CTL & ASSETT Newsletter - April 2025
"When students understand the purpose of assessment, they are more likely to engage in meaningful learning."
— Maryellen Weimer
🤖 AI, Equity & Transparency: Shaping the Future of Assessment
🎉 Celebrate 5 Years of CTL – Share Your Experience! 🎉
As CTL approaches its 5-year anniversary, we’d love to feature testimonials from past participants like you in our annual report and other communications. If CTL consultations, workshops, or events have made a difference for you, please consider sharing your experience through our .
Thank you for being part of our community!
Equitable and Transparent Assessment Strategies for Final Exams & Papers
Designing Fair & Transparent Assessments: The Role of Rubrics and AI Policies
Final assessments are more than just a measure of student knowledge—they shape the learning experience and influence student confidence, motivation, and success. Thoughtfully designed assessments can reduce stress, promote deeper learning, and create more equitable opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding.
Equity-minded assessment practices help ensure that grading is transparent, fair, and aligned with learning goals. Clearrubrics, equity-minded summative assessments, andopportunities for students to provide feedback make expectations explicit, allowing students to focus on mastering content rather than deciphering unclear requirements. Additionally, with the increasing role of AI in education,co-creating AI use policies with students can provide clarity on ethical guidelines while fostering a shared sense of responsibility for academic integrity.
By adopting these strategies, instructors can transform assessments into powerful tools for learning—ones that not only evaluate knowledge but also encourage growth, engagement, and confidence as students reach the finish line of the semester.
Applying the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) Framework for More Inclusive Assignments
The Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework created by promotes clarity by ensuring students fully understand the purpose, tasks, and success criteria of an assignment before they begin. When expectations are explicit, students are more confident in their work, leading to stronger engagement and improved performance. that applying TILT principles particularly benefits first-generation students and those from diverse backgrounds by reducing uncertainty and making academic expectations more accessible.
As final papers and exams approach, integrating transparent design elements—such asclearly stated learning objectives and well-defined gradingrubrics—can reduce confusion, improve student motivation, and foster deeper learning. By making grading criteria and expectations clear, instructors can create a more equitable learning environment where students focus on developing their skills rather than guessing what is required for success.
Curious about how to make your assessments more transparent? Learn more about and how to apply them effectively in your end-of-semester assessments.
Looking for examples and resources? .
📚Recommended Readings of the Month:
by Susan D. Blum
Ungrading brings together insights from fifteen educators who have explored going gradeless, from newcomers to long-time practitioners across various disciplines and education levels. Grounded in research, this book offers practical guidance for instructors looking to shift the focus from ranking students to fostering deeper learning. It candidly examines both the challenges and transformative impact of ungrading, providing a roadmap for those ready to rethink traditional grading practices.
by Isis Artze-Vega, Flower Darby, Bryan Dewsbury, and Mays Imad
Designed for college instructors with limited time, thisfree eBook offers practical, research-based strategies to advance equity in the classroom. It provides concise summaries of key teaching techniques, real-world case studies, and actionable steps for fostering inclusive learning environments—whether in large lectures, small seminars, or online courses. Accessible and easy to implement, this guide helps educators integrate equity-minded practices into their teaching.
byJosé Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping education, challenging traditional learning and assessment methods. José Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson provide practical strategies for integrating AI into teaching while addressing academic integrity concerns. This guide equips educators with research-based insights and tools to navigate AI’s impact, fostering critical thinking and preparing students for a rapidly evolving future.
🌟 Buff Spotlight: Meet the CTL/ASSETT Assessment Team – Your Partners in Equitable and Effective Assessment
Assessments are more than just grades—they shape learning experiences, influence student engagement, and provide valuable insights into teaching effectiveness. At CU Boulder, theCTL/ASSETT Assessment Team is dedicated to helping instructors design meaningful, equitable, and transparent assessments that enhance student learning.
Our team includes:
- Kelly Gildersleeve, Assistant Director, CTL
- Rachana Bhave, Equitable Assessment Specialist, CTL
- Sarah Andrews, Teaching, Learning, and Technology Assessment Consultant, ASSETT
Together, they support faculty in creating assessments that are fair, effective, and aligned with learning goals. Whether you're looking to refine your grading strategies, implement equity-minded assessments, or explore innovative approaches, they are here to help.Schedule a consultation today and discover how to make your assessments more impactful!
Learn more about their work here:CTL/ASSETT Assessment Resources
📅 What’s Ahead: Events & Announcements:
- Join us for our new series on Pedagogical Conversations on April 16th or 17th from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm. Engage in conversations about faculty well-being and resilience. We want to know more about how we can better support and foster your well-being and resilience at CU. Our theme for this month will be somatic and embodied learning for well-being. Lunch will be provided.
- AI Literacy Ambassador Showcase: Join the CU Boulder AI Literacy Ambassadors as they showcase their innovative projects that integrate AI Literacy into their curriculum. Ambassadors represent disciplines in colleges from across campus including in humanities, STEM and artistic domains. Build a community of resources and support at this informational and networking event.Wednesday, April 16, 2025 from4:00-5:30 pm at the Center for Teaching and Learning, CASE E390..
- Join our three-day workshop from May 12-May 15, 1-3 PM MT (Zoom) to explore course design for multiple modalities. We’ll cover pedagogy, inclusive frameworks, technical tools, and research-informed practices for Canvas courses. An optional fourth day will dive into CU templates, technology questions, and using Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools for instructional design.
- Save the Date: 2025 Summer Design Studio – Teaching, Learning & AI. Join ASSETT and the Center for Teaching & Learning for a two-day immersive studio on May 19-20, 2025, at CASE E390 & Zoom. With generative AI reshaping higher education, this event will help you explore its impact on student learning and develop a “right fit” approach for your teaching. Whether you’re looking for resources, strategies, or guidance on integrating AI, this studio will provide practical insights and support. Don’t miss this opportunity to navigate the evolving AI landscape in education.
- Apply for the Just & Equitable Teaching (JET) Micro-Credential! Elevate your teaching with theJET micro-credential in Fall 2025! Learn about evidence-based resources and practices, and commit to fostering an equitable, just and inclusive learning environment in this hybrid course. Open to all CU Boulder instructors, graduate students, and instructional support staff, this program will meet six times on every other Thursday (3:30 - 5 P.M.) from Sept 4, 2025 onwards. Limited to 18 participants on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fill out theapplication form to reserve a spot latest by May 30, 2025.
- Join us for the 2025 ASEE Rocky Mountain Section Conference at CU Boulder, May 14-16, 2025! We invite you to participate as a presenter or in any capacity. Engage with colleagues, share research, and explore innovations in engineering education. Learn more and register at: ASEE RMS 2025
Join Us for Other Upcoming Events!
🎓 InspirED✏️📚 Spring Conference 2025 Recap: A Celebration of Equity, AI, and Inclusive Teaching
Thank you to everyone who joined us forCTL’s Spring Conference 2025 – Promising Teaching Practices: Equity, Authenticity, and AI in the Modern College Classroom! Withover 100 attendees, this two-day event was a fantastic opportunity to explore innovative teaching strategies and engage in meaningful discussions about the future of education.
This year’s conference featuredinteractive workshops, insightful panels, and engaging keynotes covering topics like generative AI in teaching, equity-minded assessment, and inclusive pedagogy. Highlights included:
- Keynote:Assessment in the Age of AI with Flower Darby, exploring the evolving role of AI in student evaluation.
- Workshop:Small Teaching with AI, providing practical strategies for equitable and effective AI integration.
- Faculty & Student Panel:AI Detectors and Student Learning Assessment, featuring diverse perspectives on the use of AI tools in education.
- Grading Reimagined Panel: Faculty shared alternative grading approaches to promote fairness and student growth.
- Faculty Showcase:The Art of Teaching Through Stories, highlighting creative and impactful teaching methods.
We deeply appreciate every educator, speaker, and participant who contributed to this event.Your engagement and collaboration mean so much to us! Thank you for making this conference a success—we look forward to continuing these important conversations throughout the year.
Missed a session?
Emailctl@colorado.edu for recordings and slides.
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