CIRTL at Northwestern

Northwestern has joined the Center for the Integration of Teaching Research and Learning (CIRTL), a national NSF-funded teaching and learning center. CIRTL member institutions work to advance the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in higher education, particularly by providing programs for future faculty professional development.

Northwestern's CIRTL program, co-sponsored by the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, The Graduate School, the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, the Feinberg School of Medicine, and the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will build a community of practice within and across the STEM disciplines — both locally and nationally — to address challenges in STEM teaching and learning. 

The Northwestern STEM community is encouraged to participate in the CIRTL Coffee Hour Series (online discussions facilitated by STEM faculty and staff across the CIRTL Network institutions) and the CIRTLCast Series (webinars to discuss issues in STEM teaching and learning).

Beginning in January, Northwestern will offer new programs such as a Teaching Colloquium Series for all interested graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. 

For more information, please contact Rob Linsenmeier (Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neurobiology) or Nancy Ruggeri (Associate Director of Graduate Programs at the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence).

Coffee Hour Schedule (series flyer PDF)

Teaching and Learning in the STEM Classroom
1/16/13: Electronic distractions in the classroom: managing and utilizing the instant connections to the world
2/20/13: Teaching in diverse classrooms
3/20/13: Teaching and using writing skills in the STEM classroom
4/17/13: Fostering critical thinking (hosted by CIRTL at Northwestern)

Building an Academic Career
1/24/13: Alternative academic careers
2/28/13: Developing a work-life balance for sustaining a productive career and your sanity
3/28/13: Teaching at a primariliy minority institution
4/25/13: Tenure and promotion: What you should know, what you should ask

CIRTLCast Schedule (series flyer PDF)

12/4/12: Research Ethics
2/13/13: Linking Pedagogy to Professional Skills: Instructional Resources on Problem-Solving and Teamwork
2/19/13: Service Learning in STEM Discipline
3/12/13: Issues Confronting Minority Graduate Students: Examining the Issues and Responses through Case Studies