Personalized Professional Development: Your Invitation to be Curious
At the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, we believe that professional development should be practical, convenient, and inspiring. We’ve done the research, considered the options, and, most importantly, listened to our faculty. As educators, your needs, motivations, and interests vary, so your professional development options should too. Our CTLs are opportunities to explore innovative teaching practices, learn more about evidence-informed instructional strategies, and try out the latest educational technologies – all at your own pace.
CTLs are offered throughout the year, and registration occurs each semester. Most courses take participants about an hour to complete. To register for any of the offerings, complete the CTL Registration. Even though the CTLs are self-paced, the CTLE team can answer any questions you may have as you work through the material by contacting us at ctle@saintleo.edu. Upon completion of CTLs, participants are awarded digital badges.
Do you have an idea for a future course? Are you Interested in a specific topic? Let us know! Our courses are designed to be adaptive and responsive to your interests. We’re always looking to add to our course offerings, so be sure to share your ideas!
Required Faculty Course
Teaching at Saint Leo Course
Enrollment is automatic for all new adjunct and full-time faculty members. You will receive a welcome email (check your Saint Leo email) with course access details. After completing the course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion as documentation. Participation ensures a strong start to your teaching experience and instructional engagement at Saint Leo University, helping you succeed in your role from day one.
Courses to Support Teaching
Active Learning in the Online Environment
CTL 114 - This self-paced course (about one hour) introduces faculty to foundations and techniques for designing engaging online courses, with tips for adding interactive assignments.
Empower Every Student: Universal Design Basics
CTL 115- This course introduces Universal Design for Learning, covering accessibility, accommodations, and assistive technologies to help faculty create inclusive instruction for diverse learners.
Building Community with Online Courses
CTL 119 - This course shares best practices for building engagement in online (especially asynchronous) courses, using familiar technologies to promote belonging, inclusivity, and interaction.
Collaborative Teaching and Learning Practices
CTL 123 - This course explores collaborative notetaking as a way to boost participation in virtual or distanced learning, with practical methods for designing shared notes.
SLU AI Micro Trainings
Exploring SLU's Microsoft CoPilot
In 5 minutes learn how to find SLU’s CoPilot, check out all the awesome features at your fingertips, and see why Saint Leo University’s Microsoft Copilot has an advantage over other Large Language Models
SLU's CoPilot365 Teach for Lesson Planning
SLU’s CoPilot has your back when it comes to lesson planning! Whether you’re organizing activities or assessments, this smart tool lets you build, shape, and personalize your plans all in your own teaching style. Pull content straight from your OneDrive or start from scratch, tweak it to fit your needs, and make it uniquely yours. Dive in and discover how CoPilot Lesson Plan can turn planning from a chore into a breeze!
CoPilot365 Teach for Rubric Design
This microtraining shows you how to use Microsoft 365 Copilot’s Teach feature to quickly generate clear, criteria-based rubrics aligned with your course goals. In just a few minutes, you will learn how to build, refine, and adapt AI-assisted rubric drafts to streamline grading and support student success.
CoPilot365 Teach for Study Aid Design
Learn how to use Microsoft 365 Copilot’s Teach feature to quickly generate structured study aids such as summaries, practice questions, and flashcards aligned with your course content. In just a few minutes, you will see how to build and refine AI assisted materials that help students review key concepts and prepare more effectively for assessments.
AI Courses
AI in Higher Education: What Professors Need to Know
CTL 117 - What Professors Need to Know! This course defines AI, explores its impact on higher education, and offers classroom strategies, real examples, ethical guidance, and Saint Leo’s AI policies.
Ethical AI Prompt Writing
CTL 122 - This hands-on course helps faculty craft AI prompts that protect student privacy, use effective frameworks, and generate precise, ethical, and actionable results.
Assessment Strategies in The Age of AI
CTL 240 - AI is transforming how we teach and assess learning. This practical, hands-on course will help you design assessments that either minimize AI use or harness its potential, while keeping student learning and critical thinking at the center.
Support for Course Development
Creating Module Level Objectives
CTL 111 - This course introduces faculty to creating clear, measurable module objectives and shows how they align with teaching goals to improve instruction.
Backward Design Practices
CTL 124 - This course helps faculty apply backward design to build organized, engaging course units, aligning objectives, assessments, outcomes, and strategies for effective learning.
Introduction to Hybrid Teaching at SLU
CTL 138 - This course introduces Saint Leo’s hybrid models, combining in-person, video, and online learning to expand engagement and support effective teaching practices.
Deeper Dive into Hybrid Course Development
CTL 200 - Before enrolling, faculty must review CTLE’s Hybrid Teaching webpage, complete the application, and have completed CTL 138. In this self-paced, project-based course, they design the first four modules of a hybrid class.
Using the LMS to Support On-ground, Hybrid and Beyond
CTL 220 This self-paced course helps faculty design or update on-ground, hybrid, and blended courses using the LMS, with focus on collaboration, video, discussions, feedback, and UDL.
Applying UDL Principles and Guidelines in Course Planning
CTL 235 - This self-paced course trains faculty to design or update on-ground, hybrid, and blended courses using the LMS, focusing on efficient delivery with tools for collaboration, video, discussions, feedback, and UDL.