Committee for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
About Us
The Committee for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) helps faculty identify engaging and innovative ways to improve their teaching practices resulting in improved student learning. CELT focuses on running book and podcast clubs, managing the awarding of professional development funding grants, and assisting with the planning of Faculty Fusion and Celebration of Teaching.
Funding Opportunity
The CELT Professional Development Award Application for 2025-2026 is available for cutting edge projects to improve student learning. These funds are to encourage the implementation of new and innovative projects that would not be possible without this financial support. Up to four projects will be selected for funds up to $2,000 per project. We are particularly looking for projects that demonstrate:
- Significance – projects that address major challenges and/or have the potential for considerable impact on student learning; and
- Reach – projects that have the potential to reach large audiences and across departments and disciplines.
The deadline for applications is February 13, 2026.
Resources
Assessment
- 3-2-1 Instruction Assessment
- Angel, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Do Differently Instruction Assessment
- Making Connections Instruction Assessment
- Muddiest Point Instruction Assessment
- One-Minute Paper Instruction Assessment
- Recall and Review Instruction Assessment
- Transfer and Apply Instruction Assessment
- North Carolina State: Assessment for the Division of Undergraduate Affairs
- National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
Pedagogy
Writing in the Classroom
Service-Learning/Community Engaged Learning
Teaching Diversity
Technology & Pedagogy
Universal Design in the Classroom
WCU Faculty Teaching Tips
- New to teaching at WCU? Read the Practical Strategies to Help New Teachers guide put together by our faculty.
- Are you interested in learning how to evaluate student learning and gain immediate feedback on your teaching? Learn how to use the idea spinner in your courses to maximize the learning experience for your students. For additional ways to evaluate student learning, review this worksheet.
- Maura Sheehan, Professor from the Department of Health, shares an interesting pedagogical tool: iRubric. This tool has a ton of free rubrics for faculty to adapt within their courses. Maura also discusses how to incorporate this tool into D2L.
- Listen to Tina Selvaggi from the Department of Literacy discuss how to use E-Portfolio within a course. Follow the link for more information on how to use E-portfolio within D2L.
- Are you interested in using current event topics to promote class discussion and student interaction. Listen to Assistant Professor Nicole Cattano discuss how to use Scoop. It! effectively within your course(s).
- Student centered learning is creating discussion across higher education. Read the following article to discover techniques that can be used to accomplish this within a course syllabus and grading procedures.
- Are you teaching or considering offering a course in a blended/hybrid format? If yes, review this article on blended course design to help avoid common mistakes.
2025-2026 Committee Members
Co-chairs: Alessandra (Sandy) Sarcona and Dara Dirhan
Committee Members:
- Laura Fiorenza
- Anne Larrivee
- Patricia Davidson
- Paul Sylvester
- Maria Cabrera-Puche
- Christopher Roemmele
- Dawn Patterson
- Adam Rainear
- Yoonhee Kim
- Anne Gill
- Lisa Montgomery
- Alayna Surdi
- Tom Pantazes
This committee has several ad-hoc positions. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact our
Faculty Associate.