Initial Publication Date: May 6, 2016

Yale Center for Teaching and Learning

Our center supports excellent teaching and meaningful learning across campus.

Yale University
Established: 2014

http://ctl.yale.edu

Profile submitted by Jennifer Frederick

Vision and Goals

CTL mission:
The Yale Center for Teaching and Learning promotes equitable and engaged teaching throughout the University, and supports students across the curriculum as they take ownership of their learning. As part of a world-class research institution, we provide training, consultations, and resources designed to make teaching and learning more public and collaborative, so that every Yale instructor experiences the satisfaction that results from teaching well, and every student develops the critical reflection that marks deep and independent learning.

Center/Program Structure

The CTL reports to the provost's office. There are two people at executive director level who report directly to the deputy provost for teaching and learning. One of these oversees center operations in teaching and learning overall, and one of these oversees all digital education teams.

Are there advantages of being structured this way?
We find it ideal to be situated outside of schools and programs. Bringing pedagogy and instructional technology together allows us to ensure that pedagogy drives the use of learning technologies. Having all resources that support teaching and learning in one center allows us to coordinate interventions and increase efficacy of support.

Are there particular challenges that result from this structure?
Combining the distinct cultures of pedagogical support and instructional technology has required adjustment and a great deal of communication and transparency.

Organizational Chart (Acrobat (PDF) 64kB Apr30 18)

Center Funding

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is funded by institutional funds, endowment income, and federal and foundation grants. CTL was created in 2014 by combining the Center for Scientific Teaching, a stand-alone STEM center, with seven other campus offices that supported teaching and learning. The integrated budget is complex, and STEM education programs with a focus on faculty development and evaluation research are primarily funded by external grants.

How has this funding structure influenced the undergraduate STEM education programming the center offers?
Very little. Because science education has been a priority for our institution, we have invested resources in this area.

What are the specific advantages of having a center funded in this way?
Flexibility, ability to leverage institutionally funded work with externally funded programs.

What are the challenges?
Complex funding structure requires significant amount of support.

Has this funding structure has changed over time?
Yes, see answer to first question about institutional reorganization. In the current landscape, research is outside of our institutional mission and we support work in this area by external grants.

Description of Programming

Successes and Impacts

Evaluation and Assessment

How does your center demonstrate its value, both in terms of assessing its own programming and responding to external evaluation?
Each office collects statistics about service and tracks this information regularly. We have center-wide goals and recently implemented a strategic planning framework that allows us to prioritize emerging work and evaluate outcomes and impact.