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The Broad Spectrum of CTL Initiatives: A Brief Introduction from the Editor-in-Chief
Get PDFDespite ongoing efforts from certain administrators, governments, and other stakeholders to standardize and homogenize pedagogy, educational effectiveness always relies on the ability of everyone involved in the process of teaching and learning to respond to the unique needs and interests of those on the ground, in the pedagogical moment—the teachers and learners who meet together and create learning on each campus, in each department and program, and in each classroom (or online venue). The contributing authors of volume 16 of the Journal on Centers for Teaching and Learning provide seven different snapshots of institutions working to meet the immediate and localized nature of education. These varied snapshots begin to hint at the broad spectrum of circumstances in education that must all be addressed in order to improve outcomes. More than simple solutions, we expect that this volume of JCTL will encourage your own continuing search to find avenues of research that are meaningful for your learners and instructors, and that it will serve to guide and inspire your curricular choices
Side Channels: Faculty Support Networks
Get PDFThis article examines a project at our institution that unfolded in unexpected ways. Faculty members had expressed interest in loose networks for collaboration and resource-sharing, so we implemented “Faculty Support Networks” (FSNs) to foster connection among faculty members interested in central teaching and learning topics: course-based assessment, developing future faculty, experiential learning, inclusive teaching, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. We present a case study of these FSNs, from the program design to their influences on our communication with faculty. Although asynchronous engagement was sparse, the FSNs did help extend our reach and draw faculty to our services
What GTAs Need: Implications from a Survey of the Goals, Concerns, and Questions of Graduate Teaching Assistants
Get PDFWe surveyed 477 new graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) during a GTA orientation to identify their goals, concerns, and questions about their new responsibilities. The vast majority reported looking forward to becoming a GTA but expressed nervousness about their new role. Most also reported being motivated to embody attributes within the conceptualization of “PEACE” (i.e., Preparation, Expertise, Authenticity, Caring, Engagement; Saucier et al., 2022a) as a foundation for teaching excellence. Our results provide a framework for designing professional development opportunities for new GTAs, and we discuss how these have been implemented at our university to promote teaching and learning excellence
How Student Involvement Can Support CTLs in Navigating a Changing Educational Landscape
Get PDFIn this article we describe various approaches to meaningfully engage students in CTL initiatives amidst an evolving higher education landscape. The conceptual framework behind these approaches is student-staff partnership as applied to the context of a CTL. While there are many possibilities for student engagement, here we describe four specific types based on our experiences: advisory committee membership, administrative support, special projects and initiatives, and pedagogical partnerships. These involvements can support the various CTL domains of practice and further centers in advancing teaching and learning efforts at their respective colleges and universities. We highlight sample initiatives for each type of student engagement and provide additional references to support CTLs in considering additional possibilities
Supporting Teaching Excellence: A CTLA Case Study
Get PDFAcross the higher education landscape, the missions of Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) are often associated with advancing teaching excellence across their institutions. Yet many institutions fail to establish a clear, common conceptualization of teaching excellence. In the context of uncertainty, CTLs may struggle to align their offerings to achieve their missions. Using a case study approach, the authors explore how one institution established an institution-wide conceptualization of teaching excellence through shared governance and how its CTL supports teaching excellence. The authors discuss planned initiatives and offer suggestions for CTLs
Maximizing the Psychological Benefits of Writing Groups for Faculty: A Psychologically Informed Framework
Get PDFFaculty face increasing demands for service and teaching, resulting in decreased time for scholarship despite high expectations for academic productivity. These competing demands result in many faculty finding it to challenging to engage consistently in academic writing. This article briefly overviews the literature on academic writing groups, with attention to their value and challenges with implementation and success. We then offer a case example of our own interprofessional writing group that has been meeting and evolving for the past five years. To maximize the benefits of academic writing groups, we offer a psychologically informed framework that attends to three key dialectics: flexibility versus structure, person-centeredness versus team-based, and acceptance versus change. This psychologically informed framework recognizes that effective writing groups differ from one another and vary within themselves over time in terms of where they fall on each dialectical continuum. Based on our experiences as faculty in an interprofessional writing group invested in navigating these dialectics combined with the pertinent literature, we offer specific strategies for Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) staff to consider when implementing a psychologically-informed model in a manner that promotes teaching, learning, scholarly productivity, connection, and well-being. The effectiveness of these strategies will require further investigation of both processes and outcomes using qualitative and quantitative methods
The Far-Reaching Benefits of a Fellowship Grant Program
Get PDFCenters for teaching and learning are often at the forefront of innovation and provide the backbone of support to faculty and departments exploring effective teaching practices. At our midwestern, land-grant doctoral-granting institution, a competitive internal faculty grant program focused on developing and implementing new and effective teaching practices has dispersed over $4.5M to 241 projects during the past thirty years. Analysis of survey results seeking quantitative and qualitative input on the impact of the grant from its recipients reveals multiple program benefits across stakeholders, including notable curricular changes, significant impact on the student experience, and faculty career benefits. Output from the grant program provided opportunities for university change, amplifying teaching excellence and contributing to SoTL outputs. We conclude with suggestions for teaching and learning centers to develop a similar teaching grant program
The Making of a Teaching Center: Insights from the Frontlines
Get PDFThis article provides a detailed roadmap for the process of establishing and launching a center for teaching and learning (CTL) at a large research university, with particular emphasis on strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and organizational development. Drawing from our firsthand experiences, we document key decisions and milestones in creating our institution’s CTL, the UA Teaching Academy, including securing administrative support, determining organizational structure and funding models, and building campus-wide partnerships. The development process highlights the importance of strategic alignment with institutional priorities, thoughtful faculty governance, and evidence-based decision-making. By sharing specific insights about the establishment process, structural decisions, and early implementation challenges, this article aims to provide practical guidance and insights for institutions seeking to establish or enhance their own CTLs
Track, Map, and Measure: Diverse Professional Learning Activities Are Associated with Positive Attitudes Toward Pedagogy and Faculty Learning Outcomes
Get PDFWe examined how patterns of participation in instructional consultations, workshops, reading groups, and learning communities were associated with differences in faculty views of pedagogy. A total of 165 faculty completed the Appreciation of Pedagogy Scale (APS), which includes five subscales: 1) awareness of pedagogy research; 2) beliefs that research can inform teaching practice; 3) integration of new strategies with current ideas about teaching; 4) positive emotions about learning about teaching; and 5) the frequency, value, and enjoyment of engagement in professional development (Hurney et al., 2020). We mapped APS subscales to our CTL Faculty Learning Outcomes and then analyzed the impact of program participation on each subscale. We found faculty who participated in three or four different types of professional development had greater appreciation of pedagogy than those with no participation. Faculty who participated in workshops, consultations, or learning communities responded more positively to some subscales than those who participated in fewer of these types of programs. We conclude with advice for centers interested in investigating the impact of program diversity on faculty attitudes toward pedagogy
Special Feature: CTL Directors Need to Be Centered
Get PDFDr. Todd D. Zakrajsek began his career as an adjunct professor, teaching at a small private college, a technical school, and distance education classes for a large university. Securing a tenure-track position at a small regional college in the Pacific Northwest in the fall of 1994, Todd started a center for teaching and learning in his third year at that institution. For his efforts, he received a budget of 5,000 and a one-course release. In year three, the budget was 800,000. He also served as Co-PI on a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant to provide resources to distance and adjunct faculty. In 2008, Todd resigned from his job as faculty development director to become the Executive Director of a large research extensive university in the South. There, he successfully assisted with the transformation of a long-standing and successful teaching center into a center providing support in teaching, research, and leadership; he was responsible for hiring six positions and managed a budget of $1.2 million. In 2012, Todd began working in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and in the Academy of Educators to assist in building resources for faculty in the School of Medicine. He is still at the UNC School of Medicine. Concurrent with his institutional work, over the past 20 years, Todd has been directing Lilly Teaching Conferences and publishing extensively in the area of effective teaching and learning.
Given Todd’s extensive experience in faculty development for 25 years in various types of institutions, regions, and faculty served, we have asked him to write a series on essential issues needed by directors of faculty development efforts. This series suggests areas for faculty developers to consider, along with tips and techniques Todd has found helpful along the way. In this issue, Todd describes CTL director’s workload challenges and offers advise for avoiding burnout. If there is a specific topic you would like Todd to address, contact JCTL’s incoming Editor-in-Chief at [email protected].