The CTL offers one-on-one and group consultations.  
All meetings are confidential, and formative. While we are ready to help with general course design, and revision of assignments, assessments, and syllabi, we are also ready to engage with you on issues that develop during the term and need immediate attention.

Our staff are well versed in evidence-based pedagogical practices, but you know your disciplinary content, and your particular students in your College/Unit. Together, we can find what works best work for you. Context is critical and we aim to share generative learning principles, and then work with you to best incorporate those principles into strategies tailored to your course.

Teaching is not an impromptu act nor just a content delivery mechanism. Educators want students to learn and engage in their own learning.  University faculty are content experts but may not have been trained in how best to teach, design a course, and create engaging classes.  There are a wealth of evidence-based teaching practices and core areas of the craft such as developing learning outcomes, designing assignments, assessments, in-class activities, and syllabi, encouraging group activities, motivating students, and teaching inclusively to just name a few.  While some instructors seem to have a natural ability for these skills and others have received significant training, the vast majority of college and university training has not had a chance to learn or hone these skills.

Consultations

The CTL offers one-on-one and group consultations (see Sparkshops) on a wide range of pedagogical practices with the goal of having faculty who are excited to teach and whose students are excited to learn.  We are available to meet any day of the work week. Whether you want to learn more about a core area of pedagogy, discuss a pedagogical challenge, or share a classroom victory, our staff are ready for you. Let’s talk.

For examples of the kinds of consultations we conduct, see our core areas.

Peer Observations conducted by CTL Staff

We are also happy to arrange for a classroom observation – we use a collaborative peer observation model where we first meet with you to discuss your pedagogy, then attend your class, and then meet with you to share our feedback and reflections. All peer observations are confidential, and formative.

Focus groups

If you have a course that is particularly challenging to teach you may want to consider having us run a midterm focus group with your students. This technique called a Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) has been empirically tied to higher student satisfaction. It involves approximate 20 minutes of class time where a staff member meets with your students, and then analyzes feedback with you.

Schedule an appointment

Email us at [email protected] and we will set up a meeting via phone, zoom, or even an email exchange if need be.