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Teaching Services

CTE is a University-wide unit that supports faculty, administrators, graduate students, and staff in their instructional activities. Specifically, the Center provides a range of free and confidential instructional services to help all members of UD's teaching community to enhance the teaching and learning process. The Center's services reflect the multiple ways in which teaching, learning, and assessment of student learning can be enriched. Services include but are not limited to:

Instructional Consultations
Instructors desiring feedback about their teaching may work one-on-one with a consultant. Areas in which instructors have requested assistance include:

  • Designing and revising courses.
  • Exploring alternative teaching strategies.
  • Creating original instructional materials.
  • Interpreting student ratings constructively and documenting effective teaching.

Confidential consultations are provided on a one-time or continuing basis as appropriate.

Classroom Observations and Student Feedback Process
Research studies have shown that one of the most powerful instructional improvement tools available to faculty is a classroom visit by a knowledgeable consultant. For maximum impact, these activities involve:

  • Pre-observation conference to discuss the instructor's goals and identify the specific types of feedback the instructor desires.
  • Classroom visit on the date designated by the instructor.
  • Post-observation feedback session to describe what was observed and to explore instructional enrichment strategies.

Consultants may also collect student feedback data. Also, digital recording of classes with feedback is available.

Student Feedback Process
In addition to helping faculty design, interpret, and use feedback from departmental course rating forms, CFEE offers standard forms such as the IDEA (Individual Development and Educational Assessment). IDEA is based on student progress toward instructional goals controlling for class size, and student motivation levels (two factors that influence ratings of instruction).

CFEE personnel conduct class early and / or midterm interviews to help instructors identify what helps students learn and what changes could further enhance their learning. CFEE staff also help instructors design online and print student early and/or midterm feedback surveys; these surveys can be easily delivered via Sakai, Assessment tool.

For immediate assessment of student learning, CFEE makes IF-AT (Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique) available. This multiple-choice assessment tool gives students immediate affirmation and/or corrective feedback on their knowledge and can be used for formative feedback and testing.

Quick Courses Diagnosis (QCDs) (20 minutes)
This student feedback protocol captures and displays information related to student satisfaction
levels, achievement of student learning outcomes, and student perceptions of course / program strengths and areas for change / improvement.  These student perception data are displayed through Excel Histograms and coded Word tables.

This formative feedback process entails two steps: (1) In an opening index card activity, students write down a word or phrase to describe their impressions or experiences with the course / program and a number from 1-4 indicating their satisfaction level; students then indicate on another index card the two / three learning outcomes the course / program best achieved and the two / three that were least achieved;  (2) In a roundtable activity, students identify the stengths and areas for improvement / change and then rank order them as a team. This in-class data collection process is followed by a consultation about the data and their implication regarding the students' educational experiences. 

Scholarly Teaching
Teaching and research are not separate activities. To this end, CFEE personnel assist faculty in conducting research on their own courses and also support faculty in presenting and publishing their research on teaching in appropriate forums, such as the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching. The event brings national expertise on quality learning and teaching and offers a teaching-learning forum for faculty across disciplines and institutions.

Tailored Sessions
The Center personnel co-design sessions with departments and academic units based on disciplinary needs. These sessions are tailored to meet departmental needs and tend to be issue-specific. Faculty often co-facilitate sessions for their colleagues. Sample topics:

  • Documenting and assessing teaching effectiveness.
  • Developing a teaching portfolio.
  • Team teaching.
  • Curricular mapping and implications for alignment of program and core course goals, including general education goals.