
The Center for Teaching and Learning
FACULTY ENRICHMENT
The Center for Teaching and Learning understands teaching as a critical practice, driven by inquiry, experimentation, reflection, and collaboration. In pursuit of HWS’s commitment to excellence, equity, innovation, and engaged citizenship, we promote pedagogy that is inclusive, learner-centered, and evidence-based, working with partners across campus to promote critical engagement and reflection on teaching and learning.
We can support you in your teaching and scholarship in a variety of ways. We look forward to working with you!
EVENTS
The CTL offers a variety of events that are open to the HWS teaching and learning community.
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Reading Groups bell hooks
Teaching to Transgress - Fridays 1:30-2:15
Feb 4, Feb 11, & Feb 18Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope - Fridays 1:30-2:15
Feb 25, March 4, March 11Teaching Critical Thinking - Fridays 1:30-2:15
to indicate interest in these texts, add your name here
March 18, April 1 & April 8 -
Reading Groups Lisa Nunn’s College Belonging: How First-Year and First-Generation Students Navigate Campus Life
Mondays 9:00 AM-10:15 AM
to indicate interest, add your name here
Feb 7, Feb 14, Feb 28, March 7 -
3-Fridays at 3pm: February Podcast Club
listen when you can, join colleagues (place TBD) for discussion and snacks.
Friday, February 11, 3pm (place TBD): Hidden Brain’s “The Story of Stories”: implications for enhancing student metacognition and finessing pedagogy.
Friday, February 18, 3pm (place TBD): DEI topics—a suite of podcast links on diversity, equity, and inclusion will be made available; choose your podcast, bring your new DEI knowledge to the discussion!
RSVP here -
MAPs (midterm assessment process)
Get feedback on student learning ahead of your SLFF. Offered any class time/day from February 21 through Friday morning, March 18.
Embed the MAP in your syllabus now! Contact Susan Hess at shess@hws.edu to set up your date!
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Disability Services Series Session 2: Teaching, Learning, and the ADA
Wednesday, February 9, 4:15-5:00pm, “Creating Accessible Materials, Handouts, and Presentations,” 45 minute Zoom session
RSVP Here -
Disability Services Series Session 3: Teaching, Learning, and the ADA
Wednesday, March 9, 4:15-5:00 pm, “Exams and the ADA,” 45 minute Zoom session
RSVP Here -
Student Development Series: Conversations on Facilitating Student Agency
Thursdays 4:15-5:00 PM
Meeting students where they are
This year’s first year students arrived on campus after finishing high school through lockdowns and remote or hybrid learning; not surprisingly, many faculty are noticing new challenges with this cohort. In this series of interactive workshops, we will apply student development theory and generational trends to explore strategies for working with this cohort now and over the next three and a half years.
Thursday, February 17 - Helping students (re)build endurance and rigor
Please register by Friday, February 11th Thursday, March 3 - From Yelp to MAPs: Helping students move towards productive self-advocacy and agency
Please register by Friday, February 25th Thursday, March 17 - What’s next? Helping students navigate the remainder of their college career.
Please register by Friday, March 11th
Consultations
1-1 Consultation
CTL 1-1 consultations are available on a variety of pedagogical and pedagogy-related topics. A CTL 1-1 consultation is confidential—you may use the results of the consultation in any way you wish; the CTL staff member keeps the content confidential. To arrange a 1-1 consultation. Contact Susan Pliner at pliner@hws.edu or Susan Hess at shess@hws.edu.
Formative classroom observation
For diagnostic purposes only—confidential and informative. Contact Susan Pliner at pliner@hws.edu or Susan Hess at shess@hws.edu.
MAPs
A MAP is a facilitated, small-group, consensus-based process designed to gather feedback on teaching and learning directly from students while a course is in progress. The MAP is a formative assessment method: its goal is improvement in teaching and learning, and the information is intended for your benefit and is shared only between you and the CTL staff member. You may choose to use the results for review or other performance evaluation purposes; the CTL staff must keep MAP information confidential. Contact Susan Pliner at pliner@hws.edu or Susan Hess at shess@hws.edu.
Departmental Support
The CTL offers a range of services and support for departments, including customized workshops and consultations on departmental learning outcomes and assessment.
Curricular Mapping for issues of diversity and equity, inclusion and accessibility, enriched writing curriculum, backward design, and more. Curricular mapping is the process of diagramming, visualizing, or otherwise analyzing curricula to uncover gaps, inconsistencies, or unseen barriers: departments wishing to exploit the resources of trained interlocutors who approach the discipline as outsiders can find partners and facilitators at the CTL. Contact Susan Pliner at pliner@hws.edu or Susan Hess at shess@hws.edu.
Student Learning Feedback Form support (SLFF) including support for course sections taught by multiple faculty. Contact Susan Pliner at pliner@hws.edu or Susan Hess at shess@hws.edu.
Classroom Observation Resources
Senior Symposium – an opportunity to showcase the work of your seniors and capstone courses.
Institutes & Retreats
The CTL offers immersive opportunities for faculty across the disciplines to (re)design courses, syllabi, and assignments; examine principles of building inclusive classrooms, course, and materials; or devote time to their writing. For a list of upcoming opportunities, go here.
Writing Retreats: Writing retreats are full- or half-day opportunities to come together with colleagues for mutual support setting and accomplishing scholarly writing goals—from working through those reviewer comments to finishing that last, lingering chapter to refining those new writing assignments. Opportunities for feedback and editorial consultation included.
Faculty Learning Communities: Faculty-led or CTL-partnered faculty and instructional staff groups engaged in semester- or year-long study of a designed teaching and learning topics. CTL funds materials, provides resources, and, when desired, a partner in facilitation.
Sessions & Workshops
Resources
The CTL offers resources addressing a wide range of teaching and learning topics, including inclusive teaching, writing pedagogy, and course design.
Inclusive Teaching and Learning
- Accessibility
- Disability Services Guide for Faculty (forthcoming)
- Inclusive Teaching
Course Design & Teaching Methodologies
Lending Library – resources available and we are happy to suggest books for your viewing on theory, assessment, methodology, etc
HWS Authors: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning