February 2024

2023 was a year of milestones for Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education (did you catch our name change announcement?) — we hosted the inaugural Emerging Pedagogies Summit, celebrated 45 years of OLLI at Duke, and surpassed 10 million enrollments in Duke Coursera courses, to name a few. But we could not have done it all without you, our wonderful collaborators both at and beyond Duke. Your passion and enthusiasm for innovative teaching for all learners is the key to our success. We cannot wait to see what else we accomplish together this year!

Generative artificial intelligence tools are here to stay, but LILE is ready to help you adapt to our new, AI-augmented reality. This spring, we are offering multiple events that focus on practical ways to engage with generative AI in your everyday work as a staff or faculty member.

Our first event — AI Fundamentals: A Beginner’s Guide to Generative Artificial Intelligence — will be held Friday, February 23 from noon to 1 pm EST. Join this workshop if you have not engaged with generative AI much (or at all) and want a general understanding of what it is and how to use it. All workshops are online and all registrants will receive a recording of the session.

Our teaching innovation team partners with Duke instructors to support new approaches to student-centered teaching and active learning. Check out some of the services they are offering this Spring and contact us if you are interested in participating in any of them:

Small Group Instructional Feedback (SGIF) sessions allow instructors to reflect on successes and identify specific areas for improvement in their courses through a process facilitated by a LILE consultant. Learn more >

SGIF sessions should be scheduled to occur shortly before or just after Spring Break.

Our Visit a Classroom program provides Duke faculty with an opportunity to gain new teaching perspectives by observing their colleagues teaching in their classrooms. LILE will provide guidance on how to observe classes with an eye towards reflecting on your own teaching. At the end of the semester, the group will share insights and ideas for future courses. Learn more > 

We have a teaching consultant for every discipline, so no matter your classroom setting, we have someone who can understand and work within the context of your course's needs. If you want to try something new, just contact us and we will get you connected with the right consultant to help you.

All events are virtual and in Eastern time unless otherwise noted.

Free Virtual Conference: Transforming the Teaching and Learning Environment

February 5 - 16

The 16th annual Transforming the Teaching & Learning Environment virtual conference will be held February 5-16, 2024. Over the course of ten weekdays, 60 one-hour sessions will be delivered using Zoom; see the schedule of events here (note that times are in CST). Each one will be live and interactive, and topics will range from gamification to mobile learning to flipped classroom to emerging technologies and many more.

Learning Innovation has purchased institutional access so that all Duke faculty and staff may "attend" this virtual conference; contact us to receive information on how to access the event.

Extending the Classroom

Tuesday, February 13  |  12 - 1:15 pm
Rubenstein Library, Breedlove Conference Room, Room 349
Part of the Bass Society Seminar on Teaching Excellence

If we are serious about Duke’s mission in cultivating a community of life-long learners, then we must recognize that most of that learning for most of the rest of their life will happen outside the classroom. Duke’s Program in American Grand Strategy takes that insight seriously and tries to construct learning opportunities that are based outside the classroom and in venues that involve intergenerational learning (including involving alums). When it works, it is great, but it is hard to pull off and easy to get wrong – Peter Feaver will share examples of both types of outcomes.

Registration is required. This event is open to Duke faculty only; junior faculty are encouraged to attend. Lunch is provided for registrants. Register Now >

AI Fundamentals: A Beginner’s Guide to Generative Artificial Intelligence

Friday, February 23  |  12 - 1 pm

In this workshop we will trace the impact of generative AI over the last year. We will review what generative AI means and discuss how natural language processing has created an AI accessible to all. Finally we will discuss the basics of how to use generative AI. This means how to create prompts that will get you the best results in your conversations with the AI. This will be an educational session and not hands-on instruction. Register Now >

Pedagogies of Care Lunch & Learn Series: Trauma-Informed Teaching

Monday, February 26  |  12 - 1 pm

How does trauma impact learning? As educators, how can we ethically create learning experiences that take trauma into account? What does it mean to be trauma-informed? In this lunch and learn session, Professors Jan Holton and Warren Kinghorn from Duke Divinity School will share their work on trauma-informed teaching. The format of this session will be an hour-long virtual lunch and learn, with about 30 minutes of presentation and 30 minutes of discussion/Q&A. Register Now >

Canvas Workshops

Multiple Dates & Times

Spring 2024 is the last term instructors may use Sakai at Duke. We will continue to offer Canvas workshops monthly throughout the semester to provide ample opportunities to learn the best practices for using Canvas. We have also added a new workshop focused on accessibility - see all of our upcoming Canvas workshops here.

Wooclap can help instructors boost engagement in class and measure student understanding through interactive questionnaires, multimedia, whiteboards, and other collaborative activities. Learn more >

As the effects of climate change are felt across the globe, the time is now for enacting sustainable, climate-smart policies and solutions. 

This course is designed for motivated, early-to mid-career professionals in careers related to policy who are interested in building a stronger foundation of knowledge in climate and sustainability.

Duke Faculty Advancement is accepting research proposals from Duke faculty through February 12.

Success of the survey depends on high participation from the Duke community, and responses will be accepted through February 16. Learn more >

Yakut Gazi, Vice Provost of Learning Innovation and Digital Education, was interviewed by UPCEA's Alternative Credentials Network to share key 

reflections on early-stage credential strategies and considerations. Watch the interview on YouTube or read the transcript.

Dr. Carol Hamilton is still teaching medicine at Duke even though she retired in 2018. These days her students are Duke retirees, Duke alumni and other “lifelong learners.” Keep reading >

Elise Mueller, LILE Associate Director of Teaching Innovation, was interviewed by Inside Higher Ed to comment on a unique experiment being conducted using AI at Ferris State University. Read the article on IHE >

Our Pre-College programming was nominated for Durham Magazine's annual "Best of Durham" contest - help us win the "Best Summer Camp" category by casting your vote >