Center for Teaching Excellence

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.

Faculty Resources for 2023 to 2024

To help faculty prepare for teaching in this new environment, the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Information Technology will continue to offer guidance and host workshops to help faculty develop and teach courses, whether they are face-to-face, hybrid or online, as well as prepare for the possible contingency of going remote again.

To help keep track of events and information, we offer the following resources:

• Google Drive archive of recordings and slides for all CTE and Instructional Technology co-hosted events, as well as additional curated resources.
• Shared Google Calendar with all events related to teaching support, which you can add to your own calendar. Please subscribe to the Teaching Support Events calendar and RSVP to upcoming events. Note: You must subscribe with your St. Edward’s Gmail account.
• Teaching Forum Closed Workplace Group for faculty to promote conversation and sharing so we can help each other prepare.

​As additional reminders, each event will be posted to the university calendar and to Workplace a few days in advance of the workshop. We hope this approach is helpful to you as we try to manage our summer course design processes and teaching.

4 Connections Learning Group
Meeting schedule TBD
RSVP

Want to try out the "4 Connections, " a retention strategy based on intentionally incorporating 4 components into your teaching? Those components include the following:

1. Learn and use students’ names
2. Build in spaces for check-ins/feedback
3. Require one-on-one meetings
4. Practice Paradox–hold high expectations with some built-in flexibility

Interested in learning more about this approach, trying it out, and chatting with colleagues? Please fill out the form, and I'll set up a meeting or two to orient ourselves, and then we'll make a plan to check in a time or two over the course of the semester

Books and Coffee: The New College Classroom
Choose the time that works for your schedule:
First Wednesday of the month at 1 pm (blended--if needed--in person and zoom)
Wed: Sep 6, Oct 4, Nov 1, & Dec 6, 2023
First Thursday of the month at 3:30 pm (in person)
Thu: Sep 7, Oct 5, Nov 2, & Dec 7, 2023
Holy Cross 105
RSVP

Books and Coffee is a book club that meets monthly to discuss a few chapters from a contemporary book related to teaching and learning. We have coffee and assorted snacks to fuel our discussions.

This semester, we are reading The New College Classroom (2022) by Davidson and Katopodis. Multiple reviews of this book tout its immediate applicability and low barriers to integrating material, which multiple faculty have asked for.

Faculty Writing Group
No sign up required--show up as your schedule allows!
Weekly on Wednesdays from 12-2 on the first floor of Holy Cross Hall (mostly 105, sometimes 110 if there is a schedule conflict)

This faculty-led group is designed to help folks make progress on writing projects by carving out time and space to work together in an accountable fashion. Feel free to bring whatever materials you need to get work done--snacks, drinks, headphones, etc--as you co-work for a few hours each week. Questions? Reach out to Lisa Holleran or Michael Sacolo
 

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Professional Learning Community Third Friday of the month at noon
Holy Cross 105
RSVP

Want to get started on a research project involving your teaching? Looking for cross-campus collaborators? Want to get feedback on your teaching-based research project? Please join this professional learning community!

As always, please reach out if there is anything I can do to help--resources, observations, conversations.

PAST EVENTS:

Previous CTE Program Schedules:
2022-2023

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.

Five 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 Outstanding 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.
• The Champion Award for Mission-Informed Teaching recognizes St. Edward's faculty whose teaching directly supports the St. Edward's University Mission.

2022-2023 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. 

The CTE would like to invite you to apply for the Delayne Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction. The award, open to all who teach, including full-time (tenure-track and non-tenure-track), part-time, adjunct, and staff who teach, is determined by a panel representing schools across campus and carries a $500 stipend. The application is a Google Form and is due March 11, 2022. Please see below for more details.

Delayne Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction 
Deadline: March 11, 2022
Application Form

Who can apply: This award recognizes St. Edward’s instructors who create innovative learning environments and projects. All teaching faculty members -- including full-time (tenure-track and non-tenure-track), part-time, adjunct, and staff who teach -- are encouraged to apply. Previous Award winners will be considered for the Hudspeth Award five years after their previous win.

What projects are eligible: Self-nominations should highlight a specific project, an assignment or exercise, a teaching method, a new use of technology, or the redesign of an entire class.

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

• Academic year 2018-2019, including Fall 2018, Spring 2019, and Summer 2019
• Academic year 2019-2020, including Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Summer 2020
• Academic year 2020-2021, including Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Summer 2021
• Fall 2021

What should the application highlight: 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. Note that the committee does not equate innovation with adoption of new technologies. While some winning projects have featured new uses of technology, many have not.  Please review the Google form before you start crafting your application, as it will help guide you in showcasing your project.

When do you need to submit the application: Please fill out the Google Form by end of the day on Monday, March 11, 2022.

How will a winner be determined: The winner and finalist for the award will be decided upon by the members of Hudspeth Awards Committee. The committee is comprised of representatives from across the university's schools. Applications are blind-reviewed, scored according to the selection criteria, and then discussed until the committee achieves consensus. 

Questions? If you have any questions about the award or would like to discuss your application, please contact Jennifer Jefferson jennej@stedwards.edu. Jennifer facilitates the award process, but is not a voting member.