promotes student growth, but how can we realistically provide such feedback to the many students we teach? Grading rubrics, when well designed, can simultaneously support student growth and reduce your time devoted to grading. But what makes a rubric useful for both the instructor and student? In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore and apply principles of effective rubric design to improve an existing rubric or create a new rubric for an existing assignment. Come prepared with an assignment that needs a grading rubric or an existing rubric that you would like to revise.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
November Events
Authenticity in Learning: Designing Skills-Based Activities
Date & Time: Monday, November 2, 11:30am-12:30pm
Location: Argyros Forum 201
Session Description:
What if you didn’t have to answer the question, “How will this help me in real life?” A well-designed learning activity can answer that question before students even have the chance to ask it. Designing authentic learning activities such as clinical laboratories, service projects, and experiential learning supports the development of real-world skills that help our students prepare for the work force. Join us to learn about how this was implemented in two programs and to explore how you could do the same in your course. Participants will have the chance to brainstorm strategies for restructuring a lesson or assignment in one of their courses.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
The Teaching Table, Session 2
Date & Time: Thursday, November 5, 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Argyros Forum 209C
Session Description:
The Teaching Table is a brown bag series focused on key elements of human learning. Each session introduces a learning concept, features faculty who have designed classes to capitalize on that concept, and offers a collaborative space for questions and ideation among peers as they develop their courses. This month’s teaching table will focus on the role that failure plays in human learning and consider how we create courses that support this critical aspect of learning.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Beyond the Classroom: DCI Lab
Date & Time: Friday, November 6, 1:00-1:30pm
Location: DCI Lab – Swenson Hall, N102
Session Description:
Join CETL as we explore experiences beyond our classrooms that can enhance the ways teaching and learning happen in our courses. Each session will introduce faculty to new learning spaces and/or resources and invite innovative thinking about the ways we engage our students in meaningful learning.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Engaging the Students of Today (and Tomorrow) in Reading
Date & Time: Monday, November 9, 2026, 1:30-2:30pm
Location: Argyros Forum 209A
Session Description:
How do we get students to read? In this session, we’ll focus on today’s students as readers and explore some ways to re-think reading to support learning, engagement, and transfer of knowledge. Considerations of the impact of technology and digital reading on learning will also be discussed.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Coffee & Conversation #2
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 17, 3-3:30pm
Location: Hashinger Science Center 103
Session Description:
Join with colleagues for engaging 30-minute facilitated conversations focused on various topics to improve our instructional practices. Each session will explore a different strategy to enhance student engagement and learning.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Coffee & Conversation #3
Date & Time: Monday, November 30, 3-3:30pm
Location: Beckett Hall 102
Session Description:
Join with colleagues for engaging 30-minute facilitated conversations focused on various topics to improve our instructional practices. Each session will explore a different strategy to enhance student engagement and learning.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
December Events
Using Student Feedback to Improve Teaching
Date & Time: Friday, December 4, 9:30-10:30am
Location: Doti Hall 105
Session Description:
Faculty receive student feedback from end-of-term evaluations each term, but how do we use this data to inform our practices and improve the student experience? What is the benefit of gathering student feedback at the mid-point of the term, and what kinds of feedback should we ask for? Bring your laptop and some recent course evaluations for this hands-on workshop.
Part-time instructors and GSIs are welcome to attend, but must receive prior approval from their dean and the office of the provost.
Save the Date! January Teaching Symposium
Beyond the Grade: Shifting the Focus from Performance to Learning
Date & Time: Thursday, January 21st, 2027, 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: Sandhu Conference Center, Orange Campus
What is a grade? For generations, grades have served as the primary currency of our educational system. In fact, grades are the main criteria used in nearly all decisions universities make about students – from whether they will be accepted into the institution and program of study, gain access to available scholarships, continue in a degree program, and even have the opportunity to pursue graduate studies. But what happens when the pursuit of the grade overshadows the pursuit of learning?
Join colleagues from across the university to explore how traditional grading and assessment practices impact student motivation, learning, and academic integrity. Participants will be invited to consider a fundamental question: How can we design classroom assessments that shift the students’ focus from performance to growth and learning?
Registration and more details coming soon!
