The Center for Teaching Excellence welcomes your suggestions for presenters and programming
aimed at improving teaching and learning at USC. Please share your thoughts. We’d
love to hear your ideas! Submit Professional Development Recommendation
The Virtual Environments Community of Practice is planning ways to integrate virtual
reality, augmented reality and mixed reality into teaching and learning environments
at USC. Meetings are open to faculty, staff and students.Register
Wednesday, October 1, 2:00pm - 3:00pm - Webinar
Panopto is an all-in-one video management platform built into Blackboard Learn. In
this session, attendees will learn how to create and manage video learning content
in Panopto that can be easily integrated into Blackboard courses.Register
Wednesday, October 1, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar
How do you conceptualize learning? How do you guide your students toward integrating
new knowledge and skills into their existing ideas and abilities? In this session,
you will review key principles of cognitive constructivism, social constructivism,
and connectivism and strategies to apply them to our teaching to enhance student learning.
You will then reflect on how these strategies could affect your students’ learning
experience and how you might apply them to your own teaching practices. Register
Thursday, October 2, 11:40am - 12:55pm - Webinar
The responsibilities of all educators typically include grading student work. Yet
ensuring that grading is both objective and efficient involves specific strategies
and reflection on important considerations in advance, including aspects of which
one may not be aware. Educators at any level need to define what their “grading philosophy”
is for the course, and use practices, strategies, and techniques best suited for the
specifics of the course and the purpose of the assessment itself. Grading should be
viewed and valued as a method for providing constructive feedback to students, with
feedback types differing depending on the assessment type. How to develop your grading
philosophy, incorporate relevant techniques while grading different types of assessment
styles, and provide effective feedback will be discussed in this workshop. Register
Thursday, October 2, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - In-Person
Are you equipped to provide accessible content that meets the needs of all your students?
Come prepared - with your laptop (if possible)-to gain hands-on experience of applying digital accessibility best practices during
this session.
This workshop will provide guidance for applying accessibility practices to your documents
appropriately and how to prevent potential barriers people experience due to disabilities.
An overview of disabilities and the challenges they cause will be provided including
types of assistive technologies (AT) that help alleviate those challenges.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will be touched on related to its part in developing
accessible content. Integrated automated accessibility checkers of Microsoft and Blackboard
platforms will also be covered. These automated tools can identify accessibility issues
and provide guidance to resolve them.
Attend with curiosity to help lead toward innovative and inclusive content design
strategies. Leave with a strong sense of applying accessibility best practices that
opens the path of better experiences for all your students.
Learning Outcome
Gain insight into challenges people with disabilities can experience with digital
content.
Increase awareness of assistive technologies that students may utilize.
Expand your understanding of digital accessibility, why it matters, and how it relates
to your content.
Ever wonder what students are truly learning through their research experience? Want
to help guide them in that process of self-reflection? Undergraduate research is a
well-established high-impact educational practice, and the more that students reflect
on the experience, the more impactful it will be.
In this roundtable session, we will focus on how research advisors can support student
reflection at appropriate and meaningful points in their students' experience. It
will introduce the three domains of learning and their application to student reflection
at each stage of the Seven Ps of Research. Using these tools, participants will reflect-in-action
to develop tangible ideas for promoting a unique and personalized learning experience
for each student.
Join us for an engaging training session focused on integrating generative artificial
intelligence into collaborative teaching and learning, led by Meredith Lancaster,
Director of Customer Experience at BoodleBox. BoodleBox is an AI platform that allows
faculty and students to work together using multiple AI models in shared workspaces.
Participants will:
Explore how instructors can collaborate with students using BoodleBox’s team-based
AI tools
See real-world examples of class assignments that promote responsible and creative
GenAI use
Learn how to build and use interactive AI bots to engage students in active learning
Whether you're new to BoodleBox or looking to expand its use in your teaching, this
session will provide practical, ready-to-apply ideas for the classroom. Register
Monday, October 6, 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Webinar
Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) is the newest version of the Blackboard Learning
Management System. With new improvements being made monthly to Ultra Course View there
are exciting changes which instructors may not have seen. This is a short presentation
about the most recent updates that have occurred in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course
View and will include information on how to stay up to date on future improvements. Register
Monday, October 6, 1:00pm - Webinar
Discover how Study Mode can enhance learning and research. This session will show
you how to use AI to break down complex topics, summarize content, and support deeper
understanding.Log-In to Webinar
Monday, October 6, 3:00pm -4:30pm - In-Person
The Career Champions training educates and empowers campus faculty and staff on best
practices to have career conversations with students. Career Champions Module 1 serves
as a foundation, reviewing career development, our roles in a career ecosystem, and
resources.
The learning outcomes for Level 1 are as follows:
Gain a basic knowledge of the career development theories, career decision making
process and employability.
Gain a foundation of basic helping skills to best assist students with career planning
Learn how to assist students with goal setting regarding their career development
Learn how to make an effective referral to the Career Center
Learn the professional and ethical guidelines as outlined through the National Association
of Colleges & Employers (NACE)
This session is designed for course survey compilers to discuss reporting needs for
the upcoming cycle in a collaborative group setting. We’ll review available report
formats, address common data requests, and provide guidance to ensure you have the
tools and information needed to support your departments effectively.Register
Tuesday, October 7, 1:00pm - 2:00pm - Webinar
Discover how to harness Blackboard Ultra’s built-in AI tools to save time, spark creativity,
and enhance student engagement. This hands-on workshop will introduce powerful features
like the AI Design Assistant, AI Test Generator, and AI-powered Rubric Generator.
We’ll provide a live demo and plenty of time for questions, so you can explore how
to confidently integrate AI into your own courses. Join us and take the first step
toward becoming an AI-savvy educator!Register
Tuesday, October 7, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - Webinar
Enhance your teaching approach with innovative content creation and course design.
This webinar offers educators practical insights into using Generative Artificial
Intelligence to develop lectures, instructional materials, and course structures tailored
to the needs of 21st-century learners. From reimagining traditional content delivery
methods to incorporating creativity and interactivity into materials and course frameworks,
participants will explore innovative approaches that utilize the power of Generative
AI. Discover how Generative AI can enhance engagement, foster deeper understanding,
and inspire interest in your students.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
Apply prompt writing in the context of course content and course design.
Utilize Generative AI tools to generate dynamic and interactive course content.
Create effective and meaningful learning experiences that facilitate student success.
In this session we will discuss the academic misconduct trends we are seeing online
and in person with our students. Additionally, we will discuss how to identify and
address these common violations while maintaining a productive instructor/student
relationship.
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) community of practice provides an intentional
space for discussion regarding accessibility in teaching and learning at the university.
Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join. Register
Monday, October 13, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar
Fanfiction, although often reserved for extracurricular spaces, allows writers to
create new identities, narratives, and meanings by repurposing stories, themes, and
characters. In this webinar, participants will be introduced to fanfiction as a meaning-making
tool and engage with strategies that encourage learners to take ownership of their
learning through storytelling. Leveraging fanfiction in the classroom can encourage
students to internalize course information through reflection and increase the relevancy
of course concepts to their lived experiences.Register
Tuesday, October 14, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - In-Person
A key goal of mentoring is to help mentees identify and achieve both academic and
professional objectives. While learning to conduct disciplinary research is an important
academic outcome in research mentoring, there are many other factors that will shape
a mentee’s future career. Mentors should intentionally support their mentees in achieving
these broader outcomes as well.
This workshop familiarizes attendees with Blackboard Learn’s Ultra Course View. eLearning
Services will demonstrate how instructors can navigate a UCV course, communicate with
students, add content, find and utilize Blackboard tools, and grade assignments. Register
Wednesday,October 15, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar
In this second of three webinars about Blackboard analytics, explore opportunities
for making just-in-time course improvements and giving students support during the
semester. Blackboard provides a number of options for collecting and understanding
student data to make just-in-time adjustments to meet students' needs. In this session,
participants will become familiar with the types of reports and tools in Blackboard
to support student success in addition to how to leverage those reports and tools
during the semester.Register
Thursday, October 16, 11:40am - 12:55pm - Webinar
Graduate students must handle a myriad of responsibilities during the span of their
graduate studies (e.g., teaching, research, coursework, etc.). Meeting the high expectations
of these academic demands is challenging at best, and for many, stressful, overwhelming,
and guilt-inducing due to the competing demands of their professional and personal
life. How to balance and find time for each of these facets is not a skill that graduate
students automatically know! Learning how to realistically define both short-term
tasks and long-term goals and how to prioritize are key to beginning to find your
balance.
This workshop will help you learn to recognize different levels of stressors in your
life by interactively applying the Covey Time Management Matrix and other reflective-thinking
tools to your own situation. Advice for managing your workload, prioritizing your
responsibilities, and identifying personal traits and time-sinks that may be contributing
to this imbalance will be given, and discussion with other participants will be encouraged
to help you begin to gain perspective on your graduate school experience.Register
Thursday, October 16, 11:40am - 12:55pm - In-Person
Utilizing integrative learning principles, the presenters will share examples of how
high impact practice (HIP) characteristics are incorporated across different disciplines
and identify classroom assessment techniques (CATs) that can be applied across a variety
of academic settings. Participants will have opportunities to share examples of reflection
and integrative learning principles in the design of assignments and appropriate assessment
methods for their classroom.
The 16th Annual Oktoberbest Symposium celebrates teaching success at USC, actively
engages attendees in professional development sessions that enhance innovative teaching
practices, and establishes and fosters meaningful connections. The Oktoberbest agenda
features engaging sessions, led by your USC colleagues, on innovative approaches to
teaching, assessments, course design, and creative student learning opportunities.
Oktoberbest is free to all who teach or support teaching at USC, but is not open to
the general public.
The Oktoberbest keynote address will be given by Thomas J. Tobin, Ph.D., Senior Teaching
and Learning Developer, Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Register
Monday, October 20, 1:10pm - 2:00pm - Webinar
Do you want to learn techniques for involving your learners in your course? In this
session, you will discuss strategies for active learning and student engagement that
will help advance learning for everyone, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
You will engage with small teaching strategies to design learning activities that
can enhance engagement as soon as your next class!Register
Tuesday, October 21, 10:00am - 11:00am - Webinar
The Career Champions program was created to educate and empower campus faculty and
staff on best practices to have career conversations with students. Level 2 Provides
engaging and enlightening information on how to engage students in conversations about
experiential education opportunities that align with their Career goals.
The learning outcomes for Level 2 are as follows:
Gain knowledge around experiential education
Identify different opportunities in the Career Center and beyond available for students
to gain experience
Identify ways to help students discover what opportunities they are interested in
and know where to find them
Gain knowledge in how to support students while they are involved in their experience
to make it more impactful
Articulate ways on how to encourage reflection during and after the experience
Identify ways on how to handle concerns that can arise while a student is participating
in an experiential education opportunity
Engaging students through interactive and dynamic activities is essential for fostering
a stimulating learning environment. In this webinar, educators will explore how to
leverage Generative Artificial Intelligence to enhance their teaching practices and
create impactful activities for 21st-century learners. From designing collaborative
projects to incorporating AI-generated prompts and feedback, participants will discover
innovative ways to integrate Generative AI into their instructional activities.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
Apply prompt writing in the context of learning activities.
Design interactive activities that leverage Generative AI to enhance student engagement
and participation.
Identify opportunities for further integration of Generative AI into instructional
activities to enhance student learning outcomes.
Wednesday, October 22, 10:00am - 11:15am - Webinar
Even the most seasoned instructors can lose sight of the original spark that brought
them to teaching. This session invites participants to pause, revisit their teaching
philosophy and name the core values that guide their instructional choices. We will
introduce the Educator Reflection Wheel, a practical tool that encourages reflection
in seven key areas: Student Engagement and Inclusion, Pedagogical Clarity, Celebration,
Environment, Professional Identity, Feedback and Assessment, and Time Management.
Guided activities will move us through three stages. First, a brief free write helps
each participant reconnect with the personal and professional purpose that shapes
their work. Second, small groups use the Educator Reflection Wheel to map strengths
and growth areas. Finally, individuals draft one concrete action step that will bring
their values to life in an upcoming course. Participants leave with a refreshed sense
of purpose and a simple plan for intentional teaching. Register
Thursday, October 23, 1:00pm - 2:30pm - Virtual
The Generative Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (GenAI CoP) at the University
of South Carolina is a collaborative initiative designed to explore and discuss the
implications of GenAI in higher education. This community brings together faculty,
staff, and graduate students to share insights, strategies, and experiences related
to the integration of GenAI across administration, research, teaching, and learning. Register
Thursday, October 23, 2:50pm - 4:05pm - In-Person
We're at it again, discussing whether AI can rewrite the classics! If you say “yeah!”
or “certainly not!” or “maybe?” come try it out! We’ll start with a demonstration
of source-grounded AI programs such as NotebookLM and how they can be adapted for
the classroom. Then participants will test generative AI’s capabilities for identifying
genre, characters, and plot points of classic novels. Original editions of works will
also be on display. There will be time for participants to share results, tweak prompts,
and decide for themselves whether AI can (or CANNOT) rewrite the classics. Bring a
laptop!
A Collaboration between Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and
Center for Teaching Excellence “Try the Tools” series. Register
Friday, October 24, 10:00am - 11:00am - Webinar
This workshop is designed for Blackboard users who are familiar with the new Ultra
Course View but want a more intensive look at the UCV Gradebook. In this 60-minute
session, a consultant from eLearning Services will share best practices and tips &
tricks for setting up a Gradebook that works for you, present a live demonstration,
and answer questions. Register
Tuesday, October 28, 11:45am - 1:00pm - In-Person
Join us for a Mutual Expectations Discussion on exploring the topic “Artificial Intelligence
(AI) on the College Campus” in our October session. This discussion will explore what
participants think about how AI should be used on campus. When is ChatGPT appropriate
and when it is not? What is being used today beyond ChatGPT? Should we have common
expectations as a campus community on what and when we will use AI for? Join this
fun discussion with fellow students and faculty!
Free lunch is provided and RSVP required! Sponsored by the Carolina Experience, the
Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity
Assessments just got a major upgrade! This webinar explores how Generative Artificial
Intelligence can transform your assessments from rote memorization exercises to engaging
experiences that promote deeper learning. Discover how to generate assessments that
align with your course learning outcomes to foster creativity, critical thinking,
and personalized learning experiences.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
Differentiate between traditional assessment methods and generative AI-powered assessments.
Apply prompt writing in the context of assessments.
Design effective assessments that measure student mastery and promote meaningful learning
outcomes.
Thursday, October 30, 10:00am - 11:30am - In-Person
Join us for the 3rd module of Career Champions. In this session we'll learn about
the career competencies employers are looking for within our students and how to incorporate
those into our academic lessons, student employment, internships, etc. You'll also
know how to help students see these competencies within themselves and how to advocate
for themselves and articulate their talents, abilities, and experiences.
Learning outcomes for Level 3 are as follows:
Explain the importance of career readiness competencies in preparing students for
successful transitions into the workforce.
Develop strategies to embed career competencies into everyday student interactions
and advising conversations.
Empower students to reflect on their experiences and confidently communicate how their
skills align with employer expectations.
Thursday, October 30, 10:05am - 11:20am - In-Person
This session will primarily focus on transfer and sophomore college year experiences,
with some additional emphasis on junior year students. With the recent launch of Carolina
Experience in 2024, a heightened emphasis is placed on continuity across the entirety
of USC student experiences through increased sense of belonging and career readiness.
To help in these endeavors, longitudinal qualitative and quantitative data collected
from the Student Success Center has been instrumental in better understanding these
target populations.
What are the experiences of transfer and sophomore college students? What are the
biggest challenges they face and what do they most look forward to? How does this
align with the national research on these populations? And most importantly- how can
this scholarly literature, theoretical context, and localized data be used to support
the overall USC student experience at USC and in support of engagement, including
experiential learning, and career readiness?
We will go over the assessment findings and what specialized resources are already
in place at USC to support these populations, as well as provide recommendations for
instructors and course-based activities utilizing evidence-based approaches. Finally,
we will wrap up this session with group discussion on suggestions to further support
the target populations through the Carolina Experience, including additional ways
for campus stakeholders to get involved.
How can online course design foster meaningful interaction and lasting learner engagement?
Effective online learning begins with intentional design. This session introduces
the HIDOC framework—a practical, eight-part model for creating clear, aligned, and
accessible online courses. Participants will explore each component of HIDOC and gain
actionable strategies for designing courses that are intuitive to navigate, promote
sustained student investment, and simplify course management for instructors. Register
Friday, October 31, 11:45am - 1:10pm - Webinar
A teaching philosophy statement provides a concise description of an instructor’s
teaching approach, methods, and experience. Colleges and universities request a teaching
philosophy statement from applicants for faculty positions, and some higher education
institutions require one as part of the tenure and promotion consideration process.
What is your teaching philosophy? What should you write or include? What if you have
limited teaching experience? This webinar will help you articulate your teaching philosophy
in a concise, effective essay. We will discuss the statement’s purpose, different
aspects of your teaching experiences that can be included, and best practices and
strategies for composing the statement.
NOTE: This is a working webinar, requiring that you do some reflective writing in advance,
so that the webinar itself can include individual writing, group discussion, and feedback.
Participants will leave with an outline of their statement, written components, and
guidance to continue crafting it.Register
November 2025
Monday, November 3, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar
This session focuses on developing modules in Blackboard that are intuitive, accessible,
well-organized and in alignment with learning outcomes. Participants will explore
how to structure content, build consistency across course themes and select activities
that promote active learning and retention. Register
Monday, November 3, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar
The first half of the Support Zone training focuses on providing context for the necessity
of faculty and staff being well-versed in recognizing and responding to students experiencing
mental health distress. The facilitator will review definitions, national and local
statistics about mental health in college students and discuss how stigma affects
help-seeking behaviors. The facilitator will also discuss how COVID-19 has exacerbated
the aforementioned issues. This session will also cover crisis support protocol, how
to recognize signs of distress, warning signs of suicide, non-suicidal self-injury,
and how to respond and intervene to a student of concern.
This session focuses on evidence-based practices that promote authentic engagement
in asynchronous courses. Participants will explore strategies for increasing instructor
presence, designing purposeful interactions and delivering feedback that builds trust
and fosters learner motivation. Whether you are refining an existing course or preparing
a new one, this session offers practical tools to enhance connection participation
and student success in fully online settings.Register
Tuesday, November 4, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - In-Person
Good communication is a key element of any relationship, and the mentoring relationship
is no exception. As mentors, it is insufficient to say we know good communication
when we see it. Participants will learn how to identify the key characteristics of
effective communication and practice these skills with other participants. At the
end of workshop, participants will be better prepared to provide constructive feedback
to mentees, engage in active listening, communicate across diverse dimensions (disciplines,
ethnicities, positions of powers), and formulate strategies for improving their own
communication style.
In this session you'll learn how to transform your Blackboard Learn Ultra course from
ordinary to extraordinary! Discover how best to organize your content to make your
course visually engaging and user-friendly and then take it a step further with customization
to add some pizazz. Whether you're looking to streamline your course structure, add
some creative touches, or both, this session will give you the tools to make your
course stand out. Register
Wednesday, November 5, 9:40am - 10:30am - Webinar
Do you have a desire to help your learners become more motivated to do well and persist
through challenges? Join us to learn how to leverage motivation and emotion to create
positive, engaging learning environments. You will analyze motivational theories and
strategies to determine what might be able to best help your learners in your context.
Register
Wednesday, November 5, 1:10pm - 2:00pm - Virtual
The Virtual Environments Community of Practice is planning ways to integrate virtual
reality, augmented reality and mixed reality into teaching and learning environments
at USC. Meetings are open to faculty, staff and students.Register
Thursday, November 6, 10:05am - 11:20am - Webinar
Engaging in conflict is challenging whether you are an experienced instructor or new
to your role. A common strategy is to ignore the behavior due to our own discomfort,
concern over retaliation or fear that our intervention may cause more harm or disruption.
We will identify what our fears are about classroom disruption and use case study
examples to practice strategies to stretch participants' comfort zones. This workshop
will also explore Gerald Amada's research from Coping with Misconduct in the College
Classroom and provide participants with tangible strategies to prevent and respectfully
address disruptive behavior.
Are your students sometimes mystified by their grades, or perhaps lacking motivation
to take ownership of their learning? Have you ever wanted to help your students become
more effective learners? Today’s students come to college with widely varying academic
skills, unaware of the study skills needed to meet college-level expectations for
learning.
Metacognition is the practice of “thinking about thinking”: the awareness and ability
of learners to identify their cognitive processes and make changes to their learning
behaviors (Lovett, 2008). Promoting metacognition can increase students' understanding
of how learning works, teaching students how to understand what caused their successes
or failures and direct their own learning (Brownlee, Purdie, & Boulton-Lewis, 2001).
This webinar will go beyond the basics of metacognition and explore how to use metacognitive
techniques to help students monitor and regulate their own learning, providing you
with concrete strategies and adaptive instructional materials for incorporating into
your course. Register
Monday, November 10, 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Webinar
Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) is the newest version of the Blackboard Learning
Management System. With new improvements being made monthly to Ultra Course View there
are exciting changes which instructors may not have seen. This is a short presentation
about the most recent updates that have occurred in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course
View and will include information on how to stay up to date on future improvements. Register
Tuesday, November 11, 1:15pm - 2:05pm - Webinar
The second half of the Support Zone training focuses on participants learning how
to refer students of concern experiencing varying levels of distress (mild, moderate
and severe), what to do if a student refuses a referral, how to maintain the students'
privacy, and how to follow-up with the student. This session includes role-plays and
other interactive activities to help participants practice their recently acquired
skills. The facilitator will also discuss the how responding to students of concern
affects faculty/staff mental health and how to respond accordingly.
This session includes a review of resources specific to faculty/staff needs and tips
on dealing with COVID-19 related stressors. Lastly, the facilitator will review campus
and community resources to ensure participants have a thorough understanding of what
is available to students and when to use each resource.
Wednesday, November 12, 10:00am - 11:30am - In-Person
Join us for the 3rd module of Career Champions. In this session we'll learn about
the career competencies employers are looking for within our students and how to incorporate
those into our academic lessons, student employment, internships, etc. You'll also
know how to help students see these competencies within themselves and how to advocate
for themselves and articulate their talents, abilities, and experiences.
Learning outcomes for Level 3 are as follows:
Explain the importance of career readiness competencies in preparing students for
successful transitions into the workforce.
Develop strategies to embed career competencies into everyday student interactions
and advising conversations.
Empower students to reflect on their experiences and confidently communicate how their
skills align with employer expectations.
In the final of three webinars about Blackboard analytics, review your course for
the spring based on data available in Blackboard. During this presentation, we will
review where to access information in your Blackboard course that you can use while
planning for your next offering and provide examples of holistic course revisions
you could make. Participants will practice drawing conclusions regarding course changes
based on sample data sets and set a plan for reviewing their own courses at the end
of the semester. Register
Thursday, November 13, 11:45am - 1:00pm - In-Person
This Mutual Expectations discussion will focus on the benefits and practical steps
that faculty/staff can take on developing meaningful professional relationships with
one another. How students can approach faculty, why developing professional relationships
matters, how this may be different than a mentor relationship and more. Join this
fun discussion with fellow students and faculty over a free lunch!
Sponsored by the Carolina Experience and the Center for Teaching Excellence
Thursday, November 13, 2:50pm - 4:05pm - In-Person
Are you unsure how to create a learning environment suitable for having challenging
conversations? Do you want to encourage and support your students to be more comfortable
with discomfort? In this session, we will discuss how your learning space can emphasize
personal and academic growth through challenge and discomfort while maintaining respect.
You will learn about the concept of brave spaces, reflect on your own biases, comfort
levels, and practices around supportive discussion facilitation, and develop actionable
strategies to create or maintain brave spaces.
Through Recovery Ally workshops, Gamecock Recovery strives to empower students, faculty
and staff to make campus more supportive of students in recovery from substance use
disorder. Learn to: confront myths and stigma about substance use disorder; use and
model acts of allyship in everyday interactions; and identify, access, and direct
people to recovery resources at USC.
The Recovery Ally workshop is presented in a flipped-classroom model that includes
a self-paced video module as prework (estimated 20 minutes) and an in-person session.
Please review the recorded content prior to your workshop session.
A teaching philosophy statement provides a concise description of an instructor's
perspective on teaching, student learning, methodologies, and implementation, and
institutions typically request a teaching philosophy statement from applicants for
faculty positions and as part of the tenure and promotion process.
What, then, is your teaching philosophy? What aspects should you reflect upon, write,
or include? And how has the writing of this document changed as a result of ChatGPT,
both in the document construction as well as your perspective on this fundamental
shift in higher education? This will be a working webinar, where we will discuss strategies
for composing the statement, incorporating time for theme development, group discussion
and feedback, and ChatGPT prompt exploration. Participants will leave with a thematic
outline of their statement, a draft of the opening paragraph, and guidelines to continue
crafting it.
NOTE:For you and other participants to benefit the most in the time available, this webinar
requires that you do some reflective writing in advance of the session.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
Reflect on and clarify their values about teaching and learning.
Expound upon these values and craft a working thematic outline.
Explore the ethical usage of ChatGPT in teaching statement construction.
Wednesday, November 19, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - In-Person
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) community of practice provides an intentional
space for discussion regarding accessibility in teaching and learning at the university.
Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join. Register
Thursday, November 20, 10:00am - 11:00am - Webinar
Unleash the full potential of assessments in Blackboard Ultra Course View with this
virtual workshop designed for faculty members. Explore how to create engaging and
effective assignments and tests that not only evaluate student learning but also enhance
their experience. We’ll cover the essentials of setting up assignments and tests and
incorporate engaging and creative elements to add that extra flair. By the end of
this one-hour session, you will be better equipped to take the assessments in your
course to the next level.Register
Thursday, November 20, 1:00pm - 2:30pm - Virtual
The Generative Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (GenAI CoP) at the University
of South Carolina is a collaborative initiative designed to explore and discuss the
implications of GenAI in higher education. This community brings together faculty,
staff, and graduate students to share insights, strategies, and experiences related
to the integration of GenAI across administration, research, teaching, and learning. Register
December 2025
Thursday, December 4, 1:00pm - 2:30pm - In-Person
The Generative Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (GenAI CoP) at the University
of South Carolina is a collaborative initiative designed to explore and discuss the
implications of GenAI in higher education. This community brings together faculty,
staff, and graduate students to share insights, strategies, and experiences related
to the integration of GenAI across administration, research, teaching, and learning. Register
Wednesday, December 10, 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Webinar
Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) is the newest version of the Blackboard Learning
Management System. With new improvements being made monthly to Ultra Course View there
are exciting changes which instructors may not have seen. This is a short presentation
about the most recent updates that have occurred in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course
View and will include information on how to stay up to date on future improvements. Register