Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning

This annual symposium is a celebration of teaching and learning at RIT, and a time for faculty to come together to discuss and inspire each other on a variety of teaching and learning topics.

2025 Summer Institute + AI Symposium

The Center for Teaching and Learning’s third annual Summer Institute will take place May 14-16, 2025. The theme of this year’s conference is “Creativity and Innovation” in teaching and learning. Faculty can look forward to engaging workshops, panels, guest speakers and presentations across four main tracks:

Teaching and Supporting Students with Technology
Creating Engaging Learning Experiences
Advancing Faculty Success
Exploring AI In Practice

This year’s Summer Institute is hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, sponsored by RIT Research, and offered in partnership with the AI Hub.

Registration

Registration is open!

This event is free and open to the entire RIT community. Whether you are a seasoned educator or new to the field, we encourage you to participate and contribute to this vibrant exchange of ideas.

We look forward to seeing you at the Summer Institute on Teaching and Learning & AI Symposium, as we come together to explore new horizons in education.

Register by April 29

Keynote Speakers

We are pleased to announce three exceptional speakers to headline the Summer Institute this year:

Melissa McCarron, Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish at the University at Buffalo

Marina Smitherman, Interim Dean, School of Health Professions, Professor of Biology at Dalton State College

Andrew White, Co-Founder & Head of Science of FutureHouse.

Program Schedule

DAY 1: Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Start Time	End Time	Event
8:00am	8:25am	Registration & Breakfast Premium Continental Breakfast Location: SHED, Room 1300 Maker Showcase
8:30am	9:50am	Opening Remarks Prabu David, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Keynote Address Melissa McCarron, Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish at University of Buffalo Location: SHED, Room 3300
10:00am	10:50am	Concurrent Session Block #1 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Exploring Rhetoric, Representation, and Ableism in Pedagogical Practices Jessica Hardin, Associate Professor, COLA; Kaitlin Stack Whitney, Assistant Professor, COLA; Angeline Hamele, Industrial Design MFS Student Location: WAL-3420 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Thinking Outside the (Zoom) Box Frank Marra, Adjunct Faculty, COLA Location: WAL-3430 Track: Teaching with Technology Can Generative AI Help Students Learn? Let's Ask RIT Students. Christine Ross, Adjunct Faculty, SOIS Location: WAL-3440
11:00am	11:50am	Concurrent Session Block #2 Inclusive Learning in Groups: UDL Strategies for Neurodiverse ALL Students Sandi Connelly, Principal Lecturer, COS; Kendra Evans, Director, Spectrum Support Programs Location: WAL-3420 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Online discussions are boring. Don’t you think you’ve sawed that log long enough?! Serena Tucker-Cooke, Assistant Director, NTID Location: WAL-3430 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences 5 Ways AI Will Power Student Learning and My Productivity This Fall Shaun Foster, Professor, CAD Location: WAL-3440 Track: Teaching with Technology
12:00pm	1:20pm	Lunch Boxed lunches, and beverages Location: SHED, 3rd floor Lobby
12:30pm	1:20pm	Provost's Learning Innovation Grant (PLIG) Poster Showcase Location: SHED, Room 3350
1:30pm	2:20pm	Concurrent Session Block #3 Active Learning Through Case Studies---Applying Concepts to Real World Examples Raymond Scattone, Senior Lecturer, COLA; Kaitlin Stack Whitney, Assistant Professor, COLA; Eunju Kang, Senior Lecturer, COLA Location: WAL-3430 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Students perceptions of effective use of myCourses Neil Hair, Executive Director, CTL Location: WAL-3440 Track: Teaching with Technology Happy Students, Happy Teachers: Strategies for Reducing Stress for Students and Faculty Jessamy Comer, Senior Lecturer, COLA Location: WAL-3490 Track: Advancing Faculty Success
2:30pm	3:20pm	Concurrent Session Block #4 From Routine to Riveting: Ten Tips for Engaging Presentations Jenna Sadue, Assistant Director, CTL; Sandi Connelly, Principal Lecturer, COS Location: WAL-3420 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Roll a Persuasion Check: Using Games to Teach Rhetorical Appeal Philip Anselmo, Lecturer, SOIS Location: WAL-3430 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Kritik in the Classroom: A Hands-On Guide to Peer Assessment Garret Arcoraci, Senior Lecturer, GCCIS Location: WAL-3440 Track:Teaching with Technology
Reception for RIT President Munson More information to be provided.

DAY 2: Thursday, May 15, 2025

Start Time	End Time	Event
8:00am	8:25am	Registration & Breakfast Premium Continental Breakfast Location: SHED, Room 1300 Maker Showcase
8:30am	9:50am	Opening Remarks David C. Munson Jr. RIT President Keynote: Put your Own Mask on First: Flourishing as Faculty in Higher Education Marina Smitherman, Interim Dean, School of Health Professions, Professor of Biology at Dalton State College. Location: SHED, Room 3300
10:00am	10:50am	Concurrent Session Block #5 Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) @ RIT Joe Geigel, Professor, GCCIS; Erika Mesh, Senior Lecturer, GCCIS Location: WAL-3420 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Teaching that Evolves with Technology Colin Mathers, Senior Lecturer, COLA; Bob Shea, Adjunct Faculty, COLA Location: WAL-3430 Track: Teaching with Technology Team Up for Learning: Active, Flipped & Student-Driven Cindy Tawaf, Lecturer, CET Location: WAL-3440 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences
11:00am	11:50am	Concurrent Session Block #6 Using Improv for Student Engagement and Learning Israa Thiab, Visiting Assistant Professor, SCB Location: WAL-3420 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Tutorial: Gradescope Autograders for Programming Assignments Richard Lange, Assistant Professor, GCCIS Location: WAL-3430 Track: Teaching with Technology Using Starfish as an Instructional Tool for Student Engagement and Success Sue Frizzell, Associate Director, University Advising Office; Lynne Mazadoorian, Assistant Vice President, University Advising Office Location: WAL-3440 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences We asked, you answered: Insights from the 24-25 Academic Technology Survey Jenna Sadue (CTL), Ian Webber (CTL) Location: WAL-3490 Track: Teaching with Technology
12:00pm	12:50pm	Lunch Taste of Italy buffet, and beverages Location: SHED, 3rd floor Lobby & SHED, Room 3300
1:00pm	1:50pm	Concurrent Session Block #7 Strategies to help with larger classes (in the SHED) Mario Gomes, Principal Lecturer, KGCOE Location: SHED 3350 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Supporting Faculty in Designing Inclusive and Effective Presentation Assignments Elizabeth Reeves O'Connor, Principal Lecturer, COLA Location: WAL-3430 Track: Engaging Learning Experiences Creating Computer Animations for Improved Attention and Comprehension Thomas Kinsman, Senior Lecturer, GCCIS Location: WAL-3440 Track: Teaching with Technology Breaking Through Barriers: Advancing Faculty Wellness with the Immunity to Change Framework Marina Smitherman (Keynote Speaker) Location: WAL-3490 Track: Advancing Faculty Success
2:00pm	2:50pm	Panel Discussion: Teaching Excellence - Two Decades of Perspective Moderator: Neil Hair, Executive Director, CTL Panelists: Satish Kandlikar, James Mallory, David Neumann, Mike Yacci, Jayanti Venkataraman Location: SHED, Room 1380 Sklarsky Glass Box Theatre
3:00pm	5:00pm	Reception Open bar with cheese and crackers Location: SHED, Room A950 Atrium

DAY 3: Friday, May 16, 2025

Start Time	End Time	Event
8:00am	8:25am	Registration & Breakfast Premium Continental Breakfast Location: SHED, Room 1300 Maker Showcase
AI in Practice Series
8:30am	9:50am	Opening Remarks Chris Collison, RIT Director of AI Hub & Initiatives; Jane King Harris Endowed Professor, COS Keynote: The Automation of Scientific Discovery with Artificial Intelligence Andrew White, Co-Founder & Head of Science of FutureHouse Location: SHED, Room 3300
10:00am	11:50am	Concurrent Session Block #8 Track: Understanding AI (Theory, Ethics & Systems) “Ask Me Almost Anything”: Demystifying GenAI with Science, Art, and Answers Chris Collison (AI HUB / COS), Andrew White (FutureHouse), Shaun Foster (CAD) Location: SHED 3300 Track: Hands-On AI (Tools, Practice & Prototypes) From Chaos to Everyday: How to get started with Genertaive AI Quinn Karley (ITS), Garrett Arcoraci (GCCIS) Location: SHED 3350
11:30am	12:45pm	Concurrent Session Block #9 Track: Understanding AI (Theory, Ethics & Systems) Beneath the Bot: Building Responsible AI Tools from Scratch Chris Collison (COS), Ryan Tolnay (RIT LIbraries), Gregory Ojiem (Computer Science, BS Student), Hunter Landofi (Computer Science, BS Student) Location: SHED 3300 Track: Hands-On AI (Tools, Practice & Prototypes) From Prompt to Performance: Build & Optimize Your Own GPT Jennifer Freer (RIT Libraries) Location: SHED 3350
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Griffiss Institute Series
10:00am	10:50am	Research Collaborations with the Griffiss Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory Michael Feng, Senior Director, Innovation and Partnerships, Griffiss Institute; and AFRL Representative Location: Wallace Library, Room 3430
11:00am	11:50pm	Faculty Insights in working with AFRL + Q&A Cory Merkel (KGCOE), Alexander Ororbia (COS), Seth Hubbard (COS) Location: Wallace Library, Room 3430

Call for Proposals

Thank you for your interest in presenting at the 2025 Summer Institute + AI Symposium! The Call for Proposals is now closed.

Proposals are reviewed by members of the Center for Teaching and Learning, composed of staff and faculty. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by Friday, March 21, 2025. Please email ctl@rit.edu if you have any questions.

Presenter Information

Session Presenters

Presentations, workshops, panel discussions and roundtable discussions will take place throughout the Summer Institute + AI Symposium. All sessions are 50-minutes, and should include time for discussion/reflection.

Wednesday, May 14 and Thursday, May 15 will include sessions within the following tracks:

Teaching with Technology: Exploring the effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.
Engaging Learning Experiences: Strategies for designing meaningful and interactive learning environments.
Advancing Faculty Success: Supporting faculty in their professional growth and teaching effectiveness.

Friday, May 16 will consist of:

AI in Practice session tracks in the morning half of the day, followed by
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) session tracks in the early afternoon portion of the day.

Please note:

All sessions are 50-minutes, and should include time for discussion/reflection.
Presenters are asked to also register for the conference, if you are plan to attend other sessions.
If your session requires handouts or other printed materials, please plan to bring these items with you. We will not be able to make copies.
Please provide your presentation and any handouts in advance so we may make these materials available to attendees and interpreters in advance of the event.
If you would like to discuss your session in advance of submitting your proposal, please email ctl@rit.edu.

PLIG Poster Showcase

The 2025 PLIG Poster Showcase on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, will feature faculty recipients of the 2024 Provost’s Learning Innovation Grant (PLIG) as they present their funded projects through poster presentations. This session highlights innovative approaches to teaching and learning, offering a platform for faculty to share their insights, strategies, and early outcomes with the campus community. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore creative projects designed to enhance student learning and engagement while connecting with colleagues who are advancing pedagogical innovation. Time and location will be announced shortly.

Guidelines:

Poster size is a maximum of 48” wide x 48” high; standard poster size is 36” wide x 48” high. You may choose a vertical or horizontal format.
Bring your poster rolled up; posters should not be foam core mounted, unless otherwise stated.
Posters are to be hung between an hour prior to the Showcase on Wednesday, May 14, 2025; your poster must remain hanging until the end of the session.
Posters will be hung on the wall with magnets which will be provided.
Poster presenters are responsible for the design and printing of posters.
Poster presenters must be on hand with their poster during the session.
If your poster is wider than 4’, the edges will need to curl behind so as not to encroach on the posters next to yours.

Past Years

2024 Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning + AI Symposium
Dates: May 14-15, 2024
Theme: Teaching the 21st Century Student

2023 Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning
Dates: May 13-15, 2023
Theme: Active Learning