The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning serves as a resource and nexus for programs and events across campus that promote faculty practice, scholarship, and student learning. We are proud of our collaborative efforts with numerous departments and initiatives across the college to provide active, engaging, and beneficial development for our faculty and supporting administrators; all to benefit the success of our students.
Programs
Throughout the year, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning offers a number of important programs to celebrate and support the continual improvement of faculty practice.
In January of each year, our faculty and supporting administrators gather for a day celebrating the excellence happening in classrooms across the college. Events highlight the pedagogical accomplishments of our faculty and promote continuing growth in our ability to promote effective student learning. The day features a themed program launched with a keynote speaker on pertinent issues in teaching and learning that coincide with the institutional mission and vision. Throughout the day, faculty lead and participate in workshops designed to provide practical ways to advance their practice and continue to support students through to graduation and into lifelong learning.
Each year, Daemen College welcomes an incoming class of faculty members. The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning believes that welcoming and wrapping our new faculty into a the strong learning community of the college is essential to their success. The New Faculty Experience program features a two-day orientation event in late August that provides essential skills for beginning their first semester in a comfortable and confident manner. Throughout their first academic year, new faculty participate in an active program that provides just-in-time and growth area workshops designed to support their success in the classroom, department, and the college as a whole.
Online Together is a faculty development program aligned with the institution's strategic plan to provide quality online courses. The program features online and in-person workshops for faculty to design or redesign their courses to meet the college's expectations of quality.
Online Workshops include
- Online Together: Getting to Know the Quality Matters Rubric
- Online Together: What Online Students Think and Need - Coming Soon
Events
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning holds events throughout the year. To remain current with our events please subscribe to our public calendar. It is easy to copy our events to your personal calendar so you don't miss an exciting event that could improve your teaching practice and further aid students in their learning success.
At Daemen College we believe that adjunct or part time faculty serve a valuable purpose to our students. This belief is supported by semi-annual orientations designed to welcome new part time faculty to the college and support their essential tasks in the classroom. This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Information Technology and provides information on systems access, student support, faculty support, and classroom management.
The next New Adjunct Orientation will be held in January 2024.
Group Instructional Feedback Technique (GIFT) is sometimes called Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID). These facilitated and anonymous mid-semester interventions provide a valuable insight into what is happening in your classroom. Sessions typically take 20 or 30 minutes for an average size classroom. Faculty members meet with a GIFT Giver prior to the class meeting to review the questions and process. During the class, professors are excused from attending these sessions, while a trained GIFT Giver gathers information from students in an anonymous and safe environment for feedback. Afterwards the professor and GIFT Giver meet to discuss the results and review professional development resources which might assist in making continual improvement to the teaching practice of the faculty member. These events are held periodically throughout the year and faculty are encouraged to learn this technique as part of peer feedback throughout the college.
Measurable and meaningful assessment is a core goal of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. This event highlights exemplars of academic and administrative assessment, case examples of assessment challenges, and practical tools for providing assessment reports that showcase success and drive necessary change.