ACUE Program

Lamar University has partnered with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to offer at no cost to faculty, a certification opportunity to develop best practices in teaching online and face-to-face courses. The ACUE certificate in Effective Teaching Practices ensures that faculty learn about—and implement—the approaches that improve engagement and persistence and promote deeper learning.

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The Mentoring Program for New Faculty

The goals of the new faculty mentoring program via The Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement are to support new faculty members (experienced and inexperienced) at Lamar University; familiarize them with university expectations, practices, and resources; maximize satisfaction, productivity, and retention; and increase motivation and collegiality across campus.

All new faculty will participate in the Mentoring Program.

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Teaching Certificates

CTLE offers teaching certificates that provide faculty with sustained and substantial faculty development that can be easily documented in your annual review and tenure review portfolios.

This Teaching Certificate shows your commitment to improving your work and may be used as evidence of such in annual evaluations and promotion and tenure documentation. The Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement also loves to recognize faculty completing certificates each year at Provost Kick-Off.

To complete: Attend or virtually view 10 sessions via the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement. Once you have attended or watched, list the title of the sessions you attended and provide a written reflection of how each workshop helped or will help you in your courses, along with a copy of the syllabi for the course(s) in which you plan to implement changes to CTLE Coordinator at dept_CTLE@lamar.edu. To track your “attendance,” you will need to also submit the related evaluation form for any workshop attended or watched here. 

Recordings of available CTLE trainings can be found in your Blackboard by logging in at https://luonline.blackboard.com/ Once logged in, click “Organizations” in the lefthand panel and then select “Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement.” Session options can be found on the lefthand panel.

To remind you what CTLE means by reflection, consider the following:

Choose one of your courses in which you plan to implement some of what you have learned in the videos and sessions CTLE has offered and are recorded and uploaded on CTLE Blackboard Shell. It can be a technique or skill you learned about, or it can be more abstract, such as a greater understanding of how to work with students with disabilities or first-generation students and a way that you are adapting your teaching to help them better. It could be something you researched on your own because of learning about a student challenge (i.e., not directly in the CTLE training but inspired by it). In short, we want to see some expression of your growth as a teacher and your implementation of something you have learned.

Evaluation and Assessment

We are here to help! The CTLE will provide feedback on individual instructor’s classroom performance. The evaluation methods involve one-on-one meetings, classroom observations, and confidential counseling.

Syllabus and Course Design Consultation

Instructors can work with a CTLE consultant at any stage of designing a course, from defining the topic for a course to putting the finishing touches on the syllabus. Consultants help instructors identify learning goals for their students, develop meaningful, well-timed assignments, and determine ways of assessing whether and how students have achieved those goals.

Teaching Observation

A CTLE consultant can visit any teaching setting to observe instructional practices. After the visit, the consultant discusses with the instructor what she or he has observed; together, they develop strategies for further experimentation and refinement, and identify areas for ongoing reflection. A teaching observation works particularly well for instructors who have engaged already in some analysis of their own teaching, but would like another perspective.

Small Group Analysis

A Center consultant meets with students in a class to collect their thoughts about the class, and then meets with the instructor to discuss student responses. An student member can provide valuable insight into what students think is working well in the classroom.

Student Evaluations Consultation

A CTLE consultant can help instructors interpret both the numerical ratings and the comments on student evaluations. This type of consultation shifts the focus from viewing evaluations as judgment or critique to recognizing them as a rich source of information about student learning in our disciplines.

Teaching Documentation

The Center consults on the preparation of teaching statements, course portfolios, teaching portfolios, and other forms of documentation. Preparing such materials helps instructors to reflect deliberately on their teaching practice--deepening their understanding of pedagogical goals and methods, and linking those goals and methods to student learning.

Technology Consultation

The CTLE can arrange for a technology specialist to work with instructors to explore potential technologies to support student learning and for successful integration of technology into their teaching. This may include assistance with your course learning management site, electronic communication tools, course presentation technologies, and a range of other issues geared to the needs and expertise of the instructor.