This workshop explores how you can foster meaningful engagement in your online course through strategies that promote student motivation, active learning, and collaboration. Using the Community of Inquiry framework, we will discuss approaches that support regular substantive interaction that helps build a strong sense of presence online. We will also explore how to design prompts and activities that encourage authentic contributions.

This workshop is designed for faculty at any level of experience, whether you are new to online teaching or looking to refresh your course design approach!

To register for either session, please click on the relevant date below:

Are you designing or redesigning an online course? This session will introduce effective course design models and practical strategies for maximizing impact in the online environment. Participants will explore approaches to planning and structuring online courses and receive a toolkit of resources and actionable steps to help confidently design, redesign, or enhance an online course.

This workshop is designed for faculty at any level of experience, whether you are new to online teaching or looking to refresh your course design approach!

To register for either session, please click on the relevant date below:

as seats are limited!

Join faculty and staff for a virtual conversation focused on rethinking curriculum and instructional practice through the lens of neurodiversity.

Co-hosted by the Center for Teaching and Academic Innovation (CTAI) and the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health, this session explores research-informed, strengths-based approaches that recognize neurodiversity as a vital dimension of our academic community. Rather than approaching this work as compliance, we will engage it as a design conversation focused on curriculum and instructional practice.

As conversations about access, equity, and student success evolve nationally, curriculum design remains one of the most powerful levers we hold as educators, and this work calls us to move beyond accommodation alone toward curriculum by design that embeds clarity, flexibility, and thoughtful structure into our syllabi and assignments from the start.

Participants will explore how to:

• Design syllabi and assignments with transparency and predictability
• Build multimodal engagement into curriculum
• Sequence and scaffold complex work through intentional milestones and models

Faculty will leave with practical strategies ready for immediate integration into syllabi and instructional practice. Held via Zoom, we will reimagine how curriculum signals belonging and expands opportunity for every learner.

Questions? Please reach out at ctai@montclair.edu.
We look forward to advancing this work together.

Co-Sponsored by the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health and the Center for Teaching and Academic Innovation (CTAI)

We hope to see you there!

Experiential education gives faculty a powerful way to bring concepts to life, helping students apply what they learn in the classroom to the real world. The Office for Experiential Education and Career Connections (EECC) joins Fridays with ITDS to share more about experiential education initiatives at Montclair and the role EECC plays in supporting faculty and student success. Dr. Chantelle Wright, Dan Loughrey, and Armine Khudinyan will provide an overview of how they partner with faculty to integrate experiential learning into courses, define what experiential education means at Montclair, and highlight current employer expectations and hiring trends shaping today’s workforce.

Chantelle K. Wright, Ed.D., serves as the Assistant Vice Provost for Experiential Education and Career Connections at ÌÇÐÄvlog. She has 17 years of experience in college career counseling, particularly with multi-ethnic and multi-generational populations. Dr. Wright holds a proven track record of success in increasing student internship engagement, developing innovative programs that address equity gaps, and securing grant funding to support student career outcomes. She has expertise in career development, program assessment, budget management, and staff supervision. Her scholarly interests include leadership development for women in higher education and career advising for marginalized populations. She enjoys collaborating with staff across institutions and supporting faculty in embedding career planning strategies into their classrooms.

Dan Loughrey is the Director of Career Outcomes at ÌÇÐÄvlog’s Office of Experiential Education and Career Connections. His work focuses on measuring students’ post-graduation outcomes and providing strategic support on improving those outcomes. Dan’s 10+ years in experiential learning offices and 3 years in the private business world inform his work with faculty, staff, and the greater Montclair community. He received his Masters from the SIT Graduate Institute and his Bachelors from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Armine Khudinyan is a higher education professional with a focus on student career development and experiential learning. She currently serves as an Employment Success Specialist at ÌÇÐÄvlog, where she partners with employers to create job and internship opportunities for students. Armine plans and manages recruitment initiatives, including career and internship fairs, alumni-led mentorship programs and networking sessions, creating opportunities for students to explore careers and build their professional network. Before moving into higher education, Armine worked as a technical recruiter, which gives her a well-rounded understanding of both sides of the hiring process. She uses that experience to help employers connect with qualified students and develops programs that prepare students with the tools and platforms they need to be career-ready.

This interactive workshop guides faculty to reimagine assessment for online learning through the lens of authenticity, transparency, and inclusivity. We’ll explore how authentic assessments, anchored in real-world application, can be designed using the TILT framework, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and accessibility best practices. Faculty will also examine the role of AI as both a tool and challenge in assessment. Practical strategies such as ePortfolios, project-based learning, and reflective assignments will be highlighted. Participants will leave with an outline for revising one of their own assessments to foster deeper engagement, equity, and academic integrity in online courses.

This workshop is designed for faculty at any level of experience, whether you are new to online teaching or looking to refresh your course design approach!

To register for either session, please click on the relevant date below:

Our theme, Humanizing Learning: From Content to Connection, means designing experiences that recognize students as whole people. It’s about incorporating the rich perspectives, experiences, and questions they bring into our classrooms, and creating environments where they feel seen, valued, and capable.

How do we remove barriers that prevent students from fully engaging? How do we build authentic community in our courses? How do we use technology intentionally as a tool that enhances human connection rather than replaces it? Great teaching is thoughtful about pedagogy while remaining deeply attuned to the human dimensions of learning.

Share your amazing teaching ideas and learn from others at our Annual Summer Institute! Our Summer Institute seeks passionate ÌÇÐÄvlog faculty to demonstrate their cutting-edge teaching practices. Dive deep into the exciting intersection of technology, learning, and instruction, and contribute to shaping the future of education.  

Key Highlights:

• Conference Theme: Humanizing Learning: From Content to Connection
• Deadline for Submissions: April 10, 2026
• Notice of Proposal Acceptance: April 24, 2026 or earlier
• Conference Dates: Wednesday, June 3 & Thursday, June 4 – In-Person
• Location: University Hall, 7th Floor Conference Center

Submission Tracks:

• Humanizing Learning through Access and Agency
  How do we design learning experiences that actually work for the diverse range of students we teach? This track explores how to create learning experiences that are inclusive, accessible, and reduce barriers while giving students more choice, flexibility, and ownership of their learning across all course modalities. These sessions will highlight that designing for accessibility should not be an afterthought, but an integral part of pedagogical approach.
• Humanizing Learning through Social Connection and Belonging
  What turns a class into a community? This track explores the social side of learning: discussions, group projects, experiential learning, and community-engaged teaching and learning. Sessions will help you co-design experiences that foster meaningful interactions and a sense of belonging.
• Humanizing Learning in the Age of Technology and Artificial Intelligence
  How do we embrace new tools without losing what makes learning meaningful? This track helps faculty navigate AI and educational technology with intention, exploring how to remain grounded in human values while integrating emerging tools. Sessions focus on creative approaches to AI and practical strategies for using technology in ways that support curiosity, critical thinking, and genuine connection to keep educators and students at the center of the learning experience.

This workshop explores how you can foster meaningful engagement in your online course through strategies that promote student motivation, active learning, and collaboration. Using the Community of Inquiry framework, we will discuss approaches that support regular substantive interaction that helps build a strong sense of presence online. We will also explore how to design prompts and activities that encourage authentic contributions.

This workshop is designed for faculty at any level of experience, whether you are new to online teaching or looking to refresh your course design approach!

To register for either session, please click on the relevant date below: