The Mission of the CTLA
The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment cultivates a community of inquiry and practice to promote excellent teaching, learning, and scholarship in the liberal arts. We nurture the learning environment of Grinnell College by fostering conversation and reflection at the intersection of pedagogy, the scholarship of teaching and learning, instructional design, and academic technologies. We advance practices of teaching and learning that are accessible, inclusive, and grounded in the best available evidence.
Community Friday, Feb. 21: “Faculty/Staff Involvement with Non-Profits,” with Monica Chavez-Silva, Ross Haenfler, Roger Henderson, and Mike Guenther
HSSC, Room A1231, Noon to 1 p.m.
Please RSVP by Feb. 18 at this link: Community Friday RVSP for Feb. 21.
For Community Friday on Feb. 21, we are pleased to welcome Monica Chavez-Silva, vice president of community engagement and strategic planning; Ross Haenfler, professor of sociology; Roger Henderson, field placement and licensing coordinator in education; and Mike Guenther, associate professor of history.
Chavez-Silva will discuss the role of volunteers in meeting the needs of our communities, share information about rural nonprofit leadership, and talk about specific ways that the Office of Community Partnerships, Planning, and Research can support employees interested in volunteering. She currently serves as a commissioner for Volunteer Iowa, the state’s commission on volunteer service. Haenfler will share his experience serving on the board of Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA). He will discuss how this service has influenced his teaching, helped him build relationships in the community, and has been a source of joy. Henderson will talk about how serving on the board of directors of the Grinnell-Newburg School Foundation and the Grinnell School of Music has informed his work as a teacher and in his current position with the education department. Guenther will talk about his experiences on the board of the new Grinnell Historical Museum.
For information about future Community Fridays, please visit the CLTA website at Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.
New Definition of Teaching Excellence Approved by Faculty
The Presidential Task Force on Evaluating Teaching Excellence proposed that the faculty endorse a new definition of teaching excellence and recommended that the Dean of the College use this definition in faculty reviews. The following definition was approved in the spring of 2024.
While teaching methods vary by discipline and instructor, broadly speaking, excellent teachers do the following:
- Build, maintain, and effectively apply expertise for the courses they teach
- Foster inclusive and engaging learning environments
- Clearly and effectively communicate to students learning goals and expectations that align with relevant departmental, disciplinary, or institutional learning outcomes
- Use pedagogies that are appropriate for the learning goals and context
- Respond to student work in a substantial, timely, and individualized way for the purposes of informing and improving the learning experiences of students
- Engage in a reflective process to enhance their teaching practices
