Mission
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) champions effective teaching through the use of evidence-based practices and equity-minded innovations in pedagogy that promote successful learning for Brandeis’s diverse student population. To realize this mission, the CTL supports faculty, staff and graduate students who offer instruction, and collaborates with several advisory groups.
- The Committee for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment serves as an advisory board with representation from all schools and divisions
- The CTL Mentors are expert teachers and scholars across disciplines who offer a wide range of expertise in pedagogies, educational technology, assessment, and emerging campus pedagogical development needs
- The CTL Partners are administrators across the campus whose roles and expertise are essential to teaching and learning at Brandeis, and they advise the CTL on concerns including mental health, racial, gender, sexuality justice, and accessibility.
Values
We promote teaching practices that advance Brandeis's mission as an institution founded on principles of excellence, inclusion, and social justice, and that offers a strong liberal arts education in the context of a top-ranked research university. These practices are grounded in research on:
- Evidence-based practices for effective learning in colleges and universities
- Equitable teaching/learning practices that reduce systemic inequities in higher education
- Institutional culture that values teaching and rewards teaching excellence
- Faculty peer mentoring and assessment.
We follow the ethical practice guidelines of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network, the professional organization for North American faculty developers.
We invite all members of the Brandeis teaching community, including faculty, staff and students with teaching roles, to take advantage of CTL services, programs, and events as a part of their ongoing pedagogical development.
Scope and Organization
The CTL provides multiple services, resources, and programs to enhance and support teaching excellence, innovation, and inclusivity. Examples include:-
Provost’s Teaching Innovation Grants to build on and expand evidence-based teaching practices
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Pedagogical development of faculty and graduate students via workshops, orientations, and learning communities
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Teaching Assistant/Course Assistant professional development training campus-wide
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Connection to assistance with the effective use of learning design and educational technology software
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Support for assessment for instructional, curricular and institutional improvement
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Institutes that address emerging teaching/learning needs, like the Inclusive Teaching Institute that incorporates trauma-informed pedagogies along with evidence-based practices from diversity, equity and inclusion scholarship and practice.
A full list of CTL services is available on the CTL Services webpage.