TEACHx Continues to Inspire, Educate, and Delight
Posted Date: June 20, 2025
Now an annual tradition reflecting the Searle Center’s dynamic collaboration with TLT, our panel of distinguished fellows grappled with generative AI, pedagogical risks, meaningful assessments, building community, and energizing instructor vitality.”
Jennifer Keys, Senior Director,
Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching
TEACHx, Northwestern's annual conference showcasing experiments in teaching and learning with technology, made its ninth successful run on May 21–22. The 2025 conference spanned two half-days and included an exploration of a wide range of topics relevant to teaching and learning, including accessibility, artificial intelligence (AI) use cases and impacts, and student assessment and success.
Extending and Deepening Community
Long a favored gathering for Northwestern and regional higher-education faculty seeking connection and inspiration, the symposium has now expanded to become a valuable resource for graduate instructors who wish to collaborate with a diverse group of educators and learning designers, engaging with a variety of perspectives and insights that bridge their experiences as both veteran students and emerging instructors. This year’s new graduate student track created a clear pathway for navigating TEACHx’s many offerings with a tighter focus on the student experience.
Included for the last few years, following the forced pivot to remote learning during the pandemic, the instructor and student self-care track continues to make needed space to acknowledge that teaching and learning (with and without technology) are human experiences, not immune to human challenges. Proof that the latter track is highly valued in an academic context, the lightning talk, “Constructing a Syllabus to Help with Burnout (Instructor and Student!)” was the highest-rated session of the event, receiving an overwhelmingly positive approval rating from all attendees. Karrie Snyder, associate professor of instruction in Sociology at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, presented the talk.
Professor Snyder expressed her enthusiasm for the practical insights she gained from others. “TEACHx 2025 was a great experience! Campus events like this are always wonderful opportunities to connect with others on campus (and beyond!) who are doing innovative things with technology to enhance student learning. I always walk away with new ideas and techniques to try for my own classes.” Many other TEACHx attendees also expressed gratitude for the wealth of practical takeaways shared by presenters and workshop leaders. As in previous years, the Northwestern IT Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) TEACHx planning committee was intentional in selecting proposals that prioritized interactive experiences and adaptable, applicable learning.
Keynote Demystifies AI’s Potential as a Learning Tool and Encourages Mastery
Practical application was the focus of keynote speaker José Antonio Bowen’s address, “Educating Humans to Thrive in an AI World.” Bowen shared several real-world applications using multiple generative AI (gen AI) platforms to help students understand how to use gen AI modules in courses ranging from business to art history. He emphasized that while gen AI has already transformed how many industries approach entry-level tasks, students who learn to manipulate, manage, and enhance processes made more efficient by AI can significantly improve their job prospects, rather than being limited.
Similarly, Bowen highlighted how understanding the wide variety of generative AI tools and their differences can provide instructors with new options for engaging creatively, enhancing active learning, and reimagining assessment. Bowen encouraged the audience to explore the case studies he shared and to find tips for challenging themselves and their students’ use of generative AI on his Teaching Naked website.
Established University Partnerships Continue to Thrive
Many who return to TEACHx year after year say it is as an opportunity to gain deep insights into experiences at programs and schools across the University that they might not encounter otherwise. Reba-Anna Lee, PhD, is the assistant dean of distance learning at the School of Professional Studies (SPS) and a long-time TEACHx collaborator and attendee who has led several sessions in the past. This year, she co-facilitated the interactive presentation, “See All of Me: ePortfolios of Adult Learners,” with her SPS colleague, Susan Wesner, assistant dean of undergraduate studies.
We felt that it was important to share the adult undergraduate experience at the School of Professional Studies and Northwestern. The workshop attendees also provided valuable feedback that we plan to incorporate into the next iteration of our ePortfolios. The energy created at TEACHx always gives us a boost and excitement about what we do at SPS.”
Reba-Anna Lee, PhD,
Assistant Dean of Distance Learning at the School of Professional Studies
The Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning is a natural partner with Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University, as both groups support instructors' pedagogical development toward the goal of continually improving student outcomes. TEACHx highlights accomplishments that align with that shared goal and more. TEACHx goes beyond merely celebrating success and fosters authentic connection by offering instructors opportunities to hear their peers’ stories of successes, challenges, and pivots. Experimentation and innovation are promoted as essential to keeping students engaged and deepening their learning.
Searle Center Senior Director Jennifer Keys moderated a panel discussion featuring esteemed faculty from three different schools, focusing on successful strategies used in their classrooms and lessons learned about embracing risk. The session, “Celebrating Pedagogical Innovation: Insights from Award-Winning Educators,” was one of TEACHx’s most well-attended sessions.
“Now an annual tradition reflecting the Searle Center’s dynamic collaboration with TLT, our panel of distinguished fellows grappled with generative AI, pedagogical risks, meaningful assessments, building community, and energizing instructor vitality. As University Teaching Award Winners, Barbara Butts, Mei-Ling Hopgood, and Ilya Mikhelson amplify exemplary teaching practices and enrich the University’s culture of learning and teaching with their unique perspectives and inspiring approaches.” –Jennifer Keys, Senior Director, Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching
Students Recognizing Faculty Excellence Across Disciplines
The 2025 Canvas Hall of Fame winners continued to showcase the outstanding uses of Canvas that Northwestern students praise. In 2024–25, both undergraduate and graduate students from all 12 Northwestern schools submitted 440 nominations, recognizing 298 instructors and 344 courses.
This year’s winners included:
Most Innovative Course Site
Fundamentals of Computer Programming
Yiji Zhang
Assistant Professor of Instruction, McCormick School of Engineering
Best Use of Video
Principles of Orthotic and Prosthetic Practice
Mindy Thorpe
Assistant Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine
Excellence in Community and Accessibility
Introduction to International Relations
Danielle Gilbert
Assistant Professor and Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research
Learn more about the winners and read quotes from student nominations.
What’s Next for TEACHx?
TEACHx 2026 will meet a new milestone, the symposium’s tenth year of cultivating connections, celebrating innovation, and sharing successes in teaching and learning. Stay tuned to the TEACHx website for more news!
