Community of Scholars for Advancing Teaching Excellence
Community of Scholars for Advancing Teaching Excellence (CATE) is building interdisciplinary collaborative communities across the College to elevate teaching excellence. CATE community members will identify exemplars and resources and characterize instructional choices consistent with the new UT principles of excellence in teaching (PoET): 1) clarity in course design and communication, 2) approachability, empathy, and respect for all students, 3) engaging and student-centered classroom teaching, and 4) reflective improvement of teaching.
Overview
Teaching excellence is critical to student learning, helping undergraduates successfully attain their degrees and career success. In 2023, the Faculty Senate and Teaching and Learning Innovation unit started a grassroots initiative to establish a definition of teaching excellence at UT. This definition is now ready to be leveraged as a guide for teaching initiatives, and CATE will help CAS take the lead in this endeavor. Over the course of two years, divisional leaders and instructors from across CAS will work on projects and compile resources to guide instructors toward practices consistent with PoET. CATE is an initiative led by the faculty, for the faculty.
Over the course of two years, divisional leaders and instructors from across CAS will work on projects and compile resources to guide instructors toward practices consistent with PoET. CATE is an initiative led by the faculty, for the faculty.
Clarity in Course Design and Communication
An excellent instructor carefully designs their curricula, is clear in their course expectations, and communicates them effectively through well-organized course materials. They convey the importance and practical value of the course content. They maintain high standards for student success and give students the tools to meet them.
Approachability, Empathy, and Respect for All Students
An excellent instructor generates positive rapport with students, building equitable relationships with and among them. They are approachable, open, and honest, and treat students as individuals worthy of compassion and caring. They listen and seek to understand student questions, concerns, and life circumstances.
Reflective Improvement of Teaching
Excellent instructors embrace the dynamic nature of teaching and learning. They reflect upon their practices and experiences, and fervently refine and improve their understanding of themselves as educators. They seek out and integrate new disciplinary knowledge and pedagogical approaches in a forward-thinking manner.
Engaging and Student-Centered Classroom Teaching
Excellent instructors cultivate a vibrant classroom atmosphere and care about student success. They inspire student intellectual curiosity and interest through their passion for the material. They provide opportunities for students to explore and apply their new knowledge in meaningful ways, and adapt creatively in response to student needs.
Tell us how you exemplify PoET in your teaching using the PoET padlet.
People
Caroline Wienhold
Assistant Director of Biology Teaching and Learning
Senior Lecturer, Division of Biology
Programs
CATE faculty have launched four projects for spring 2025:
- Building instructor – student rapport in any classroom; Joseph Lopez, Shahla Ray, Katie Rowinski, Nahla Hatab, Beth Schussler
Identify faculty exemplars and student perspectives about how to build rapport in large classes, small classes, and online classes. - Applying PoET in any classroom setting; Nik Brodskiy, Anthony Minutolo, Jake. Benner, Bob Guest, Caroline Wienhold
Build recommendations for engaged learning aligned with PoET in different classroom types on campus. Future goal: add information to the classroom description websites that would tell instructors how to enact PoET in that space. - Developing a PoET observation matrix program; Jacob Sanders, Randy Small, Neno Russell, Erin Darby, Jeremy Chandler, Greg Kaplan
Develop a plan to create learning communities of instructors to support the use of PoET principles through classroom observations and feedback. Future goal: start program in fall 2025. - PoET for ALL; Hollie Pellosmaa, Randy Brewton, Mona Papes, Kevin Sukanek, Erin Hardin
Reducing PoET description to a format that has broad appeal to ALL faculty, even those who aren’t as plugged in to teaching development. Work to market and promote these ideas broadly.
Look for CATE presentations at the UTK Teaching and Learning Innovation Teaching Summit on Tuesday, March 25 in the Student Union.