Center for Inclusive Teaching and Innovative Learning

CITIL serves as a hub for faculty development, offering a range of resources and programs designed to enhance teaching and learning at CalArts. 

Workshops and Trainings: Regular workshops on inclusive teaching practices, curriculum development, and the integration of technology in the classroom. 

Faculty Learning Communities: Collaborative groups where faculty can engage in ongoing discussions, share strategies, and explore new approaches to teaching and learning. 

One-on-One Consultations: Personalized support for faculty members looking to refine their teaching practices, develop inclusive course materials, or innovate their teaching strategies. 

Resource Library: Access to a curated collection of books, articles, and online resources focused on inclusive pedagogy, innovative teaching, and educational technology.

Here’s a partial listing of the Center’s inaugural year programming. Check back for more details and locations. 

AI Workshops with Alex Jacoby

• Leveraging AI Tools for Work, Research, and Writing (Feb. 12; 10-11 am)
• Creative Collaboration with AI (March 5; 10-11 am)
• Future-Proofing Creative Practice (March 19; 10-11 am).

Objective: Explore the role of artificial intelligence in inclusive teaching.

Description: Information technologist Alex Jacoby will help faculty integrate AI tools in ways that support diverse learning styles and equitable practices.

Inclusive Teaching: Integrating Disability Awareness and Empowerment in the Classroom 

with Lauren Imai, assistant director of Health and Wellness and Disability Coordinator (Feb. 20; 4-5 pm) 

Objectives

• To understand disability as a dimension of diversity and its implications in education.
• To gain tools for implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to ensure accessibility.
• To compile strategies for creating a supportive and empowering classroom environment for students with disabilities.

Conversations on Teaching 

• Having hard conversations with Gregory King (Feb. 7; 12-1 pm)

Conversations on Teaching is an interactive program that builds a community of practice among faculty at CalArts, and creates a space for open dialogue, peer learning, and shared reflection on teaching practices, with a focus on dismantling oppressive practices, and building equity, innovation, and inclusivity in the studio and the classroom.

Writing for Grants 

with facilitator Kini Sosa from The Writing Center (Feb. 13; 4-5 pm)

This workshop will empower CalArts faculty to secure the resources they need to pursue their creative and scholarly endeavors and equip them with essential skills in grant writing.

International Student Success Initiative Series

• Student Voices: What International Students Want Instructors to Know (March 10; 12-1 pm), The Bijou
• Campus Support Services: Staff share resources and common issues faced by international students. (March 11; 12-1 pm), The Bijou
• Instructor Voices: Faculty share strategies and challenges in teaching international students (March 12; 12-1 pm), The Bijou

Objective: Implement programs to support the success of international students.

Focus: Address unique challenges faced by international students and invest in their sense of belonging and community life.

FLCs are collaborative groups where faculty can engage in ongoing discussions, share strategies, and explore new approaches to teaching and learning. The following two initiatives are being launched in 2025. 

• The First Year Experience

  The First Year Experience Project is a collaborative initiative uniting faculty and staff to improve incoming students’ transition to creative work and campus life at CalArts. By fostering belonging, purpose, and readiness, the project aims to enhance first-year programming, promote inclusive teaching, and create a sustainable framework for student-centered innovation.

• Criticism and Identity 

  This initiative focuses on the intersections of criticism, identity, and equity within art, design, and technology disciplines. Through workshops and discussions, participants develop identity-conscious feedback tools, decolonize curricula, balance innovation with inclusivity, and empower students to use critique as a means for artistic growth and representation.

• CalArts Library Resources
• Student mentoring
• Faculty Support and Grants
• Coursera for CalArts faculty and staff
• Google Certificate Program
• Micro-credentials from CalArts Extended Studies
  • Creative Explorations of Whiteness Without White Supremacy
  • Business Transformation for Cultural Appreciation, Not Appropriation