About Active Teaching Lab

Active Teaching Lab provides instructors an opportunity to learn from other educators. Each month a UWM instructor shares how they utilized a cool tool or a teaching strategy in a course and the outcome: what worked, what was hard, what was learned through the process, and what they’d do differently.

After the short presentation, attendees will learn how to use the tool or strategy shared and have the opportunity to unpack the pedagogy informing it.

Active Teaching Lab is held the first Wednesday of the Month, 9:00 – 10:00am – in B73 Engelmann Hall and live via Zoom!

REGISTRATION: The Labs are open to all. Registration is not required, but is appreciated

LIVE: Not able to make it to a Lab? Fear not! All Labs will be recorded and handouts will be made available electronically below.

Spring 2023 Sessions
Modeling Self-Regulated Learning no Matter the Content Area 1 February | Barbara Lucius & Leah Elizabeth Johnson
In this Lab, Barbara Lucius and Leah Elizabeth Johnson will explore the ways college-level courses often assume more self-regulated learning skills than many students actually have — and how this can set students up for failure. They will then showcase scaffolded practices that can help students improve their learning strategies. Finally, they will invite participants to reflect on the ways they can help their own students develop the learning skills they need to succeed. Register Here!
Open Resources Exams: Stretch students to enhance learning 1 March  | William Cleveland
Open resources exams allow use of any resources and encourages students to work together during an exam to enhance learning. In this presentation, Dr. Cleveland will share his experience using open resources exams in a master’s degree quantitative course. In this lab, we will explore exam design and interactions that benefit students and instructors using this approach. While some instructors may not want to use this approach for an exam, the strategies are applicable to many types of course activities.   Register Here!
Students and ChatGPT: Seriously, this is not the end of the world 5 April  | David Delgado and Lane Sunwall
The launch of ChatGPT, a tool that can mimic human writing and even pass AP English exams, has raised concerns about its potential to enable easy cheating in education. However, ChatGPT can also be used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods, similar to the way that handheld calculators enhanced mathematics education in the 1970s. ChatGPT can be employed to create personalized lesson plans and exercises, provide customized instruction to students, assist with grading and feedback, and serve as a virtual tutor for students. This lab will explore the potential uses and concerns surrounding ChatGPT in education. In addition, based on research and in-class experience, it will offer insights on how the tool can be effectively integrated into the classroom to center teaching on student needs – both now and into the future.   Register Here!
Hypothesis 101: Integrating Social Annotation into Your Canvas Course 3 May  | Stephanie Guedet
This workshop will start with a quick orientation on collaborative annotation for social reading: what it is and how it motivates student engagement. Participants will learn how to activate Hypothesis in their Canvas course, design a Hypothesis-enabled assignment, integrate a rubric, and grade annotations. Finally, we’ll end with a hands-on activity using Hypothesis to practice reading together in order to experience firsthand how social annotation can build understanding, connections, and community. Register Here!