Teaching Resources

• How can I learn the basics of generative AI?
• How can we design and write policies about AI that focus on student learning?
• How does thoughtful course and assessment design help students avoid the temptation to misuse AI?
• How can you design assignments so that students use AI responsibly--or don't use it at all?
• How can I help students use AI to support their learning?
• What are ethical and productive ways for instructors to use AI?
• Should my students be using AI?
• How can I help students be critical of the output AI gives them?
• Making the most of prompt writing for learning and teaching
• How can I discourage students from using AI and other web resources in academically dishonest ways?
• Should I use AI detection tools in my courses?
• What can I do if I suspect a student has cheated with AI?

• Research-based practices to support diverse learners
• Use peer learning to create a welcoming, high-impact learning community
• Use a welcome letter to foster belonging and success for diverse students before the semester begins
• The inviting syllabus: motivating, welcoming, and guiding diverse students toward success
• Help diverse students use your syllabus to build a relationship to your course and take ownership of their learning
• Use transparent assignment descriptions to ensure success for diverse students
• Help students use your assignments and feedback to persist and remain hopeful

• Who are the students in my class?
• How do students learn best?
• How do I get my students to pay attention?
• How can I ensure a civil classroom environment?

• How can I prepare students for success before the semester begins?
• How can I ensure that students are motivated? 
• How can I respond to—and prevent—digital distraction in the classroom? 
• How can I lecture in ways that keep students’ attention and help them learn? 

• What should I do on the first day of class?
• How do I plan an effective and engaging class meeting?
• How can I design discussions that will help my students learn?
• How can I help my students engage in discussions of controversial topics?
• What can I do to engage students and facilitate learning in a large class?
• How can I improve student learning without making big changes to my teaching?
• How can I use student feedback to ensure care, trust, and persistence?

• What are simple strategies I can use to help students take charge of their learning?
• How can I help my students become more self-regulated learners?
• How can I teach in ways that will help students retain what they learn?
• How can I help students understand how to use office hours?

• What is the best way to design a course for student learning?
• How can I write a syllabus that motivates students?

• What do I need to consider when I assess student learning?
• How can I design effective writing assignments?
• How can I give students useful feedback on their writing (without spending all my time grading!)?
• How can I design, implement, and grade group projects that ensure student learning?
• What are the principles of effective grading?
• How can I teach in ways that minimize cheating and plagiarism?

CATLOE maintains a physical library of resources to support faculty and graduate students as teachers and as academic professionals. Please browse our list of titles, and reach out to us if you see a book of interest to you!

• The Mindset of an Effective and Happy Teaching Assistant
• Being a Confident New Teacher
• Establishing Your Credibility as a New Teacher

• How do students learn?
• Fostering Student Engagement
• Planning Your First Day of Class
• Using Communication to Help Students Learn

• Develop Course Policies that Motivate and Support Student Learning 
• Managing (and Making the Most of) Difficult Discussions 
• Understanding and Responding to Challenging Student Behaviors 

• The Role of Assessment and Feedback in Learning
• How can I give students useful feedback–and still get my own work done?

• Designing an asynchronous online course for student success
• Helping students make sense of fully online courses
• Structuring an asynchronous online course for student success
• Welcoming students to your asynchronous online course
• Welcoming students to your synchronous online course
• Writing a syllabus that motivates students in an online course
• Motivating students in an online course

• Engaging students in structured discussions in synchronous online classes
• Engaging students in structured discussions in an asynchronous course
• Helping students learn from lectures in asynchronous online courses
• Making online office hours better for students--and getting them to show up
• Giving effective and efficient feedback in an online course
• Designing icebreakers in an asynchronous online course
• Designing icebreakers in a synchronous online course

• What to consider when assessing student learning in an online course
• Designing effective writing assignments for an online course
• Discouraging academically dishonest use of AI
• Ensuring the academic integrity of online assessments

The UAlbany Faculty Accessibility Ambassadors (FAA) is a faculty community focused on developing basic knowledge and skills in digital accessibility. Visit the Faculty Accessibility Ambassadors page to learn more.

Broadly speaking, accessibility means making sure your course and all the resources in it are fully available to students with disabilities. However, accessibility isn’t just about students with disabilities: making your course accessible benefits all students regardless of their disability status. One of the common analogies we use to talk about the broad benefits of accessibility is the curb cut effect. Sidewalk curb cuts were initially designed to benefit wheelchair users; however, many of us have experienced the benefits of curb cuts when we are pushing carts or strollers or even just carrying a load that makes it difficult to step onto a sidewalk. Accessible courses have a similar effect: they support all students’ success.

It is also important to note that accessibility will soon be a legal requirement. Previously, instructors were required to make course materials accessible if a student with a documented disability was entitled to reasonable accommodation. That changes in April 2026 when Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act will come into effect for institutions within the SUNY system. This new regulation requires that all web content (including content housed in a campus Learning Management System) be accessible according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA. WCAG is a set of industry standards developed by an international consortium. These new federal regulations provide an important opportunity for us to make our courses more inclusive for all students. 

The resources we provide here are designed to help you determine which standards apply to the kinds of resources you create and use in your courses and apply those as you develop new materials and remediate existing ones.

• Accessible Color in Word Documents
• Accessible Images in Word Documents
• Accessible Links in Word Documents