By Glenda Vosburgh | Inside Jindal
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at The University of Texas at Dallas has recognized Victoria McCrady, assistant professor of instruction in the Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, with its Outstanding Service Award.
McCrady was recognized for assisting the center’s director, Dr. Karen Huxtable-Jester, as co-facilitator of the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) course in Effective Teaching Practices during the 2022-2023 academic year.
She was recognized at the sixth annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence April 27 for her extraordinary dedication to supporting faculty in completing the course, and as a result helping to fulfill the CTL mission.
“Facilitating involves monitoring and encouraging faculty involvement with the course, and supporting faculty in implementing and reflecting on what they learn from the 25 course modules,” Huxtable-Jester said. “This cohort included 30 faculty members and the course requires two to three hours per week in the online course. It is a lot of work. As a coach, there is no one better than Victoria. She is so positive and supportive, and a brilliant teacher.”
During the course, Dr. Huxtable-Jester conducted monthly in-person reflection sessions and McCrady handled the online monthly reflections.
The full course runs across the fall and spring semesters starting in August. It includes self-paced online modules as well as some face-to-face meetings facilitated by the CTL. Participants dedicate two to three hours per week to the course.
“ACUE is intense, but there are so many good practices to learn,” McCrady said. “The program changes how you approach teaching. We try new things with our students, and then we discuss how it worked, whether changes should be made and how we can improve it.”
Provost Inga Musselman, vice president for Academic Affairs and provost for UT Dallas, asked the center to facilitate the program, said Dr. Huxtable-Jester. This was the third time the course in effective teaching practices was offered.
Faculty members who complete the full ACUE course receive the nationally recognized Certificate in Effective College Instruction endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE). Faculty members and their Deans are also recognized at the annual Celebration of Teaching at UT Dallas.
“The center is important to UTD and the faculty appreciate having a place to go and knowing that there is someone who is invested in their success,” McCrady said. “We have a strong center with so many amazing people that I learn from by watching.”
The CTL was launched at UT Dallas in 2016 with a mission to improve instructional performance and thereby student learning. Its programs support graduate teaching assistants, postdoctoral associates who also teach, part-time lecturers and faculty members. CTL is currently recruiting faculty members to participate in the fourth ACUE course cohort in 2023-2024.