The Center for Teaching & Learning partners with faculty to cultivate teaching that is inclusive, centered on student learning, and guided by research. We offer individualized consultations, workshops, seminars, and institutes designed to promote critical reflection and experimentation in teaching, including the purposeful use of technologies.
Universal Design for Learning Program
We are very excited to announce a year-long program on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in 2023. The UDL program is a partnership between the Center for Teaching & Learning and Digital Learning & Innovation.
Introduction to UDL: Keynote
We will start the program with a keynote by Luis Perez, a consultant for CAST, on January 24, 2023. Please register to be part of this conversation!
2023 UDL Learning Community
CTL and DL&I invite faculty to join a year-long Learning Community on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Inspired by the accessible architecture movement and based on research about how we learn, UDL is a teaching framework that identifies barriers in the learning environment rather than in “deficiencies” in the student. In the same way that a curb cut in the sidewalk helps not only people who use wheelchairs but also people with strollers or suitcases, a UDL approach can benefit all students by anticipating, and proactively designing for, the variability in learners.
Learning Community participants will meet for six 90-minute discussion and practice-based sessions in the spring and fall semesters of 2023. The meetings will be led by Luis Perez, a consultant for CAST.
In the spring semester, the group will meet on Zoom once a month on the following Fridays from 12:30-2 pm (EST):
- February 10
- March 17
- April 28
Fall dates will be determined at a later date, based on the availability of the participants.
In addition to attending the monthly meetings, participants may have some additional work to complete independently, depending on the project/s they would like to complete during the year.
Space in the UDL Learning Community is limited. Please express your interest using this form. Review of applications will begin January 31, 2023.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Pedagogical Partners
The Faculty Coach program is relaunching!
Faculty coaches supported their colleagues in so many ways during the COVID-19 pandemic: providing suggestions for adapting teaching strategies to remote and hybrid classes; helping with the integration of educational technologies in classes; and providing much-needed moral support at a time of great stress for faculty and students.
Now, we are taking what we learned from this experience and re-imagining the faculty coach role as a peer partner. Working with CTL, Peer-to-Peer Pedagogical Partners (P2P) will provide support for their colleagues in departments, colleges, and schools. Some P2P Partners with specialist skills in areas such as inclusive pedagogy, specific technologies, or particular teaching approaches may also provide broader support, if requested.
We are looking for instructors who would like to become part of the inaugural P2P cohort! Being a P2P Partner is approximately a 15-month commitment from early Spring 23 through to the end of Spring 24.
What’s involved in being a P2P Partner?
In Spring 2023, the inaugural P2P Partners cohort will come together as a learning community to review teaching approaches, explore resources on CTL and other BU websites, learn about educational technologies, and plan for academic year 23-24. We plan on three meetings (75 minutes each) in Spring 23 to get to know each other as a cohort and to prepare for the following academic year.
The stipend for Spring 2023 is $750.
In Fall 23 and Spring 24, P2P Partners will support their colleagues by sharing information about teaching strategies and educational technologies though individual, group, or departmental meetings; contributing to and communicating about CTL resources; and potentially supporting other CTL educational programs. There will also be meetings convened by CTL staff to support the P2P partners throughout the academic year.
The stipend for the academic year 23-24 is $1500 per semester.
We welcome applications from instructors with previous experience as Faculty Coaches as well as those who may be new to this kind of work. Please complete this application form; you will also need a letter of support from your Chair or Director to upload with your application. Faculty of all levels are encouraged to apply. We will also have a small number of P2P Partner places for graduate student instructors. If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to CTL Director, Deb Breen at dfbreen@bu.edu.
We would love to receive your application by Friday, February 3!
This CTL Program is inspired by the following BU Strategic Planning Pillars: A Vibrant Academic Experience and Community, Big Yet Small
Food for Thought: Lunch Conversations about Teaching
Food for Thought is an opportunity for faculty to meet together over lunch and share ideas, questions, and strategies about their teaching. The emphasis is on meeting people who teach in different areas of Boston University, to build community across disciplines, schools and campuses. CTL will cover the cost of lunches for groups of up to 4 people at a BU eatery over the spring semester.
What will I get out of it? You’ll get to meet colleagues in different departments and disciplines, share a meal together, and, we hope, become inspired by each other’s ideas and strategies for teaching!
Why is CTL providing this opportunity? Boston University is a big institution, for faculty and students, and it can be difficult to meet people beyond our departments or programs. CTL would love to build community and conversations about teaching by providing opportunities for stronger connections between faculty who may then inspire each other with their ideas and approaches.
How do I sign up? Please complete this form any time between now and April 14, 2023. Once we are able to put a group together, we will reach out to you and reserve your spot at a place like the BU Pub or the BU Club. Graduate Student instructors who are teaching in Spring 23 are also welcome to sign up for this program.
What else do I need to know? After you have met with your colleagues, CTL will send you a very short form to complete to let us know about the general teaching-related topics that came up in your conversation. This feedback will help us understand what questions about teaching are on the minds of faculty and graduate student instructors.
This CTL Program is inspired by the following BU Strategic Planning Pillar: Community, Big Yet Small
Support for Teaching in the Hub
Hub 101 Info Sessions (Zoom)
Join us for a short overview of the Hub. We’ll cover resources for teaching Hub courses and the proposal process for “Hubbing” a course, leaving plenty of time for questions and discussion. All faculty welcome!
- Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 3:30-4:30 pm. Register online
- Thursday, February 2, 2023, 3:30-4:30 pm. Register online
Office Hours for Developing and Proposing Hub Courses (Zoom)
Come with questions about designing a Hub course and/or questions about the proposal process in general. Note that proposals for courses to be offered in Spring 2024 (spring-only courses) are due to the General Education Committee by March 15, 2023.
- Tuesdays and Fridays starting 1/27 and ending 3/1. Check the CTL calendar for details. Registration not required.
Transforming Teaming: Designing More Equitable and Effective Teamwork
BU faculty and advisors are invited to join Geoffrey Pfeifer and Elisabeth Stoddard for an in-person workshop on asset-based approaches to teamwork. Participants will learn about concrete models for running team-based assignments. Sponsored by the CTL, the College of General Studies, and the Hub.
- Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 3:30-5 pm. Register online. Location: CCDS 1750
Spring Hub & Pub
Join faculty from across BU to chat about teaching in the Hub and teaching in general!
- Thursday, March 30, 2023, 4pm-6pm. Venue TBD.
BU Inclusive Pedagogy Institute
The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) and CAS Diversity & Inclusion Team (DIAT) are pleased to announce a major outcome of the Inclusive Pedagogy Initiative: Boston University’s inaugural Inclusive Pedagogy Institute (BU IPI). The BU IPI offers a unique opportunity for participants to come together to consider innovative course design, classroom techniques, and departmental engagement practices that create inclusive and supportive learning environments.
The Institute, which will take place in person from June 7-9, 2022, is the foundation of a year-long experience of practice and inquiry within learning communities for the twenty-five participants in the inaugural cohort. Learn more about the Inclusive Pedagogy Institute.
The Bridge Builders Faculty Fellows Program
The Center for Teaching & Learning is excited to announce a new partnership with The Initiative on Cities’ MetroBridge experiential learning program. The partnership will be supported by a $25,000 grant over two years from the Davis Educational Foundation. The Davis Educational Foundation was established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after Mr. Davis’ retirement as chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc. Thanks to the Davis Educational Foundation and to David Glick, Faculty Director of MetroBridge, and Paige Dolci, former Program Manager, for making this new collaboration possible. Deb Breen, CTL’s Director, and Assistant Director Ben Keating will support the new program.
MetroBridge is a university-wide applied research and experiential learning program that matches BU courses to local governments and community organizations. It provides students with the unique opportunity to work on real-world projects, and partners with valuable research to address pressing urban challenges. Learn more about the partnership with MetroBridge.
Designing Antiracism Curricula Fellowship Program
Recent years have dramatized the urgency of achieving a world without racism. Racial terrorism, hate crimes, police and vigilante violence, scapegoating of immigrants, and policies rooted in colonialism, imperialism, enslavement, segregation, and exploitation are only a few examples of its manifestations. Another is the current backlash against efforts to work against these conditions or even discuss them. The stakes are high and the hour is late. Higher education must ensure that faculty and students will have opportunities to develop the awareness and skills necessary to meet these challenges.
To meet the urgency of this moment and building on our collective commitments to address these inequities and injustices, the Center for Antiracist Research (CAR), the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and BU Diversity & Inclusion (BU D&I) have partnered to sponsor the Designing Antiracism Curricula (DAC) Fellowship Program. This Fellowship brings together an inaugural cohort of Boston University educators in AY 22-23 to develop or redesign undergraduate or graduate courses within their respective disciplines to thoughtfully engage antiracism curricula and pedagogical strategies (see Kishimoto, 2018, for a useful framework). Read more about the Antiracism Curricula Fellowship Program.
Graduate Student & Post-Doc Programs
Learning Community on Inclusive Teaching
The CTL invites graduate students to join a Learning Community on inclusive teaching. Over 10 weeks, participants will reflect on the significance of instructors’ and students’ social identities in the teaching and learning context and explore evidence-based pedagogical strategies and course design principles that support student engagement and belonging across difference. The Learning Community will have a synchronous and asynchronous component: participants will meet in synchronous Zoom sessions every two weeks for discussions that will build on their asynchronous participation in Cornell’s massive open online course (MOOC), “Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom” (TLDC), an introductory course designed for educators teaching in the American college classroom.
This program will not be offered in spring semester of 2023.
Graduate Teaching Blog
Welcome to the Graduate Teaching Blog! This blog is a space created for graduate students, by graduate students, for us to share answers to common teaching questions. In these pages, you will find suggestions for innovative, evidence-based teaching strategies presented in the context of our own graduate teaching experiences. We hope these posts enrich your teaching practice!
Graduate Student Workshops
Workshops provide an opportunity for graduate students to develop as teachers and to connect with TFs from across the university. Registration is required for all workshops, and sign-ups will open approximately two weeks before each workshop.
While these workshops are open to all BU graduate students, you are likely to find the sessions most relevant if you are currently teaching. We plan to offer workshops regularly, so please check back on our website for more information!
Graduate Assistants
The Graduate Assistants program is designed to help participants develop as educators and peer mentors through research-based practice and reflective interdisciplinary conversations about pedagogy. Grad Assistants will how to teach more inclusively through reflective interdisciplinary conversations and help the CTL to share evidence-based strategies for engaging all students with fellow graduate student instructors during the 2021-22 academic year.
Learn more about how to apply to be a graduate assistant.