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Teaching + Learning

Welcome

Welcome to the webpage of the Jane B. Nord Center for Teaching + Learning

This center was established in 2022 to support excellence in teaching and learning at CIA. In our inaugural year, we worked to create a webpage that provides resources across various topics, from course design to equity-centered pedagogy. As we continually work to build a site that is useful and informative, we welcome any feedback, questions, or suggestions of excellent resources. Please use our suggestion box or email the center's director: keweaver@cia.edu.

Page Descriptions

We currently have three pages in addition to this home page.

1. Resources on Teaching and Learning - offers various resources (e.g., videos, books, articles, podcasts) arranged by topic. 

2. Using Canvas - provides information and resources to help in our campus-wide migration from the Jenzabar LMS to Canvas.

3. Workshops, Opportunities, and Events - listing of current offerings with descriptions and registration links.

Nord Center Offerings

Regular Offerings

  • Consultations: These individual or group consultations are an opportunity to get focused support for specific issues. These are typically an hour-long conversation (in person or online) followed by an email that summarizes the issue, offers several resources, and provides ideas. Consultation topics could include course planning, equity practices, classroom management, or any other issues related to teaching and learning.
  • Newsletter: The NCTL sends 3-4 newsletters per semester. They include reflections on current events and issues, resources, programming information, and opportunities for professional development. Past newsletters are available on this page.
  • Workshops: The NCTL offers several workshops each year on a range of topics. Many of the in-person workshop topics will also have an asynchronous video version available. Please see the "Workshops, Opportunities, and Events" page for more information.
  • Learning Communities: These are cross-disciplinary groups that engage in an active and collaborative yearlong program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning. Learning communities offer learning, development, and community building. They are outcome/output-based and often structured around a central topic. Learning community members will be asked to come to regular meetings (1-2 times a month) prepared to discuss topic-based resources, develop intended outcomes/outputs, and take steps toward reaching those outcomes and outputs. Learning community members should see themselves as institutional change agents, prepared to share their learning with others through opportunities such as departmental meetings, Nord Center programming, and written research.  
  • Course and Curriculum Design: The NCTL offers several supports for course and curriculum design, including one-on-one consultations, workshops, and resources. This work can be done with individuals, groups, or departments, and can be done in single sessions or multiple sessions spread out over a prolonged period of time.
  • Canvas Support: Canvas is our learning management system (LMS). The NCTL provides support for setting up and managing your Canvas course, including using our attendance application, Qwickly.
  • Assessment and Evaluation Support: Assessment and evaluation is a key practice of teaching and learning. The NCTL can help you design assessments that align with and promote your learning outcomes, and help you make decisons about utilizing formative or summative assessments. The NCTL also works with our Insitutional Research office to design and evaluate surveys and other assessment tools.
  • Course Observations: A member of the NCTL team can visit your classroom to provide feedback and support on your teaching practices. This can include a student focus group to better understand if your practices are meeting your desired outcomes and experiences. Course observations begin with a short consulation to determine your goals for the feedback and conclude with a post-observation debrief. These can be particularly helpful if you are trying a new teaching method or if you are faced with issues of participation and engagment. 

Make an Appointment or Request

Please use this link to book time for a consultation. You can also use this to book my time for finding specific resources, reviewing materials, or addressing a specific question. For more complex requests, such as a classroom observation or a departmental workshop, please email me at keweaver@cia.edu. If you have any suggestions or ideas, you can submit those to the suggestion box found on this page (forthcoming).

Suggestion Box

NCTL Newsletters

Nord Center Reports

Ungrouped

This report outlines results of a faculty survey done at the end of the inaugural year of the Nord Center.

(.pdf, 135K)
Download Nord Center Survey Report - 2022-23

Nord Center Blog

What I learned about teaching and learning from Career Services

Fri, Aug 26 2022 at 10:18 AM

In August, I met with Lauren Ryan and Cassidy Wagner from Career Services to discuss learning outcomes in the context of career readiness. In this post, I describe some outcomes in common with classroom learning goals and share insights about how faculty ...

Read more What I learned about teaching and learning from Career Services Read more
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