The Center for Teaching Effectiveness has been established to promote excellence in instruction and to stimulate the exchange of ideas and information resulting from faculty and student experiences.
The Improvement of Instruction Grant Program of the Center offers to faculty members, departments, and colleges the following opportunities to foster better teaching and learning:
- Fellowships and Grants
Each fall, the Center for Teaching Effectiveness distributes to all full-time faculty a call for Improvement of Instruction grant proposals. The grants, which include a faculty stipend, are for improvement of instruction projects usually involving a substantial amount of work during the summer months.
Summer grants-in-aid are available to faculty who wish to experiment in their courses with new approaches using various media or technologies, field trips, visiting speakers, films or videotapes, student assistance, etc. Aid is also available for travel to teaching conferences and school liaison activities in K - 12 settings.
Departmental and development grants are awarded to academic units that want to hold workshops, off-campus retreats, and other similar activities which involve a sizable number of their faculty in an improvement of instruction program. These grants may be used to cover room and board expenses, consultant fees, and similar types of expenses. CTE consultants are available to conduct workshops and perform less formal advisory work at these functions. (Rev. 6/5/89)
- Programs
The Center for Teaching Effectiveness offers a series of colloquia, seminars, workshops, and lectures on various aspects of instruction throughout the academic year, often in conjunction with another academic unit. Faculty members are invited to participate as panelists or speakers, and the programs are open to the entire University community. Consultants are available for projects tailored to teaching development in specific academic groups. Consultants are also available to work in partnership with academic departments to develop discipline specific TA training programs. (Rev. 6/5/89)
- Consulting
Individual and confidential consultation is available for individuals wishing to develop the teaching aspects of their career.
- Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)
Services of the Center are available to all GTAs. An annual conference is held in the fall to orient GTAs before classes begin.
- Publications
The Center publishes a newsletter, About Teaching!, several times a year. The Handbook for Teaching Assistants is published once each year and given to GTAs at the fall conference. The Handbook is available to faculty upon request.
- Resources
The Center maintains a resource library of materials on teaching and learning in higher education.
March 21, 1995