These CTL programs have either concluded or are on hiatus:
Almost 50 faculty at UMSL were selected to participate in ACUE's "Effective Online Teaching Practices" year-long program that wrapped up in April 2021. Faculty participants from last year's program will host monthly Lunch and Learn meetings in 2021-2022 to share what they found to be successful in their courses. These monthly meetings are open to all UMSL faculty, staff, and graduate students to learn more about the innovative work of our colleagues.
The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) "Effective Online Teaching Practices" program provided faculty with an opportunity to learn evidenced-based teaching strategies, apply, and reflect on what they have learned. We have been featuring faculty from the program who employ practices from the program in our CTL newsletters over this past year. Please check out past issues to learn from the creativity of your colleagues.
You will have the opportunity to continue to learn from and with your colleagues through a virtual Lunch and Learn Series where ACUE credentialed faculty will share strategies that have been successful in their courses and then host discussions about how you can employ those strategies in your own context. All members of the UMSL community (faculty, staff, graduate students) are welcome to attend.
Event Details:
Through “Scaling Instructional Excellence for Student Success,” a National Association of System Heads (NASH) initiative, and in partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), the University of Missouri System was able to offer 60 faculty members at UMSL with 3 or more years teaching experience the opportunity to enroll in ACUE’s program in Effective Online Teaching Practices.
This grant-funded program was delivered fully online with a cohort of faculty colleagues, and professionally facilitated by two CTL Assistant Directors Dr. Jennifer McKanry and Dr. Erin Whitteck with co-facilitation by Dr. Alina Slapac from UMSL’s College of Education. Faculty completing the program earned a nationally recognized Certificate in Effective College Instruction, which is the only college teaching credential that is endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE). The program addresses all of the core competencies defined in ACUE’s Effective Practice Framework© and is organized into five major areas of practice:
This 25-week course prepares faculty in evidence-based teaching practices that have been proven successful and studied through independently-validated research to improve student achievement and close equity gaps.
Completion of this program also fulfills the Online Teaching Certification requirement.
Blended learning is the "thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online learning experiences…such that the strengths of each are blended into a unique experience…Blended learning is a fundamental redesign that transforms the structure of, and approach to, teaching and learning" (Garrison and Vaughan, 2008). In this nine-week course development series faculty produce a high-quality, high-impact course. Throughout the series, faculty design an organized course structure, meaningful learning experiences, and high-quality assessments for both in-class and online learning environments. By the end of the nine weeks, a peer-reviewed course design is ready to go. The group met face-to-face every other week with online activities on the non-meeting weeks.
This was the most advanced offering of the online course development program series, allowing faculty to design a course in collaboration with an instructional designer in the CTL. DIY offered the flexibility to build a course at your own pace. Workshops, webinars, and consultations were available to support faculty throughout their time developing.
With the development of UM-System’s Missouri Online, current offerings for online program design and the Online Teaching Certificate Seminar can now be found on their program.
A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is a year-long, peer-led endeavor that establishes an interdisciplinary community of reflective and supportive faculty (typically 6-12) who are committed to developing and implementing innovations in their classroom and disseminating their results to the larger UMSL community. This typically involves active, collaborative, encouragement, support, and reflection.
Each FLC focuses on a question, a set of problems, or a passion for a topic. Members deepen their knowledge and expertise in the chosen area by interacting on an ongoing basis. In addition to the shared learning about the topic, all FLC members will work on a personal project that uses what they have learned to improve a specific course or program, and the group members collectively share their knowledge and accomplishments with the wider UMSL community.
Each year, the Center for Teaching and Learning facilitates FLCs on an as-needed basis. The list below represents recent FLCs.
The Online in 9 program was offered by the CTL until 2019. This introductory series efficiently developed or redesigned a course for online offerings. By the end of the series, the faculty had a completely finished course site, confidence with new technologies, and strategies for managing time and students. Offered in fall, spring, and summer semesters, this interdisciplinary small group promoted faculty to share ideas and learn new tools and strategies guided by research-based, national standards. The program was offered with both in-person and online cohorts.
With the development of UM-System’s Missouri Online, current offerings for online program design and the Online Teaching Certificate Seminar can now be found on their website.
The Online in 9-Advanced program was offered by the CTL until 2019. This nine-week series was for faculty who had already successfully completed Online in 9. It built on what was already learned, introducing advanced-level online design strategies to build a next-level, quality-assured online course with carefully integrated technologies and instructional strategies to achieve course goals. The central components of the program were built around Chickering and Ehrmann's framework, Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. At the end of the semester, faculty participants would have a completely designed, quality-assured course ready to offer students.
Offered in the fall and spring semesters, this interdisciplinary small group encouraged faculty to share ideas and learn new tools and strategies guided by research-based, national standards. The program met every other week (even weeks of the nine-week program).
With the development of UM-System’s Missouri Online, current offerings for online program design and the Online Teaching Certificate Seminar can now be found on their website.
Offered during early summers, Summer CAMP (Collaborating to Advance Meaningful Partnerships) is an opportunity for you to refine and hone skills in a selected area to support your teaching goals for the upcoming Fall and beyond. Faculty participants agree to provide peer feedback to fellow participants and to share what they learn within their departments/colleges.
This program engages faculty and students in drawing on each other's expertise in teaching and learning. A multidisciplinary community affords members a rich set of opportunities for exploration and growth. The examination of things we have in common as teachers and learners allows us to share ideas and strategies. Reflection on our individual and disciplinary differences helps us learn more about ourselves and reveal best practices for our disciplines.
There is no specific curriculum followed. Rather, this is a supportive community in which we help each other meet our goals for the summer. In this program, you will work with faculty colleagues, student partners, and CTL camp leaders to collaborate in a faculty cohort. You’ll receive student and peer feedback as you focus on specific aspects of your course. The cohort meets weekly as a large group, and also in smaller accountability groups as needed with those with similar goals and more individualized feedback from your student partners.
Pat Hutchings, in her book Making Teaching Community Property, defines a teaching circle as “a small group of faculty who make a commitment to work together over a period of at least a semester to address questions and concerns about the particulars of their teaching and their students' learning.”
Each year, the Center for Teaching and Learning facilitates Teaching Circles on an as-needed basis. The list below represents recent groups.
