Upcoming Events

11:00 am-11:50 am

This session highlights a simple, student-centered approach to introducing career-ready objectives in a General Education Oceanography course. Early in the semester, students co-created objectives and rubrics through group reflection and peer evaluation, identifying collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and time management as key skills for success. This case study shows how small adjustments—rather than a full course redesign—can foster student ownership, increase engagement, and naturally connect classroom learning to career readiness.

Dr. Christie PondellDr. Christie Pondell is an assistant professor in the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology at Utah Tech University. While her expertise lies in teaching rather than industry, conversations with professionals across diverse fields have revealed a consistent theme: many new graduates struggle to transition smoothly into their careers. This realization has made career readiness a central focus of her teaching philosophy. Dr. Pondell integrates career-ready skills into courses at all levels—from introductory general education to senior capstone experiences—and was inspired by Utah Tech’s emphasis on preparing career-ready professionals to explore new approaches in her general education classes as well.

In GCB 233

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3:00 pm-3:50 pm

This event is cosponsored by The Office of International Programs.

This short seminar introduces faculty to Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a pedagogical approach that connects classrooms across borders through jointly designed virtual learning experiences. COIL projects enable instructors from different institutions and countries to co-create teaching modules where students collaborate, exchange ideas, and reflect on global challenges from multiple perspectives.

The session will explore the essential elements of COIL design—partner selection, intercultural communication, task alignment, and digital facilitation—using real examples implemented at Miguel Hernández University of Elche. Participants will gain insight into how COIL can enrich teaching and research, foster intercultural competence, and promote equity in internationalization.

For students, COIL cultivates teamwork, empathy, and digital collaboration skills that are critical in a globalized world. For faculty, it offers innovative pedagogical frameworks, new international research opportunities, and professional growth. For universities, it strengthens institutional partnerships and supports a sustainable, inclusive model of international engagement that extends beyond physical mobility.

In GCB 132

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10:00 am-11:00 am

Nov 7th at 10am in GCB 132

 

Because every student matters, career readiness should be embedded and integrated throughout campus programs and into the course curriculum by a broad community of faculty and staff who care about and are engaged in student career learning. This doesn’t mean focusing solely on career readiness. We can also enlighten and educate. The two are not mutually exclusive.

 

Please joins us to discuss Jeremy Podany’s ideas, even if you haven’t read the book yet. Come collaborate with colleagues to discuss how best to shape the future of student career readiness here at UT.

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1:30 pm-2:30 pm

Join us for a hands-on training session where you’ll learn how to effectively update your Interfolio profile. We will guide you through the process of grouping your courses, marking courses as “not taught,” and updating your current courses with essential evidence such as syllabi, assessments, and more.

Whether you’re new to Interfolio or looking for a refresher, this session will provide the tools and support you need to keep your portfolio up-to-date.

In GCB 302

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11:00 am-11:50 am

Brianna Iverson, Career Coach for the College of Education, and Alex Cromwell, Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences department, have been collaborating over the past year to integrate Life Design tools and reflective practices directly into Alex’s courses. The focus of the session will be on introducing faculty to these tools, giving concrete examples of how they were used (including feedback from students on their effectiveness), and providing participants with opportunities to think through how to integrate these tools into their own classes. We are looking forward to hearing what faculty are already doing to engage students on the big questions related to their passions and their purpose and discussing some concrete ways to do this more effectively.

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2:00 pm-2:50 pm

This 50-minute interactive workshop introduces faculty to the world of AI agents—autonomous systems that can reason, plan, and act to accomplish academic and administrative goals. Participants will learn how these agents are built, how they work behind the scenes, and how they can become powerful collaborators in teaching, research, and course management.

 

Cerasela Ceapa, Visiting Instructor of the Practice in Computer Science (University Politehnica of Bucharest), presented about some of the fundamentals of AI in the classroom.

In GCB 309

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4:00 pm-4:50 pm

What is the opposite of thankfulness? Taking things for granted, entitlement, and resentment all come to mind. How can building gratitude into the curriculum as well as the learning environment help us to build resilience and grit in our students? How can gratitude help faculty enjoy their jobs and be more effective? We will have a short presentation by Jennifer Gibb in GBC 333 on the transformative power of gratitude and then a group discussion on how we can improve teaching and learning through the practice of gratitude.

 

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