The Center for Teaching and Learning is excited to announce the launch of the Active Learning Workshop Series, a key programming element of UGA’s Active Learning Initiative. This initiative aims to promote a university-wide culture of active learning. This flexible, à la carte workshop series aims to empower and equip instructors to successfully implement active learning practices and related evidence-based teaching practices in learning environments across UGA.
The Active Learning Workshop Series consists of four introductory workshops (Active Learning Fundamentals) and eight advanced workshops (Special Topics in Active Learning). Each academic year, the Center for Teaching and Learning will offer all four Fundamentals workshops and a rotating selection of Special Topics workshops. Although the workshops are numbered to help you track your participation, you can complete these workshops in any order you wish!
The Active Learning Workshop Series is one of two on-ramps to UGA’s Active Learning Leader Certificate program. Instructors who complete a minimum of eight Active Learning workshops, including all four Active Learning Fundamentals workshops and a selection of four Special Topics in Active Learning workshops, will be eligible to apply for the Course Redesign Blitz (learn more about the CRB). These workshops are open to all UGA faculty, staff, and post-doctoral scholars.
Active Learning is a fundamental feature of effective teaching and learning. But what does an active learning course look like from the instructor’s perspective, or across various disciplines? How does active learning support student learning and engagement? These workshops will provide you with the chance to explore how and why active learning facilitates student engagement, collaboration, and reflection.
Designing and Facilitating an Effective Learning Environment
11:35 am – 12:50 pm, Thursday, January 21, 2027
(Zoom link will be provided after registration)
Facilitated by Terri Dunbar, Assistant Director for Teaching Engagement
As an instructor, you have more control over the learning environment in your classroom than you might guess. Research tells us that when students feel a sense of belonging in your classroom, and sense that their instructor is invested in their success as learners, they are more likely to attend class, participate in discussions, and engage in learning activities. Importantly, there is also a great deal of reciprocal synergy between the use of active learning strategies and the cultivation of an effective and engaging classroom environment. In this workshop, we will explore concrete strategies that instructors can use to shape a learning environment that promotes student motivation, intellectual focus, and a sense of belonging.
Register for Effective Learning Environment
Overcoming Student Resistance to Active Learning
1:15 pm – 2:30 pm, Wednesday, February 3, 2027
(Zoom link will be provided after registration)
Facilitated by Meg Mittelstadt, Assistant Vice President for Learning Initiatives and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning
Fear of student resistance can prevent instructors from deepening their commitment to active learning strategies. But what if you knew the important “instructor moves” that can be used to prevent and counter student resistance? In this workshop, we will explore the Integrated Model for Student Resistance (Tolman and Kremling, 2016) and apply what we learn to realistic case studies. Explanation and facilitation strategies that have been demonstrated to reduce student resistance to active learning will be discussed.
Register for Overcoming Student Resistance
Leveraging Active Learning to Foster Student Metacognition
2:55 pm – 4:10 pm, Tuesday, February 16, 2027
(Zoom link will be provided after registration)
Facilitated by Terri Dunbar, Assistant Director for Teaching Engagement
Have you noticed that students who plan, monitor, and evaluate their own thinking are more likely to perform better academically? These metacognitive practices are linked with self- regulated learning and improved academic outcomes for students. Likewise, in an active learning environment, students are empowered to construct knowledge and become increasingly aware of their own learning process. In this session, we will explore specific active learning techniques that both engage students cognitively, as well as prompt students to engage their metacognitive skills.
Register for Student Metacognition
Got it?! Assess Student Learning Just in Time
1:15 pm – 2:30 pm, Thursday, March 4, 2027
(Zoom link will be provided after registration)
Facilitated by Terri Dunbar, Assistant Director for Teaching Engagement
Have you ever wondered how much your students are learning from what you just covered? How do you know whether your students are ready to apply what they have learned? Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) can help us to find out! CATs are simple and often ungraded in-class activities that help instructors and students alike monitor the teaching- learning process in real time. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to experience and discuss CATs, and will gain practice selecting and integrating appropriate CATs into their teaching.
Asynchronous Active Learning Workshops
The eLC asynchronous workshops offer an experience equivalent to our in-person or virtual workshops, providing you with flexibility to complete them at your own pace.
You can self-enroll into the course to participate now or follow the steps below:
– Navigate to the eLC homepage. From the navbar, click “Discover.”
– In the search bar, enter “Active Learning Workshop Series” or click “Browse ALL” to view all available courses.
– Select the course and click “Enroll in Course” from the course details page.
Active Learning 101
Active Learning is a fundamental feature of effective teaching and learning. But what does an active learning course look like from the instructor’s perspective, or across various disciplines? How does active learning support student learning and engagement? This workshop will provide you with the chance to explore how and why active learning facilitates student engagement, collaboration, and reflection.
How Learning Works: Engage Your Students in Active Learning
As instructors, we accumulate key “tried-and-true” teaching strategies over time that work for us and our students. How can we leverage the empirical evidence behind how learning works to give these strategies a boost? Drawing upon the science of learning, this session will provide you with strategies to transform your classroom into an engaging and transformative learning environment that is conducive to student learning.
Small Teaching, Big Impact: Integrating Lectures with Active Learning
Did you know that some comparably small (but powerful) changes can have a big impact on student engagement and success? Drawing upon James Lang’s “Small Teaching” book, participants will explore an inventory of small teaching practices that can be used in classes of all sizes (including high-enrollment courses). Participants will then customize a combination of small teaching practices to incorporate into their own teaching.
Active Learning Workshop Tracker
Below is a guide to help you track the Active Learning Workshops you have attended. Instructors who complete a minimum of eight Active Learning workshops, including all four Active Learning Fundamentals workshops and a selection of four Special Topics in Active Learning workshops, will be eligible to apply for the Course Redesign Blitz (learn more about CRB). Please click on the link below to download the Workshop Tracker document.