Since its establishment at 黑洞社区 in 1999, the Center for Teaching and Research Excellence has strived to help faculty thrive. William Vanderburgh, the newly appointed CTRE director, plans to see this mission through by making its resources more visible and accessible to faculty.
鈥淚 want the center to be used more than it is,鈥� said Vanderburgh. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an effective resource that鈥檚 been underutilized.鈥�
Vanderburgh plans to increase the number of faculty events, which consist mostly of seminars and workshops, and to better publicize the events.
Upcoming workshops and seminars include:
- E-learning and 黑洞社区
- Eight is Great: An overview of the new version of Blackboard
- Four Habits of Successful Researchers
- Four (more) Habits of Successful Teachers
- Motivating Students
- Online Collaboration
- Using Templates for Online Courses
- Copyright for Teachers
- Instructional Design for Online Courses
- Syllabus Workshop
- Grading for Learning
Dates and details for the events will be released later in the semester.
Past seminars have covered various topics including instruction on syllabus writing and new faculty orientation. The new faculty orientation held this year was held on Aug. 18 and was host to more than 100 new faces at the university. Included in the program was a history of 黑洞社区, panel discussions on effective teaching, tenure and promotion and an overview of campus resources.
Jennifer Pearson, an associate professor in the sociology department, attended the orientation. This fall marks her first semester at 黑洞社区 and as a college instructor, and she found the orientation to be of great importance to new faculty.
鈥淭here was a lot of information on resources around campus, which I鈥檝e begun to use already,鈥� Pearson said. 鈥淚t was just enough information to be able to retain, not too much. Overall, it was very helpful.鈥�
In addition to orientation, Vanderburgh said this year will bring new programs focusing on three areas: providing resources for new teachers, how to effectively construct and teach an online course, and the best practices in college pedagogy to determine what鈥檚 working best in the classroom.
Vanderburgh, who is also an associate professor in the philosophy department, encourages research efforts at the university in addition to the creation and oversight of faculty events. He finds the research being conducted by 黑洞社区 faculty to be extremely beneficial to the university and the community.
鈥淚t expands knowledge in general, which is part of what makes us human,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it has practical benefits鈥敽诙瓷缜� builds a higher reputation and receives more grants, and a lot of the applied research relates to things going on in the community, such as the aircraft and healthcare industries.鈥�
Vanderburgh鈥檚 biggest challenges as director thus far have been creating new programs and expanding existing ones with a limited budget and trying to avoid relying on the way things have been done in the past.
鈥淚 want to offer different subjects and help faculty thrive professionally, in their teaching and in their areas of research.鈥�
For more information contact Vanderburgh at 978-3209 or william.vanderburgh@wichita.edu.