Session Details

Presenter:  Dr. Kate Tumelty Felice
Description: Recognizing our own stressors and traumas can help us to more effectively align with our purpose and passion as educators. This presentation and workshop will provide tangible skills to recognize our responses to adversity so that we can reinforce that which serve us and can reframe and rewire patterns that may not. Takeaways will include practical, tangible applications and skills that help to balance and regulate ourselves and our students. In some ways, this is a “return to basics” with an often-elusive focus on ourselves.

Theme: Faculty Well-Being
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenter: Dr. Behnaz Merikhi
Subtitle: Designing AI-Driven Learning Assistants to Deliver Personalized Roadmaps, Improve Student Engagement, and Support Diverse Learning Needs in Technical Education

Description: This session explores the development and educational potential of an AI-powered chatbot designed to support self-paced learning by generating personalized study roadmaps based on a learner’s background, skill level, and time availability. While the underlying architecture is adaptable to a broad range of subjects, the current focus of this ongoing research is on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Participants will gain insight into how core AI technologies, such as Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), local language models, and dynamic learner profiling, can be applied to enhance student engagement, personalize instruction, and support diverse learning needs.
The session will include a demonstration of the tool’s capabilities, an overview of the system architecture, and a discussion on strategies for integrating similar AI-driven approaches into teaching and advising practices. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for using conversational AI to support flexible, learner-centered education across various disciplines and modalities.

Theme: AI/Student Success
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenter:  Dr. Kristen Lee
Subtitle: Using Behavioral Science to Stay and Do Well

Description: Educators bear disproportionate risks of burnout. Education systems can become incubators for malady, thus calling for strategic action. Within today’s challenging times, resilience is essential to prevent languishing well-being. Research has shown there are specific ways to capitalize on protective factors that can serve to mitigate the consequences of stress and help us flourish. One such way is applying principles of behavioral change to enact strategies that enhance efficiency to allow for replenishing endeavors. Learn how to apply practical, evidence-based tools to leverage to sustain well-being even through complexity and competing priorities. Engage in a double-dip of resources for yourself and those you serve to optimize your talent and avoid falling prey to exhaustion and overwork.

Theme: Faculty Well-Being
Format: Interactive workshop

Presenters: Dr. Mounira Morris, Dr. Noor Ali, Dr. Cherese Childers-McKee
Subtitle: Research findings on mentorship practices that enhance doctoral student success and retention

Description: This presentation shares findings from qualitative research examining how culturally responsive mentorship (CRM) supports doctoral student success, particularly for students from diverse and historically marginalized backgrounds. Through narrative analysis of interviews with current and former doctoral students, we identified key mentorship practices that contribute to positive student outcomes and developed a comprehensive CRM model.
The presentation will showcase student voices and experiences, highlighting specific mentorship strategies that enhanced their academic journey and areas where support could be improved. We will present our research-based CRM model and discuss its implications for supporting doctoral student retention and success.
The session includes structured discussion opportunities where participants can reflect on the findings, share their own observations about student mentorship needs, and explore how these insights might inform practice in their programs. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how mentorship quality directly impacts student success and concrete evidence about what works for diverse doctoral students.

Theme: Student Success & Support
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenters: Dr. Allison Ruda, Dr. Chris Unger
Subtitle: Pathways to Collaboration with CPS LEARN Lab

Description: Join us for an interactive session spotlighting the work of the CPS LEARN Lab—a hub for connecting faculty, students, researchers, practitioners, and external partners to collaboratively explore AI-enhanced teaching, learning and research. During this session, we’ll showcase our current projects, demonstrate how we transform exploratory ideas into actionable insights, and discuss our approaches to engaging faculty and students in experimentation. Participants will discover numerous ways to engage with us, from guided AI exploration and consultation to interdisciplinary collaborations and research partnerships. Whether you’re looking to deepen your AI fluency, explore innovative teaching practices, or engage in use-inspired research, this session will provide pathways to meaningful collaboration.

Theme: AI/Innovation
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenters: Dr. Joe Reilly, Dr. Shannon Alpert, Dr. Joan Giblin
Subtitle: Surviving and Thriving While the Sector is on Fire

Description: Higher education faces unprecedented challenges: uncertain enrollment, budget constraints, rapidly-changing laws and policies, fast-paced technological change, and shifting student expectations. These pressures significantly impact faculty wellbeing, creating stress, burnout, and uncertainty about career sustainability. This panel brings together educators, leaders, and administrators from across the college to explore practical strategies for maintaining resilience and professional fulfillment during turbulent times. Panelists will share their experiences and strategies that have enhanced their own wellbeing with the hope that attendees will leave with concrete tools for doing the same.

Theme: Faculty Well-Being
Format: Panel discussion

Presenters: Dr. Patricia Goodman Hayward, Dr. Mamta Saxena, Alina Rivilis

Description: As generative AI transforms higher education, faculty face complex questions about assessing student learning authentically while assuming AI use. This interactive workshop explores thoughtful AI integration into assessment practices to enhance academic integrity, promote student success, and reduce faculty workload without losing human-centered values. Drawing from CPS assessment philosophy and Program Learning Outcomes guidelines, the session offers practical strategies for designing AI-compatible assessments including process-focused assignments, oral presentations, critical analysis of AI-generated content, and portfolio development. Participants will collaborate on redesigning signature assignments using AI-aligned rubrics while addressing misuse and upholding inclusive teaching practices. Attendees leave with actionable templates, techniques, and curated resources to reimagine assessments that foster deeper learning, support diverse learners, and maintain academic rigor in an AI-rich environment.

Theme: AI/Assessment/Innovation
Format: Interactive workshop + discussion

Presenters: Dr. Andrew Kinley & Dr. Michelle Rego, Dr. Christina Inge

Description: Student Engagement and Impact: Non-Profit Data Projects and Introductory Courses + Tandem Teaching in Digital Media and Communication. This combined session presents two case studies: (1) Successfully integrating non-profit data projects into introductory analytics courses where students analyzed real data and presented findings directly to non-profit boards, and (2) Collaborative efforts of two professors teaching separate online courses using the same digital media clients in an experiential, project-based learning format.

Theme: Experiential Learning/Innovation
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenters: Dr. Stephen H. Lyons, Dr. Florencia Gabriele

Description: As classrooms become more diverse, faculty must meet the needs of all learners—across time zones, learning profiles, and abilities. This session introduces a model for using generative AI to enhance Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by building course-specific AI Teaching Assistants. These “AI TAs” provide 24/7 support aligned with course tone, rubrics, and learning objectives. Drawing on classroom implementations for the college of professional studies, with specific examples for Economics and other subjects, we’ll explore how AI TAs personalize instruction, remove barriers for students with disabilities, and increase engagement for multilingual and neurodiverse learners. Attendees will see how AI improves access with features like real-time summaries, colorblind-friendly visuals, caption generation, and simplified language. We will also discuss time-saving benefits for faculty. Participants will leave with practical templates and strategies for designing their own AI-powered tools to operationalize UDL in any discipline.

Theme: AI/Accessibility/Innovation
Format: Interactive workshop

Presenter: Dr. Jim Holst

Description: This session is designed to present practical insights gained from three decades of experience in online education, focusing on the effective integration of AI within academic settings. It will explore the evolution of online education from its inception to the present day, emphasizing the similarities between challenges faced during the implementation of online education and those encountered today with AI integration into universities.
Drawing from extensive practical experience, I will demonstrate how AI applications can provide innovative solutions for both classroom and online learning environments. Furthermore, I will describe how our policies, protocols, and procedures for online learning can be directly applied to develop strategies, policies, and governance to enhance our educational effectiveness.
The presentation will include a case study on the successful integration of AI into educational settings, an analysis of common pitfalls and strategies to mitigate them, and a discussion on the re-emergence of historical patterns in contemporary contexts.

Theme: AI/Innovation
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenters: Dr. Monica Baraldi Borgida, Cortney Nicolato

Description: Leaders today are navigating a period of profound change. The workforce now spans four generations, and a significant number of leadership transitions are occurring simultaneously. In addition, limited access to mental health services—combined with the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—has significantly reshaped employee expectations and needs. These shifts have introduced new pressures on organizational culture, communication, and employee well-being.

These are just two of the many complex issues facing today’s leaders.

This session will explore these evolving challenges and present thoughtful, actionable strategies for how NU CPS faculty can contribute to building a stronger, more resilient workforce through intentional and informed workforce development practices. Together, we will examine how teaching, mentorship, and curricular design can help prepare learners to lead effectively in this dynamic and demanding environment.

Theme: Innovation/Workplace Development
Format: Presentation with discussion

Presenter: Jay Taylor-Laird
Subtitle: An Introduction to Salience-Based Interaction Design

Description: This workshop will introduce participants to salience-based content design and delivery: a method for organizing and presenting materials so that students are exposed to the content that’s most relevant to their immediate interests and needs… even if the students aren’t yet sure what those needs and interest are! Using free online tools, workshop participants will create a very small web-based exploration of a topic. The presenter will also demonstrate how these small explorations can be expanded into simulations or interactive narratives with no prior programming or web design experience required!

Theme: Innovation in Pedagogy
Format: Interactive workshop

Presenter: Dr. Lin Zhou
Subtitle: A practical exploration of how established pedagogical frameworks can guide meaningful course redesign and responsible integration of Generative AI

Description: In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how five established pedagogical frameworks—Project-Based Learning, Flipped Classroom, Design Thinking, Case-Based Learning, and Competency-Based Learning—can inform effective course redesign in the Generative AI era. Rather than focusing solely on AI tools, the session emphasizes thoughtful, framework-driven teaching strategies that enhance engagement, adaptability, and real-world relevance. Faculty will actively engage in hands-on activities, including collaborative analysis, scenario planning, and course mapping exercises that apply these frameworks to their own teaching contexts. Attendees will leave with practical models, sample activities, and an action plan for integrating AI in ways that support meaningful learning and instructional innovation.

Theme: AI/Innovation in Pedagogy
Format: Interactive workshop

Presenter: Jenn Reyes(+ XN team)
Subtitle: Join Office of the Chancellor staff and CPS faculty colleagues to learn how the Experiential Projects team helps incorporate industry partners and their real-world projects into Northeastern courses!

Description: CPS students continue to seek out and need meaningful and accessible career development in order to prepare for internships, co-op, and beyond. One such avenue is through course embedded experiential projects sponsored by XN’s industry partners!

This hybrid panel event will serve as a fruitful forum for exchange between instructors in both undergraduate and graduate courses and Experiential Projects staff. This event will combine a mini-info session by XN staff and a panel featuring CPS faculty who will speak about their experiences working with our team when incorporating accessible and external industry partnerships into their courses, followed by a brief Q&A with the attendees and conclude with networking for next steps. Topic areas will include our faculty toolkit and curricular resources, course and project outcome alignment, implementation models, student incentives, and more!

Theme: Experiential Learning/Innovation
Format: Panel discussion

Presenters: Dr. Karen Zhou, Dr. Yvonne Leung, Yuen Shek, JD,

Description: This interactive panel brings together three experienced CPS educators from the Toronto campus to explore the effective applications of AI in education. The panelists will examine the following themes based on their real-world experiences developing effective uses of AI in the classroom:
• Leveraging AI to support drafting argumentative essays
• Using AI tools for contract drafting in non-law courses
• Reforming assessment strategies to work with AI capabilities
• Implementing AI as an effective study and teaching aid
• Maximizing AI benefits for both students and instructors in an ethical way
The session will share concrete strategies, real classroom experiences, and practical solutions to the challenges of AI in education across disciplines. Panelists will address concerns about academic integrity and provide practice tips for ethical AI integration into a CPS classroom. The attendees will leave with actionable strategies and insights they can implement in their own courses, regardless of discipline.

Theme: AI/Innovation (Panel from Toronto)
Format: Panel discussion

Presenters: Dr. Houman Bedayat, Dr. Ali Takbiri Borujeni
Subtitle: Secure, Custom AI Tools for Teaching, Feedback, and Assessment

Description: This hands-on workshop explores how faculty can use an AI assistant to support their teaching—either independently or integrated directly into Canvas—using a locally deployed foundation model. By keeping AI capabilities in-house, educators maintain full control over data privacy, security, and customization.

We’ll demonstrate real use cases, including automated quiz generation, flashcard creation, and AI-powered summaries drawn directly from course content. Participants will take part in small breakout activities to brainstorm or sketch AI-driven teaching tools tailored to their own course needs. The session is accessible to faculty across disciplines and requires no technical background.

By the end, attendees will leave with ideas, open-source tools, and inspiration to bring AI-driven support into their classrooms—without relying on third-party cloud services.

Theme: AI/Innovation in Pedagogy
Format: Interactive workshop

Presenter: Dr. Christina Inge
Subtitle: No Simulation? No Problem! Create interactive simulations on any topic easily for your classroom

Description: Faculty often struggle to find simulations that align precisely with their specific learning objectives and course content. Existing simulations may be too complex, too simple, or focused on slightly different concepts than what students need to grasp. This workshop demonstrates how AI tools and no-code platforms enable faculty to create custom simulations tailored exactly to their pedagogical goals.
Participants will learn to build simulations that match their unique course requirements, student populations, and learning outcomes – transforming from consumers of generic educational tools to creators of precisely targeted learning experiences.

Theme: AI/Innovation in Pedagogy
Format: Interactive workshop