Pre-semester Teaching Institute
Start the semester with confidence and coordination
Returning January 13, 2027
9 a.m.-2:15 p.m., The Pyle Center
(breakfast and lunch included)
The Pre-semester Teaching Institute is offered before the start of the spring and fall semesters. Whether you’re a seasoned instructor or new to teaching, the Institute will give you focused time and expert assistance to prepare for the start of class.
You’ll learn strategies for:
- Addressing the impacts of generative AI on assessments
- Engaging and motivating students
- Time-saving tips for Canvas
- And more!
What participants say
“The syllabus session helped me think about changes I can make to my syllabus to make it more clear and inclusive.”
“The group discussions facilitated learning in action … Great instructors, too!”
“I enjoyed interacting with the folks at my table. They shared a lot of experiences that enhanced my learning.”
Event schedule
Note: This schedule will be updated for January 2027
8:30 – 9 a.m. — Registration and light breakfast
9 – 10:30 a.m. — Teaching Like It’s 1999 (in 2026)
Julie Hunt Johnson, Ph.D., Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring
Mary Thompson, Ph.D., Student Learning Assessment Office
Many educators find themselves nostalgic for aspects of teaching that seem harder to achieve today, from device-free classrooms and engaging discussions to confidence that students are genuinely learning. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore what they miss most about earlier teaching experiences and examine how nostalgia shapes the way we think about change in higher education. Rather than focusing on what has been lost, we will uncover the core values underlying those memories. Participants will leave with a clearer sense of their teaching values and practical strategies for designing and communicating value-informed teaching practices in a constantly changing teaching and learning landscape.
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. — Break
10:45 a.m. – 12 p.m. — Small Steps to Strengthen Learning
Julie Hunt Johnson, Ph.D., Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring
Research suggests that learning involves much more than delivering content. We must focus our attention, make meaningful connections, strengthen memory, and practice retrieving what we know in different contexts. In this interactive workshop, participants will build on the values surfaced in the previous session to examine learning through a cognitive science lens. Together, we’ll explore evidence-based teaching strategies such as chunking, elaboration, and retrieval practice and identify small ways to apply them in our own courses this semester.
12 – 12:45 p.m. — Lunch
12:45 – 2 p.m. — Building Trust and Motivation in an Age of AI
Amanda Leary, Ph.D., Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring
We can’t stop students from using AI; we can create conditions in which they won’t. Drawing on lessons learned from a recent CTLM student panel on AI, this session highlights strategies for motivating students to do the often difficult, critical “brain work” our courses require. Theories of student motivation and engagement provide an entrypoint for key takeaways you can implement to foster a learning-centered classroom environment that encourages productive struggle and critical thinking, all while building the AI literacy students want and need to be successful now and in the future.
2 – 2:15 p.m. — Closing
Closing remarks and thoughts
2:15 – 3:15 p.m. — Optional work time with (or without) support
You are invited to stay after the event for continued work time and/or conversations with a member of UW–Madison’s instructional support staff community. Representatives from the Learn@UW team will be available to answer questions about Canvas, TopHat, and more.
Get help with:
- Designing assignments or assessments
- Instructional technology (Canvas, etc.)
- Making a plan for the first day of class
- Preparing to teach a course you recently inherited