The Center offers workshops on a variety of pedagogical topics, for a variety of audiences. Whenever possible, we seek to include SLU faculty as presenters and to model the practices of effective teaching and learning that we espouse. For our purposes, then, "workshops" can be understood as interactive learning experiences, which combine instructional content, active and collaborative learning experiences, and group and individual reflection activities.
Generally speaking, we offer three different types of workshops:
Center-Sponsored Workshops
By and large, most of the workshops offered through the Center are developed by Center staff and/or Saint Louis University faculty. These include both our regularly-offered Effective Teaching Seminars, which are part of the Certificate in University Teaching Skills programs, and occasional or single-offering workshops, which are offered several times a year. All together, we offer between 12-15 such workshops per academic year; all faculty, graduate students, and other teaching staff are welcome at these events. All are facilitated by Reinert Center staff, SLU faculty, and/or (inter)national leaders in higher education.
Co-Sponsored Workshops
The Center also co-sponsors workshops with other units across the campus, such as the Division of Student Development, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Graduate Education, the Division of Mission and Ministry, and others. Typically, these workshops involve an (inter)national leader in higher education; they are focused on topics of relevance for the broader University learning community.
Customized Workshops
The Center regularly creates and adapts customized workshops for departments, colleges and schools, and other units on campus. Customized workshops are available by request; all are developed in conjunction with the requesting unit, to ensure that the goals are appropriate (both for the Center's mission and for the unit's goals) and to ensure that the workshop is structured appropriately for the audience. In the best cases, customized workshops involve one or more co-facilitators from inside the unit (e.g., one or two faculty from a given academic department or program); while Center staff offer general best practices and strategies, co-facilitators from the unit can offer examples and perspectives from the disciplinary specialty, which makes the workshop more meaningful.
Customized workshop topics include (but are not limited to):
- Understanding and integrating the concepts of Ignatian pedagogy
- Teaching with technology in intentional, effective ways (Click here for descriptions of existing Teaching with Technology workshops that may be adapted to specific unit needs)
- Designing learner-centered courses and programs
- Mapping and aligning curricular goals and pedagogical strategies
- Understanding assessment at the course, program, and institutional levels
- Designing effective assignments (including reflection assignments) and other course materials (such as syllabi)
- Redesigning traditional courses and programs for online delivery
- Engaging all learners (including accessibility considerations, working with international students, and generational differences)
- Managing classroom dynamics (including diversity in the classroom, academic integrity issues, and classroom civility)
- Developing high-impact educational practices inside and outside the classroom
- Documenting teaching effectiveness in multiple ways
To request a customized workshop please email us at cttl@slu.edu.