Jody Greene, professor of literature, feminist studies, and history of consciousness, has been appointed the founding director of the new Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL).
In addition to her 18 years of teaching experience at UC Santa Cruz, Greene also has experience teaching others to be teachers in a variety of contexts, from yoga to wilderness expeditions. She has won three teaching awards and a Disability Resource Center award of recognition while at UC Santa Cruz, and has been a leader on campus in the practice of contemplative pedagogy.
“We are delighted to have Jody leading the CITL, with her depth of experience, her demonstrated record of teaching excellence, and her desire to help others teach effectively,” said Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Herbie Lee. An area of particular interest for her is helping our faculty adapt to the changing demographics of our students.”
“The student body is quite different from when many faculty were hired in the past few decades, and understanding how to adapt teaching practices can make faculty more effective and the learning a better experience for the students,” he added. “There is an increasing amount of research on teaching effectiveness from which all instructors can benefit.”
The CITL is planned to be a resource and support center for the teaching mission of the campus, supporting all faculty and graduate students. New faculty often arrive with little training in teaching. Faculty who have been at UC Santa Cruz for a while may need help re-tooling to take advantage of new technologies, or to adapt to the changing student demographics.
Graduate students teaching at UC Santa Cruz, or planning to embark on teaching careers, will benefit from training, and the CITL plans to partner with the Graduate Division to create training, possibly as a certificate program, for graduate students in the areas of classroom climate and the effective use of learning technologies.
Areas of support will include instruction, assessment of learning, and classroom cultural competence. Greene will oversee a staff of a full-time assistant director, a half-time instructional designer, and several students. The CITL is located with the Faculty Instructional Technology Center (FITC) on the first floor of McHenry Library.
