Director

Jennifer Jefferson is the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. She comes to this role after being a Visiting Assistant Professor in University Studies at St. Edward's University. Previously, she taught at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. Her educational background is in American Studies and Cultural Studies in Education.

She is committed to providing programming and support that is responsive to the St. Edward's community, and she collaborates across campus to address the complex needs of faculty at a liberal arts university. Some of her areas of interest include inclusive course development, reflective practice, and peer learning communities.
 

Administrative Coordinator

Juanita Servín

Advisory Board

Alex Barron, Associate Professor of University Studies

Arcelia Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Learning, and Culture

Stephen King, Professor of Communication

Kate Lopez, Assistant Professor of Accounting

Mity Myhr, Professor of History

Paul Walter, Associate Professor of Mathematics
 

The Center for Teaching Excellence offers a variety of programs to improve teaching at the university, including:

• Consultations
• Books & Coffee Reading and Discussion Group
• Faculty Learning Communities
• New Faculty Support
• Innovation Fellowships and Institute
• Teaching Symposium
• Workshops, seminars, and discussion groups
• Resources, including a library of print books and numerous digital teaching guides and articles
• Programs for departments and schools are also available upon request.

Please visit our blog for more information: http://sites.stedwards.edu/cte/

CTE Working Group
Mondays in July: July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23, and July 30
11:00 - 1:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

New Faculty Orientation
(Contracted and Adjunct)
Monday, August 20, 2018
8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m, Fleck 305
Breakfast and lunch will be served. Please RSVP.
New Faculty Orientation Agenda

Teaching Symposium
Thursday, August 23, 2018
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m, Fleck Hall, 3rd floor
Breakfast and lunch served.  Please RSVP
Schedule and Full Program

Books & Coffee (Wednesday) Reading Group
"Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire
Wednesdays: September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Books & Coffee (Thursday) Reading Group
"Teach Students How to Learn" by Saundra Yancy McGuire
Thursdays: September 6, October 4, November 8, and December 6
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Mission and Muffins (Part I)
Fridays, September 7 and October 5
9:00-10:00 a.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105
Coffee and muffins will be served.

Your Teaching Identity and the Classroom
Building Classroom Community: A Series Facilitated by the CTE and Student Affairs
Thursday, September 20
12:30-1:45 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105
Lunch will be served, so please RSVP

New Faculty Meeting - Navigating New Contexts
Friday, September 21
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Combating Mid-Semester Slump
Wednesday, October 10
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Voices from Classrooms on the Hilltop: Students Share Their Experiences
The Second Discussion in the Series Facilitated by the CTE and Student Affairs
Tuesday, October 23 3:30 - 4:45 p.m. in Fleck 305, 
Friday, November 9, 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. in Maloney
Please RSVP

Mission and Muffins (Part II)
Fridays, November 2 and December 7
10:00 - 11:00 a.m, Holy Cross Hall 105
Coffee and muffins will be served.

Reflect and Revise:  Planning now to Save Time in the Future
Monday, December 10
10:00 - 11:30 a.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

New Faculty Orientation
(Contracted and Adjunct)
Monday, January 7, 2019
10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m, Ragsdale Center Mabee A, B, C

Books & Coffee (Wednesday) Reading Group
"The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion" by Sarah Rose Cavanagh
Wednesdays: January 30, February 27, March 27, and April 24, 2019
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Books & Coffee (Thursday) Reading Group
"The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion" by Sarah Rose Cavanagh
Thursdays: January 31, February 28, March 28, and April 25, 2019
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Course Prep Extravaganza!
Thursday, January 10, 2019
9:00 am - 4:00 p.m. Holy Cross Hall 105

Where Does that Student Concern Form Go?: Structural Supports for Student Success
The Third Discussion in the Series Facilitated by the CTE and Student Affairs
Friday, February 8, 2019
2:00 - 3:30 p.m. in Fleck Hall 305

Reducing the Stress, Increasing the Collaboration:  Developing and Supporting Effective Group Projects
Co-sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Leadership and CTE
Monday, February 18, 2019
3:30 - 4:45 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Transparency in the Research Process: Approaches to Supporting Undergraduates Doing Academic Research
Facilitated by the CTE and the Munday Library
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
3:30 - 4:45 p.m. in Munday Library, 141

High-Impact Practices: A Discussion Over Lunch
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
12:30 - 1:45 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall, 105

What do you really want to know?  Using Course Evaluation Surveys to Support Your Teaching and Development
Collaboration with Institutional Assessment and Institutional Research
Wednesday, April 3, 2019:  3:30 – 4:00 p.m. and
Thursday, April 4, 2019:  12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
Holy Cross Hall 105

Inclusive by Design:  Discussing Approaches to Creating Courses
The Fourth Event in the Collaborative CTE/Student Affairs Inclusive Community Series
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
12:30 - 1:45 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Faculty Recognition Ceremony
Co-sponsored event with ACAD, CTE, IEC and OSP
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
4:00 - 6:00 p.m. in the Ragsdale Center, Mabee Ballrooms

Creating a Summer Plan
Monday, May 6, 2019
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Holy Cross Hall 105

Grading Extravaganza
Friday, May 10, 2019
Come and go between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Holy Cross First Floor

Creating a Portfolio for Evaluation:  A Talk with FEC members
Co-Sponsored with the Center for Ethics and Leadership
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.
Holy Cross Hall 105

Innovation Fellowship Workshops
Facilitated by the CTE and Office of Institutional Technology
Between May 20 and 31st, Times vary
Holy Cross Hall 105

Previous CTE Program Schedules:
2017 - 2018

Teaching Awards

Given annually, teaching excellence awards at St. Edward's University honor faculty for their exceptional talents and dedication to promoting learning in meaningful, engaging and innovative ways. The selection process is rigorous, evaluating candidates' course offerings, curricular designs, instructional methods, classroom performances, and interactions with students.

Four awards are given annually:

• The Sister Donna Jurick Distinguished Career Award is given to one faculty member who has taught at St. Edward's for at least 15 years.
• The Distinguished Teaching Award is given to two contract faculty.
• The Oustanding Teaching Award for Adjunct Faculty is given to one adjunct faculty member.
• The Delayne Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction honors a faculty member who has designed an innovative course project or teaching method.

2018-2019 Teaching Winners

Innovation Fellows

Innovation fellowships support faculty who need time, resources and expertise to include pedagogical experimentation in their courses by providing a stipend, participation in the Innovation Institute, and a community of faculty fellows focused on pedagogical innovation.

Learn about our Innovation Fellows and their projects. 

Read about past fellows.

Delayne Hudspeth, retired professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Instructional Technology at the University of Texas, was a mentor to several St. Edward's faculty members and scores of other master's and doctoral students. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Dr. Hudspeth's contributions to innovation in higher education are honored by this award. 

This award recognizes St. Edward's teachers who create innovative learning environments. One award, in the amount of $500, may be given each year. The winning project is chosen by the Hudspeth Award Committee, a committee of faculty members from at least four of the St. Edward's schools.

All applications for the 2018-2019 Hudspeth Award process are due by the end of the day on January 22, 2019. Applications must be submitted online.

Eligible Course Projects

Who can self nominate? Faculty (full-time, part-time, and staff who teach) of all disciplines and ranks are encouraged to apply. Recipients of the award must wait five years before reapplying.

What course projects are eligible? Self nominations should highlight a specific project, assignment, exercise, teaching method or a new use of technology. They may also focus on the entire course, if the course design itself is novel. 

Instructors may apply for the award based on an innovation planned and implemented in any of the three years previous to the application deadline. This year, projects implemented in any of the following semesters will be eligible:  

• Academic year 2015-16, including Fall 2015, Spring 2016, and Summer 2016,
• Academic year 2016-17, including Fall 2016, Spring 2017, and Summer 2017,
• Academic year 2017-18, including Fall 2017, Spring 2018, and Summer 2018

A focus on innovation: Since this award celebrates innovation, preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the greatest levels of innovation and that clearly present the value of that innovation for student learning.

How to Apply

 

• Read the guidelines and submit your application
• Read previous winning applications

Note: There is a 2000-word limit on your application's total length, though no single question has a word limit.  Please run a word count on your completed application before submitting it through the online form.

The submission form is designed to allow you to edit your responses even after submitting them. 

Selection Process

The winner(s) of the award will be decided upon by the faculty members of the Innovations in Teaching Committee. The CTE director does not influence or participate in the discussion or the voting.  

The committee follows an established review practice:

• Applications are masked to enable blind review.  This process removes the applicant's name and any obviously identifying information from the application document.
• Masked copies of the applications are circulated to all members of the committee for review. Committee members read each application, complete an evaluation rubric, and rank them, adhering to the application categories and questions.
• The committee then meets and holds an in-depth discussion of the projects, leading to a final consensus decision based on both the scoring and the discussion.
• Currently, only one project can win the Hudspeth Award each year.