We are excited to announce that our application for the 12th annual Course Design Institute (CDI) week in May is open. We are currently running our first CDI: Semester, and we always appreciate bringing faculty together to work through course design and teaching challenges. In addition to the application, read on for:
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- CDI+ opportunities for applicants and alums
- RSVP for a special event featuring a panel of GW students discussing AI
- February’s workshops on AI and lecture slides
- Blackboard resources and workshops for Ultra, Ally, and more
- Mid-semester feedback sessions
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| Apply for Course Design Institute in May! |
Our popular Course Design Institute (CDI) is open to all GW faculty, including adjunct and part-time faculty, and we are now accepting applications. CDI is an intensive one-week program that helps you design, redesign, or tweak your course with the guidance of expert GW facilitators. Participants in CDI will walk away with:
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- A plan for your course, including a draft syllabus, assignments, and activities
- Experiences with active learning and understanding of learning-centered design
- Access to a resource-packed Blackboard site
- A community of faculty and staff for ongoing feedback and support
- A $500 stipend upon successful completion of all program elements
| Dates: May 18–22, 2026
Location: CDI: May will be fully online. There will be an option to attend in person on Wednesday, with lunch, on the Foggy Bottom campus.
To learn more and apply, visit the CDI website. The application is open until Friday, March 20. On average, we estimate it should take about 15 minutes to complete. If you have questions, email teaching@gwu.edu.
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Apply for CDI+: Build on your CDI learning with specialized cohorts |
In addition to our full CDI, we offer CDI+, “add-on” cohorts designed to help CDI participants and alumni build on the foundation of CDI to explore specific transformative practices in more depth. CDI+ participants are eligible for a stipend of $250 upon completion of the program expectations.
May 2026 cohort themes:
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Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs): Thursday, May 14
- Object-based learning assignments: Monday, May 11
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RSVP for GW Student Panel on AI in Education |
When: Friday, February 27, 12:30–2:00 p.m.
Where: Corcoran 101A
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Students are eager to interrogate the role that AI is playing in their learning and their future careers. Join us to hear from a panel of GW students across disciplines about their perspectives on AI and their education. We will share national data on student AI use, provide opportunities for our student panel to react, and have students respond to questions from the audience.
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Student perspective: Addressing AI in the Classroom |
The CTE partnered with Academic Commons in LAI to ask undergraduate student employees what advice they have for instructors at GW about AI in their education. Here’s what they had to say:
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What are some examples of how instructors can address or incorporate AI to benefit your learning? |
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Show students how to use it responsibly as a learning tool rather than an answer machine. Teach students how to use AI for condensing long readings or creating example problems for practice.
- Focus on learning by doing. I have learned a lot from “messing around” with AI and trying things out under the guidance of my professor.
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Shift grading to emphasize in-class assignments. One of my professors made the homework optional with all the answers posted online. Instead, they give us in-class quizzes on the homework.
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What else do you wish instructors knew? |
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I personally will not use AI even if it is encouraged, and I am not alone in this stance.
- In an internship interview the other day, the interviewer told me that my lack of experience with generative AI tools made me a less attractive candidate. Teaching us about AI and how to deal with it would be better than ignoring it altogether.
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I hope that professors do not continue to completely ban AI, since it's evidently not going away and will be important to understand and be able to work with. I hope that they demonstrate why it is useful and where it lacks.
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UPCOMING TEACHING WORKSHOPS |
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Below are the workshops scheduled for early February. Register using our form, and you will receive a calendar invitation with the Zoom link. We send slides and resources to all those who register.
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Schedule mid-semester feedback and class observations |
The CTE offers one-on-one consultations by request to help you gather student feedback and gain a new perspective on how things are going in your course, including these special consultation types:
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Mid-semester Student Feedback Sessions: Led by one of our trained facilitators, a mid-semester student feedback session allows students to articulate what aspects of a course are helping them learn and what can be done to improve their learning. We then meet with you to debrief a summary of the student feedback and discuss potential changes.
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Class Observations: Invite one of our team members to observe your teaching and offer feedback. We provide feedback that is not intended as an evaluation of teaching and exists independently of the tenure and promotion process. We will meet with you before and after the observation to discuss your goals and what we saw.
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Learn more about Blackboard Ally |
Blackboard Ally is a tool that provides information about the accessibility of the files in your course, provides guidance on improving accessibility, and generates alternative formats that allow students to download a file type that best suits their needs.
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Try a new look for 2026: Blackboard Ultra |
Featuring a clean, modern design, fewer clicks, enhanced workflows, and new features, Blackboard Ultra simplifies course management.
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The Instructional Technology Lab (ITL) can assist you in a one-on-one consultation. Visit them on the lower level of Gelman Library, call 202-994-0485, or email itl@gwu.edu.
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