Get Set Reset on Aug. 12 helps instructors at all levels be semester-ready

With UNM courses beginning this month, classroom preparation is top of mind for instructors across all of our campuses. And the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is here to help with its Get Set Reset virtual event coming up next week.

Get Set Reset will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. via Zoom, with sessions designed to appeal to instructors in all disciplines, all levels and all UNM campuses.

"Everyone can find something to suit their interests and needs," said Magdalena Vázquez Dathe, training and development consultant with CTL.

At the opening session, CTL Executive Director Erin Shortlidge will provide a welcome and an overview for the day.

Starting off the sessions, the keynote speaker will be Jamal Martin, professor of Africana Studies and Global Health in the Department of Africana Studies. His talk is titled "Welcoming Critical Dialogue into the Classroom: Teaching Practices for Sustaining Interconnectedness and Intellectual Growth." This session will address teaching approaches essential to fostering dialogue, cultivating relationships, nurturing well-being, and sustaining learning across differences.

Throughout the day, participants are encouraged to join sessions that align with their current interests as they plan for the semester. At 10 a.m., one of the presentations will be "Enhancing the General Education Experience," which will explore the faculty-developed, Academic Affairs-supported framework of Elevate Gen Ed, which helps instructors connect general education course content with essential skills students can use across academic, professional and community contexts.

There is also an emphasis on supporting graduate student teaching assistants, as highlighted in the session titled "From Graduate Student to Educator: Embracing Responsibilities, Building Connection, and Creating a Supportive Community in the Classroom."

"Our graduate students have journeyed with us through the years, and this panel of graduate teaching assistants - from various disciplines around UNM - will share their experiences of learning and developing into educators," said Jennifer Pollard, training and development consultant at CTL.

Other topics that will be covered this year include accommodations in the classroom, culturally responsive approaches to literacy across disciplines, how to provide meaningful feedback, working in teams, getting started with digital accessibility, addressing critical conversations in the classroom, and creating inclusive and accessible learning spaces for all.

In addition to valuable information, organizers emphasize that the event also fosters connections that can help instructors feel supported.

"Many of our participants say that they meet and meaningfully connect with colleagues from different disciplines through attending the sessions," Pollard said. "They are creating connections, learning from each other, and realizing that they are not alone."

Although the event is organized by the Center for Teaching and Learning, organizers emphasize that they intentionally collaborate with faculty, instructors and graduate students across the institution to deepen the impact of this event.

No preregistration is required, and each session has a separate Zoom link. Live captioning will be provided on all concurrent sessions.

For additional information, including detailed session descriptions, lists of presenters and Zoom links, visit the Get Set Reset program page, which also includes an optional note-taking guide to help capture memorable insights from each session.