The Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning fosters excellence in teaching and learning at Mars Hill University by providing resources, enrichment opportunities, faculty development, and strategies that support quality and innovative instruction.
The Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning is committed to empowering our faculty to integrate innovative pedagogy, engage meaningfully with students, and incorporate best practices in teaching and learning by providing resources, enrichment opportunities, and faculty development.
We believe that by fostering a community of support and development for our faculty, we will inspire them to create transformative learning experiences for all students.
The CETL Board has developed three specific areas that will help fulfill the mission of the center. These three areas are: Advocacy, Support and Promotion of Faculty Expertise, Individual Faculty Development
Advocacy:
1. Highlight that all faculty are respected and valued for their specific knowledge and skills
2. Programing of the center offerings and support will be widely based on surveys of faculty needs and desires.
3. Facilitating communication among educators to share pedagogical expertise across disciplines and celebrating campus achievements in teaching and learning.
4. Facilitating community explorations of national best practices in teaching and learning, and promoting accomplishments in state, regional, and national venues as well as on campus achievements.
5. Maintaining the culture of faculty ownership, advocating for educators in their role as teachers, and ensuring that participation in most programs, consultations, and assessments is voluntary, confidential, and developmental.
Support and Promote Faculty Expertise:
1. Instructional development: helping those who teach to learn to do it even more effectively.
2. Curriculum development: an opportunity for faculty to engage with pedagogy better understand how learning occurs, what factors influence learning.
3. Supporting the ongoing development of the teacher-scholar model and facilitating innovative approaches to the scholarship of teaching and learning.
4. The CETL will work with FERC to enable promotion of new knowledge and skills across campus
5. Supporting demonstration teaching visits on and off campus.
6. The CETL website explores and promotes best practices, tools for productivity and scholarship, as well a clearinghouse for all faculty development opportunities.
7. Monthly newsletters for all faculty / teaching staff
Individual Faculty Development:
1. Building and supporting on-going mentorship programs for new and existing faculty.
2. Support all new faculty through training and faculty development programs (individual, small group, departmental, and campus wide)
3. Facilitating individual faculty on writing scholarly articles, supporting faculty to participate in research, and seek out and secure grant funding in order to help them advance their careers and professional standings.
4. Facilitate co-teaching and coaching models to ensure that information gained in Faculty Development is transferred to the classroom to improve the outcomes for all
5. Support faculty on an individual basis, conducting syllabi reviews, in-class evaluations, small group instructional diagnoses, and one-on-one consultations. These consultations will be private for the use and purpose of the instructors and not released to any other individuals.
New Faculty and Adjunct Support. The center also sponsors initiatives to support new and adjunct faculty including a mentoring program for all new faculty and online training for all adjuncts.
Speaker Series. The CETL to sponsor an annual speaker series. The Board suggests that a visible well-known speaker be arranged. The Board also would like to survey to faculty from the university to aid in looking at who to bring to campus. These should focus on actionable items that faculty can put into place to support their teaching and learning here on campus.
Faculty Learning Communities. We do host faculty learning communities (FLCs) as needed for special interest of specific faculty. These typically meet to discuss subjects and study related to scholarship on teaching and learning as related to selected topics. These small groups are led by the Director and/or Center Fellow(s) may be initiated by CETL Board. Each group will propose a pedagogical theme to investigate. The results of the FLC discussions will be shared with the campus community at large.
Open Classrooms. The Center should sponsor a series of open sessions / classrooms provided by faculty who are willing to allow others to visit their class as they demonstrate a pedagogical approach or innovation. These visits will be followed by a discussion session housed at the CETL.
Next steps:
Grants. Small grants for pedagogical research or implementation of innovations to help promote a culture of scholarship and explorations around teaching and learning. Currently we are focused on OER with our current grant awards.
Center Fellows. Each semester 1 faculty per year should receive one-year appointments as a CETL Fellow. Fellows shall contribute to the larger mission by engaging in supportive endeavors with MHU faculty. These activities may include campus presentations, mentoring faculty, and/or shared research. Each Center Fellow will also assist the Director to lead a scholarly initiative on campus. Selection should take into consideration faculty expertise. These may include contributions in key areas, or the ability to enhance the community through the development of materials and resources in specific areas (Gen. Ed).
The Center will continue to develop quality instruction in all settings by fostering innovative approaches to the scholarship of teaching, learning, innovation, and excellence on the campus of Mars Hill University.