| Center for Teaching Newsletter: April 2025 | Supporting excellence in teaching and learning at Iowa
Welcome back to the Center for Teaching newsletter! Our April edition features the fourth edition of our Staff Spotlight series, reminders about upcoming program deadlines, and an update on the newest member of the Center for Teaching team.
But first, our feature story for this month shares student perspectives on group work as captured by an undergraduate student who is part of the Students as Partners program. The Students as Partners program brings student voices into course design to make large lecture courses more engaging and active learning environments. This program employs undergraduates and pairs them with faculty in STEM disciplines. Emma Koprek, a third-year student from Monticello, MN studying social work, was asked by her faculty pedagogical partner to learn more about how undergraduate students at Iowa were experiencing group work.
Emma offers this new resource to help all instructors consider how group work can be most effectively deployed as a teaching tool in their courses.
| | | Center for Teaching Staff Spotlight – Eva Latterner | The fourth installment of our popular Staff Spotlight series, which aims to introduce you to our team in the Center for Teaching, features Assistant Director Eva Latterner. In this feature, Eva shares more about how she partners with faculty to support their teaching, her scholarly interests, and her love of Film Scene.
| | | Upcoming Application Deadlines | Don't miss your chance to apply for several upcoming Center for Teaching programs!
- Scholarly Teaching Program: Interdisciplinary learning community for teaching-focused faculty to explore evidence-based practices and attend a national conference. Apply by April 21.
- SoTL Scholars Program: Funding and support for faculty to design, implement, and share Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) projects while engaging with a faculty learning community and national SoTL experts. Apply by April 21.
- Graduate Teaching Fellows Program: Year-long, paid opportunity for graduate students to deepen teaching expertise, collaborate with peers across disciplines, and develop a campus-wide workshop or pedagogical project. Apply by April 21.
- New TA Orientation (NTAO) Facilitators: Paid opportunity for experienced graduate instructors to lead workshops at New TA Orientation on August 21, 2025. Apply by May 12.
Explore these opportunities to grow your teaching skills, engage with a vibrant learning community, and advance your professional development.
| | | Welcoming Allie Brandriet | We are thrilled to announce that Allie Brandriet has joined the Center for Teaching as a new assistant director. Allie will be overseeing the TILE (Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) active learning program, co-leading Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) initiatives, and supporting the professional development of graduate students engaged in Teaching as Research (TAR). Allie's extensive prior experience at Auburn University includes serving as an award-winning lecturer in chemistry and as faculty fellow at AU’s Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. Most recently, Allie served as an instructional designer for Auburn Online.
Please join us in providing a warm welcome to Allie!
| | | Takeaways from our International Teaching event | In case you missed it, the Center for Teaching recently partnered with International Programs to host an event focused on international faculty success in teaching. The event aimed to provide new international faculty with mentorship and guidance in their transition to teaching at the university. A panel of experienced faculty members shared their insights, which you can find in this article by International Programs.
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