The Institute for Learning and Teaching will be providing its 40th annual Professional Development Institute Jan. 14-16, 2019.

PDI offers opportunities for “all CSU faculty, state classified personnel, administrative professionals and graduate students to take part in this three-day, free conference centered around professional and personal development,” according to Debora Colbert, TILT’s director of professional development.

The purpose of the event is to provide a time to share ideas, explore issues, and gain insights into learning, teaching, and service. The institute provides time for participants to explore intriguing topics they might have been interested in or passionate about but might not have had the time to explore in depth.

“Presentations for the Institute are all proposed and facilitated by the expertise and passion of people and departments across campus who want to share their knowledge with the campus community,” says Colbert.

Past sessions for the PDI have included topics such as “The Rare Plants of Colorado,” increasing student engagement, inclusive excellence, technology for the classroom, implementation of campus policies, yoga in the workplace, flying a drone on campus, and many more.

This year will offer sessions on how to communicate your science to general readers and the new free period products policy on campus, for example. See the complete schedule and register for PDI sessions on the TILT website. 

Each year there are approximately 135 unique sessions offered, attended by approximately 100 faculty members, 180 State Classified Personnel, 500 Administrative Professionals, and 50 graduate students.

Planning starts in the Fall, when topic experts propose what they wish to share with co-workers. Ideas for sessions that might be worth sharing, or a team presentation that might produce stimulating dialogue to CSU, are highly encouraged.