New Faculty Programs

The Center for Teaching Excellence places a particular emphasis on supporting faculty in their first years at Boston College. In addition to hosting programs created specifically for new faculty, the CTE welcomes new instructors in all of its faculty-specific and campus-wide programs.

Accommodation Requests & Covid Precautions

The Center for Teaching Excellence is committed to providing equal access to its events and programs. Individuals with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations or who have questions about physical access may contact centerforteaching@bc.eduAs part of this commitment, the CTE encourages masking at our events and strives to include remote or hybrid options for participation when possible. 

New Faculty Orientation

In partnership with the Provost’s Office, the CTE hosts an afternoon of teaching-focused conversations as part of New Faculty Orientation each August. All new full-time faculty are welcome to attend. 

Past Events

New Faculty Seminars

The New Faculty Seminars on Teaching are gatherings where faculty in their early years at BC can discuss the fundamentals of teaching with colleagues. We gather for lunch and informal conversation at noon, then begin the hour-long seminar at 12:30.  Sessions typically include 10-15 minutes of CTE staff sharing research and strategies relevant to the topic at hand, followed by opportunities to exchange thoughts with colleagues and develop ideas for your own teaching. Topics are chosen based on the input of that year’s new faculty.

Feel free to come just for lunch, just for the seminar or both, as your schedule permits. These sessions are hybrid; please indicate when you register if you would like to participate in person or on Zoom.

Spring 2023

Equitable Grading

Wednesday, February 8, 2023, 12:00 - 1:30 (O'Neill 250 or via Zoom)

Grading is the most tedious and painful part of teaching for many faculty members, and the specter of grades can hang over an entire learning environment, fueling anxiety and training students to avoid intellectual risk-taking. Grading can also clarify the stakes of inequities in higher education: Do our grading practices implicitly replicate existing social stratification? Join us for an introduction to some grading practices that can promote equity across disciplines and to hear how your colleagues are approaching this concern in their own teaching.

Register for New Faculty Seminars on Teaching: Equitable Grading

Using Tech Purposefully

Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 12:00 - 1:30 (O'Neill 250 or via Zoom)

If technology has been a growing part of teaching and learning for many years, and the early days of the pandemic saw us adopting it by necessity at least as much as design, our current moment seems like a good one for reflecting on the purpose we want to bring to it.  What affordances do our tools offer to enhance learning, and what do we want them to do for us?  How are our students -- and how are we as teachers -- shaped in turn by the tools we use?  This session will review researched practices and points to consider, and offer a chance to share insights and questions with colleagues.

Register for New Faculty Seminars on Teaching: Using Tech Purposefully

 

Past Conversations