Professional Week | Montgomery College, Maryland

Starting Monday, August 24, Fall 2026 Professional Week kicks off with the Fall Convocation: Exceptional by Design, followed by the Employee Picnic on the Rockville Campus.

Academic Affairs Division, Dean, and Discipline meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, August 25. The Advising Network Kickoff Session introduces academic program advisors, department chairs, counselors, and success coaches/navigators to MC's redesigned holistic advising program. Participants will explore their distinct advising roles and responsibilities, learn how to collaborate in supporting students at key academic milestones, and identify how Starfish supports communication, documentation, and coordinated student care. Registration new windowis required!

Please see the Academic Affairs Division, Dean, and Discipline meetings schedule (PDF, ) for additional information and details.

Throughout the week, faculty and staff will also have opportunities to participate in a variety of professional development sessions designed to support learning, collaboration, and professional growth.

We invite you to explore the schedule of events and register using the embedded Workday links.

Schedule

Monday, August 24

Fall Convocation: Exceptional by Design
Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center (PA)
9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Employee Picnic
Quad Area
11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Blackboard Accessibility In-Person Open Lab
2:00-3:00 p.m., In-Person

This in-person open lab offers a flexible, drop-in space for faculty to explore accessibility practices in Blackboard with guidance from the Center for Teaching and Learning. Rather than a formal presentation, the session provides time to ask questions, review course materials, and get hands-on help making Blackboard content more accessible.

Participants may come and go as needed to focus on the accessibility challenges most relevant to their teaching.

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
4:00-4:30 p.m., Virtual

Digital accessibility is everyone's responsibility at Montgomery College, and this session is for you! Whether you teach, support students, manage programs, create documents, develop websites, or communicate across the College, the choices you make every day shape how others experience MC.

This session introduces the CLEAR Framework and curated resources, giving you simple, actionable strategies you can apply immediately to documents, Blackboard courses, presentations, email, and more. Beyond compliance, accessibility is a fundamental part of excellent service, effective communication, and inclusive learning. Rather than focusing on perfection, this session will help you build habits that remove barriers and create opportunities for everyone.

Designing Assignments Students Actually Understand
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

This interactive workshop will explore principles of plain language as outlined in The Plain Writing Act of 2010. Participants will engage in activities that explore how application of plain language principles impacts both reading and understanding for diverse audiences.

Five Small Teaching Changes That Have a Big Impact
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Faculty and staff play a critical role in creating learning environments that support student success. This professional development workshop explores five practical, research-informed strategies that can be implemented with minimal time and effort to improve communication, engagement, course clarity, and student support. Participants will reflect on their current practices, discover small changes that can have a significant impact on the student experience, and identify actionable steps they can apply immediately in their teaching and student-facing work.

Creating Belonging from Day One
6:00-7:00 p.m., Virtual

Students are more likely to engage, persist, and succeed when they feel that they belong. In this practical session, explore simple, evidence-informed strategies for creating an inclusive, welcoming classroom culture from the very first day of the semester. Participants will examine how course design, communication, classroom interactions, and early learning activities can foster connection, establish trust, and help every student feel seen, valued, and supported. Leave with ready-to-use ideas you can implement immediately in any course modality.

Tuesday, August 25

Advising Network Kickoff Meeting
8:30-10:30 a.m., Germantown Campus, BE151/152

During this professional development session, program advisors, counselors, and success coaches will learn how the newly redesign advising program will function as a holistic advising network this year. They will explore their distinct roles, the advising needs of MC students at distinct credit milestones, and how they will work collaboratively to offer students advising support and identify the role of Starfish in their communication and record-keeping operations. Support will be provided toward the close of the session for entering advising hours in Starfish, and a schedule of the full year's meetings will be shared.

Regsiter for Advising Network Kickoff Meeting new window

Academic Affairs Division, Dean, and Discipline Meetings (PDF, )
11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
See schedule (PDF, ) for details.

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
12:00-12:30 p.m., Virtual

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
4:00-4:30 p.m., Virtual

Helping Students Learn How to Learn
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Success in college requires more than mastering course content. Students also need effective learning strategies that help them study efficiently, retain knowledge, and apply what they learn in meaningful ways. In this interactive session, discover practical, evidence-informed approaches for helping students become more self-directed, strategic learners. Explore simple techniques that can be integrated into any course to strengthen metacognition, improve study habits, promote productive learning behaviors, and increase student confidence and success.

Building Motivation Through Course Design
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Student motivation is not determined solely by students' attitudes or abilities. The way a course is designed can encourage persistence, confidence, and engagement from the very beginning of the semester. Small instructional choices—such as providing an early success, explaining the purpose of learning activities, offering meaningful choices, and designing transparent assignments—can help students see value in their work and believe they can succeed.

In this interactive workshop, faculty will explore practical, evidence-based course design strategies that support student motivation without requiring a major course redesign. Participants will examine their own courses, exchange ideas with colleagues, and identify one or two changes they can implement immediately to create a more motivating learning experience for all students.

High-Impact Teaching Without More Work
6:00-7:00 p.m., Virtual

Effective teaching does not have to mean spending more hours planning, grading, or creating content. This workshop introduces evidence-based instructional strategies that significantly improve student learning, engagement, and retention while fitting within faculty members' existing workflows. Participants will explore practical, low-effort techniques—such as retrieval practice, structured feedback, and active learning routines—that can be incorporated into virtually any course with minimal preparation. Faculty will leave with several ready-to-use strategies that help students learn more without increasing instructor workload.

Supporting Student Well-Being Through Teaching
6:00-7:00 p.m., Virtual

Faculty play an important role in creating learning environments that support student well-being while maintaining high academic expectations. This session explores practical, teaching-centered strategies that reduce unnecessary barriers, promote connection, and help students navigate challenges without lowering course rigor. Participants will examine how course design, communication, flexibility, and campus resources can work together to foster resilience, belonging, and academic success. Leave with actionable strategies that can be incorporated into any course from the first week of the semester onward.

Wednesday, August 26

Data Summit
10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Germantown, BE 151/152

Join colleagues from across the College as we use institutional data to align priorities, review FY26 progress, and identify FY27 actions that drive measurable outcomes through the Strategic Plan in support of Montgomery College’s Transformational Aspirations.

Register for Data Summit new window

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
12:00-12:30 p.m., Virtual

Blackboard Accessibility In-Person Open Lab
2:00-3:00 p.m., In-Person

Participants may come and go as needed to focus on the accessibility challenges most relevant to their teaching.

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
4:00-4:30 p.m., Virtual

Saving Time with AI While Maintaining Quality
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

AI can help faculty and staff reduce time spent on routine tasks without sacrificing the quality, accuracy, and professionalism of their work. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore practical AI workflows for drafting communications, repurposing content, generating feedback, summarizing meetings and documents, and improving existing writing. Through hands-on activities and realistic examples, attendees will learn how to use a simple Create, Review, Refine process to save time while ensuring AI-assisted work remains accurate, accessible, and aligned with their professional expertise.

You Lead, AI Follows: Centering Human Expertise in Assignment Design
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Faculty knowledge of their discipline, students, and course context are essential to designing course assignments. In this session, faculty will engage generative AI to ask questions, generate alternate ideas, and test elements of an existing assignment and how it is evaluated. This practice keeps faculty expertise at the center of the process while using generative AI as a supplemental resource. In addition, we will explore how this process can model for students how to use AI responsibly without sacrificing their own thinking.

Designing Authentic Learning Experiences in an AI World
4:00-5:00 p.m., VIrtual

AI can do more than generate content. It can help educators design richer, more student-centered learning experiences. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how AI can serve as a thought partner in creating or enhancing authentic assignments and learning activities. Learn how to identify opportunities to increase student choice, provide multiple means of expression, connect learning to real-world contexts, and create meaningful assessments. Whether starting from scratch or revising an existing assignment, participants will leave with practical strategies and AI-assisted approaches for designing engaging learning experiences that support student success.

Prompt Crafting AI Bootcamp
6:00-7:00 p.m., Virtual

This interactive bootcamp will guide faculty through writing effective prompts for AI tools to generate content, quiz questions, or summaries. Participants will leave with a resource bank of tested prompts.

Thursday, August 27

Governance Training
9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Germantown, BE 151/152

All current and newly elected council members are required to attend this Governance Training.

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
12:00-12:30 p.m., Virtual

How to Use Microsoft Copilot to Save Time
1:00-2:00 p.m., Virtual

Microsoft Copilot is included with Montgomery College's Microsoft 365 Enterprise license, giving all faculty and staff access to AI tools that can streamline everyday work.

In this interactive virtual workshop, participants will explore practical, time-saving ways to use Copilot for writing, summarizing documents, brainstorming ideas, organizing information, analyzing data, and automating routine tasks. Through live demonstrations and discussion, faculty and staff will discover simple workflows that reduce repetitive work while improving productivity and communication.

Participants will leave with ready-to-use prompts and identify one or two ways to incorporate Copilot into their daily work immediately.

Quality Assurance Microcredential Information Session
2:00-3:00 p.m., Virtual

Interested in earning a Quality Assurance Microcredential? Learn more about how you can design your online and remote courses with LECT Competencies in mind and earn a series of badges that affirm your skills in online course Design & Delivery, Transformation, and Review. This information session will provide you with an overview of the MC Online Quality Assurance Microcredentials, application process, and upcoming workshops.

Taming Your To-Do List
1:00-2:00 p.m., Virtual

No one has more time than another, yet some people are more productive. Learn how to create and manage your to-do lists to help you increase your productivity. Upon completion of this session, you will be able to get more accomplished each day with your improved lists.

Working Smarter Together: AI, Microsoft 365, and Everyday Productivity
1:00-2:00 p.m., Virtual

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we plan, organize, communicate, and complete everyday work. In this practical workshop, participants will explore how Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and other AI tools can streamline routine tasks, improve communication, and boost productivity while maintaining accuracy and professional judgment. Through guided examples and hands-on practice, participants will discover strategies for drafting content, summarizing information, organizing tasks, and informing decision-making. Participants will leave with practical techniques for using AI effectively in their daily work and a clear understanding of when human expertise and judgment remain essential.

Blackboard Accessibility In-Person Open Lab
2:00-3:00 p.m., In-Person

Participants may come and go as needed to focus on the accessibility challenges most relevant to their teaching.

Hidden Gems in Microsoft 365: Time-Saving Tools for Inclusive and Efficient Workflows
2:30-3:00 p.m., Virtual

Discover a few lesser-known features in Outlook, Teams, and Word that can make your everyday work more organized, collaborative, and accessible. Using a realistic workplace scenario, we will explore practical ways to manage messages and follow-up in Outlook, organize conversations and files through Teams channels and posts, and create polished, accessible documents in Word.

The session will focus on a small number of high-impact features that can be applied to projects, committees, courses, departments, programs, and other collaborative work.

Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR) Information Session
2:30-3:30 p.m., Virtual

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
4:00-4:30 p.m., Virtual

Instructional and Developmental Feedback: Telling or Asking?
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Effective feedback is a proven method to support learning, improve performance, and foster engagement, but the form of feedback used depends on a number of factors. Instructional or performance feedback involves giving clear directions to achieve specific outcomes, follow processes, or emphasize standards, and uses a directive or ‘telling’ style of communication. Developmental feedback is more exploratory and focused on supporting the goals of the individual receiving the feedback, and comes through asking questions that encourage reflection, increase ownership of work, and commitment to action.

This interactive one-hour workshop explores key differences between instructional feedback (telling) and developmental feedback (asking). Participants will examine when each approach is most effective, practice selecting the appropriate feedback style based on the situation and learn the techniques to give both directive and developmental feedback.

Finding Reverence in the Workplace and Escaping the Daily Grind
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Finding reverence at work sounds like an impossible task, but is it? Can we find such a profound emotion in the daily grind? We spend a huge part of our lives in the workplace, and making those hours as meaningful as possible serves to enrich our lives and make us more productive employees. Through discussing ways of seeing the workplace through new eyes and participating in exercises on "reverential collaboration," and attendees will be able to turn the daily grind into a daily exultation.

Teaching Every Brain: Supporting Neurodiverse Learners through UDL
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

Today's classrooms include students with a wide range of learning preferences, strengths, and support needs. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a proactive framework for designing learning experiences that reduce barriers and increase opportunities for all students to succeed. In this practical session, explore how small, intentional changes to course design, instruction, and assessment can better support neurodiverse learners while improving the learning experience for everyone. Participants will leave with strategies that can be implemented immediately in any course modality.

Effective Communication Tips for Teams
4:00-5:00 p.m., Virtual

This workshop will focus on practical strategies for communicating effectively within a team environment. Participants will explore strategies such as clear messaging, giving and receiving constructive feedback, and managing communication styles.

Friday, August 28

Career Readiness Starts in Week One
10:30-11:30 a.m., Virtual

This session will highlight MC-sponsored career tools such as Career Coach and share ready-to-use resources to support students’ career exploration that align with course outcomes.

Connecting Students to the Right Resources
11:00-11:30 a.m., Virtual

This session equips faculty with practical strategies for connecting students to campus support across four key pathways: Academic Support, Wellness and Mental Health, Basic Needs, and Career and Workforce Support. Faculty will leave with a clear sense of what supports are available, and how to refer students without needing to become experts in every service themselves.

Every Role Matters: Connecting Your Work to Student Success
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Virtual

All MC employees play a vital role in creating an environment where students can thrive. Whether you work directly with students or support the college behind the scenes, your daily decisions, interactions, and contributions have a meaningful impact on the student experience. This interactive one-hour workshop explores how every role contributes to student success by connecting individual responsibilities to team performance and the institution's mission. Participants will reflect on the ways their work influences student outcomes, identify opportunities to strengthen service and collaboration, and leave with practical strategies for creating a greater positive impact across the college.

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
12:00-12:30 p.m., Virtual

Blackboard Accessibility In-Person Open Lab
2:00-3:00 p.m., In-Person

Participants may come and go as needed to focus on the accessibility challenges most relevant to their teaching.

Digital Accessibility Starts with You
3:30-4:00 p.m., Virtual

If you have any questions about the professional development workshops, please contact the Center for Teaching and Learning new window for additional information and assistance.