The Appalachian College Association’s Center for Teaching & Learning serves as a forum for faculty and staff members to learn about and share innovative practices in pedagogy, student development, and student support with their colleagues across the ACA. The Center aspires to cultivate student-centered, evidence-based, innovative, and inclusive approaches to teaching and learning and to foster a culture of excellence in the scholarship of teaching and learning among the consortium’s faculty and staff.
The CTL functions as a “co-op” for ACA educators to share and learn from one another. Our work is dependent on members of the ACA actively contributing to this resource for others to then use. Submitting to these various areas is simple, as all contributions are templated and easy to use. In addition to these website resources, the Center hosts webinars and other webcasts (normally presented/facilitated by faculty and staff from member institutions) on important topics or themes related to our work as educators in the context of Appalachia.
Spring 2025 CTL Webinars
February 27, 2025, at 10:00 am (eastern) Register to Attend
We Are Non-Renewable Resources and other Inconvenient Truths: What It Means for Today's Instructors to Teach Today's Students
Dr. Lindsay Masland, Interim Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University
Over the past few years, college instructors have been surprised, confused, and occasionally outraged by the students who show up in our classrooms. Lamentations over missing skills, low attendance rates, and disappointing work quality are center stage in many pedagogical discussions. Not surprisingly, the recommended antidote is to double down on our use of student-centered teaching. In our quest to be student-centered, though, we can end up making choices that can overwhelm us with their unsustainability. In this workshop, we'll discuss how centering our own contexts and needs in pedagogical decision-making provides fertile ground for sustainable, effective teaching that benefits both our students and ourselves.
More webinars will be scheduled later in the semester - check back!
The CTL's Fall 2024 Webinar Series Emphasizing Engagement
The ACA's Center for Teaching & Learning's Fall Webinar Series emphasized the theme of Engagement - in the classroom, on campus, with faculty and staff, and in the broader community. Our first session was postponed due to Hurricane Helene, and we expect to provide that presentation in the spring semester. Recordings of our other two webinars are now available for viewing - click on the titles below.
Monday, November 4, 11:30 am – 12:45 pm (eastern)
Panel Presentation: Three ACA Members’ Innovative Community Engagement Programs
Thursday, November 21, 11:00 – 11:55 am; Discussion 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Sarah Wessel, Student, Lee University
