Greetings, Friends, 

At ITL last week someone told me, “It’s just nice to be in a conversation where everyone wants to talk about better ways to teach.” That’s Stearns Center in a nutshell: creating opportunities for George Mason faculty to talk--to us and to each other--about better ways to teach. 

This month, we think we really do have something for everyone: 

Scroll down, or check our Events Calendar, for more information--and consider texting a friend to see if they’d like to join you in a lively conversation about better ways to teach. We enjoyed seeing so many of you in person and online at ITL, and hope to see more of you this month!

E Shelley Reid, Ph.D. 

Executive Director

Thank you to everyone who attended our 17th Annual ITL conference on September 25-26, 2025! And congratulations to our raffle prize winners; we hope you enjoy your prizes! For those who attended, please complete our Post-conference Survey before October 10. Keep a look-out in February 2026 for our Request for Proposals for our 18th Annual ITL. 

In the meantime, you can continue to engage with this year's presenters' materials by accessing asynchronous resources. Check out materials on open educational resources, career guidance, AI-based searching, AI tools and the use of virtual teams!

In How to Make Your Assignments Relevant on October 14 from 10-11am, you will learn how to use the Transparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT) framework - a set of strategies that have been shown to increase motivation, boost academic confidence, and highlight skills valued in the workplace for all students.

Do you want to be an effective teacher? Do you want to know how to measure your teaching effectiveness? In this workshop on October 23 from 10-11am, you will learn about elements of effective teaching, including engagement, multiple modalities, inclusive teaching and assignment design. You will also learn how to set achievable teaching goals and measure them. This workshop is required for the Level 1 Teaching Essentials Credential for the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program and the Mason Core Instructor Certification Program (MC-ICP).

Whether this is your first time teaching a Mason Core course or you are a seasoned veteran, this workshop on October 23 from 11am-12pm, will help you develop new strategies for increasing student engagement and success while better managing the additional workload that often comes with teaching a general education course. This workshop is required for Mason Core Instructor Certification.

This fall consider participating in an AI mini course. From November 11 to December 9, the Introduction to AI Inspired Pedagogies mini course will run for faculty who are interested in updating their assignments in the age of Generative AI for the spring. Registration will be limited to the first 40 participants.

Last month, we published Ep. 23: Exploring Free Speech and Academic Freedom in Teaching. Zach Greenberg from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), our first external-to-Mason guest, joins our host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to have an exploratory and academic talk about the timely topics of free speech and academic freedom.

Today, we published Ep. 24: All About Grading. Dr. Lisa Gring-Pemble, Dr. Aimee Weinstein, Maoria Kirker, and Doug McKenna join us to offer their honest experiences regarding alternative grading practices in their classrooms - including "ungrading"!

Look forward to October 15 when we will publish our second Hear From Your Host episode where we will discuss how to prepare for and facilitate difficult conversations/situations in teaching!

Are you interested in a teaching professional development opportunity that you can engage with at your convenience? Are you looking to build community with other Mason faculty across disciplines - and do so asynchronously? Please join us for the faculty professional development credential based on the Stearns Center's Keystone Concepts in Teaching podcast.

Are you interested in joining a faculty community that helps keep you accountable for your writing? Join the Faculty Writing Community, sponsored by Faculty Affairs & Development and Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). We offer both weekly in-person and online writing sprints throughout the semester.

Learn to incorporate civic learning and community engagement into your course in this three-part series! Explore fundamentals, best practices, partner collaborations, reflection design, and student learning assessment strategies. Attend all sessions this fall or a single three-hour session in January. Questions? Contact Kristen Wright at kwrigh22@gmu.edu or visit our website.

Sign up for one of CECiL's virtual workshops to learn about the application process, benefits and resources involved in gaining a course designation. Questions? Contact Cara Snider at csnider3@gmu.edu. For more information, visit our webpage.

If you regularly teach courses within the Mason Core program, consider participating in the Mason Core Instructor Certification Program (MC-ICP). MC-ICP is open to all George Mason University instructors who have taught one or more Mason Core courses in the past two years. Instructors may complete one or multiple levels as they have time and interest.