Programs and Events

The Center for Educational Innovation offers a variety of programs and events.

Teaching and Learning Workshops
Among the impacts of the advent of GenAI in higher education is that many traditional assessment techniques are being called into question. As Anastasi and Musmarra (2025) explain, “GenAI is … reshaping the epistemological foundations of education, by decoupling cognitive effort from the final artifact.” This decoupling raises some important questions: to what extent are our assessments actually capturing student learning, and how might we rethink our assignments to ensure that they do?

In the 2026-27 academic year, the Center will host a series of six thematically aligned but distinct workshops aims to explore how to accurately evaluate student learning with AI in the mix. The series is designed to be collaborative, with peer-to-peer sharing and collective contributions to help address the problem together. The emphasis throughout the series will be on student learning - our work will respond to GenAI without necessarily endorsing or refusing the technology in our classrooms. Sessions will take place throughout the academic year - roughly three sessions per semester on a monthly basis. Please join one or all of them!

Center Conversations
Occasional brown bag lunch conversations featuring a variety of topics without formal presentations, inviting faculty colleagues to share specific, tangible strategies they’ve developed to improve their pedagogy. Conversations will be held consistently on the first Friday of each month - grab your lunch and log on to join us!

The Learning Innovation Collaborative Fellowship
The fellowship aims to collaboratively reimagine teaching and learning by developing versatile, learner-informed models for pedagogy that can be shared among faculty in affiliated disciplines. The Fellowship operates on an annual basis, centering each year on a relevant core question or topic. Calls for proposals will be issued in November, Fellows will be named in December and will meet monthly from January to May each year. Looking for resources from previous years’ LIC Fellowships? Head over to our Resources for Teaching page for information.

Center Conversation: What flew? What flopped? Successes and Failures of the First Two Weeks Facilitated by Dr. Meg Konkel (CEI) Friday, September 4, 2026, 12:15 - 1:00
Register Here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 1: What is Assessment? Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 4:00-4:45pm
This session will offer a high-level introduction to what assessing student learning is all about, the differences between assessment and evaluation, and ways to think about assessment of, for, and as student learning. With Dr. Liz Stosich, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy, we’ll talk about the challenges of assessment in the age of GenAI, the relationship between assessment and academic integrity, and more. Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 1: What is Assessment?
Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 4:00-4:45pm

This session will offer a high-level introduction to what assessing student learning is all about, the differences between assessment and evaluation, and ways to think about assessment of, for, and as student learning. With Dr. Liz Stosich, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy, we’ll talk about the challenges of assessment in the age of GenAI, the relationship between assessment and academic integrity, and more. Register here!

Center Conversation: Co-creating AI Use Policies With Our Students Facilitated by Dr. Jane Bolgatz (GSE) Friday, October 2, 2026, 12:15-1:00pm
Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 2: Authenticity and Reliability in Assessment Friday, October 16, 2026, 2:00-2:45pm
Good assessment of student learning hits a sweet spot between authenticity - genuine representation of real-life skills in terms of the tasks, context, and criteria of the field - and reliability of the assessment outcomes (Cotton et al., 2025). In this interactive session, we’ll consider our current assessment techniques along the matrix of authenticity and reliability in an effort to make the best choices for any given type of course. Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 2: Authenticity and Reliability in Assessment
Friday, October 16, 2026, 2:00-2:45pm

Good assessment of student learning hits a sweet spot between authenticity - genuine representation of real-life skills in terms of the tasks, context, and criteria of the field - and reliability of the assessment outcomes (Cotton et al., 2025). In this interactive session, we’ll consider our current assessment techniques along the matrix of authenticity and reliability in an effort to make the best choices for any given type of course. Register here!

Center Conversation: Bringing Storytelling Into Teaching and Learning Facilitated by Chris Vacari (A&S) Friday, November 6, 2026, 12:15-1:00pm
Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 3: Performance Based Assessment Techniques Monday, November 16, 2026, 12:00-12:45pm
The “central test” for learning assessment (credit to Akane Zusho for the term) is that students are able to independently explain, defend, and/or take scholarly responsibility for the application of course concepts in their work. Using this as a north star, we will explore what it means to evaluate by performance (oral examinations, viva voces, in-class writing, etc.) with techniques for implementation and strategies for scaffolding and grading. Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 3: Performance Based Assessment Techniques
Monday, November 16, 2026, 12:00-12:45pm

The “central test” for learning assessment (credit to Akane Zusho for the term) is that students are able to independently explain, defend, and/or take scholarly responsibility for the application of course concepts in their work. Using this as a north star, we will explore what it means to evaluate by performance (oral examinations, viva voces, in-class writing, etc.) with techniques for implementation and strategies for scaffolding and grading. Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 4: Learning vs. Human Outcomes Thursday, February 18, 2027, 4:00-4:45pm
Many of us are comfortable articulating content-specific learning outcomes in our courses, but how might we identify the human outcomes that come with what we teach? Human outcomes - skills, mindsets, and competencies - acknowledge that learning is as much a human development process as it is the development of subject matter expertise. In this interactive session, we’ll name the human outcomes embedded in our course learning outcomes and talk strategies for evaluating our students’ human growth and progression. Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 4: Learning vs. Human Outcomes
Thursday, February 18, 2027, 4:00-4:45pm

Many of us are comfortable articulating content-specific learning outcomes in our courses, but how might we identify the human outcomes that come with what we teach? Human outcomes - skills, mindsets, and competencies - acknowledge that learning is as much a human development process as it is the development of subject matter expertise. In this interactive session, we’ll name the human outcomes embedded in our course learning outcomes and talk strategies for evaluating our students’ human growth and progression. Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 5: Inclusive Assessment Monday, March 15, 2027, 12:00-12:45pm
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) encourages us to develop simple and intuitive instructional materials that offer flexibility and choice for student engagement. In this session, we’ll look at UDL as a guiding framework for rethinking learning assessment. What does flexibility mean when designing effective learning assessments? How can these principles offer useful responses to the GenAI moment? Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 5: Inclusive Assessment
Monday, March 15, 2027, 12:00-12:45pm

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) encourages us to develop simple and intuitive instructional materials that offer flexibility and choice for student engagement. In this session, we’ll look at UDL as a guiding framework for rethinking learning assessment. What does flexibility mean when designing effective learning assessments? How can these principles offer useful responses to the GenAI moment? Register here!

Teaching & Learning Workshop Session 6: Is it Time to Rethink the Way We Grade? Tuesday, April 13, 2027, 4:00-4:45pm
It’s hard to disentangle GenAI use from grade obsession, which can drive students to default to GenAI. But changing how we grade requires systemic change that may or may not be feasible. Let’s talk through this question together - and explore alternative grading techniques that might help us alter the grading dynamic here at Fordham. Register here!