About Us

Picture of all CTAL staff on Zoom screen

We foster an inclusive culture of evidence-based teaching and learning across the University by inspiring effective teaching and assessment using high-impact strategies, tools, and strategic partnerships.

The Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning strives to be an inclusive and strategic unit that fosters a culture of meaningful educational development and learning assessment for educators at the University including faculty, staff, and students. We work in partnership with individuals and groups to identify evidence-based solutions that are tailored to unique learning environments, advance university priorities, and that reflect individual teaching philosophies, educational goals, and disciplinary values. We empower our community of educators to become scholarly teachers who utilize research in teaching and learning assessment to inform the development of individual courses and programs resulting in integrated learning experiences for UD students.

The Center’s roots go back to 1953, when the University Council subcommittee on the Improvement of Teaching encouraged the university to “develop organization within the University to work toward improvement [sic] of teaching” and foster “the exchange of ideas about teaching.” Soon thereafter, alumni association gifts and the Lindback Foundation provided funding for awards for excellence in teaching. These initial efforts were followed by instructional improvement grants out of the provost’s office to enhance teaching of individual courses. In the following decade, a Teachers Resource Center was founded, followed by the Instructional Resources Center (IRC) in 1962. The IRC marshaled a growing emphasis on the use of ‘modern’ technologies in teaching.

In 1964, the Center for Teaching Effectiveness (CTE) was spun off from the IRC by a successful vote of the University Council which at the same time appointed a center faculty director and created a center faculty fellows program. Thus, we consider 1964 as the year of the center’s establishment. At the Twentieth Anniversary meeting of the POD Network (October 1995), the CTE was recognized nationally for its “impressive record of 31 years of service to [the field of] professional and organizational development and for the impact this program has had on teaching and learning at the University.” At the time, only the University of Michigan’s center was cited as older, being established in 1962. In 1975, the Faculty Senate Committee on Education and Training suggested the formation of a faculty advisory board, a tradition that continues today.

In collaboration with the POD Network, the CTE hosted the first (1997) and third (2000) National Institute for New Faculty Developers. The institute supported professionals new to the field of faculty development, whereby participants learned how to design, implement and evaluate faculty development activities to appropriately meet the needs of their home institutions. POD continues to organize the institute, although now rebranded as the Institute for New Educational Developers.

In 2012, the Center for Teaching Effectiveness integrated with the Office of Educational Assessment to become the Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning (CTAL). This was preceded by several years of close collaboration and the sharing of offices and personnel. The Office of Educational Assessment emerged in the early 2000s as the University developed new or revised General Education requirements for undergraduate students.

In 2023, the provost’s office was reorganized, whereby CTAL began to report to the newly created Vice Provost for Academic Programs & University Initiatives.

See below for a complete listing of all current CTAL staff.

The Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning (CTAL) Advisory Board provides support and informal consultation about educational development and assessment programs offered through the center.

Members College/Program Department Term
Darryl Flaherty Arts and Science History 2022-2025
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff Education & Human Dev. School of Education 2022-2025
Nicole Moody Health Sciences School of Nursing 2022-2025
Lillyrose Veneziano Broccia Arts and Science Languages, Literatures & Cultures 2022-2025
Alenka Hlousek-Radojcic Arts and Science Biological Sciences 2023-2026
Ismat Shah Engineering Materials Science 2023-2026
Greg Shelnutt Arts and Science Art & Design 2023-2026
AR Siders Biden School Biden School 2023-2026
Diane Wright Lerner MIS 2023-2026
Vickie Fedele Arts and Sciences Associate in Arts 2024-2027
Erin Pisano Agriculture & Natural Resources Animal and Food Sciences 2024-2027
Stephanie Smith Budhai Education & Human Dev. School of Education 2024-2027
Vaishnavi Tripuraneni Earth, Ocean & Environment Geography & Spatial Sciences 2024-2027

The Foundational Course Initiative (FCI) aims to transform the UD first-year experience to better support and engage our undergraduates at scale. FCI faculty are given the title of  Provost Teaching Fellows, and commit to a multi-year collaboration involving workshops, retreats and individual consultations focusing on four key areas that have been well documented as supporting student achievement and retention:

  1. Revise the way that content is delivered
  2. Create a feeling of belonging and community among students
  3. Build real-world examples and assessments into their courses
  4. Offer support for self-reflection and metacognitive behaviors tied to academic success and lifelong learning

 

COHORT 4
Provost Teaching Fellow Course Term
Anne Colwell ENGL 210: Introduction to Short Story 2024-2026
Neri de Kramer ANTH/MCST 216: Introduction to Material Culture Studies 2024-2026
Laura Hougentogler ANFS100: Animals and Human Culture 2024-2025
Lydia Timmins COMM 100: Introduction to Communication 2024-2025
Matthew Willis MATH113: Contemporary Mathematics 2024-2026

 

COHORT 3
Provost Teaching Fellow Course Term
Arijit Bose PHYS 207: Fundamentals of Physics I 2023-2025
Amy Bustin SPAN 106/106/107: Spanish I, II, & III 2023-2025
Alisha Rovner NTDT 200: Nutrition Concepts 2023-2025
Kami Silk COMM 100: Introduction to Communication 2023-2025
Jennifer Thorpe NTDT 200: Nutrition Concepts 2023-2025
Lillyrose Veneziano Broccia ITAL 105/106/107: Italian I, II, & III 2023-2025

 

COHORT 2
Provost Teaching Fellow Course Term
Amy Biddle ANFS 100: Animals & Human Culture 2022-2025
Katie Burke CHEM 133: General Chemistry Lab 2022-2025
Dana Chatellier CHEM 103/104: General Chemistry 2022-2025
Erin Connor ANFS 100: Animals & Human Culture 2022-2025
Monica Dominguez Torres ARTH 153: Intro to Art History: Pyramids to Cathedrals 2022-2024
Phil Jones POSC 150: Introduction to American Politics 2022-2024
Will Kenkel PSYC 100: General Psychology 2022-2024
Robin Kucharczyk CHEM 103/104: General Chemistry (AAP) 2022-2025
Agnes Ly PSYC 100: General Psychology 2022-2024
Jason Mycoff POSC 150: Introduction to American Politics 2022-2024
Kassra Oskooii POSC 150: Introduction to American Politics 2022-2024

 

COHORT 1
Provost Teaching Fellow Course Term
Lauren Genova CHEM 103/104: General Chemistry 2021-2024
Haritha Malladi EGGG 101: Introduction to Engineering 2021-2024
Kedron Thomas ANTH 101: Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology 2021-2023

CTAL regularly partners with multiple UD offices and organizations to deliver targeted support for our community of educators.

The University of Delaware Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning (CTAL) may collect data about your engagement with CTAL to improve services and integrate with broader university teaching and learning initiatives.

We are also committed to protecting the confidentiality of data related to our work with educators and students in compliance with university policies (Data GovernanceFERPAInformation SecurityInformation Classification) and professional standards (such as those recommended by the Professional & Organizational Developers (POD) Network and the Association for Institutional Research).

To learn more about how we collect, use and share data, click on the button below.

 

View CTAL’s Confidentiality Statement

CTAL Staff

Your colleagues at CTAL are available to discuss teaching and learning in your courses, in your department or in your college, and to work with you to achieve the learning goals and outcomes that are important to you and your students. Our services include: one-on-one consultations, programs/workshops, consultations on the development of courses and programs, and guidance on their assessment.  In addition, we offer a venue for collaborating with you on research and grants focused on teaching and learning in your disciplines.

Center Leadership

Matthew Trevett-Smith

Matthew Trevett-Smith, PhD

Director, Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning
Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Dr. Matthew Trevett-Smith is the Director of the Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning and Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Delaware. With more than a decade of experience in educational and organizational development, he has served in a number of leadership positions in academic affairs, professional development, educational development, academic technology, and assessment of learning. He has been particularly effective in leading wide-ranging efforts to convene, support, and facilitate meaningful change in the areas of curriculum design, assessment of program educational goals, general education reform, technology-enhanced active learning, first-year student academic success and retention, and providing guidance and rewards for the experimentation and implementation of AI into teaching and learning, research, and business practices across the university. As director, Dr. Trevett-Smith oversees the day-to-day operations of the Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning, including staff management, budget oversight, strategic planning, outcome reporting, workshop development, digital resource creation, and instructor and cohort-based improvement plans. He holds a BA in Anthropology, an MA in Cultural Anthropology, and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology.

Kevin Guidry, PhD

Associate Director of Educational Assessment
krguidry@udel.edu 

Kevin R. Guidry holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education and works with faculty to align curricula and improve existing teaching practices to enhance student learning. He specializes in assessment of student learning, development and assessment of program educational goals, and survey methodology having worked on teaching, learning, and assessment research and practice at levels ranging from individual courses to projects spanning hundreds of colleges and universities. He has served as a co-PI, external evaluator, or consultant on multiple externally funded projects expanding access to STEM disciplines.

Rose Muravchick, PhD

Associate Director of Educational Development
rosemur@udel.edu 

Rose Muravchick consults with faculty across the arts and humanities, as well as faculty in all disciplines seeking to: create or revise multicultural courses, adopt non-traditional grading, or develop courses for the Early College Credit Program. Her areas of professional development support also include creating classroom community, backward design, active learning, sustaining effective discussions, and generating authentic assignments. Rose has taught undergraduate students at Vassar College, the University of Pennsylvania, and here at UD in the Department of Art History. Rose completed her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of Religious Studies where she wrote her dissertation on Islamic talismanic shirts from the gunpowder empires. Her most recent UD courses include: Arts of the Islamic World, and Material Culture of the Crusades. 

Educational Assessment & Educational Development Specialists

Andrew Jenks headshot

Andrew Jenks, PhD

Educational Assessment Specialist
ajenks@udel.edu 

Andy Jenks supports a range of CTAL efforts as a specialist in evaluation and assessment under the direction of Kevin Guidry. The scope of this work ranges, from individual consultations on alternative assessments with UD Faculty, to collaborative, university-wide projects focused on educational program goals and assessment. He has experience teaching a range of undergraduate courses at Delaware, where he taught en route to completing a social science PhD in 2021. Andy’s research focus is on disability and questions of access, and he previously worked with CTAL as an Equity & Access Consultant.

Headshot of smiling person with short, brown hair wearing a blue suit with orange tie front blouse.

Amy L. Ritter, MS, RN

Educational Development Specialist
amyritt@udel.edu

Amy L. Ritter is an educational development specialist with CTAL who assists educators in using technology tools to create engaging, inclusive communities of learning. She has over 20 years of experience working with adult learners in nonprofit, community, and university settings with roles that include designing and teaching multi-modal courses in Educational Psychology, Spanish, ESOL, and GED. Additionally, she has extensive experience in training faculty on using technology in hybrid and online courses. Amy graduated from UD with Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology, Philosophy, and Foreign Languages and Literatures. She also holds an ASN from Cecil College, an MS in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has completed graduate-level course-work in Experiential Education at the University of New Hampshire.

Academic Success Coach for Foundational Course Initiative

Headshot of Brittany Maday

Amanda Brunson, EdD

Academic Success Coach II

Mandi Brunson is an academic success coach in the Office of Academic Enrichment who supports CTAL’s Foundational Course Initiative by designing materials and guidance for teaching students how to learn. She earned a master’s in applied linguistics with an emphasis in TESOL and a doctorate of education in higher education administration at The University of Alabama. She also holds a graduate certificate in qualitative education research. Mandi has over ten years of experience teaching first year composition and ESL courses and has been training international teaching assistants in a variety of fields at UD since 2019.

 

Operations & Administrative Support

Headshot of Brittany Maday

Tiffany Thornhill, M.Sc.F.

Administrative Assistant III

tthorn@udel.edu

Tiffany’s background in wildlife habitat management and research enables her to bring organizational and project management skills to the CTAL team. Tiffany spent seven years researching winter habitat use patterns of ruffed grouse in Canada before moving to Florida and working as a wildlife biologist for the state of Florida. While working and studying in Canada, she managed budgets, applied for grants, trained and hired assistants, oversaw their research projects, managed data, equipment, and day-to-day operations of the research camp. During her three years working in Florida, she spear-headed and developed multiple large projects and managed staff, equipment, data, and budgets. Tiffany assists in the day-to-day operations of the CTAL office, management of various projects, and budgets. She received her Bachelor of Science with Honours from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada majoring in Biology and minoring in Psychology. She later earned her Master of Science in Forestry from the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick in New Brunswick, Canada.

 

CTAL’s Graduate Assistants

Christy Metzger, MAT

Christy Metzger is a third year PhD student in the Education department with a specialization in Learning Sciences. Her current research focuses on introductory physics courses and how using research-based instructional strategies can increase the persistence of underrepresented groups of students. Prior to beginning her PhD, she served as an adjunct at Towson University teaching introductory physics courses for seven years. She also taught high school physics for five years and spent time as an online physics instructor for Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. She holds a MAT in Secondary Science and a BA in Physics and Mathematics.

CTAL’s Undergraduate Assessment Research Assistants

Joy Harrison

Joy Harrison is a junior psychology major at the University of Delaware, currently gaining experience through an internship at the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning. Joy enjoys making new friends and likes to gain more experience by working at CTAL.

Anna Sellers

Anna Sellers is an English Education BA student at the University of Delaware. Her role for the CTAL Department is an undergraduate assessment research assistant. During her time with this role she will be conducting interviews, transcribing interviews, and collecting data to help the University of Delaware have a better understanding of how breadth courses are valued by students as well as staff. She has previously been a teacher assistant for the University as well as an enrollment services employee. Therefore, she has been able to play many roles at the institution other than as a student.  When she is not working or studying, she spends time reading novels that she thinks would be beneficial to her high school students, spending time with her puppy Kaia, or drinking a coffee at Bing’s. 

Our Partnerships

CTAL regularly partners with multiple UD offices and organizations to deliver targeted support for our community of educators.

 

Find us:

CTAL is now in 2 locations!

  • 212 Gore Hall
  • 313 Hullihen Hall

Newark, DE 19716
Phone: (302) 831-2027
ctal-info@udel.edu

Contact us:

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