What Happens in the Classroom is the Main Event
2026-02-24 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Photo: MIT Image Library

Dr. Carlo Rotella, Professor of English, American Studies, and Journalism at Boston College

Description

What happens in the classroom is getting more, not less, cutting-edge all the time. Face-to-face teaching and learning become rarer and more valuable with each advance in educational technology. At the same time, the higher-ed classroom is a black box in our culture. There’s no lack of strong opinions about what happens or doesn’t happen there, but not enough practical discussion of the details. This talk is about those details, especially the mechanics of classroom citizenship and the importance of building a community of inquiry.

About the Speaker

Dr. Carlo Rotella, Professor of English, American Studies, and Journalism at Boston College

Carlo Rotella is a professor of English, American Studies, and Journalism at Boston College. He writes regularly for the New York Times Magazine — most recently an essay on teaching English in the age of AI — and his work has also appeared in the New Yorker and Best American Essays. A recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, U.S. State Department grants to lecture in China and Bosnia, and the Whiting Writers Award, he has written books about the postindustrial city, boxing, blues, and urban literature and film, among other subjects. His latest book, What Can I Get Out of This?: Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics, is about what happens in the classroom.

Application Period for the Spring 2026 Inclusive Teaching Track
2026-03-02 12:00 - 2026-03-08 23:59
About the Program

The Inclusive Teaching Track is a sequence of two interactive workshops focused on cultivating equitable and welcoming classrooms in which all students can learn and reach their potential. Participants will reflect on their own experiences and perspectives and learn evidence-based strategies to design structured and relational learning experiences. By the end of the track, participants will be able to apply principles of inclusive teaching to plan a teaching practice or learning activity that will make classrooms more equitable in future teaching or education-related careers in higher education.

Workshop Schedule

Inclusive Teaching as a Mindset

Thursday, April 2, 1 – 3 pm

In the first workshop, we will define inclusive teaching and use it to evaluate common approaches to teaching in our disciplines. By introducing specific strategies, we will learn ways to invite students into the learning experience to be responsive to the diversity in the classroom. We will practice skills in evaluating a teaching practice to promote more inclusive classroom dynamics and to consider how your own identities impact your perspectives on teaching.

Principles and Strategies in Inclusive Teaching

Thursday, April 16, 1 – 3 pm

In this workshop, we will discuss research that informs students’ sense of belonging and delve into principles of inclusive teaching. We will work together to apply these principles by planning how to clearly communicate the purpose of learning, build a sense of community, and signal the importance of diverse perspectives. Through the application of key principles of inclusive teaching, participants will identify concrete strategies to create a structured and relational classroom in which all students can learn and reach their potential.

How to Apply

Any graduate student is welcome to apply. Applications must be received by 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, March 8, to be considered. If you have additional questions or encounter difficulty with the application, please contact Ben Hansberry.

Please note that the Apply button will not work until the application is open.

When and Why Do Students Read for Class?
2026-03-10 15:30 - 16:30
Note: Change in day and time from the announcement in the TLL newsletter.

Dr. Liz Norell, Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Mississippi.

Description

Drawing on survey data and focus group findings from a spring 2025 pilot project, this workshop will present the top reasons students say they skip readings in their undergraduate courses. Dr. Norell will then share strategies on how to make the goals of course readings more transparent and meaningful for students, with plenty of time for Q&A. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of students’ perspectives on course readings and ideas for how to frame the importance of the readings so students can engage with course materials more effectively.

Open to the MIT teaching community. Space is limited.

About the Speaker

Dr. Liz Norell serves as Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Mississippi. She has spent more than 20 years teaching in higher education, including stints in composition, journalism, new media, and political science — much of it as an adjunct faculty member teaching simultaneously at multiple institutions, including community colleges. She completed a PhD in political science at the University of Texas at Dallas. Liz’s first book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching, was published by the University of Oklahoma Press’s brand-new series, Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed, co-edited by James Lang and Michelle Miller. Liz is passionate about equitable, inclusive teaching, constructive conversations across differences, and fostering meaningful learning. She is also dedicated to boosting awareness of disability in higher education. You can find Liz on social media (@liznorell) and at her website, liznorell.com.

Leveraging the Power of Feedback for Student Motivation and Equity: An Evidence-Based and Practical Perspective
2026-03-19 14:00 - 15:00
By Olena/Adobe Stock

Dr. Alison Koenka, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Oklahoma

Description

Academic feedback–or messages provided to learners about their performance–is a powerful tool that instructors can leverage to boost student learning and motivation and to create more equitable college classrooms. High-quality feedback provides learners with valuable information about their current performance and guidance on how to improve. However, researchers have found that many students fail to engage with feedback or respond negatively to it, especially when it is negative or critical. Subsequently, feedback can either support or hinder students’ learning and motivation, as well as the overall rigor and equity of the classroom environment.

Dr. Alison Koenka will broaden our understanding of feedback, presenting it as a multi-level phenomenon that goes beyond comments on graded assignments. She will share research on how different forms of feedback shape students’ motivation and learning, and how students engage with feedback. The talk will conclude with actionable suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of feedback provided to students and to support students’ engagement with feedback.

About the Speaker

Dr. Alison Koenka is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Oklahoma. She holds a BA in Psychology from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Duke University. Koenka completed her postdoctoral training in Educational Psychology at The Ohio State University. Her research explores students’ motivation in STEM across secondary school and higher education settings. Dr. Koenka’s lab pursues these interests through two interrelated lines of inquiry. First, she and her students investigate the motivational consequences of academic feedback, including spontaneous interactions occurring between teachers and students, grades and written feedback, and implicit, enduring feedback that often occurs at curriculum and/or policy levels (e.g., mathematics tracking). Second, her lab conducts work that centers on the motivational experiences of youth from understudied populations. This research has been funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, the American Educational Research Association, and the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Koenka was ranked as a top-producing early-career scholar in educational psychology journals from 2015-2021; she was also identified in 2024 as a Top-Cited Global Researcher by Stanford University and Elsevier Repository. Dr. Koenka is the 2025 recipient of the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education Early Career Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring and is the 2024 recipient of the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education Pre-Tenure Faculty Award.
