On behalf of the staff of the Center for Teaching & Learning, I would thank everyone on our campus for their hard work over the summer to ensure that our students have a rewarding educational experience. It goes without saying that this is a challenging time to teach, from a pandemic that directly affects virtually every aspect of the way we interact with our students, to increased awareness of the social injustices that negatively impact our campus community. As we begin this new academic year, please know that the CTL is here to support all campus educators: tenured and tenure-track faculty, instructors, lecturers, graduate student teachers, and staff.
This fall semester, the CTL will host events along a number of timely themes, including inclusive pedagogy, innovative teaching, teaching well with technology (in partnership with OIT), and wellness. We have partnered with the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance to offer sessions on recognizing and mitigating bias, as well as trainings on effective bystander interventions. These events further offer a chance to exchange ideas with colleagues from across campus. For full details, please visit the events page on our website, which additionally features a range of resources for teaching and a portal of campus resources for remote and online teaching.
The staff of the CTL offer confidential, individual consultations on a range of topics, such as creating more inclusive syllabi, designing assignments that effectively align with learning goals, and discussing effective practices for a range of teaching modalities: in-person, hybrid, remote, and online. We likewise offer group sessions and trainings, tailored to the needs of an individual unit.
Finally, the CTL is committed to supporting communities of educators to explore various aspects of teaching. We offer reading and conversation groups, faculty communities of practice, and opportunities for graduate student teachers through a variety of programs. We have teamed up with Office of Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement to sponsor an Inclusive Communities of Practice group. Holding regular meetings throughout the semester, this group examines concrete ways to make our campus a more welcoming and equitable place.
Wishing everyone a successful semester.
Kirk Ambrose
Founding director of the Center for Teaching & Learning
Select September Workshops
Please visit the CTL Events page to see additional offerings. All workshops require registration.
Sept. 9, noon: Teaching in the Era of COVID-19
Sept. 17, 5 p.m.: Cultural Collisions in the Classroom: A Grounded Knowledge Panel
Sept. 21, 12:30 p.m.: Recognizing and Mitigating Unconscious Bias: for Graduate Students (with OIEC)
Sept. 29, 12:30 p.m.: Recognizing and Mitigating Unconscious Bias: for Faculty (with OIEC)
Kirk Ambrose
