CTE Bytes

CTE Bytes: Mini Workshops for Maximum Teaching Impact

CTE Bytes are short, interactive workshops the Center for Teaching Excellence can bring directly to your already-scheduled department meetings. They are:

  • Concise: Short, practical sessions (1020 minutes).
  • Customizable: Ready-made topics, but adaptable to departmental needs (e.g.,practical strategies on timely teaching topics, AI in the classroom, active learning, gamifying instruction, assignment design)
  • Designed to spark conversation, share research-based practices, and give faculty tools they can use immediately.
  • Portable: Delivered in any department meeting, in person or on Zoom.
  • Relevant: Focused on pressing teaching challenges (AI, conflict, engagement, assessment, etc.).

Please select one CTE Bytes Workshop from the menu below:

  • AI in the Classroom. Strategies to maximize/minimize AI use in SMU classrooms, plus discussion of the latest AI news and teaching applications.
  • Teaching in Times of Conflict. Practical approaches to address difficult student questions with confidence and care.
  • Gamifying Your Teaching. Techniques to make classes more engaging and dynamic through game-based learning.
  • Designing Engaging Presentations. Using technology and AI to create presentations that capture student attention.
  • Active Learning. Evidence-based methods to increase student engagement and participation.
  • Backward Design. A planning framework where instructors start with learning outcomes and work backward to design aligned lessons.
  • Assignment Design and Grading. Principles for equitable, transparent, and fair grading practices that support student success.
  • Beyond the Door: Transforming Office Hours into a Student  Success Zone: This mini-workshop helps instructors transform office hours into an intentional, welcoming space that increases student engagement, supports learning, and fosters student success. This session is adapted from a talk originally presented by Dr. Gabriela Vokic in her role as a CTE Faculty Affiliate.

If you wish the CTE to address another pedagogical topic, we are more than willing to prepare a custom CTE Bytes workshop for you.

Bring CTE Bytes to Your Department