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XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning

Teaching and Learning Week 2025: Nurturing Minds, Building Community

Dates: October 13th - 17th
Location: XCITE Commons, Rivera Library Rm. A0101A

Register Now

 

Explore the next steps for effective and inclusive teaching and learning at this year’s UCR Teaching and Learning Week hosted by XCITE.

Join the XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning for a week of events on engaging with students and implementing innovative teaching techniques. 

This year’s theme is “Nurturing Minds, Building Community”.

This annual conference is FREE and open to any UCR faculty, instructor, or graduate student interested in improving their teaching skills.

Seating is limited, so register today!

Come enjoy our events throughout the week. Practical and empowering sessions take the mystery out of integrating effective strategies into your courses.

Some events will be hybrid - in-person and live streamed, while others will be Zoom only. Recordings will become available on teaching.ucr.edu.

 

October 13th, 2025

  • 1 - 2 p.m. | "Second Round Exams and Formative Assessments to Support Student Wellness" with Joshua Wood and Analisa Flores

    Frequent, low-stakes opportunities to check learning can help offset the weight of high-stakes assessments in ways that help students track their own understanding in preparation for exams, while “second round exams” allow students to recover from low performance on high-stakes assessments they may have found particularly challenging. Hear from Healthy Pedagogy alumni on ways they’re using formative assessments and second round exams to support student wellness. 
     

    Modality: In Person & Zoom

October 14, 2025

  • 1 - 4 p.m. | Teaching and Learning Open House @ UCR

    We’re Open! Teaching and Learning resources are now all located in the Rivera Library. Please come visit and learn more about all the teaching, learning, and research-related resources available to all instructors and teaching assistants.

    • GradVantage (TA Development Program, Library Teaching and Learning)
      • Grad students' central resource hub for support as TAs, teachers, and researchers. Stop by to chat with librarians and educational developers to help you thrive in your projects, teaching, and professional development!
    • Rivera Help Desk (Library Teaching and Learning)
      • Start here for your library learning needs! The Help Desk hosts two services, BearHelp IT support and Library Help. Librarians are available for reference and research help, instructional design consultations, and referrals for advanced information services.
    • The Studio  (Library Teaching and Learning)
      • Visit The Studio for access to cutting-edge audio, video, and design technology, alongside expertise on integrating these tools and processes into the classroom. Whether an instructor or student, talk with our team about how to bring your creative learning to life from soundproof recording to zine-making and more!
    • XCITE Commons (XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning)
      • Take a peek into UCR's Classroom of the Future, as well as meet the XCITE teams that handle the faculty's educational technology needs and the media developers at XCITE Studios.
    • XCITE Sandbox (XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning)
      • Drop in on our makerspace and collaboration area for faculty teaching and learning innovation, and have a conversation with XCITE's Instructional Designers, Faculty Development Staff, and Research teams.

    Modality: In Person

    Free specialty coffee beverage for the first 75 instructors and graduate students who visit all five service centers in the library!

     

October 15, 2025

October 16, 2025

  • 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | From Chatbot to Tutor: Google Vertex in the Classroom

    Description:

    Prof. Neftali Watkinson Medina is piloting an AI tutor trained directly on course materials to complement the ULA tutoring program in Bourns College of Engineering. The AI Tutor will provide students 24/7 support while also encouraging them to seek in-person help when needed. For faculty, the project offers insight into how students are engaging with content, what questions they ask, how often they return, and whether AI nudges them toward deeper learning and face-to-face tutoring if AI cannot answer the question.

    Modality: In Person & Zoom

October 17, 2025

  • 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. | Accessibility Best Practices in the classroom (SDRC | XCITE)

    Deborah Nelson from the XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning and Will Pines from the Students with Disabilities Resource Center discuss course accessibility best practices. We will introduce the principles of Universal Design for Learning, common requests UCR faculty receive, and how to best support the students' approved accommodations. Some strategies for supporting are offering alternative formats for assignments, providing multiple forms of media to convey course content, and using thoughtful design elements in online components of the course. 

    Join us to learn how proactive design can reduce barriers, improve student outcomes, and create a more equitable learning experience for everyone.

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