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We are sending you a recap of the week in all things teaching and learning. These notes will share timely teaching tips, recent pedagogical scholarship, teaching events on and off campus, and Hub blog posts. Use this form to unsubscribe.

Congratulations on making it through the first week of the semester, and welcome to Week Two! January has certainly brought its share of cold weather, and we hope you’re staying warm, healthy, and well as the term gets underway. As a reminder, there are no classes on Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Week Two is often a good moment to pause and reset after the busy first days. Consider checking in with students about course expectations, revisiting key syllabus items, and ensuring all course materials are clearly organized and accessible in Canvas to support their success. A short announcement, low-stakes activity, or informal discussion can also help reinforce routines and support student engagement early on.

We know the start of the semester can be especially full, so we’ll jump right into what you need to know to connect and engage with us this week.

To support faculty in making their courses more accessible, our campus offers a variety of incentives and initiatives designed to lighten the workload and encourage participation. Please click on each button to explore more! These resources are here to help you take meaningful steps towards accessibility while receiving recognition and support for your efforts. For more details and information, please see the UM-Dearborn Reporter article “Can we make accessibility universal?”. 

After the success of the Hub's GenAI 7-week Leadership Program we are updating the program to ask "What's Next for GenAI and Teaching and Learning?"

This is a 4-week program for faculty that are engaged with GenAI either as adopters, researchers, or skeptics to examine cultural impacts, or issues relevant to teaching and learning. Past participants are welcome to join. Active participation during the sessions is expected. 

The program consists of four synchronous meetings with a conversational (seminar) format on these dates: Feb 18, Feb 25, Mar 11, & Mar 18 - Wednesdays 11am-noon.

The last session will be a virtual panel discussion open to the campus (on Zoom).

Faculty selected for the seminar will receive a $300 stipend.

Learn more: Program Description

Application due: Jan 26th, 2026.

We're excited to re-open the call for proposals for faculty-led learning communities on digital accessibility. Building on the success of last year’s initiative, this program invites faculty to convene a group of peers to further explore and put into practice accessible teaching strategies that support all students. Conveners will receive a $500 stipend and participants will each receive $200. Apply now to lead a learning community this cycle! 

Friday, January 23rd, from 11AM-12PM join us for the first DigPed at Dearborn of the year!!

DigPed at Dearborn (often just called DigPed) is a faculty-led digital pedagogy learning community focused on critical perspectives, teaching with digital tools, and empowering student voices. Each month, a faculty member leads an online Zoom conversation sparked by something they are excited about, curious about, or actively questioning in their teaching with technology. The sessions are informal and conversational. 

This month Maya Barak will be telling us about her adventures in Analog Teaching in Digital Spaces. She asks "Anyone else feeling nostalgic for the analog days of yesteryear? Before all the emails, notifications, and GenAI got you down? Curious about how you might experiment with IRL and "hands-on" assignments in hybrid and even fully online classes? If so, you're not alone!"

Join us on Zoom Friday, January 23rd, from 11AM-12PM to be part of the conversation and to let us know what topics you would like to bring to our next meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 916 6144 6279
Passcode: 842499

Can't make it this time but want to stay in the loop? Join our DigPed at Dearborn MCommunity

Did you know that every course should have a GenAI syllabus statement!?!?! Yes, every course!!

The statement has two parts: one is a simple copy/paste definition of what GenAI is and the second half is a description of how GenAI will function in your course. 

This UM-Dearborn GenAI Syllabus Statements document has all of the details and has some template language to help you articulate the policy that you have for your course!

Questions or comments? Chen Wang, cwanga@umich.edu

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