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Week of October 7, 2025

What and how we teach can seem like a routine, especially at this point in the semester. For students, too, endlessly scrolling through unlimited entertainment can lead to an increased sense of routine and boredom in other arenas. This may seem rather ironic, but you may have sensed glimpses of ‘boredom’ in your classroom from your students.

Mays Imad (2025) writes that, “chronic boredom can undermine wellbeing and learning; if this boredom trend continues, we can expect more mental health struggles, general disengagement, and weaker learning outcomes.” This week’s teaching tips by Imad from The Teaching Professor offer guidance on how to transform our students’ ennui into a connection to the beauty and wonder of what we’re teaching. Below are tips she offers:

For a full list, visit the Teaching Professor. For now, remember we’ve reached the mid-semester point, and that is an achievement in itself. This is a great moment to pause, reflect, and contemplate the beauty of what and why we teach.

Enjoy Fall Break; we will see you on October 21!

This fall, we're partnering with the University Libraries for our fall coffeehouse! We will be doing walking tours with campus ghost stories and history (led by Carolyn Shankle of the University Libraries), along with hot drinks, swag, and snacks.  Tours will be at 9, 10, and 11am on Wednesday, October 29.

We are limited to 20 folks for each walking tour, so if you're interested, please register so we can have an accurate head count.  If you have any questions (or need anything that's not coffeehouse related!), please email us at utlc@uncg.edu.

ITS and the UTLC are pleased to announce that we will be offering two days of accessibility incubators this fall. Bring your laptop and come to workshops and/or receive hands on help with course accessibility. Exact schedules are TBD, but please register so that we can start planning head counts and food, and save the date for November 10 and 14. These events are drop in and out as needed; you do not need to plan to stay all day, but please register so we can plan ahead for you!

Open Office Hours with ITS: Learning Technology’s Instructional Design Team: Tuesdays 10am–12pm, starting 10/7 

Drop in for a conversation with an instructional designer! We can assist with course and assessment design, discuss teaching questions, and help with Canvas, Teams, and other learning technology.

No registration is needed, just click on the go link to join: go.uncg.edu/id-office-hours 

In October, ITS is collaborating on two special trainings with the Dean of Students Office. 

Tomorrow! October 8, 11 AM - 12 PM (virtual): Using Canvas and CARE to Support Students Experiencing Distress

This session gives instructors actionable steps to connect students with care and manage academic flexibilities in Canvas. 

October 27, 12 - 1 PM (EUC Azalea): Lunch and Learn: Addressing and Reducing Grading Bias

This session shares information about DOS resources and highlight and demonstrate features within Canvas that reduce the risk of bias in grading, such as how to turn on anonymized and randomized grading, and how to build a rubric in Canvas and grade with rubrics in Speed Grader. 

The entire Tech Training schedule for October is online now, with great topics planned!

The GTA Network is open to all graduate teaching associates and is a space to connect, learn from colleagues, and receive collaborative support. 

Introducing a new resource for Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) - the GTA Network. 

Please find the meeting link at go.uncg.edu/gta.network. If you have questions, please contact Judy Fowler at JAFOWLE3@uncg.edu.

The flu vaccine is now available at Student Health Services.

Dedicated Flu Clinic for Faculty & Staff: This week! Week of October 6

Please don’t wait — students, faculty, and staff are welcome to get their flu shot anytime!

Magna Publications has a weekly newsletter with teaching tips, strategies, and the latest best practices of teaching offering approaches on a wide range of teaching topics, such as:

Visit go.UNCG.edu/TheTeachingProfessor and use your UNCG Email address to register.

Magna Publications offers a series of 20-minute and 40-minute workshops on teaching and learning topics from national experts in teaching and learning.

The UTLC has secured campus access to over 20 trainings on topics such as teaching effectiveness, generative AI, student engagement, course design, and much more.

The UTLC has additional new online resources available for you, including self-paced training options, resources for Generative AI, and teaching guides. We also have new syllabus resources up, including an updated syllabus template.

UNCG is pleased to be administering a pilot of a new teaching evaluation system, Anthology Evaluate.  Much of our feedback during the 2024/25 academic year was favorable, with users finding the system easy to use and the reporting to be accessible. 

Anthology uses research validated common questions; units can also add custom questions. The system mobile friendly and can be used in the classroom, which raised response rates for instructors who opted to do so this past year. Instructors and their heads have access to reporting one to two days after the close of the administration and can access their reports anytime they like online.

We are recruiting more pilot participants for this academic year! If you are interested in participating in the Spring 2026 Cohort, please click the button below to fill out the interest form.

If you have questions, please email the UTLC at utlc@uncg.edu.

Check out these upcoming opportunities from the UTLC and other partners on campus. Additionally, the university workshop calendar has opportunities.