Teaching Skills Workshops	UTEC	Faculty Learning Communities
Texas Faculty Development Network

Faculty Development

Developing Instructional Skills and Capacities

ACET values teaching and learning excellence. Its instructional programming is supported by theoretically grounded evidence-based educational practice to develop the skills and capacities of faculty members. ACET offers teaching and learning workshops, web-based instructional resources, faculty learning communities, and feedback on teaching and learning activities and materials.

Educational Resources, Grants and Scholarships

Promotion and Tenure

In early 2006, ACET convened a representative university task force to conduct a needs assessment, develop a standard UT Health Science Center at San Antonio teaching portfolio, and train faculty and department chairs to effectively document teaching excellence using the portfolio. Members of the task force include faculty from the ACET Steering Council and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Promotion and Tenure Committee: Linda Smith (chair), Margaret Brackley, Patricia Brewer, Lily Garcia, Richard Holt, Ellen Kraig, Richard Lueduena, Robert Nolan, John Preece, and Beverly Robinson. As of June, 2007, the Task Force has developed a paper-based draft UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Portfolio that will be pilot tested during Fall, 2007. After pilot-testing, the paper-based version will be added to eCV.

eCV	Teaching Portfolio
Tips and Requirements for Preparation of Promotion and Tenure Packets
Promotion and Tenure Workshops for Tenure Tracks	Promotion and Tenure Workshops for Non-Tenure Tracks
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning theory	A "how to" guide for developing a publishable Scholarship of Teaching project

Teaching Resources

Teaching Perspectives

Training Modules

Teaching Strategies

Classroom Visits: Individualized Faculty Teaching Consultation

An integral professional development component of ACET’s services menu for faculty development is its Validating Instructional Satisfaction In Teaching (VISIT) Program. VISIT is designed to offer individualized consultation and resource support for faculty to improve their teaching skills. VISIT offers faculty the opportunity to request a confidential, individualized consultation with one of ACET’s Education Development Specialists (EDS) to discuss their teaching style, challenges and evaluations. Following the initial consultation “visit”, an ACET EDS will prepare a Teaching Enhancement Plan (TEP) to assess teaching strengths and improvement opportunities. The TEP assessment may include activities such as (1) classroom, lab or clinic observation to document a faculty member’s teaching effectiveness and interactions with students, (2) faculty member participation in relevant trainings, (3) peer mentoring support, (4) ongoing consultations, in conjunction with Academic Technology Services (ATS), regarding the appropriate use of learning technologies and/or (5) developing, presenting and evaluating their instructional materials. In some instances, a faculty member’s teaching session may be videotaped as a mechanism for self-assessment. Throughout the TEP process, the faculty member meets regularly with an EDS to review the observational data, discuss concerns and challenges, and review best practice methods that could lead to desired enhancements in their teaching experience. The primary role of the EDS is to be a professional “coach” to facilitate and sustain teaching excellence. For further information about the VISIT Program, please contact the Academic Center for Excellence in Teaching (ACET) at (210) 567-2822 or submit your inquiry via the ACET Email account ACET@uthhscsa.edu.

Confidentiality Policy* All individual consultations, requests to visit classrooms, or requests for observations are voluntary and are held confidential. All materials that result from individual consultations or requests to observe classroom teaching, such as reports, plans, or suggestions for course or professional improvement, and other information generated in the process are provided directly and only to the faculty member who requested the service.