Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship

Thomas More University aims to be an “institution where teaching, learning and scholarship engage faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Their interactions address community-identified needs, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, enhance community well-being, and enrich the scholarship of the institution.”

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (CTLS) is an investment in the most precious of our resources – our community of educators, both faculty and staff – and a commitment by the University to provide a context for each member of the community to engage in continuous development. 

VISION

At the Center for Teaching, Learning, & Scholarship, faculty and staff collaborate on fostering an engaged learning and teaching environment with a focus on integrating teaching, learning, service and research. The Center advances the University’s attention to continuous development, initiates and sustains partnerships that integrate curriculum and co-curriculum, and ensures an intellectually diverse and active learning, teaching, and scholarly environment. Thomas More is an institution where teaching, learning, service, and scholarship occur throughout, at every level, and this Center reflects that integrated approach. 

The Center functions as an engine for outstanding instruction and scholarship by faculty and staff, innovative pedagogical practices, and an engaged teaching, learning, and scholarly environment across campus. The Center also provides opportunities for faculty and staff to develop as educators, attentive to their own holistic growth in mind and body, heart and spirit in alignment with Thomas More’s mission as a Catholic Liberal Arts institution. 

  • Director of CTLS
  • Direct Reports to the Director of CTLS
    • Senior Instructional Designer & Instructional Designer (new position to be hired in 2024)
    • Academic Grants Officer (new position to be hired to support both individual faculty in gaining grants and the Provost’s Office on curricular and academic initiatives)
    • Administrative support – half-time
  • Advisory Council
    • Three faculty, one from each College
    • The Chair of Faculty Development
    • Director of the Core Curriculum and the First & Second-Year Experience (possible new configuration to integrate attention to these experiences)
    • A Service Learning Representative
    • Staff representative (PAS, registrar, IDL, Library, etc.)

 

Role: To advise the director of CTLS on activities and needs of the learning community to enhance teaching, learning, and scholarship at Thomas More

  1. Promote activities to enhance teaching, learning, service, and scholarship in alignment with Thomas More’s mission and identity as a Catholic Liberal Arts University;
  2. Organize new faculty and staff development workshops with a focus on the community as educators with a shared passion for student development and support;
  3. Design and conduct faculty and staff development workshops, training, and speakers focused on impactful pedagogical practices, inclusive teaching, equitable course design practices,service learning, and innovative instructional design;
  4. Provide regular adjunct orientation and development workshops;
  5. Coordinate with the Provost to offer workshops for department chairs on conducting class observations, completing annual reports, supporting faculty development, etc.;
  6. Develop policies and protocols to support student-faculty collaborative research;
  7. Support grant writing for curricular and programmatic initiatives as well as scholarly activities;
  8. Provide training to infuse technological, diversity, and global perspectives into the teaching, learning, and service experience;
  9. Collaborate with technology and the instructional design team to promote the use of Canvas for all modalities of learning
  10. Assist faculty and staff in developing academically sound, empirically-validated models promoting student learning by integrating critical reflection, assessment, and continuous improvement;
  11. Assist faculty and staff in establishing a strong record of scholarship in disciplinary fields as well as in pedagogical practices and co-curricular strategies, thus extending the University’s reach and reputation as a high-quality institution focused on teaching and scholarship;
  12. Identify outstanding research/publishing opportunities;
  13. Support faculty and staff in conducting research and disseminating their work, including presenting at national and regional academic conferences;
  14. Work with instructional Designers and the Library to promote use of OER in the classroom;
  15. Provide educational mini-grants to faculty and staff to explore and participate in national initiatives focused on teaching and scholarly engagement;
  16. Encourage experimentation and innovation in pedagogical practice throughout the Thomas More community;
  17. Equip the community to contribute to the “scholarship of teaching and learning.”
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