Want to engage with candidates for the next Koehler Center Teaching & Learning Consultant? Each of five candidate will present a 30-minute faculty professional development session designed for TCU. Dates, titles and descriptions of the 5 sessions follow. Q&A will follow, and you can provide feedback on each candidate. Resumes and CVs of the candidates will be available at the sessions.

Monday, February 16, 2026 10:00 AM to 10:50 AM CT

Clear Expectations, Better Learning: TILT Your Assessments  

Students often struggle with assignments because expectations aren't clear. This practical workshop introduces the TILT (Transparency in Learning and Teaching) framework's three key elements—purpose, task, and criteria—and guides you through applying them to your own assessments (or one of our samples!). Leave with concrete strategies to help students understand what success looks like and why the work matters for their learning.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026 9:00 AM to 9:50 AM CT

Optimize your time: Evidence based high impact strategies to build student connection

Faculty often face a perceived trade-off between delivering rigorous content and implementing active learning, particularly within the constraints of large lecture environments. This session provides an overview of evidence-based, time-efficient interventions designed to enhance student motivation and engagement.

Monday, February 23, 2026 9:00 AM to 9:50 AM CT

Small Shifts, Big Impact: Refining Student Engagement Through Evidence-Based Teaching Practice

Faculty bring deep disciplinary expertise and established teaching practices to their classrooms. The challenge is not learning how to teach, but refining instructional decisions that sustain meaningful, higher-order engagement across different courses, modalities, and student populations. In this 30-minute session, faculty will examine three research-supported instructional strategies that promote analysis, reflection, and transfer of learning. Rather than focusing on techniques in isolation, the session emphasizes pedagogical reasoning and how small, intentional shifts in structure and questioning can deepen student thinking without increasing workload or requiring course redesign. Participants will apply one strategy to a specific instructional moment in their own course and consider how it supports disciplinary ways of thinking.

Monday, February 23, 2026 2:00 PM to 2:50 AM CT

Navigating High-Stakes Teaching Moments: Prepare, Support, and Intervene with Intention

Faculty across disciplines increasingly navigate classroom moments that require both quick judgment and thoughtful response, from emerging AI use to requests for flexibility that raise questions about fairness and academic rigor. These situations rarely have simple answers, yet how we respond can shape classroom climate, student engagement, and student trust. This interactive session draws on the PSI framework (Prepare, Support, Intervene), developed by practitioners in the field of constructive dialogue, to guide responses to complex classroom moments. Participants will apply the framework to realistic scenarios and explore how thoughtful preparation, support, and intervention can strengthen engagement while maintaining academic standards. Attendees will leave with adaptable language tools they can use immediately in their own courses.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 12:30 PM to 1:20 AM CT

Seeing Teaching Anew: How Supportive Observations Foster Faculty Growth

Teaching observations can offer valuable, collegial feedback that helps faculty reflect on and refine their instructional approaches. This session introduces the Koehler Center's informal teaching observation program and highlights how supportive, non-evaluative feedback can enhance teaching effectiveness and student learning. Participants will explore the benefits of informal classroom teaching observations, learn about the observation process, and consider ways to use feedback for ongoing instructional growth.