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Mission The Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is dedicated to assisting the University in fulfilling its commitment to strengthening undergraduate and graduate instruction. The Center recognizes that excellence in teaching is only achieved through teaching scholarship, which involves continuous scrutiny of course content and methods of instruction, knowledge of modern educational techniques and practices, and analysis of the effects of different teaching methods on student learning. Developing new courses and improving existing ones are fundamental to maintaining the integrity and vitality of the University's educational programs. The mission of the Center for Teaching Excellence is to foster a campus-wide climate where teaching is highly valued, as well as provide leadership in the application of scholarship to teaching. The Center believes that the primary responsibility for developing and improving educational programs resides with the faculty who, as teacher/scholars, possess both the knowledge of the disciplines and the skills to evaluate and implement effective instructional practices. The Center encourages efforts to achieve excellence in teaching by running programs for course development and improvement, implementing new instructional technologies, and providing support services. The mission of the Center is specifically supportive, and participation by the faculty is entirely voluntary. The interaction between Center personnel and the faculty is confidential and separate from any formal assessment process of the University. CTE In a Nutshell The UNCW Center for Teaching Excellence provides faculty with the means of continuous improvement of pedagogy by exploring effective instructional techniques and communicating them throughout the UNCW campus and the UNC system. The center maintains a peer-reviewed on line journal on teaching as well as faculty work stations for multimedia-assisted instruction in all classroom buildings and faculty work station for developing presentations. CTE has sponsored a variety of workshops, including those on instructional technology, honors teaching colloquia, a series on multicultural diversity in the university, showcases of outstanding student work and a speakers series led by exemplary teachers on problem solving in course preparation. Future plans for the development of effective teaching will emphasize practical issues facing instructors – innovations in course delivery, meeting the challenges of grading, large classes, collaborative learning, working with campus resources, diverse student populations in addition to information and discussion about the formative aspects of peer and student evaluations and strategies for career-long improvement of teaching, UNCW will lead the system-wide conversation about continuous improvement of teaching by hosting the 1998 Carolina Colloquy on Teaching on the topic of "Teaching in Prime of Your Career: Issues and Challenges for the Experienced Instructor." This effort is planned in anticipation of system wide interest in the challenges and implications of post-tenure review. Contact the Center for Teaching Excellence for information on resources available to faculty:
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