Mini Development Day
Faculty Growth Series
The Connected Classroom through Belonging, UDL, & AI
Friday, October 24, 2025 | Online
Step into a day of exploration, reflection, and innovation. Mini Development Day (Mini Dev Day) is a proud sponsor of the inaugural Faculty Growth Series – The Connected Classroom through Belonging, Universal Design for Learning, and Artificial Intelligence.
You are invited to imagine and shape new futures in teaching, learning, and student and faculty engagement. Mini Dev Day will open with an in-person mixer on the evening of Thursday, October 23, followed by a day of engaging online sessions on Friday, October 24.
Through collaboration and conversation, these interactive sessions will explore three key topics:
🧠 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Navigate the evolving landscape of Generative AI in higher education. Learn how it can enhance teaching, support student success, and raise important questions around ethics, access, and academic integrity.
💡 Belonging, Purpose, & Connection
Re-ignite your belonging, purpose, and connection to explore strategies for creating inclusive learning environments where both faculty and students find meaning in their work, build authentic connections, and foster a community that drives persistence, completion, and long-term student and faculty success.
🌐 Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Open doors through UDL. Learn to design adaptable, accessible learning experiences that honor the diversity of all learners and create more engaging opportunities for success. Multiple means of representation are close at hand and well within our reach.
This Mini Development Day is aligned with the Explorer Level of our Faculty Growth Series Framework. At this stage, faculty and staff are exploring foundational ideas in AI, UDL, and Belonging. Sessions are designed to introduce these concepts in an engaging and accessible way, using practical examples, low-risk strategies, and inclusive materials. There will be space for reflection and guided discussion, along with provided resources that offer clear takeaways to help in applying lessons learned.
Collective learning alongside your peers and colleagues can mean learning something new, dabbling in familiar spaces, or deepening your existing practices for the future of our success. Mini Dev Day offers space for possibility thinking—a chance to explore what’s next and what’s needed in higher education.
Come curious. Leave inspired.
Schedule
Thursday, October 23, 4-6 p.m., Highland Campus (HLC), Truth, Community Healing, and Transformation Center, Building 4000, Room 4.2205
Mini Dev Day
Friday, October 24, 9:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m., Online
Before You Join: Please make sure your Zoom app is up-to-date and that you’re logged in with your ACC credentials.
View how to update your Zoom here.
If you need assistance, contact an Educational Technology Specialist at 512-223-0111 or email facultysupport@austincc.edu.
Faculty Growth Series Initiative Scope with Dr. Theresa Glenn and Dr. LaKisha Barrett
Belonging by Design: Seen. Valued. Heard. Learning with Radical Belonging
Presenter(s): LaKisha Barrett, Larry Davis, and Khayree Williams
Discover the “Radical Belonging” framework and learn how to design classrooms and departments that foster psychological safety, connection, and purpose. Participants will reflect on their own practices and leave with strategies to strengthen voice, trust, and collaboration.
The “Why” of Learning: Sparking Student Engagement with UDL
Presenter(s): Marica Kelley
This session introduces the core concepts of UDL and takes a deep dive into the first principle: providing Multiple Means of Engagement. Participants will explore practical, low-risk strategies to welcome student interests, build community, and foster persistence in a community college classroom.
Enhancing the Classroom with Google Gemini
Presenter(s): Herb Coleman
Learn to demystify Generative AI, introduce fundamental concepts, ethical considerations, and provide a simple, hands-on experience with Google Gemini, inspiring faculty to begin their Generative AI Literacy and Fluency (GAILF) journey of the Faculty Growth Series.
Unlocking Strengths for Learning, Growth, and Transformation
Presenter(s): LaKisha Barrett, Charity Benford, and Cam Claassen
Explore CliftonStrengths as a tool for collaboration and teaching innovation. Participants will explore how individual and team strengths can drive more cohesive teamwork, align with the Theory of Change and North Star Goal, and discover strategies that support success and growth.
The “What” of Learning: Presenting Content in Multiple Ways with UDL
Presenter(s): Sandy Kendell
This session offers a brief review of the UDL framework before focusing on the second principle: Providing Multiple Means of Representation. Participants will engage in a hands-on activity to transform traditional course content into more accessible, comprehensible, and equitable formats.
AI for Everyone: Strengthening Accessibility and Equity
Presenter(s): Andy Kim and Susan Meigs
Learn to build on foundational AI knowledge by focusing on the critical evaluation of AI outputs for bias, and to explore how generative AI can be used to promote Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and create inclusive learning environments
Presenter(s): LaKisha Barrett, Mary Havens and Lynda Infante Huerta
This interactive session explores the intersections of belonging and purpose in teaching and learning. Faculty will engage with resources and research on belonging, reflect on inclusive and accessible practices, and co-create applicable strategies, supported by library resources, to strengthen connection and persistence in the classroom.
Presenter(s): Alex Watkins
This final session briefly recaps the UDL framework and then explores the third principle: providing Multiple Means of Action & Expression. Participants will focus on assessment, learning how to design assignments that give students choice and flexibility in how they demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
Presenter(s): Curtis Eckerman
Discover how to empower faculty to confidently integrate generative AI into their administrative tasks and professional workflows, demonstrating how it enhances productivity and frees up time for high-impact teaching, inspiring continued engagement with the GAILF pathway of the Faculty Growth Series.
Don’t miss your chance to win!
Attending Mini Development Day automatically enters you into the raffle—stay to see if you win a prize, including books, CliftonStrengths codes, and TLED swag (such as TLED faculty values t-shirts, water tumbler mugs, and more).
Submit your event evaluation survey to help the planning team enhance future events.
Keep the momentum going—explore the Faculty Growth Series and join us for Spring Development Day 2026 on January 16 (Mixer on January 15).