Teaching Academy
Promoting, Recognizing and Supporting Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Newsletter (October 2026)

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Welcome to our October newsletter! Whether it’s leaves, sports, or scarves that say “it’s really fall” for you, we hope you find time to read and enjoy this month’s newsletter, which includes updates and multiple ways of staying connected with the Teaching Academy.

This month: We share a recap and resources from our Fall Retreat! We highlight leadership opportunities for campus and within the Academy. Fill your cup with professional learning, community building, and outreach opportunities from Wiscience, the Discussion Project, the Sustainability Forum, and the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy. Clinical and healthcare educators can find a fall cornucopia of learning opportunities in our Clinical Corner. And…the Executive Committee of the Academy is looking for faculty and graduate student members — nominate yourself and join the ExComm!

Questions or comments about the newsletter?
Contact Dan Pell, Sarah Pultorak, & Cassidy Rempel, Editors: editor-uwta-newsletter@g-groups.wisc.edu

Updates & Events | What’s happening in the Academy?

Fall Retreat: Using AI Critically and Creatively

On October 9, over 200 people gathered online and in person in the DeLuca forum for the Teaching Academy’s 2026 Fall Retreat: Using AI Critically and Creatively. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, Dean of College of Computer & Artificial Intelligence, introduced the event, giving a brief history of the creation of UW-Madison’s newest college and framing our current teaching context as a time to question, experiment, and change. Our featured speakers shared a variety of personal examples of how they use AI critically and creatively in their own teaching:

  • David Williamson Shaffer, Educational Psychology
  • Ainehi Edoro, English & African Cultural Studies
  • Milt Hwang, Business and Marketing
  • Qi Yang, Design Studies, and
  • Brooke Godfrey, Design Studies

In addition to the deep and lively conversations in the room and on Zoom, our audience and partners shared more than a dozen descriptions of additional ways instructors are using AI in their teaching across diverse disciplines.

Want to Revisit Content?

Questions about the Retreat?
Contact Dan Pell & Kate Rotzenberg retreats-uwta@g-groups.wisc.edu

Leadership Opportunities in the Teaching Academy

The Executive Committee seeks to fill multiple leadership positions:

  • up to 3 Faculty Executive Committee Members
  • up to 4 Future Faculty Partner (Graduate Student) Executive Committee Members

The UW-Madison Teaching Academy Executive Committee is composed of elected Fellows and Future Faculty Partners who actively work to better teaching and learning. | Learn more

Questions? Interested in applying? Contact the Executive Committee: teachingacademy@wisc.edu

Seeking New Members | Join the Teaching Academy

Honor a colleague—or nominate yourself! For over 30 years, the Academy’s mission has been to promote, recognize and support excellence in teaching and learning among faculty, academic staff and graduate students across campus and beyond. The Teaching Academy welcomes nominees who teach or support instruction for face-to-face, online, and hybrid classes, clinical practice, field instruction, and more. | Learn how to Become a Member

Questions about membership? Are you an FFP who has moved on to another position in the University? Contact teachingacademy@wisc.edu

2026 Induction Ceremony & Member Meeting

(Thursday, 14 May 2027 | 4 – 5 pm | Landmark Room (3rd floor), Union South)

The Teaching Academy will be holding a member meeting and induction ceremony during the Teaching & Learning Symposium.

Questions about the Induction Ceremony? Contact Kate Rotzenberg katherine.rotzenberg@wisc.edu

Job Opportunity: Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Strategy

From the Office of the Provost:

  1. Apply for the position or share with qualified applicants by October 23.
  2. To Apply: Login to Workday, go to Organization > Jobs Hub > Browse Jobs then search for the position using JR10015565
  3. Access step-by-step instructions on viewing job posting and applying as an internal candidate | Learn more

Member FYI | News, Events, Training, and Learning Opportunities

The Discussion Project | January 2027 Courses Open for Registration

The Discussion Project is a professional learning course to support instructors in designing, implementing, and facilitating high-quality classroom discussion. The course is designed to support instructors teaching classes of up to 40 students although many instructors who teach large classes have taken the course and found it effective for considering how to run interactive lectures and how best to prepare their TAs to run effective discussion sections.

For Faculty & Academic Staff:

  • 6, 7, 8 January 2027 | 8:30 am – 4:30 pm | Merit Library (Room 350), Teacher Education Building | Register
  • 11, 12, 13 January 2027 | 8:30 am – 4:30 pm | Merit Library (Room 350), Teacher Education Building | Register

For Graduate Student Teaching Assistants & Graduate Student Lecturers:

  • 13, 14, 15 January 2027 | 8:30 am – 4:30 pm |259 Educational Sciences | Register

Questions about the Discussion Project? Contact discussion-project@education.wisc.edu

WISCIENCE Teaching Fellows | Call for Applications

Are you a grad student or postdoc in STEM pursuing a career that includes college-level teaching? If so, we have two unique, year-long professional development programs that offer in-depth training and hands-on experience with inclusive, evidence-based teaching.

Scientific Teaching Fellows. For those in the biosciences (or connected fields). Get in-depth training and hands-on experience instructing an introductory biology course at UW-Madison collaboratively with a cohort of peers.

Madison College Teaching Fellows. For those interested in teaching biology, chemistry, physics, math, or computer science (especially at two-year schools). Get in-depth training and hands-on experience instructing an introductory course at Madison College.

5th Annual Sustainability Symposium | Call for Proposals

Faculty, staff and students are invited to submit proposals to share their sustainability-related work at this year’s Sustainability Symposium.

This year’s theme is Sustainability and Entrepreneurship. There will be flash talks, poster presentations, and a keynote address by Dr. Erica Plambeck ’94 of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

Questions about the Sustainability Symposium? Contact Will Erikson: werikson@wisc.edu

Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy | Share your research with the public

The Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy (WISL) invites your participation in a major effort to help connect scholarly research with society. WISL’s program, Communicating UW-Madison Research to the Public, encourages UW-Madison PhD students and postdocs to write a chapter in their thesis — or in the case of postdocs, a stand-alone article — explaining their scholarly research to general audiences. The public supports our research enterprise. Let us tell them what we are doing and why. WISL will provide guidance from a seasoned editor and, once the written piece is successfully completed, a cash award of $250.00.

Writing About Your Research. Submit a thesis chapter or article in which you tell the general reader (for example, a family member, friend, neighbor, community member, elected official, taxpayer, or donor who provides support) what your research is about, its significance, and potential value to society. These are to be personal statements, using a storytelling approach. Not a summary, nor is it written for presentation in a scientific seminar or at a professional conference. You are to write in the first-person style. Use “I” not “we.” Avoid wording commonly used in professional publications such as “it was shown/found/concluded” or similar. Chapters and articles should aim to have the reader develop a sense of appreciation rather than a deep understanding of the intricacies of scholarly work. Both the content and the style should engage readers and urge them to continue reading. When finished, these pieces will be posted on the WISL website.

Submission options:

To participate:
Contact Cayce Osborne: cosborne@chem.wisc.edu
Please indicate your department, the subject of your research, and, if you’re writing a thesis, your approximate defense date in your message.

Have something to share? Academy members work in diverse roles and learning environments across our university. If you have news, events, training, or opportunities you would like to share with the Academy, please contact the editors. Messages received by the second Monday of the month may be included in that month’s newsletter.

Contact Dan Pell, Sarah Pultorak, and Cassidy Rempel, Editors editor-uwta-newsletter@g-groups.wisc.edu

Clinical Teacher Learning Community: Network, Explore, Build. "Furthering Clinical Education"

Learning Community Update | Clinical Teachers’ Corner

Healthcare Continuing Education Professionals Day (Friday, 15 January 2027) – Proposal for a Lightning Talk or Poster due 18 December. Continuing education planners and presenters, educators, researchers, coordinators, accreditation specialists, and others engaged in healthcare continuing education are encouraged to share innovations, best practices, research, and experiences related to accredited education for healthcare professionals. | Learn more & submit an abstract

Save the Date: Healthcare Continuing Ed Professionals Day Conference (Friday, 25 January 2027, Health Sciences Learning Center). UW-Madison Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (UW-Madison ICEP) offers a special program to celebrate the professionals who ensure that healthcare providers stay informed and capable of delivering the best possible care to their patients.

Save the Date: Medical Education Day (May 20th, 2027, Health Sciences Learning Center, Madison, Wisconsin). This free, in-person program will offer engaging learning sessions and networking opportunities for faculty and staff from around the state. | Learn more

Articles For Discussion. Participate in discussion of articles featured in the Clinical Teacher Learning Community. Topics include learner assessment, precision education, serious games, and medical education and artificial intelligence. This online community also offers connections, news, and resources for clinical teachers. | View articles

Courses | Education Essentials. Education Essentials is a collection of 8 modules aimed at developing key skills for all interprofessional health science teachers, in various teaching settings. Registration is free and these courses can be completed at your own pace. | Learn more & register

Resources. UW-Madison Libraries offer a compilation of resources on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Academic Health Sciences. This includes definitions of important concepts for understanding the AI landscape, and use of AI in teaching and learning.

Explore:

Questions? Topics you would like to see? Announcements for the next issue? Contact Marianna Shershneva: marianna.shershneva@wisc.edu

Get Involved! in bold letters beside images of a pile of I Am UW stickers.

Ways to contribute to the Academy’s ongoing activities

Fall & Winter Retreats. Join the Retreat Planning Committee to organize & facilitate campus-wide teaching development events. Contact Dan Pell & Kate Rotzenberg: retreats-uwta@g-groups.wisc.edu

Members+ Events. The Members+ Committee seeks Fellows who are interested in organizing one-per-semester roundtable discussions among members and guests on issues surrounding teaching & learning. Contact Claire Barrett claire.barrett@wisc.edu

U-CLaSS. Take part in U-CLaSS sessions to explore teaching and learning from the student perspective. Contact jamie.henke@wisc.edu

Membership Committee. The Membership Committee seeks Fellows (Faculty & Academic Staff) and FFPs to help review nominations. Honor great campus educators & promote excellence by helping to review nominations. Contact uwta-membership@g-groups.wisc.edu

New Member Induction Ceremony. Want to help plan an event honoring our newest members? Contact Kate Rotzenberg katherine.rotzenberg@wisc.edu

Newsletter. Have ideas or events to contribute? Want to add someone to the mailing list? Contact Dan Pell, Sarah Pultorak & Cassidy Rempel: editor-uwta-newsletter@g-groups.wisc.edu