2011-2012 Executive Summary

This Annual Report from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) describes the ways that CRLT promoted excellence and innovation in teaching and learning at the University of Michigan in 2010-2011. The following is a brief summary of CRLT’s activities this past year. Page numbers refer to the location in the CRLT Annual Report for 2011-2012 (pdf).

Index:

Overview

  • CRLT celebrated its 50th anniversary with visitors from 27 campuses and 350 members of the U-M community attending talks from the President, Provost, and Senior Vice Provost, a presidential panel, theatre performance, and a gallery of teaching innovations.
  • CRLT staff members provided 17,387 services to U-M and external clients, including 4,064 unique individuals at U-M (pp. 4-5). As a prominent university teaching center, CRLT also received visitors or requests for information from more than 222 colleges, universities, and organizations (pp. 7-10).
  • CRLT offered a wide range of services to the U-M community, including instructor orientations, seminars, midterm student feedback (MSF) sessions, individual consultations, and publications.
  • Approximately half of CRLT’s work involves discipline-specific programs for U-M’s 19 schools and colleges (pp. 11-21). CRLT worked especially closely with the two largest undergraduate colleges: the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), and the College of Engineering (CoE).
  • CRLT distributed more than $330,000 in grant and award money to 105 U-M faculty through eight competitions, four of which were funded directly by CRLT (pp. 49-56).
  • CRLT provided advice to 27 U-M offices and 34 teaching-related committees (p. 22).
  • CRLT published a book documenting its approach to faculty development, Advancing the Culture of Teaching on Campus: How a Teaching Center Can Make a Difference (Stylus Publishing) (pp. 57-58).

Assessment and Research

  • CRLT consulted on assessment of student learning with 16 U-M schools and colleges (pp. 31-37). From survey design to large-scale projects involving data collection, analysis, and facilitation of faculty exchanges, CRLT focuses on ways to use results of assessment projects for curriculum revision.

  • CRLT provided MSF sessions to 393 U-M faculty and graduate student instructors (GSIs), enabling more than 14,000 U-M students to offer constructive feedback (p. 48).
  • CRLT, with the Provost’s co-sponsorship, ran the Investigating Student Learning grants competition for faculty interested in assessing student learning in their courses and departments (p. 32).
  • CRLT staff led 8 major research projects, gave multiple conference presentations, did review and editorial work, and published numerous journal articles (pp. 57-61).

Instructional Technology

  • CRLT played a leadership role in supporting the IT needs of faculty and GSIs through grant funding, consultations, IT seminars, and workshops in U-M’s Enriching Scholarship program (pp. 28-29).
  • In collaboration with the office of Instructional Technology Services, CRLT ran a learning community for faculty to explore ways of using Google Apps in their teaching (p. 29). 
  • CRLT developed a large-course initiative in collaboration with LSA and the College of Engineering to assist faculty in redesigning large courses to increase student engagement, with special emphasis on IT.
  • CRLT, in collaboration with LSA, provided funding to 9 faculty to integrate IT projects into their courses as part of the Teaching with Technology Institute (p. 53).
  • The CRLT website was heavily utilized by local, national, and international users, receiving over 480,000 unique visits from 214 countries (p. 28).

Multicultural Teaching

  • Multiculturalism is an integral element of CRLT’s core programming, such as orientations for academic administrators and instructors, as well as retreats and workshops for academic units (p. 29).
  • In collaboration with The Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR), CRLT facilitated a faculty learning community focused on building dialogue skills for faculty teaching multicultural content (p. 29).
  • A CRLT staff member chaired the University Diversity Council, and CRLT participated on four other university-wide multicultural committees. 
  • CRLT supported multiple faculty members and departments focusing on community-engaged teaching in their course design, pedagogical strategies, and evaluation.
  • In collaboration with Rackham Graduate School and IGR, CRLT offered a six-session program that trained GSIs to be effective facilitators in multicultural classroom settings.
  • The CRLT Players presented 47 performances of sketches on diversity and inclusion in teaching and faculty worklife for audiences of more than 3,400 people (pp. 30-31).

Initiatives for Faculty

  • CRLT collaborated with the deans of seven schools and colleges to develop a new Health Sciences Teaching Academy for assistant and clinical assistant professors; it included a two-day orientation in August 2011, as well as programs in the fall and winter terms (p. 26).
  • In collaboration with the LSA Dean’s Office, CRLT offered a Teaching Academy for new assistant professors that included a two-day orientation, as well as programs during the fall and winter terms.
  • CRLT worked with the Senior Vice Provost to organize a dinner and celebration of the 25th year of the Thurnau Professorships.
  • In collaboration with the Provost’s Office and the University Library, CRLT ran the fourth annual competition for the Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize (pp. 49-50).
  • For the fifth year, CRLT coordinated the Provost’s Campus Leadership Program, providing professional development for new and continuing department chairs and associate deans (p. 42).

GSI Training and Preparing Future Faculty

  • CRLT provided orientation programs for new GSIs in fall and winter terms, including specialized orientations for GSIs in the College of Engineering and, in collaboration with the English Language Institute, for GSIs educated abroad in languages other than English (p. 40).
  • CRLT hired and trained experienced GSIs to serve as graduate teaching consultants and engineering teaching consultants. Both groups conducted consultations and MSF sessions for GSIs (pp. 46-47).
  • CRLT, in collaboration with Rackham Graduate School, continued its U-M Graduate Teacher Certificate Program. Since the program’s inception in 2007, 594 graduate students from 51 graduate programs in 14 schools and colleges have enrolled in the program, and 199 have received certificates (p. 43-44). 
  • CRLT and Rackham continued to provide U-M graduate students and postdocs with four Preparing Future Faculty programs: a short-course for postdoctoral scholars, mentoring experiences on other campuses, a month-long seminar, and a one-day conference (pp. 44-45).

back to top

shadow