Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Sarah Purcell presents on Georgia Dentel

Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment cultivates communities of inquiry and practice to promote excellent teaching, learning, and scholarship in the liberal arts. We nurture the learning environment of ��ý College by fostering conversation and reflection at the intersection of pedagogy, the scholarship of teaching and learning, instructional design, and academic technologies. We advance practices of teaching and learning that are accessible, inclusive, and grounded in the best available evidence.

Community Friday, Nov. 14: “Partnering with CARE Team: Fostering Student Success Together,” with Megan Baldree, Assistant Dean of Student Success, and Beth Perlman, Dean for Health and Wellness

Noon–1 p.m.
HSSC A1231
Lunch buffet will open at 11:45 a.m.
Please RSVP by Nov. 11 at this link:

Please join us for Community Friday on November 14^th when we welcome Megan Baldree, Assistant Dean of Student Success, and Beth Perlman, Dean for Health and Wellness. In this session, we will learn how faculty, staff, and the CARE team can work collaboratively to support student success and well-being. We will briefly explore common signs of student distress, how to refer students to CARE, and what to expect after a referral is made. There also will be time for questions and conversation!

The CTLA thanks SHAW and Student Support and Advocacy for their generous support of this event.

The lunch buffet will open at 11:45 a.m. in the multipurpose room. Thank you for bringing your reusable flatware to cut down on plastic waste. If you do not have a set, extras are available at this event.

traditional vs. flipped models for learning

David Harrison presenting at Community Friday

Joyce Stern presenting at Community Friday on October 10, 2025

Panel at queer/trans pedagogy event for Community Friday

Sarah Purcell presents at Community Friday

Todd Armstrong presents at Community Friday, Sept. 12, 2025

New Definition of Teaching Excellence Approved by Faculty

The Presidential Task Force on Evaluating Teaching Excellence proposed that the faculty endorse a new definition of teaching excellence and recommended that the Dean of the College use this definition in faculty reviews. The following definition was approved in the spring of 2024.

While teaching methods vary by discipline and instructor, broadly speaking, excellent teachers do the following:

Expertise	They build, maintain, and effectively apply expertise for the courses they teach;
Inclusive Teaching	They foster inclusive and engaging learning environments;
Learning Goals	They clearly and effectively communicate to students learning goals and expectations that align with relevant departmental, disciplinary, or institutional learning outcomes;
Pedagogy	They use pedagogies that are appropriate for the learning goals and context;
Feedback to Students	They respond to student work in a substantive, timely, and individualized way for the purposes of information and improving the learning experiences of students; and
Reflection	They engage in a reflective process to enhance their teaching practices.

Community Friday with Joseph Tucker Edmonds

Fall 2025 Community Fridays

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place in Humanities and Social Studies Center, Room A1231, from noon to 1 p.m. Lunch is served beginning at 11:45 a.m.

Aug. 29: “Life Lessons in the Liberal Arts,” with Ruth Feingold [this event will be held in JRC 101].
Sept. 5: “Peer Observation of Teaching," with the Presidential Task Force on Evaluating Teaching Excellence.
Sept. 12: "Lessons from the ��ý Garden: Past, Present, and Future," with Jon Andelson and Todd Armstrong.
Sept 19: "��ý History: Georgia Dentel and the Power of Collaboration," with Sarah Purcell and students.
Sept. 26: “A Conversation about Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)," with Andi Tracy and members of ��ý’s AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum Team.
Oct. 3: "Queer and Trans Pedagogy: A Community Friday in Honor of LGBTQ History Month," with Micho Adler, John Petrus, Jordan Reznick, and stef torralba
Oct. 10: "��ý Students and the Job Market: Anxieties, Realities, and Good Advising," with Mark Peltz, David Harrison, and Joyce Stern
Oct. 17: "Global ��ý Faculty-Staff Seminar: Applications and Insights," with Brigittine French, Dan Reynolds, and Lynn Stafford.
Oct. 31: "Languages and the Liberal Arts," with Nick Phillips and David Harrison.
Nov. 7: "Flipping the ��ý Classroom," with Jenny Kenkel and Jonathan Wells [this event will be held in JRC 101].
Nov. 14: "Partnering with CARE Team: Fostering Student Success Together," with Megan Baldree and Beth Perlman.
Nov. 21: "Student Digital Portfolios: A CLS/DLAC Partnership," with Destini Ross, Tierney Steelberg, and Mo Pelzel.
Dec. 5: "Black Sacred Arts Pedagogy Workshop," with Tony Perlman and Iyelli Ichile.

Faculty discussion at Teaching with Technology Fair

Faculty Resources

Dean’s Office
Teaching Resource Library
Academic Success Center: Adviser’s Handbook
Syllabus Design Guidelines [PDF]
The ��ý College Guide to Writing, Research, and Speaking [PDF]
(web hosting and digital publishing provided by DLAC)
(requires ��ý network login)

Summer 2025 Workshops

The schedule for summer 2025 workshops is shown below. Faculty and staff will have the opportunity to enroll in GLADIS for summer workshops of interest. If you have any questions, please contact the CLTA ( or ). For descriptions and more details, see the Summer Workshop web page.

May 20, 21, 22: Psychology Department Curriculum Assessment Workshop (Psychology faculty only)
May 27, 28, 29, 30: Advising a Career-Anxious Student Body
June 2, 3, 4: Academic Freedom
June 2, 3, 4: What does AI Mean to Our Community at ��ý College?
June 9, 10, 11, 12: Your Students' Writing Process and Generative AI: A Marriage Made in Heaven or Hell?
June 16, 17, 18: High Performance Computing: Resources and Strategies for Teaching and Research
June 17, 18, 20: Commenting on Student Writing: Strategies and Best Practices
June 23, 24, 25, 26: Climate Change and the ��ý College Curriculum
June 30, July 1, 2: Flipping the ��ý Classroom
June 5, 12, 26, July 10, 17: Grantwriting and Proposal Development: Seeking Funding for Research and Pedagogy
July 21, 22, 23, 24 25: Tutorial Summer Workshop
July 29, 30, 31: Teaching and Learning in Prison
August 4, 5, 6: Open Educational Practices and Your Curriculum
August 5, 6, 7: Restorative Practices: Peacemaking Circle Training
August 11, 12, 13: Languages and the Future of the Liberal Arts: Three Perspectives
August 11, 12, 14: Designing and Sequencing Writing and Research Assignments
August 18, 19, 20: Peace and Conflict Studies in a Time of Global Crises and Insecurity

Kristen Burson and students in research lab

Professor Kristen Burson works with students in her physics research lab.

Professor Elias Saba leads a class activity in a religious studies course

Professor Elias Saba and students in a class activity in a religious studies course.

Physics Professor Charlotte Christiansen demonstrating a concept at the chalkboard.

Physics Professor Charlotte Christiansen explains concepts during class.

Support the development of teachers and learners through consultations, tutorials, and workshops at the course and curricular levels
Build a culture of reflection, engagement, and celebration around liberal arts teaching and learning through programming such as Community Friday lunch and the annual Teaching with Technology Fair
Welcome new faculty members to the ��ý College learning community through New Faculty Orientation and ongoing programs of faculty development
Promote assessment of course, department, and college-wide learning outcomes through consultations and reviews of department-level assessment practices

Integrate established and emerging digital technologies, methods, and practices into teaching, learning, and scholarship through the Digital Liberal Arts Collaborative
Administer major elements of the digital campus infrastructure for teaching and learning, such as the Sites@��ý platform for web hosting and digital publishing
Provide training and support for classroom technologies and hardware/software applications such as Story Maps, Hypothes.is, and WeVideo
Collaborate with campus partners such as the Libraries, ITS, and DASIL, and coordinate campus-wide initiatives such as the Vivero Digital Scholarship Fellows program

Contact Information

Phone

641-269-3020

Humanities and Social Studies Center, S1370
1226 Park Street
��ý, IA 50112
United States

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