Mission, Approach, and Core Values

Mission

The University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE) empowers people to learn. Case Western Reserve University has a long tradition of innovation and excellence in teaching. As a leader in the discovery of new knowledge through scholarship, CWRU strives to develop students with skills and values that support a lifetime of discovery and learning. At UCITE, we believe this idea of lifelong learning is fostered when both students and faculty understand and practice the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Approach

UCITE listens to, supports, and innovates with CWRU campus community members interested in understanding and applying the scholarship of teaching and learning. Programming, Grants, and Services advance teaching and learning in four interrelated areas:

• Develop and explore foundational teaching skills that lead to engaged student learning;
• Collaborate with teachers to adopt and evaluate new teaching and learning practices;
• Engage current and future faculty in conversations about the scholarship of teaching and learning pedagogy and praxis; 
• Advocate growth of a campus culture that highly values the intersections of research and evidence-based learning practices.

Core Values

UCITE centers our programming, grants, services, and resources on four intersecting values: Connecting, Adapting, Responding, and Empowering.

Connecting people with Science of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) pedagogy to improve educational practice at CWRU.

• UCITE serves as a change agent to advance University priorities of elevating academic excellence, expanding research, and enhancing community engagement. We focus on the work of researchers who advocate that students learn more deeply when evidence-based pedagogical approaches are implemented in inclusive settings. We financially support original faculty pedagogical research through Nord Grants. UCITE staff work with CWRU community members to explore opportunities to engage with campus and community partners to align scholarship with inspiring learning practices.
• Faculty express appreciation and gratitude for UCITE’s efforts to develop interdisciplinary communities of scholar-practitioners. These connections allow faculty to network with colleagues who value educational development to improve student learning.

Adapting our efforts to address the emerging opportunities of teaching and learning.

• UCITE collaborates with campus partners, including the [U]Tech Teaching and Learning Technology team, the University AI Task Force, and the Kelvin Smith Library staff to adapt faculty programming and services to meet emerging needs in higher education.

Responding to changing capacities for faculty engagement.

• UCITE creates educational development engagements to meet the specific needs of individual faculty, departments, and university programs.  
• In 2024, we are transforming UCITE educational development spaces in the Allen Memorial Medical Library to reinforce active learning practices and to expand faculty access to SoTL resources.

Empowering inclusive learning innovation on our campus and beyond University Circle.

• UCITE collaborated with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Engagement and the Center for International Affairs as part of a Higher Learning Commission Initiative to Advance Inclusion, Internationalization, Diversity and Equity (AIIDE) through an interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning Collaborative. Faculty cohort members assist with the development of resources for colleagues to AIIDE through curricular and instructional practices.
• UCITE staff share pedagogical expertise through Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network conference presentations. 

As UCITE begins a celebration of over 30 years as CWRU’s Center for Teaching and Learning, we strive to expand faculty engagement with evidence-based pedagogical practices from the Science of Teaching and Learning. Our efforts will continue to Connect, Adapt, Respond, and Empower so CWRU faculty can make a difference in the lives of our students.