The Owen Center for Teaching and Learning strives to advance effective teaching driven by evidence-based, student-centered pedagogy. We support all Heidelberg faculty in their teaching as part of supporting all students in their learning. We offer a variety of programming, workshops and consultations to meet the needs of each faculty member.
Description of Services:
The Owen Center for Teaching and Learning supports faculty in their professional development needs as well as their use of technology. Services include:
HYPE Day Faculty Development programs
New Faculty Orientation
New Faculty Mentoring
Small Group Instructional Diagnostics
Developmental Observations
One-on-One Pedagogy Support
One-on-One Instructional Technology Support
Instructional Technology Programming
Canvas Support and Resources
Semester Opening Workshops
For up-to-date resources, faculty should visit the Owen Center for Teaching and Learning Canvas course.
The Owen Center for Teaching and Learning offers technology consultations and support for faculty members and departments questions regarding instructional technology such as Canvas, Google Apps and using technology for instruction, engagement and assessment. One-on-one consultations can be done via email, Zoom, phone or in person.
Canvas support for faculty is available through the OCTL via the Faculty Canvas Manual, the Student Canvas Manual, the OCTL Canvas page, or by contacting Rebecca Frank. Canvas support is also available 24/7 through Canvas via chat or phone for faculty, staff and students.
On every HYPE Day, all full-time faculty members have the option to participate in professional development opportunities. These have included plenary sessions and small group sessions based on faculty interests, as well as book studies and action groups. Topics and books read have included:
The OCTL offers Small Group Instructional Diagnostics. These mid-semester student check-ins allow an opportunity for faculty members to get feedback from their students on what is currently being done in the class that is helpful for their learning and what ideas the students have for improvement to support their learning. A member of the OCTL comes to class and the faculty member leaves. The OCTL staff then has a conversation with the students to get feedback, anonymizes all feedback and then passes it on to the faculty member. All parts of the SGID are personalized to what the faculty member is hoping to learn and completely confidential.
Developmental observations are an opportunity for faculty members to be observed by a member of the OCTL staff to get feedback on their teaching. These observations are completely developmental, designed for supporting the faculty member’s growth, and confidential. The observation focus will be determined through a pre-observation conference and all results will be reported back to the faculty member via a written report as well as a post-observation conference.
All new full-time faculty will be invited to participate in Orientation and a Mentoring Program. New Faculty Orientation occurs before the Fall semester begins. In that orientation, new faculty are introduced to the Senior Leadership Team and other leaders on campus, are given institutional information to help support students and participate in activities to help support their pedagogical knowledge and instruction.
The New Faculty Mentoring program includes group meetings on each HYPE Day, small group meetings with faculty mentors and support throughout the faculty member’s first year. Topics covered include ordering textbooks, submitting student appraisals, assessment, supporting all student learners, submitting final grades and more. The faculty mentors are experienced faculty outside of the department of the new faculty member. They are a support person to answer questions and help get the new faculty members acclimated to the university. All work through the NFM program is confidential.
Most of our services are available for adjunct faculty. Because of limits on physical space, some programming such as the semester Opening Workshops are for full-time faculty only. All one-on-one services, resources and support are available for all faculty.
How frequently can faculty utilize services?
Faculty have unlimited access to the OCTL resources. They can attend as many workshops and programs as they want! They can also request one-on-one consultations as often as they need.
Are observations or consultations required or optional?
These services are completely optional. The OCTL services are completely confidential to the faculty member and are developmental in nature only. No member of the OCTL staff will share information from consultations with the Faculty Personnel Committee or Academic Affairs Administration, nor will OCTL staff write letters of support for portfolios or tenure applications
How do I schedule consultations?
Reach out to Rebecca Frank! Emailing is the quickest option, but you can also give her a call.
