NDSU’s new Office of Teaching and Learning is scheduled to open July 1. The office’s role is to support the creation of student-centered, innovative educational programs and provide professional development to strengthen teaching at NDSU.
“The Office of Teaching and Learning is a laboratory,” said Paul Kelter, professor and director of the office. “It is a place for the consideration of ideas and assessments that include student-based problem solving, group discussions to sharpen insight, collaborative projects, case-study-based discussions and other strategies that we call, in sum, active learning.”
Establishing the office is among several steps NDSU is taking toward national leadership in the area of student-centered, active learning. Other steps include:
- Designing the new STEM Classroom and Lab Building for active and engaged learning. The first classes in the new building are scheduled for January 2016.
- Supporting faculty members in their efforts to use student-centered teaching principles.
- Providing training on student-centered, active learning for graduate teaching assistants through the Graduate School and the Office of Teaching and Learning’s partnership.
The new office will support the Center for Science and Math Education programs, including K-12-based Science Olympiad, North Dakota Governor’s School, Expanding Your Horizons and Avenues of Scientific Discovery. It also will support Distance and Continuing Education programs, which include professional development for regional teachers and online education for non-traditional students who live in the North Dakota and Minnesota service areas.
The education professionals at the office offer team building for grant writing, conference planning, curriculum development, focus group-based assessment and Qualtrics surveys.
“We collaborate with all areas of the NDSU campus to move educational programs forward,” Kelter said.
The Office of Teaching and Learning is located in FLC 314 and 316. Reach the office’s director Paul Kelter at 701-231-7539 or paul.kelter@ndsu.edu.
