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The Center for Teaching Excellence has a new home. In January, the center moved from O'Donnell Hall to O'Brien House west of Xavier Hall.
The move is fitting: O'Brien House honors Dr. John J. O'Brien, professor emeritus of pedagogy who was known for his great effectiveness as a teacher during his more than 40 years at Saint Louis University. O'Brien retired in 1995.
Formerly known as the Teaching Resource Center, the center was renamed in July 1997 after being chosen as one of the projects funded by the University's Strategic Initiative Fund.
"The Center for Teaching Excellence helps bring together a community of teachers to learn, grow and support one another professionally, as well as personally," said Deborah Natoli, director of the center.
Natoli said the center offers a number of different resources for all faculty Ð whether they are graduate assistants or longtime professors. Among the services offered are workshops and seminars, individual consultations, open symposia, graduate assistant orientations and teaching portfolio retreats.
One kind of consultation that faculty and teaching assistants can request is observation of their classroom instruction. Natoli said that observation is one way to obtain feedback about teaching for reflection, modification and improvement. When teaching assistants and faculty are trained to serve as peer coaches for one another, it reduces isolation and intimidation and focuses on the art of teaching rather than "good and bad" judgments of it.
Seminars are held throughout the semester for faculty and teaching assistants. Dr. Jim Korn, associate graduate dean for teaching, works with Natoli and gives seminars for faculty as well as students. Each seminar lasts approximately two to two-and-a-half hours. The seminars are used to enhance the learning experiences by offering faculty viewpoints on various topics. Topics range from teaching methodologies and philosophies to classroom/distance learning technologies.
"Our intent is to serve all of the teachers at Saint Louis University -- of all ranks and at all schools -- as well as students and staff," Korn said. "So far our programs have been successful in that we've had good responses from faculty, students and staff. This center is for everybody who wants to improve their teaching skills. This is not just a center for new teachers, but for teachers who have been here a while and just want to refresh and renew."
In 1993, a certificate in university teaching was added to help further establish the center as a resource for graduate assistants -- although Korn and other veteran faculty members are pursuing the certificate as a valuable way to hone their teaching skills. There are 76 active participants in the certificate program. To earn a certificate in university teaching, one must:
- Attend 10 out of 14 effective teaching seminars.
- Prepare a statement of philosophy of teaching and scholarship.
- Videotape classroom instruction.
- Consult with a faculty mentor about the philosophy statement and video.
- Prepare a lesson plan and request peer observation of teaching.
- Design a professional portfolio.
- Learn how to incorporate computer/distance learning technology into teaching.
Future plans for the center include a wider range of activities and services for teachers; more faculty retreats; networking with secondary school teachers and the higher education community; and sponsoring a regional interdisciplinary conference on teaching.
The Center for Teaching Excellence is open to all faculty, staff and students of Saint Louis University. For more information, call 977-3944, or visit the center's web site at www.slu.edu/centers/cte/.
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