Record Number of Centre Faculty Awarded CTL Grants
Congratulations to 26 Centre College faculty who were awarded grants from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)!
This year, the CTL accepted applications and proposals for Course Development Grants, Innovative Teaching Funds, and Teaching Insight Grants, a new funding opportunity. These grants support all stages of the course development process.
The CTL received a record number of applications for Course Development Grants. These grants will support the development of 14 new courses for the 2024-2025 academic year. Six courses will be heavily revised.
“These grants reflect innovative pedagogies, new formats for assignments, and authentic assessment techniques,” said Nisha Gupta, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. “Several courses will support the new business major, provide new study abroad courses, and support Centre’s strategic wellness goals. Particularly noteworthy are proposals that seek to revise existing courses, in that revision is a critical and important practice for keeping our curriculum and our courses engaging, timely, and interesting.”
Several Innovative Teaching Funds saw card deck as useful pedagogical tools. Sami Sweis used a Critical Thinking Card deck to teach students about logical fallacies. “The students found these activities fun and enjoyable… The real value of the cards, however, was revealed during subsequent discussions in class. As evidenced by cognitive behavior therapy, the key to overcoming distortions in thought, like logical fallacies and biases, is to be able to identify them with a label,” said Sweis. Other examples of using card decks as a teaching strategy include Storyteller Tactics and Ecologies.
Teaching Insight Grants let you do some initial exploring and investigating of a topic you may want to teach about later. Eva Cadavid received a Teaching Insight Grant to explore compassionate communication through advising sections with experts and a local workshop. Cadavid hopes this will prepare her to design a Philosophies of Resistance course in the future. Teaching Insight Grants can also be used to purchase books to build your background knowledge and pedagogy practices. Philip Limerick purchased Spanish pedagogy books and hopes to design a business Spanish course that can be relevant across multiple programs.
If you are interested in applying for CTL funding or would like to discuss proposal possibilities over a consultation, please reach out to Nisha Gupta (nisha.gupta@centre.edu) or Matt Downen (matt.downen@centre.edu) in the CTL (Crounse 308).
Course Development Grants
- Aaron Godlaski, Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical Neuroscience
- Ahmed Eddhir, Economics/Business, ECO 395: Empirical Analysis in Economics and Finance
- Amoz JY Hor, Politics/International Studies, IST 346: East and Southeast Asia – Politics, Society, and Culture
- Bosco Bae, Religion, REL 2XX: South Korea – Spirituality and Ceramics in Korea
- Daryl Swartzentruber, Data Science/Mathematics, DSC 3XX: Bayesian Statistical Methods
- David Hall, Philosophy and Religion, PHI 233/REL 233
- David Toth, Computer Science/Data Science, DLM 310: Fixing Homelessness in Danville
- Drew M. Morris, Psychology, PSY 345: Work and Design Psychology
- Genevieve Bell, Behavioral Neuroscience, Introduction to Neural Science
- Katrin Bahr, German, Chinese, and Japanese, The Holocaust and the Nakba: Connected Trauma and History
- Kerry Paumi, Chemisty, DLM 310/HMS 310
- Leonard Demoranville, Chemistry, CHE 351: Chemistry of the Environment
- Mary Daniels, Spanish, SPA 2XX: Sweet Madness – How Sugar, Tropical Fruits, and Coffee Shaped the Americas
- Mauricio Castro, History, FLM/HIS 2XX: Hollywood in Depression and War
- Mei Li Inouye, German, Chinese, and Japanese, Doing Business in China
- Michelle Burdine, Art Program, Introduction to Graphic Design
- Peter Haffner, Art History/Studio Art, ARH 270: Art Since 1945
- Robyn Cutright, Anthropology/Sociology, ANT 360: GIS and the Environment
- Sarah Murray, Education, EDU XXX: An Educational Journey in Physical, Mental, Social, and Spiritual Well-Being
- Zach Klobnak, Music, MUS 2XX: Listening Live in London
Innovative Teaching Fund
- Bosco Bae, Religion, REL 249 and DLM 120
- Jamie Shenton, Anthropology/Sociology, SLJ 210
- Maria Apostolova, Economics/Business, ECO 301
- Mei Li Inouye, German, Chinese, Japanese, CHN 150
- Sami Sweis, History/French, IST 500
Teaching Insight Grant
- Beau Weston, Anthropology/Sociology
- Chantell Limerick, Spanish
- Eva Cadavid, Philosophy
- Philip Limerick, Spanish
- Sarah Murray, Education
Ellen Prusinski named CTL Faculty Fellow for Spring 2024
Congratulations to Ellen Prusinski (Education) who has been named a Faculty Fellow of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for the upcoming 2024 spring semester!
This fellowship is intended to encourage faculty exploration, study, and sharing of pedagogical approaches; advance our understanding and implementation of new and innovative pedagogies; and highlight the teaching excellence of Centre College faculty members. The program was piloted last year by Kaelyn Wiles (Sociology) who focused on using contemplative practices to promote well-being among faculty members and students on campus.
This spring, Prusinski will focus on strategies to strengthen and build capacity of Community-Based Learning (CBL) at Centre. CBL is a pedagogical approach that intentionally links what is being taught in the classroom to surrounding communities. Prusinski plans to participate in some workshops for community-based pedagogies and develop and lead a CBL course design workshop for Centre faculty based on what she learns from the institute. Ultimately, Prusinski hopes to develop a clear framework for incorporating CBL into classes at Centre. Those faculty who are interested in CBL, contact Ellen Prusinski or keep an eye out in the spring for the workshop series!
“Our Faculty Fellow Program gives faculty the opportunity for growth and professional development but also benefits the Centre community,” said Nisha Gupta, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. “Ellen’s plans to strengthen community-based learning at Centre will be a much needed and powerful support for pedagogy, experiential learning, and community building for Centre.”
Faculty Fellows will receive one course release (1 course or 3 credit hours total). In addition, a total of $3,000 will be made available to support the activities of the fellow. The funds are to support: hosting events, such as seminars or guest speakers, on campus; conference travel to present project results; and miscellaneous expenses.
The call for proposals for Fall 2024/Spring 2025 Faculty Fellows is now open, and proposals are due February 29, 2024. All full-time faculty who have earned tenure and demonstrated commitment to student learning are encouraged to apply. If you are interested in applying for a Faculty Fellowship or would like to discuss proposal possibilities over a consultation, please reach out to Nisha Gupta (nisha.gupta@centre.edu) in the CTL (Crounse 308).
More information about the Faculty Fellow Program can be found here: CTL Faculty Fellows
2023-2024 Learning Communities
We are pleased to announce proposed Learning Communities (LC) topics for 2023–24. If you are interested in joining one or more of these Learning Communities or proposing your own please fill out this survey to indicate your interest. We are also looking for facilitators/co-facilitators. If interested please respond to the survey by Wednesday, August 30, 2023: Learning Community Interest Survey
Generative A.I./ChatGPT: Prickly Parrots
ChatGPT and other AI (Artificial Intelligence) applications are revolutionizing the world, raising prickly issues in academia. Is it plagiarism if a student uses ChatGPT to rewrite their draft? Or for academics to compose assignments or grant proposals with similar tools? To explore this polarizing topic, we propose a learning community to read, discuss articles, and personally experience the possibilities and limitations of these tools—sometimes called Stochastic Parrots for their ability to generate language without understanding. Proposed discussion topics include copyright, plagiarism, and innovation strategies in pedagogy, with more emerging through our dialogue.
Gen Z Students: Does a New Generation Need a New Approach?
A new generation of students, Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, is entering higher education with different experiences, perspectives, and in a different climate than previous generations. This is the first generation to never know the world without internet, value diversity, and finding their own unique identities. This learning community will review recent literature on understanding and teaching Gen Z students. One possible book to read is Gen Z, Explained or other resources determined by the group.
Inclusive Teaching
Inclusivity, diversity, equity, anti-racism. These are all terms used in relation to pedagogies. This learning community will focus on topics related to inclusive teaching. Possible topics include teaching in today’s culture wars, equity-minded teaching, inclusive pedagogies, and inclusive practices centered around different identities. Feel free to indicate topics you prefer from this list or others in your response.