Maxine Frendel

Maxine Frendel is an Instructional Designer at the Studio. Before joining the UIC community, she was the founding Assistant Director of the Social Sciences Writing Program at the University of Chicago, where she developed the program from its inception, designed curriculum that is now taught to all undergraduates at UChicago, and trained and mentored writing advisors in their teaching. Maxine has teaching experience with students of all ages, including elementary, middle, and high schoolers, undergraduates, and adult learners, as well as professional writing and editing experience. She is passionate about helping instructors effectively integrate technology in their teaching and making classrooms inclusive environments where all students can thrive.

She earned her M.A. in the Humanities with concentrations in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago and her B.A. with Honors in Sociology at the University of Chicago. She also holds certificates from Quality Matters (QM) in Applying the Quality Matters Rubric and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Accessibility and Inclusive Design.

Maxine enjoys mogul skiing, paddleboarding, reading, and meditation.

Instructional Design interests and specialization: project-based learning, spiral learning, experiential learning, active learning, reflective teaching, Universal Design for Learning, Understanding by Design (backward design), accessibility, inclusive pedagogy, e-portfolios, small group and one-on-one learning, writing assignments and prompts, authentic assessments, AI and ChatGPT in the classroom

Learning tool specific interests: Google Suite including Google Jamboard, VoiceThread, Padlet, Panopto, Hypothes.is, iClicker, Gradescope

Subject area expertise: sociology, theater and performance, gender and sexuality, writing, elementary education