The learning doesn’t stop for Merrimack College faculty. And when they want to discover new ways to design, develop and enhance their teaching, the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, Development and Design (CTIDE) is here for them.
Located on the second floor of McQuade Library, CTIDE is a transformation of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) to greater support Merrimack faculty teaching across all types of course modalities: online, on-ground, hyflex and hybrid.
“As the number of online and hyflex courses Merrimack College offers continues to increase, especially within our graduate programs, we want to ensure all faculty have the support for what they are trying to accomplish in the design and development of their courses to provide the best possible learning experiences and outcomes,” explained Janet Syed, director of CTIDE.
CTIDE will provide services through two key units: the Development and Design Lab and the Teaching and Learning Hub.
The Teaching and Learning Hub will provide workshops, seminars and other ways for faculty to connect on best practices around classroom instructions, curriculum enhancement and course assessments. The Development and Design Lab features tools and resources for faculty to create engaging learning environments online and in the classroom. A new studio space provides a dedicated area for faculty to record content or lectures, create innovative student engagement opportunities and host small group discussions.
“Faculty are very excited about this opportunity,” said Sean Wright, learning experience designer and studio manager. “This space is built for what faculty might need. Everything from recordings to rough cuts to renderings will be done here. This helps eliminate administrative concerns and gets faculty focused on what they do best, which is teaching.”
A catalyst for expanding teaching support to all course modalities was this past fall Merrimack brought graduate online course design entirely in-house, Syed noted. To date, CTIDE has created 45 new courses and maintained nearly 300 courses across Merrimack’s graduate programs.
“We are committed to supporting faculty in their work,” Syed said.
The studio space is expected to be up and running by mid-March. Faculty can visit the CTIDE webpage to learn more about the Center’s new mission and how to sign up for teaching and learning support as well as studio space time.
