Stearns Center Events Calendar - Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning

Welcome to our events calendar page! Please bookmark this page to learn more about upcoming events and changes to events listed below. Also, don't forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up with all SC events and support resources!

Digital Learning (DL) - Webinars blend information with a Q&A period. They are recorded for future viewing. Recording links will be published on our Trainings page.
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) - Faculty Learning Communities and Webinars focus on writing and faculty development.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) - CPD Workshops and Webinars help faculty to document their teaching over time. For more information on CPD credentials, click this link.

Fall 2022

August 1-7 | Online | Mini Course: Designing Your Syllabus | CPD Level 2 | Facilitator: Crystal Anderson

Do you want your syllabus to promote student success and engagement? Do you want to make your goals and assignments clear and relevant for students? In this 10-hour mini course, you will learn how to create a syllabus that aligns your learning goals with your assignments and organizes course content to maximize student learning. Upon completion of the course, participants will earn the Level 2 Credential for Teaching Competencies as part of the Continuing Professional Development program. Register here.

August 8-14 | Online | Mini Course: Designing Assignments for Engagement | CPD Level 2 | Facilitator: Crystal Anderson

Would you like to increase the completion of assignments by students? Do you want to increase student motivation for your assignments? In this 10-hour mini course, you will learn how to create an assignment relevant to your students, which can improve performance, particularly for historically underserved students. Upon completion of this mini course, participants will earn the Level 2 Credential for Teaching Competencies as part of the Continuing Professional Development Program. Register here.

Does your online course and teaching reflect quality? In this webinar, Stearns Center Quality Assurance (QA) Team will review our resources for online course quality. We’ll share how to use the Faculty Self-Checklist to ensure that your online course is ready for Fall 2022. Experienced online faculty will showcase their online courses, sharing how their course design, teaching & facilitation demonstrate online quality criteria. Register here.

Do you want to be an effective teacher? Do you want to know how to measure your teaching effectiveness? In this workshop, you will learn about elements of effective teaching, including engagement, multiple modalities, inclusive teaching and assignment design. You will also learn how to set achievable teaching goals and measure them. This workshop is in the Design category for Level 1 Teaching Essentials in the Continuing Professional Development Program. Register here.

Securing assessment content can be one of the most challenging aspects of teaching online. In this webinar, we will explore Honorlock’s Search & Destroy technology that searches the internet to identify exam questions that have been shared online and, if leaked exam questions are found, faculty are given simple steps to take control of their exams’ integrity. Search & Destroy provides an added layer of content protection and insights into the uniqueness and quality of exam questions. Honorlock can be found in Blackboard and is available to all Mason faculty. Register here.

Looking for ways to meaningfully and sustainably infuse writing into your course? This semester, the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Program will be leading an online faculty learning community (FLC) focused on writing-enriched teaching and learning. This FLC is designed to help faculty align learning tasks with the new WI course outcomes and incorporate more active learning opportunities for students. Visit WAC’s website for more details, or complete to this survey to register.

September 16 | Deadline to Register for "First Year Five" Inclusive Excellence Program

New faculty at Mason are invited to join the First Year Five program, where they will commit to five hours of work or learning over the academic year, regarding curricular and pedagogical issues surrounding inclusivity in the classroom. See more information online, or complete this survey to register.

Student-centered assessment is an opportunity to meet students where they are, honoring the knowledge and expertise that students bring to our classes. In this workshop, we will explore three strategies to elicit from students the kind of learning that we want to measure: low-stakes assignments, offering multiple ways for students to demonstrate mastery of course objectives, and asking students to reflect on their learning process. Register here.

Grading can take a considerable amount of time, especially in sections with large enrollments. In this webinar, we will focus on how to leverage assessment features that can speed-up grading and feedback, return work electronically, and use assignment analytics to gain more insight into student learning. Gradescope can be found in Blackboard and is available to all Mason faculty. Register here.

Online assessments, especially in STEM-based courses that require students to complete proofs, diagrams, graphs, or other hand-written work. In this webinar, we will focus on how to leverage online assessment features with Gradescope that support freeform submissions. Gradescope can be found in Blackboard and is available to all Mason faculty. Register here.

SC Signature Event

Sept 29 | Research Hall 163 | 3:00-4:30pm | ITL Workshop: "Terms of Engagement: Understanding and Promoting Student Engagement" | Dr. Claire Major

Student engagement is important for learning across levels and disciplines. All faculty can learn some planning and course design strategies for increasing engagement -- and all students, especially those who may still be struggling to engage consistently in college learning environments, can benefit from structures that invite and support their participation.

Recent research on motivation makes it clear that for students to be successful, they have to value the task, expect to succeed, and be active participants in their own learning. In this hands-on, collaborative workshop, we will explore the practical implications of this research. In addition to examining a model of student engagement, we will discuss and share specific teaching techniques that can motivate students to participate in the learning process. Register here.

SC Signature Event | Sept 30 | 9 am - 6 pm | Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference (ITL)

9:30am | Johnson Center Dewberry & Streaming | ITL Keynote Speaker: Claire Major, "Engaged Teaching: Advancing Student Learning through Engagement "
4:00-4:50 pm | Horizon Hall & Streaming | "Transforming Assignments for Student Success" | CPD Level 1:Design/Engage/Assess| Facilitator: Crystal Anderson

October 7 | Deadline for Full-time Faculty Teaching Excellence Award Nominations

The 2023 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Awards are open to full-time (term, tenure-track, or tenured) faculty with significant teaching experience at George Mason. See our website for more information, or click here to submit your nomination.

Are you ready to integrate inclusive teaching throughout your instructional spaces? Would you like to explore techniques and build tangible plans for your classes? This is where that journey begins. In this workshop, we will explore some of the definitions and terms often found in conversations about creating more inclusive classrooms. We will work together to advance our individual abilities in inclusive teaching and learning. At the end of the workshop, we will have developed familiarity with concepts and terminology, explored inclusive classroom activities, and set one or two manageable goals for their classes. Register here.

Would you like to increase student attendance and assignment completion? Do you want to leverage technology so that students value in-class activities? Would you like students to think your course is engaging? In this workshop, you will learn strategies that you can apply during the semester to enhance student engagement. Register here.

Want to develop a more sustainable plan for providing feedback? This workshop will help faculty increase student engagement with and the impact of their feedback. Participants will first learn more about how students revise before exploring some strategies for providing feedback to support more substantive student revision. The workshop will close by offering faculty some time to implement one of the strategies into their courses. Visit WAC’s website for more details, or complete this survey to register.

Wondering what’s happening with the new WI learning outcomes? This workshop will help faculty learn about the new WI outcomes and begin to plan ways to integrate these outcomes into their course designs. Participants will first learn about the research underpinning the outcomes before exploring some strategies for teaching with them. The workshop will close by offering faculty some time to implement one of the strategies into their courses. Visit WAC’s website for more details, or complete this survey to register.

Are you ready to align your courses with university commitments to inclusive teaching? Are you developing a new course or submitting an existing one for the new university-wide tags (like Mason Core)? In this workshop, we will work to advance our understanding of inclusive course design and how to improve syllabi to be more inclusive for everyone in the space (including instructors!). During the session, we will have specific discussion time to focus on connecting these ideas with your course and your discipline. At the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a greater understanding of the potential considerations for designing and redesigning inclusive course syllabi and aligning with broader institutional initiatives and expectations. Register here.

Learn more about proctoring exams online with Honorlock. Proctored testing software monitors the exam session for potential academic dishonesty and alerts a live proctor to join the student’s session in real-time if it detects any issues. This blend of AI and human review delivers a less intimidating and non-invasive proctored testing experience. When done right, proctored testing creates a non-invasive and equitable environment for testing, holding everyone accountable to do their best work. Honorlock can be found in Blackboard and is available to all Mason faculty. Register here.

December

December 2 | Deadline for Online Teaching (OTEA) and Adjunct (ATEA) Excellence Award Nominations

The 2023 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Awards are open to faculty with significant teaching experience at George Mason. See our website for more information about OTEA or ATEA, or click here to submit your nomination.

December 9 | Deadline for CRA

Course ReDesign Academy is (Mostly) Virtual again in January! Tuesday, January 10 and Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Course ReDesign Academy will be mostly online again in January! We’ll use a blend of synchronous meetings and workgroups 8:30-5:00 on the two key days, plus some asynchronous pre-course learning, to support your course project. We will also offer options to complete some of the sessions on campus, with colleagues & cookies! Use our academy as a just-in-time consultation about teaching in a new modality or with new assignments in your Spring 2023 course—or get a jump on a course you want to build or redesign for Summer or Fall terms.

It's also not too early to think a little further ahead: new course proposals for Mason Core’s “Just Societies” and “Global Contexts” categories will be sought in late Spring and Fall 2023, so that courses can launch in Fall 2024. The CECiL office is also starting to designate courses for Community Engaged Learning. Is your course ready for new outcomes and teaching approaches? We can help you think through the opportunities!

Course ReDesign Academy provides a stipend to support faculty from all ranks, levels, disciplines, and modalities as they build or revise engaging, relevant, manageable courses. See our site for deadlines, dates, details, and FAQs.

December 11 | Deadline for Winter Faculty Writing Retreat: Registration now open (with limited on-campus spaces)!

Hoping to start the new year off with some new writing momentum? Then you should register for the Winter Faculty Writing Retreat running January 11-13, 2023. This two-and-a-half-day event offers a supportive and collegial community of peers to boost your writing productivity. Participants work on a variety of research, creative, and scholarly projects at all stages of completion. Registration is open through Sunday, December 11^th, but there’s no time like the present.  Click here for more information, and send questions to retreat facilitators at wac@gmu.edu.

Spring 2023

January

January 9-15 | Blackboard | Mini Course: Designing Your Syllabus |CPD Level 2| Facilitator: Crystal Anderson

Do you want your syllabus to convey the value of your course to students? Do you want to make your goals and assignments clear and relevant? Would you like to convey the logic behind the structure of your course through clear organization? In this 10-hour mini course, you will create a syllabus that balances the course content with faculty workload to enhance student learning. Register here.

January 9-15 | Blackboard | Mini Course: Designing Engaging Assignments| CPD Level 2 | Facilitator: Crystal Anderson

Would you like to increase the completion of assignments by students in your hybrid, face-to-face or online course? Would you like to learn how to leverage technology to increase student engagement with your course content? In this 10-hour mini course, you will create or revise an assignment in ways that increase relevancy for students and reduces workload for faculty. Register here.

Course ReDesign Academy is (Mostly) Virtual again in January! Tuesday, January 10 and Wednesday, January 11, 2023

January 11-13 | 9:00am-3:00pm (9:00am-12:30pm on Friday) | Zoom | WAC | Winter Faculty Writing Retreat

Registration now open (with limited on-campus spaces)! Hoping to start the new year off with some new writing momentum? Then you should register for the Winter Faculty Writing Retreat running January 11-13, 2023. This two-and-a-half-day event offers a supportive and collegial community of peers to boost your writing productivity. Participants work on a variety of research, creative, and scholarly projects at all stages of completion. Registration is open through Sunday, December 11th, but there’s no time like the present. 

Click here for more information, and send questions to retreat facilitators at wac@gmu.edu.

January 12 | 10am-12pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop: Mason Core Focus | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

Mason Core Committee is seeking course proposals for courses in the revised Global Contexts category and the new Just Societies flag. Courses planning to run in the inaugural Fall 2024 semester will need approval by Fall 2023, so it’s not too early to start! Join us for a review of the new learning outcomes, a guide to the proposal process, and the opportunity to compose a first draft of your proposal and get some early feedback. Come on your own or bring colleagues who will help design or teach the course. And watch for announcements about upcoming course design and student engagement workshops, especially to support JS courses.

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu). To register, please complete our online form.

January 17 | 10-11am | Zoom | Workshop: Lecture a Little Less | Facilitator: Shelley Reid

It’s hard-decision time: You know that research shows that active student engagement improves long-term learning, student persistence in the major, and students’ sense of belonging and inclusion—but you have all those students and all that crucial content to cover. What do you do? Join us to learn strategies for shifting just 10% of your class time to more student-involved events—enough to have a strong positive impact without lowering standards, giving up content, or learning complex magic tricks. Register here.

January 18 | 12-1pm | Zoom | Workshop: Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) | Facilitator: Breana Bayraktar

You tried a new pedagogical approach or curricular innovation and it seemed to work! If you had studied the impact of that teaching change on your students’ learning, you would have been engaging in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), which invites you to examine your classroom practices systematically, improve your teaching based on your findings, and then share your findings with others. In this introduction to SoTL, you will reflect on how and why you might want to design and implement a SoTL project in your class, and explore SoTL practices, methods and tools to help you get started. Register here.

January 19 | 4:30-5:30 pm | Zoom | Workshop: Orientation In Action

and

January 20 | 10-11 am | Zoom | Workshop: Orientation In Action

After attending New Faculty Orientation or New Adjunct Faculty Success Workshop, were you inspired to make a change to your teaching? If your first thought was yes, then come share your experience, and connect with faculty across disciplines as they share their own ideas! At each session you will have the opportunity to share a change that you made. Each participant will have the opportunity to give a 3-minute, informal presentation. The session will conclude with a larger group discussion about additional successes and experiences with your students last semester, as well as options for continuing adjustments for spring semester. Register here.

Starting January 27 | Faculty Writing Sprints | 9:00am-11:00am, every Friday of the semester | Zoom | WAC

Our Friday Writing Sprints will officially resume on January 27, and all faculty with any kind of writing project are invited to participate. After a few minutes of check-ins and goal-setting, we will spend our time quietly working together. Add them to your calendar, tell your friends, and prepare to marvel at just how much you can accomplish in two-hours bursts alongside your fellow Mason writers. Visit our website to learn more and to register.

February

February 3 | 10am-12pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

Join us for a review of the new learning outcomes, a guide to the proposal process, and the opportunity to compose a first draft of your proposal and get some early feedback. Come on your own or bring colleagues who will help design or teach the course. And watch for announcements about upcoming course design and student engagement workshops, especially to support JS courses.

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu). To register, please complete our online form.

February 8 | 11am-12pm | Zoom

Workshop: Student-Centered Assessment Strategies | CPD Level 1 Assess| Facilitator: Breana Bayraktar

Student-centered assessment is an opportunity to meet students where they are, honoring the knowledge and expertise that students bring to our classes. In this workshop, we will explore two strategies to elicit from students the kind of learning that we want to measure: low-stakes assignments and multiple ways for students to demonstrate mastery of course objectives. Register here.

Are you ready to align your courses with university commitments to inclusive teaching? In this hands-on and collaborative workshop, we will create one specific action for increasing inclusion in your syllabus that works for you, your course, and your context. Participants are asked to bring a syllabus that they would like to focus on during the session. At the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a syllabus ready to go for the next time they offer the course. Please note, this is being offered as a follow-up workshop to the “Syllabi that Support Learners and Instructors” workshop, however interested individuals are encouraged to attend this workshop even if they were not able to join the previous workshop. Register here.

February 20 | 3-4pm | Zoom | Workshop: Important Conversations in the Classroom: Preparing Your Course and Yourself | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

Do you have strategies to prepare yourself and your students to handle difficult conversations? This could be when you are having difficult conversations about topics like race, sexuality, religion, politics, or similar. These situations also could be resulting from a discussion comment that makes a student or group uncomfortable. In this workshop, we will discuss how to design (or redesign) your course and prepare yourself to facilitate important or “hot topic” conversations in the classroom. Background information on how to design the course and prepare for facilitating important conversations in the classroom will be provided. This workshop is applicable to instructors across all disciplines for facilitating important conversations, whether or not their designed course topics include socially pressing issues. This workshop is part of a two-part series for Mason faculty to engage in anti-racist and inclusive education across all disciplines. Register here.

February 21 | 3pm-5pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

Join us for a review of the new learning outcomes, a guide to the proposal process, and the opportunity to begin composing a first draft of your proposal and get some early feedback. Come on your own or bring colleagues who will help design or teach the course. And watch for announcements about upcoming course design and student engagement workshops, especially to support JS courses.

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu). To register, please complete our online form.

This interactive session will focus on writing-intensive course design and help units and faculty prepare for the upcoming WI outcomes implementation process. Join us to learn more about the new learning outcomes and begin drafting of your course materials with the support of WAC Committee members and Program staff. Register here.

February 27 | 2:30-3:30pm | Zoom | Reading & Discussion Group: Scholarship of Teaching & Learning | Facilitators: Breana Bayraktar and Sophia Abbot

Turn your teaching into research! Join this informal Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) reading and discussion group to explore examples of successful SoTL projects. The topic for this session is investigating writing through the disciplines through student interviews. You can skim the article we will discuss here, and you are welcome to attend this session without pre-reading the article. Register for the discussion session here.

February 27 | 3-4pm | Zoom | Workshop: Important Conversations in the Classroom: Handling Situations in the Moment | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

Are you prepared to handle difficult discussions and charged situations in the classroom in the moment? Do you usually think of things later that you wish you would have said or done? In this workshop, we will prepare and practice how to handle important and potentially tense classroom conversations in the moment. Our focus will be on how to support everyone in the classroom – including yourself – during tense times. We will discuss and practice several teaching approaches. This workshop is applicable to instructors across all disciplines for facilitating important conversations, whether or not their designed course topics include socially pressing issues (like race, gender, religion, politics). Please note, this is the second in a two-part workshop series on important conversations. However, participants are welcome and encouraged to attend this session even if they were not able to attend part one. Register here.

March

March 1: DEADLINE, Proposals for 2023 Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference

The Stearns Center invites all George Mason University faculty and staff to submit proposals to present on their teaching and teaching-focused research at the 15th annual Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, scheduled for Friday, October 6, 2023. Please see our Request for Proposals for more information on proposing a short Teaching Talk, an Interactive Session, or an On-Demand Presentation. We are also recruiting volunteers to review proposals -- it’s a great way to help shape the conversation about teaching at Mason!

Do you teach a STEM course but feel that your students lack motivation? If you answered yes, you aren’t alone. Since the pandemic, professors across the country have been expressing that they have noticed a general trend in reduced student motivation. In this workshop we will discuss theories of motivation so that you can engage your students whether you teach a large class, teach online, have many non-majors or are teaching an upper-level course. You will gain tips, tricks and ideas that can be implemented into your course this semester and beyond! Register here.

Continuing from January 27 | Faculty Writing Sprints | 9:00am-11:00am, every Friday of the semester | Zoom | WAC

Want to develop a more effective and sustainable plan for providing feedback? This workshop will help you do just that. We spend a lot of time providing feedback on student work, and that effort should have an impact on learning. But too often, our feedback doesn’t have the impact we want. This workshop seeks to address that challenge. It will begin with an overview of how students revise before exploring some strategies for providing feedback to support more substantive student revision. The workshop will close by offering faculty time to develop a sustainable plan for providing effective feedback in their courses. Register here.

March 9 | 1:30-3:30pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu).
Register here.

March 21 | 11:30am-12:30pm | Zoom | Reading & Discussion Group: Scholarship of Teaching & Learning | Facilitators: Breana Bayraktar and Sophia Abbot

Turn your teaching into research! Join this informal Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) reading and discussion group to explore examples of successful SoTL projects. The topic for this session is investigating student collaboration in an introductory STEM class through a mixed method study. You can skim the article we will discuss here, and you are welcome to attend this session without pre-reading the article. Register for the discussion session here.

March 21 | 12-1pm | Zoom | Workshop: Important Conversations in the Classroom: Preparing Your Course and Yourself | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

March 28 | 12-1pm | Zoom | Workshop: Important Conversations in the Classroom: Handling Situations in the Moment | Facilitator: Rachel Yoho

March 31 | 11am-1pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu).
Register here.

Fridays between March 31-April 28 | 9:00-10:30am | Zoom | Faculty Learning Community: Teaching Future Engineers and Computer Scientists in the Era of ChatGPT| Facilitator: Laina Lockett

ChatGPT has taken higher education by storm in the last few months because the AI technology has the ability to greatly impact higher education and the way that faculty have taught for years. Have you been contemplating how best to teach in the context of freely available AI? Join other colleagues in the college of CEC to reflect on how to modify and update your courses to maintain the teaching excellence that GMU prides itself on. Be on the cutting edge of pedagogical change and be a leader in your department and field as you stay at the forefront of how best to tackle the challenges of teaching with AI by participating in a Faculty Learning Community on Teaching Future Engineers and Computer Scientists in the Era of ChatGPT. Register here.

April

How many times have you asked your class a question only to realize that just a few (or maybe none) of your students have done the assigned reading? Working with students who are not prepared for class is a common frustration among STEM faculty especially since there is often a large amount of material to cover in any given course. In this workshop, you will learn how to turn reading assignments into opportunities for active learning. We will discuss some of the research on how students learn from reading, explore how to teach your students to get more out of reading, and practice strategies for designing more engaging reading prompts, guides and classroom activities. The small changes discussed in this workshop can have large and long-lasting impacts for your students, so be sure to join the session! Register here.

Continuing from January 27 | Faculty Writing Sprints | 9:00am-11:00am, every Friday of the semester | Zoom | WAC

Turn your teaching into research! If you’re interested in conducting a classroom-based investigation of student learning, join the Stearns Center and the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance for a discussion of human subjects research in the context of developing and carrying out a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project. Register here.

April 24 | 12pm-2pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu).
Register here.

May

Continuing from January 27 | Faculty Writing Sprints | 9:00am-11:00am, every Friday of the semester | Zoom | WAC

May 9 | 12pm-2pm | Zoom | Course Proposal Workshop | Facilitators: Laura Poms, Shelley Reid, Rachel Yoho

See more about Mason Core courses or contact Mason Core for more information (masoncor@gmu.edu).
Register here.