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Learning Community on Teaching and Race
Jun. 17, 2021—In 2020-21, the CFT hosted a learning community dedicated to understanding the many challenges and opportunities of teaching issues of race, and supporting students of all racial identities and backgrounds. In five events throughout the year, dozens of participants from across the disciplines engaged in a variety of conversations about the challenges of teaching race...
CFT Concludes Latest Online Course Design Institute
Jun. 16, 2021—To help faculty prepare for teaching this Summer, we offered an Online Course Design Institute (OCDI). The institute was a revised and updated version of the institute that the Center for Teaching offered in summer 2020 to more than 500 participants. Participants worked in three cohorts led by CFT Senior Staff Members Cynthia Brame, Julaine...
Learning Assistant Pilot Program
Jun. 15, 2021—Learning assistants (LAs) are undergraduate students who are guided by a faculty member to work with small groups of students to promote active learning in a course. The use of LAs has been found to be associated with increased sense of belonging and to increase inclusion, particularly in large courses. LAs were piloted in BSCI...
New Course Design Institute Focusing on Inclusive Teaching
Jun. 14, 2021—The Center for Teaching was pleased to offer a Course Design Institute on Inclusive Teaching, May 24-27, in which participants (re)designed courses with a focus on all aspects of inclusive teaching, particularly engaging a diverse range of voices and perspectives, supporting student belonging and empowerment, developing productive dialogues about difficult subjects, providing accessible assignments and activities,...
Investigating Student Learning Journal Club
Jun. 11, 2021—This spring, a group of graduate students and faculty members worked with Graduate Teaching Fellow Leah Roberts and Associate Director Cynthia Brame to explore different approaches that can be used to investigate how and what our students are learning. Discussing research articles that illustrated a range of methods and questions, we identified possibilities for interrogating...
Promoting Persistence in STEM Learning Community
Jun. 10, 2021— STEM disciplines have long been concerned with disparities between underrepresented and well-represented student groups and the associated “pipeline” problem, where underrepresented students are more likely to switch away from STEM majors. A group of about eighteen faculty from eight departments met throughout 2020-2021 to explore approaches to increasing equity and inclusion in their courses...
From the Executive Director, Derek Bruff
Jun. 9, 2021—My wife and I started birdwatching earlier this year. Working from home helped us appreciate the feathered residents of our backyard, and now we keep an eye out for colorful birds when we walk at places like Radnor Lake. And, as of this morning, we have an empty nest—literally. The family of house finches that...