Teaching and learning center
Encyclopedia
Teaching and learning centers are independent academic units within colleges and universities that exist to provide support services for faculty, to help teaching faculty to improve their teaching and professional development. They may also provide learning support services for students, and other services, depending on the individual institution. These centers may have different kinds of names, such as faculty development centers, teaching and learning centers, centers for teaching and learning, centers for teaching excellence, academic support centers, and others.
Teaching and learning centers exist to help instructors to modernize their teaching style, to scaffold concepts and information
in a way that students can meaningfully take in, and to help students learn more deeply and retain what they have learned. As such, these centers assume roles as educational change agents. Such centers also attempt to help instructors with other problems that they might have, such as managing graduate students, designing courses, technical writing, trying novel teaching methods, and designing better assignments and exams. Some centers may address learning difficulties at the students' end, by providing support services for better learning and study skills. Some centers may also be involved in e-learning and similar movements.
Instructional coaching is one service typically offered to faculty members. In a coaching session, an instructor meets with an instructional coach or consultant (an education specialist or researcher), who can provide guidance to the instructor in improving his/her teaching skills and pedagogical expertise. Depending on the institution, this may be optional or required for new professors or other teaching staff. Others may be required to seek coaching if cited for poor teaching performance. Others may chose to visit an instructional coach for help with difficulties in teaching, or simply out of a self-motivated desire to improve one's teaching ability, or for advice or instruction on using new teaching techniques.
Micro-teaching workshops are sessions where instructors present a short demo lecture or mini-lecture, either part of a real lecture, or a condensed version of a lecture, in front of other colleagues and/or an educational consultant. The presenter can receive feedback on his/her teaching and presentation skills from peers and from the instructional coach or consultant.
Workshops or "brown bag" meetings may be offered by the center's staff or outside speakers on various aspects of professional development and teaching techniques. Workshops may provide instruction in newer teaching techniques, by introducing techniques to instructors and/or helping them to better implement these methods, as well as helping them to make more effective use of traditional methods such as lectures and lecture-discussion formats. Newer or more student-centered techniques might include group activtives, active learning
or cooperative learning
, problem based learning (PBL)
, discovery based learning
, experiential learning
, or non-traditional forms of assessment such as portfolios
and formative assessment techniques
. Orientation workshops can also introduce teaching skills as well as other necessary information for newer faculty members.
Teaching and learning centers may also sponsor and facilitate faculty learning communities (FLCs)
for professional development in teaching. FLCs consist of instructors, often similar or related fields, to meet in small groups to troubleshoot difficulties and issues that they face in teaching, and to brainstorm or research solutions. Members meet regularly to discuss issues and findings, and may engage in journaling or other means of promoting reflective practice about their teaching. FLCs also promote a sense of community and sharing of teaching experience.
Other services may include workshops, brown bags meetings, or consultation services in other areas of professional development for teachers. Topics in teaching skills can be addressed, such as improving one's lectures or course design for more student-centered and interesting lessons, teaching specific academic skills, using new instructional technologies, and help with presentation skills. Teacher-student issues might include understanding and addressing difficulties that students might have; guidance on how to mentor graduate students; and understanding issues of gender, race or other factors that can affect classroom dynamics and academic performance; e.g., linguistic and educational research has shown that female and male students interact differently in small group versus full-class discussions. Evaluation and assessment issues can include such as designing assignments, designing quizzes and exams, grading, and giving feedback. Career-related help is provided by some centers for matters like help with writing grants, academic job search skills, and creating teaching portfolios for those seeking academic jobs. For instructors who are not native speakers of English, such centers may provide some help or referrals for instructors in English for academic purposes (EAP)
.
Some centers provide support services for students in study and learning skills, or even peer tutoring programs. At many institutions, however, student support services may fall under the domain of learning resource centers
or student counseling centers.
Some centers provide support for e-learning and research on e-learning programs and technqiues. Some may participate in e-learning movements and consortiums such as the OpenCourseWare
(OCW) movement.
Such centers may also conduct internal evaluations on the effectiveness of academic programs, or may manage student feedback on instructors' performance, and provide faculty help in understanding and making use of students' course feedback. Educational researchers at some centers conduct educational research on teaching methods or e-learning programs, and research in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL)
.
Center for Teaching Excellence
Harvard University:
Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Queen's University, Ontario:
Centre for Teaching and Learning
Stanford University:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Penn State University:
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
Center for Teaching Excellence
University of Kansas:
Center for Teaching Excellence
University of Michigan:
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
University of Pennsylvania:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Western Washington University:
Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment
Centre for Educational Development & Academic Methods
Hong Kong University:
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Korea University:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Purpose
University professors, part-time instructors, or teaching assistants approach teaching as experts in their field and know their contents. However, that does not guarantee success in teaching, as teaching expertise is an altogether different matter. Many instructors have not been trained in teaching methods, and may have difficulties conveying contents and concepts to students, who are relative novices. Novice students approach the information and contents in a course in a much different way than expert teachers, and teachers may not understand the conceptual divide between them and their students. Novice students may perceive the contents of lectures and textbooks as large amounts of information, rather than as meaningful concepts, in contrast to experts, who can naturally see the materials as coherent and meaningful, due to years of mastery. Those who rely on traditional teacher-centered methods such as pure lecture may inadvertently subject students to an information dump, or fail to connect with students at a conceptual level, leaving students unable to learn or retain information in a meaningful manner.Teaching and learning centers exist to help instructors to modernize their teaching style, to scaffold concepts and information
Instructional scaffolding
Instructional scaffolding is the provision of sufficient support to promote learning when concepts and skills are being first introduced to students...
in a way that students can meaningfully take in, and to help students learn more deeply and retain what they have learned. As such, these centers assume roles as educational change agents. Such centers also attempt to help instructors with other problems that they might have, such as managing graduate students, designing courses, technical writing, trying novel teaching methods, and designing better assignments and exams. Some centers may address learning difficulties at the students' end, by providing support services for better learning and study skills. Some centers may also be involved in e-learning and similar movements.
Faculty support services
Teaching and learning centers typically offer professional development services for faculty, particularly to help them improve their teaching and professional careers. Depending on the institution, these may be optional for professors, or required for new professors or those facing difficulties in teaching performance. Some universities in the American system may require graduate teaching assistants who teach university courses to participate in training or coaching programs. Such centers also work to promote more modern teaching methods, discussion, and institutional changes in teaching practices and in the academic environment.Instructional coaching is one service typically offered to faculty members. In a coaching session, an instructor meets with an instructional coach or consultant (an education specialist or researcher), who can provide guidance to the instructor in improving his/her teaching skills and pedagogical expertise. Depending on the institution, this may be optional or required for new professors or other teaching staff. Others may be required to seek coaching if cited for poor teaching performance. Others may chose to visit an instructional coach for help with difficulties in teaching, or simply out of a self-motivated desire to improve one's teaching ability, or for advice or instruction on using new teaching techniques.
Micro-teaching workshops are sessions where instructors present a short demo lecture or mini-lecture, either part of a real lecture, or a condensed version of a lecture, in front of other colleagues and/or an educational consultant. The presenter can receive feedback on his/her teaching and presentation skills from peers and from the instructional coach or consultant.
Workshops or "brown bag" meetings may be offered by the center's staff or outside speakers on various aspects of professional development and teaching techniques. Workshops may provide instruction in newer teaching techniques, by introducing techniques to instructors and/or helping them to better implement these methods, as well as helping them to make more effective use of traditional methods such as lectures and lecture-discussion formats. Newer or more student-centered techniques might include group activtives, active learning
Active learning
Active learning is an umbrella term that refers to several models of instruction that focus the responsibility of learning, on learners. Bonwell and Eison popularized this approach to instruction . This "buzz word" of the 1980s became their 1990s report to the Association for the Study of Higher...
or cooperative learning
Cooperative learning
Cooperative learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively...
, problem based learning (PBL)
Problem-based learning
Problem-based learning is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject in the context of complex, multifaceted, and realistic problems...
, discovery based learning
Discovery learning
Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction and is considered a constructivist based approach to education. It is supported by the work of learning theorists and psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert...
, experiential learning
Experiential learning
Experiential learning is the process of making meaning from direct experience. Simply put, Experiential Learning is learning from experience. The experience can be staged or left open. Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." David A...
, or non-traditional forms of assessment such as portfolios
Career portfolio
Career portfolios are used to plan, organize and document education, work samples and skills. People use career portfolios to apply to jobs, apply to college or training programs, get a higher salary, show transferable skills, and to track personal development. They are more in-depth than a resume,...
and formative assessment techniques
Formative assessment
Formative assessment is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures employed by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. It typically involves qualitative feedback for both student and teacher that focuses on...
. Orientation workshops can also introduce teaching skills as well as other necessary information for newer faculty members.
Teaching and learning centers may also sponsor and facilitate faculty learning communities (FLCs)
Learning community
A learning community is a group of people who share common emotions, values or beliefs, are actively engaged in learning together from each other, and by habituation. Such communities have become the template for a cohort-based, interdisciplinary approach to higher education...
for professional development in teaching. FLCs consist of instructors, often similar or related fields, to meet in small groups to troubleshoot difficulties and issues that they face in teaching, and to brainstorm or research solutions. Members meet regularly to discuss issues and findings, and may engage in journaling or other means of promoting reflective practice about their teaching. FLCs also promote a sense of community and sharing of teaching experience.
Other services may include workshops, brown bags meetings, or consultation services in other areas of professional development for teachers. Topics in teaching skills can be addressed, such as improving one's lectures or course design for more student-centered and interesting lessons, teaching specific academic skills, using new instructional technologies, and help with presentation skills. Teacher-student issues might include understanding and addressing difficulties that students might have; guidance on how to mentor graduate students; and understanding issues of gender, race or other factors that can affect classroom dynamics and academic performance; e.g., linguistic and educational research has shown that female and male students interact differently in small group versus full-class discussions. Evaluation and assessment issues can include such as designing assignments, designing quizzes and exams, grading, and giving feedback. Career-related help is provided by some centers for matters like help with writing grants, academic job search skills, and creating teaching portfolios for those seeking academic jobs. For instructors who are not native speakers of English, such centers may provide some help or referrals for instructors in English for academic purposes (EAP)
English for Academic Purposes
English for academic purposes entails training students, usually in a higher education setting, to use language appropriately for study. It is a challenging and multi-faceted area within the wider field of English language learning and teaching , and is one of the most common forms of English for...
.
Other activities
Other services might be offered by a teaching and learning center, though this varies among instututions.Some centers provide support services for students in study and learning skills, or even peer tutoring programs. At many institutions, however, student support services may fall under the domain of learning resource centers
Learning Resource Centers
A Learning Resource Centre is a facility within a school, staffed by a specialist, containing several information sources.-Purpose:Information and communication development opportunities and information flow are the big challenges arising from a dedicated review of most educational questions,...
or student counseling centers.
Some centers provide support for e-learning and research on e-learning programs and technqiues. Some may participate in e-learning movements and consortiums such as the OpenCourseWare
OpenCourseWare
OpenCourseWare, or OCW, is a term applied to course materials created by universities and shared freely with the world via the internet. The movement started in 1999 when the University of Tübingen in Germany published videos of lectures online in the context of its timms initiative...
(OCW) movement.
Such centers may also conduct internal evaluations on the effectiveness of academic programs, or may manage student feedback on instructors' performance, and provide faculty help in understanding and making use of students' course feedback. Educational researchers at some centers conduct educational research on teaching methods or e-learning programs, and research in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL)
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a growing movement in post-secondary education. SOTL is scholarly inquiry into student learning which advances the practice of teaching by making research findings public....
.
External links: Organizations and journals
North America
Cornell University:Center for Teaching Excellence
Harvard University:
Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Queen's University, Ontario:
Centre for Teaching and Learning
Stanford University:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Penn State University:
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
Center for Teaching Excellence
University of Kansas:
Center for Teaching Excellence
University of Michigan:
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
University of Pennsylvania:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Western Washington University:
Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment
International
Australian National University:Centre for Educational Development & Academic Methods
Hong Kong University:
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
Korea University:
Center for Teaching and Learning