Meet Sam Spiegel, the director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) at Colorado School of Mines. The center—started by Applied Mathematics and Statistics professor Gus Greivel and Physics professor Pat Kohl—is part of Mines’ Strategic Plan initiative to further the school’s STEM reputation, expand research opportunities and increase graduation rates.
Spiegel sees the CITL as a way to enhance faculty connections, provide them with resources and form an active learning community at Mines.
“The pieces that get me excited are real and rich conversations about teaching and learning,” said Spiegel. “I am looking forward to getting involved in the design aspects and supporting faculty and students in changing, growing and enhancing their experiences at Mines.”
The CITL will offer resources in coaching, course review, curricula design, grant support, learning communities, teaching observations and teaching professional development.
“There are quite a number of Mines faculty trying new things and the center is here to be a resource to support them,” Spiegel said. “CITL can provide support and guidance to refine instruction. For those faculty that want more intensive support, we will be offering one-on-one coaching.”
An example of support around course design will happen this summer when Spiegel will work with Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry professors Renee Falconer and Allison Castner to redesign a freshman course with a more active learning style, focusing on furthering student engagement on conceptual learning.
On April 21, Spiegel presented a pedagogy seminar with Chief Information Officer Michael Erickson on how CCIT and CITL plan to collaborate to support faculty and advance teaching and learning at Mines. The CITL will offer seminars this summer on producing educational videos and the science of teaching. The center will also meet with the Office of Academic Affairs to examine student data in efforts to produce consistencies in student learning experiences.
“If you were to put a GoPro on a student and watch them across a week, would their experiences be consistent—particularly at a freshman and sophomore level?” asked Spiegel, who will see the freshman experience firsthand when he serves as a faculty mentor for CSM101 in the fall.
Visit the CITL’s website for information on pedagogy seminars and updates at citl.mines.edu.
Spiegel comes to Mines with 15 years specializing in science education and transforming systems—his past experiences ranging from middle school to university graduate levels. Prior to Mines, Spiegel served as Chair of the Disciplinary Literacy in Science Team at the Institute for Learning and Associate Director for the Swanson School of Engineering's Engineering Education Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh.
Contact:
Kathleen Morton, Communications Coordinator / 303-273-3088 / KMorton@mines.edu
Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations / 303-273-3541 / KGilbert@mines.edu
