2012-2013 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 2012-2013 (pdf).

Index:

Overview

  • All told, CRLT staff members provided 16,916 services to U-M and external clients (pp. 4-5).
  • Services ranged from course planning consultations and midterm student feedback (MSF) sessions for individual instructors, to campus-wide orientations, seminars, and conferences, to customized programming for departments, schools, and colleges.
  • Although CRLT collaborates with all of U-M’s 19 schools and colleges, the center worked especially closely with the two colleges responsible for the bulk of U-M’s undergraduate teaching: the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), and the College of Engineering (CoE). CRLT also works closely with Rackham Graduate School.
  • CRLT distributed almost $390,000 to 117 U-M faculty through eight competitions (pp. 51-58).
  • CRLT provided advice to 24 U-M offices and 28 teaching-related committees (p. 22).
  • As a prominent university teaching center, CRLT also received visitors or requests for information from more than 155 colleges, universities, and organizations (pp. 7-9).
  • CRLT’s continuing support for President Coleman’s China initiative took the form of a three-week program in Ann Arbor for representatives from newly established teaching centers at Chinese universities (p. 27).

Assessment and Research

  • CRLT consulted on assessment of student learning with 12 U-M schools and colleges (pp. 32-39). From survey design to large-scale projects involving data collection, analysis, and facilitation of faculty conversations, CRLT focuses on ways to use results of assessment projects for curriculum revision.
  • CRLT studied the impact of the LSA Teaching Academy and found that it benefitted both faculty and students (p. 40).
  • CRLT provided MSF sessions to 387 U-M faculty and graduate student instructors (GSIs), enabling more than 16,000 U-M students to offer constructive feedback to their instructors (p. 50).
  • CRLT ran the sixth Investigating Student Learning grants competition for faculty interested in assessing student learning in their courses and departments (p. 55).
  • CRLT staff led 9 major research projects, gave multiple conference presentations, did review and editorial work, and published numerous journal articles (pp. 40-41, 59-61).

Instructional Technology

  • In 2012-2013, CRLT increased efforts to help more instructors (and not just early adopters) integrate the most promising technologies into their teaching. (See first three entries in New Initiatives, pp. 24-25)
  • Partnering with the office of Instructional Technology Services (ITS), the Library, and the IT Council, CRLT helped develop and piloted  a conceptual framework for determining the priority, scope, design, and workflow for evaluating IT tools for possible adoption by U-M (pp. 25, 33-34)
  • Building on years of collaboration with innovative faculty and units across the university, CRLT recruited faculty to try out new tools and make recommendations to the technical staff and administrators charged with rationalizing U-M’s IT infrastructure (pp. 33-34)
  • CRLT coordinated a seminar series and fellows program as part of  the Provost’s Task Force on Student Learning Analytics at Michigan (SLAM)  (pp. 24, 33)
  • The CRLT website was heavily utilized by local, national, and international users, receiving almost 550,000 visits from 218 countries (p. 28)
  • CRLT has almost 900 Twitter followers, and more than 70 subscribers to its blog.>

Multicultural Teaching

  • CRLT administered a new grants competition “Internationalizing the Curriculum” for faculty introducing significant international components to recurring courses (pp. 26, 57)
  • 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 (pp. 30-31)
  • 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. 25) CRLT, IGR, and Rackham collaborated on a similar program for graduate students.
  • CRLT participated on five university-wide multicultural committees.  
  • CRLT supported multiple faculty members and departments focusing on community-engaged teaching in their course design, pedagogical strategies, and evaluation.
  • The CRLT Players presented 46 performances of sketches on diversity and inclusion in teaching and faculty worklife for audiences of approximately 2,700 people (pp. 31-32).

Initiatives for Faculty

  • CRLT organized two teaching academies, one for new assistant professors in LSA, and the other for new assistant and clinical assistant professors in the health science schools and colleges (p. 44)
  • In collaboration with the Provost’s Office and the University Library, CRLT ran the fifth annual competition for the Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize (pp. 51-52)
  • For the sixth year, CRLT coordinated the Provost’s Campus Leadership Program, providing professional development for new and continuing department chairs and associate deans (p. 44).

GSI Training and Preparing Future Faculty

  • CRLT provided orientations for new GSIs and Instructional Aides (engineering undergraduates) (p. 42)
  • CRLT trained 29 graduate teaching consultants who conducted MSF sessions for GSIs (pp. 48-49)
  • Enrollment in the certificate program increased to 730, and 48 certificates were awarded (p. 46)
  • CRLT and Rackham provided U-M graduate students and postdocs with four PFF programs: a short-course for postdoctoral scholars, mentoring experiences on other campuses, a 10-session seminar, and a one-day conference (pp. 46-47).

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