Learning Communities
A faculty learning community is a specifically structured learning community of faculty, instructors, and staff in higher education with a curriculum that enhances teaching and learning and includes the goals of building community, engaging in scholarly practice, and developing the scholarship of teaching and learning. (Cox, 2019)
Spring 2025 Learning Communities
Learning communities are open to all UMD instructors and graduate instructors unless otherwise specified in the description.
Are you actively experimenting with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tools like ChatGPT in your teaching? This learning community is designed for instructors across disciplines to connect with each other and discuss what you have been doing and learning so far. We will spend our time sharing ideas, class activities you’ve done (both successes and failures), resources, and questions.
This learning community will be a great fit for you if you:
- Have played around with some AI-based tools yourself
- Have already incorporated these tools in some way into your course assignments and/or teaching practice and would be willing to share about your experiences
- Are open-minded and excited to learn more from your peers
We will meet on Wednesdays (2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12) from 10:00-11:00am in ESJ 1103. Meetings will be in-person with the option to call in virtually as needed.
Coordinated by Mona Thompson, TLTC. Questions or accessibility needs? Contact Mona at mona1@umd.edu.
Register for Artificial Intelligence in Teaching (Advanced).
We are limiting this community to 15 spots, so if you are interested, please register early to guarantee your spot.
Have you been curious about exploring artificial intelligence-based tools such as ChatGPT in your classes but have not yet had the time to do so? This learning community is designed to introduce you to some AI-based tools and how to use them, then guide you to think about ways you could update your course content and assignments to leverage them.
No prior experience with AI is needed for this learning community – beginners are encouraged to sign up! Please come with an open mind, an interest in playing around with some new tools, a desire to learn from and share with your colleagues, and a curiosity for where that might lead you in your teaching.
There are three sections of this learning community:
Section 1 - Mondays, February - March
Section 1 will meet on Mondays (2/3, 2/10, 2/17, 2/24, 3/3, 3/10) from 2:00-3:00pm in ESJ 1103. Meetings will be in-person with the option to call in virtually as needed.
Coordinated by Dawn Simounet, TLTC. Questions or accessibility needs? Contact Dawn at simounet@umd.edu.
Register for the Monday section of AI Playground.
Section 2 - Thursdays, February - April
Section 2 will meet on Thursdays (2/6, 2/20, 3/6, 3/13, 3/27, 4/10) from 11:00am-12:15pm in ESJ 1103. Meetings will be in-person with the option to call in virtually as needed.
Coordinated by Louisa Nkrumah, TLTC. Questions or accessibility needs? Contact Louisa at lnkrumah@umd.edu.
Register for the Thursday section of AI Playground.
Section 3 - Tuesdays, March - May
Section 3 will meet on Mondays (3/25, 4/1, 4/8, 4/22, 4/29, 5/6) from 11:30am-12:30pm in ESJ 1103. Meetings will be in-person with the option to call in virtually as needed.
Coordinated by Jackelyn López Roshwalb, TLTC. Questions or accessibility needs? Contact Jackelyn at roshwalb@umd.edu.
Register for the Tuesday section of AI Playground.
We are limiting each section of this community to 15 spots, so if you are interested, please register early to guarantee your spot.
Writing is one of our most valuable tools for communication as researchers and working professionals, and it can be a powerful learning tool for students across disciplines. But most of us received very little explicit teaching about expert communication in our fields, and even less in how to support student writers.
In this learning community, we'll explore the question, "How can I best help students write well (in my field)?." Guided by Adler-Kassner & Wardle's 2022, Writing Expertise: A Research-Based Approach to Writing and Learning Across Disciplines, we'll explore what it means to write well in our fields, as well as research-based strategies and activities that can help improve our writing assignments and enrich the learning experiences we offer students.
We will meet on Thursdays (3/13, 3/27, 4/3, 4/17, 5/1, 5/8) from 2:00-3:30pm in ESJ 1103. Meetings will be in-person with the option to call in virtually as needed.
Coordinated by Sara Wilder and Tom Earles, Writing Center, and Ginny Hutcheson, TLTC. Questions or accessibility needs? Contact Ginny at ghutches@umd.edu.
Need help registering for learning communities in Workday?
Watch this short video, read the job aid, or ask the UMD Virtual Agent (chatbot).
If you have trouble registering, please email tltc-admin@umd.edu