Current CETL Professional Development Opportunities
- Short Professional Development Certificates - These interdisciplinary groups meet monthly to explore teaching and learning topics, to connect with faculty with common interests or concerns, and to share and reflect on the experience of teaching.
- Long Professional Development Courses - These are courses that meet monthly throughout the academic year.
- Workshops and online courses - These courses will help you learn more about specialized topics related to course design, teaching practices, or student learning.
- Non-Instructional Faculty Professional Development - Programs to support faculty outside of the classroom, to develop research and leadership.
Spring 2026 Offering
Short Course Professional Development Certificates
These interdisciplinary groups meet monthly to explore teaching and learning topics, to connect with faculty with common interests or concerns, and to share and reflect on the experience of teaching.
Digital Accessibility at Minnesota State University, Mankato
Facilitated by Carine Omole, Trish Moran, Sudarshana Bordoloi, and Hannah Radcliff-Hoy
Join Accessibility Resources, IT Solutions, Academic Technology, and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) for a hybrid short course including two synchronous sessions and two asynchronous modules focused on creating inclusive learning experiences. Explore university accessibility resources, dive into digital accessibility best practices, and gain practical skills to design accessible course materials. Walk away with tools and strategies to make your courses more equitable and engaging for all learners.
Synchronous Sessions Dates: January 29 and February 26 at 11:00 a.m.
Delivery mode: Zoom
Teaching For Social Justice
Facilitated by Dr. Kellan Strong
A methods course for educators focused on inclusive pedagogy, anti-racist teaching, and community engagement.
Dates: TBA
Delivery mode: Zoom
Quality Online Initiative Training
Advance your online teaching practices by participating in the Quality Online Training certificate.
This professional development opportunity is designed to:
- Strengthen your online teaching effectiveness
- Support student success and belonging
- Align with federal instructional standards
- Integrate equity-minded, evidence-based practices
This training consists of two synchronous sessions, followed by five asynchronous modules.
This training was designed for instructors who have been at the institution for at least one year.
Teaching and Learning Online
Facilitated by Hannah Radcliff-Hoy and Jonathan Paver
This fully asynchronous refresher course is designed for instructors seeking to strengthen their online teaching skills. The course explores current best practices in online pedagogy and provides practical guidance on applying these strategies to course content, grading, assessments, and student feedback mechanisms. Participants will engage in hands-on activities to integrate effective teaching practices into their own courses, including creating meaningful assessments and surveys to enhance student learning and engagement. The course is ideal for instructors looking to refresh their approach and improve student success in online environments.
Dates: Course available February 2- 28
Delivery mode: Asynchronous
Keeping up on AI in Education
Facilitated by Dr. Laura Singelmann
Join us for discussion about emerging news and research about the intersection of AI and education. Each week, we’ll read a short piece (article, news story, or guides) and discuss what it means for our teaching and our students. Whether you're new to AI space or an expert trying to keep up with this quickly evolving field, this certificate program will offer a community of shared learning and growth.
Dates: Every other Tuesday (January 27-April 14) at 10 a.m.
Delivery mode: Zoom
Designing AI-Resilient Assignments
Facilitated by Drs. Darcie Christensen and Laura Singelmann
Having trouble with students just throwing your whole assignment into AI and submitting the output? Then this workshop is for you! It is aimed at helping you to see examples of and create AI-resilient assignments - the types of assignments that help students to think, learn, and grow on their own or with support from AI, not from being reliant on AI. A framework for what makes an AI-resilient idea will be presented, multiple current strategies and implementations will be shared, and support will be given in creating an AI-resilient assignment for your course. You'll get feedback from both your peers and the workshop facilitators so you can feel ready to implement this assignment soon!
Dates: Thursdays (February5-26) at 1:00 p.m.
Delivery mode: Zoom
Open Educational Resources for Your Course
Facilitated by Emma Schmidtke
No cost course materials, such as Open Educational Resources (OER), promote student success and equity while also offering instructors greater freedom in what and how they teach. In this certificate course, faculty will gain practical knowledge in finding, adapting, using, and sharing OER through hands-on activities specific to their own courses.
Topics in this customizable course will include:
- Introduction to OER and open pedagogy
- Overview of open textbook libraries and OER depositories
- Strategies for developing ancillary materials (quizzes, homework platforms, etc.)
- Exploration of renewable assignments (student-led OER) for open texts
- Using AI to empower one’s open practice
- Participating in state and national open practice communities
- Course content will be delivered through videos and activities in D2L.
Dates: 4th Thursdays (January 22, February 26, March 26, and April 23) at 2:00 p.m.
Delivery mode: Zoom
Workshops
Build Your Faculty Success Portfolio
Facilitated by Hannah Radcliff-Hoy
Faculty will be introduced to the Faculty Success module of the Watermark series. Learn how this program can help faculty organize their successes and activities to support the PDP/PDR process. By the end of this series, faculty will build their professional portfolios and retrieve "Activities" to better capture and tell the stories of faculty members' successes and accomplishments.
Dates: January 28, February 25, or March 25 at 1:00 pm (Faculty only need to register for one session)
Delivery mode: Zoom
From Studies to Students: Applying Experimental Research on Implicit Bias to Teaching
Facilitated by Dr. Sarah Myers
This workshop explores the science behind implicit bias and its impact on teaching and learning. Experience the Implicit Association Test (IAT), reivew patterns, and experimental evidence across fields, and discover what does and doesn't change biases. Participants will also explore practical tools and teaching strategies to reduce the influence of bias in your classroom.
Date: Monday, February 9 at 1:00 pm
Delivery mode: Zoom
Leganto: Course Packets for the Digital Age
Facilitated by Emma Schmidtke and Heidi Southworth
This workshop will demonstrate the uses and benefits of Leganto for instructors. Leganto is a library-supported tool for building and sharing linked class resource lists, allowing students access all required and recommended reading in one location in D2L. This workshop will teach instructors how to support textbook and course materials affordability while efficiently building their class resource lists.
Date: Tuesday, February 9 at 2:00 pm
Delivery mode: Zoom
Regular and Substantive Engagement in Online Courses: Why It Matters to Students
Facilitated by Jonathan Paver
The Department of Education requires all instructors who teach online courses to meet or exceed their established standards for regular and substantive interaction in online courses. This session is designed to help you navigate these requirements and provide examples of ways to ensure your online courses are meeting this requirement. Regular and substantive interaction is not just a compliance issue, it is a key driver of student success. Research shows that meaningful engagement between instructors and students improves retention, deepens learning, and fosters a sense of belonging in online environments. You will leave this session with several strategies you can apply immediately to create a more interactive, supportive, and successful learning experience for your students.
Dates: Thursday, March 19, at 2:00 pm or Monday, March 23rd, at 3:00 pm (faculty only need to register for one session)
Delivery mode: Zoom
Prompt Engineering: Communicating Effectively with AI
Facilitated by Drs. Mansi Bhavsar and Rushet Dave
This interactive workshop introduces participants to the fundamentals of prompt engineering—the art and science of crafting effective instructions to guide AI models like ChatGPT. Through short lectures and hands-on activities, participants will learn how to design clear, specific, and context-rich prompts that yield accurate and useful results.
Date: April 24 at 2:00 pm
Delivery mode: Zoom
Non-Instructional Faculty Development
Faculty Writing Group
Facilitated by Hannah Radcliff-Hoy
Looking for a space to focus on your writing and connect with colleagues? Our informal faculty writing group meets every Friday during the spring semester, starting January 30, for dedicated writing time in a supportive, collaborative environment. Whether you’re working on research, articles, or creative projects, this is your chance to make progress while building community.
Dates: Fridays, starting January 30, from 9:00-10:30 am
Delivery mode: Zoom
Conversations with Colleagues
Facilitated by Drs. Sudarshana Bordoloi and Kellan Strong
Join us for this engaging series designed to foster community, collaboration, and growth in your teaching practice. These informal sessions offer opportunities to explore the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), share classroom innovations, and discuss inclusive teaching strategies. Through these interactive discussions, you’ll connect with peers, reflect on pedagogy, and discover practical ideas to enhance student learning. Bring your lunch, your curiosity, and your voice—let’s learn and grow together!
Dates: TBA
Delivery mode: Zoom
