CELT Annual Teaching
and Learning Symposium

Theme: The Future of Learning: Rethinking Practice in a Changing World

Call for Proposals

Save the Dates:

Thursday, March 26, 2026 (Workshops)

Friday, March 27, 2026 (Symposium)

Open to Stony Brook University Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students. Hosted by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Office of the Provost.

Workshops & Keynote

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Workshop: AI Tools and Techniques

Open to all faculty & staff
Hands-on, exploratory
Registration only limited to the size of the room
Location: In-person, TBD
Time: 10 AM - 2 PM
Registration required

AI literacy isn’t just about choosing the right tool, it’s about asking better questions and evaluating the responses. In this hands-on session for educators, we’ll explore how effective prompting builds on the critical writing and thinking skills you already teach and value.

You’ll learn how to craft prompts that are more literal and human-centered than those typically used with a search engine. Because AI responds to natural language, it requires the same clarity and nuance you'd use when guiding smart but inexperienced interns. Prompting isn’t engineering, it’s communication.

Through interactive exercises and experimentation with a range of rapidly evolving AI tools, you’ll gain practical techniques and a realistic understanding of how AI is reshaping human work and thought. You’ll leave with ideas for integrating AI into your teaching and research in meaningful, responsible ways.

Friday, March 27, 2026

Keynote: Teaching and Thinking with AI

Faculty, TAs, postdocs, and academic staff
In-person on-campus conference venue
Location: SAC Balroom
Time: 9 AM - 3 PM
Registration required

AI is rapidly transforming how humans work, think, create, and communicate. And it may be the fastest shift in the history of writing. AI is shattering expectations around assignments, assessment, class preparation and even attendance, and is challenging educators to design classrooms that are future-ready and inclusive.

If AI represents the new baseline for “average” work, it’s time to rethink our policies, grading practices, and expectations.What is AI Literacy and should we be teaching it? Together, we’ll explore the skills and curriculum that matter most in an AI-driven world, why defining ‘quality’ is more important than ever and how reimagined assignments can boost motivation while reducing academic dishonesty.

This session is open to educators of all experience levels, whether you're just beginning to explore AI or already integrating it into your teaching. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to transform how they approach teaching, learning, and assessment in ways that prepare our students for a changing world.

2026 Keynote Speaker

picture of José Antonio Bowen

Keynote Speaker:

José Antonio Bowen

José Antonio Bowen has been leading innovation and change for over 40 years at Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southampton (UK), as a dean at Miami University and SMU and as President of Goucher College. Bowen has worked as a musician with Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, and many others and his symphony was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music (1985).

Bowen holds four degrees from Stanford and has written over 100 scholarly articles and books, including the Cambridge Companion to Conducting (2003), Teaching Naked (2012 and the winner of the Ness Award for Best Book on Higher Education), Teaching Naked Techniques with C. Edward Watson (2017) and Teaching Change: How to Develop Independent Thinkers using Relationships, Resilience and Reflection (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021).

Bowen has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and has three TED talks. Stanford honored him as a Distinguished Alumni Scholar (2010) and he has presented keynotes and workshops at more than 300 campuses and conferences 46 states and 17 countries around the world. In 2018, he was awarded the Ernest L. Boyer Award (for significant contributions to American higher education). He is a senior fellow for the American Association of Colleges and Universities.

CELT Annual Teachingand Learning Symposium