Faculty Resources

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning supports faculty with programs and resources for both project-based learning and problem-based learning.

Project-Based Learning: From the joint Project- & Problem-based learning Institutes to customized training for your academic program, faculty development is offered through the partnership of AEL & CETL in a variety of ways. Learn more about PBL.

Join our Community of Practice: Enhance your teaching through our experiential learning Community of Practice. Access professional development programs, workshops, and collaborative opportunities with departments.

Request a Service: The Academy for Experiential Learning offers professional development and assistance to faculty, staff, departments, and colleges. Request our services >> Service Request Form

Description of Services

• Data Collection: Our office provides support, resources, and suggestions for performing your gap analysis (conducted at the start of departmental/school/college Bridge Experience Program development to understand where needs and gaps exist among your students and program of study). We can provide disaggregated data for your department to facilitate this process, support the development and deployment of your data collection instrument, and assist in the analysis of your collected data. Our office can also provide services and support for evaluating courses and conducting program evaluations, focus groups, and impact studies.
• Curriculum Planning/Revision: The Academy for Experiential Learning offers support to individual faculty and departments in assessing current curricula and employing modifications. From revisiting learning outcomes and their alignment with syllabi to assisting with shifting teaching approaches and integrating a more holistic, multi-disciplinary approach. 
• Scaffolding Plan of Study (embedded in curricular planning/revision on the service request form): With an increase demand in professional, transferrable, and inter-personal skills, post-graduation destinations, whether graduate school, work, community engagement, military, or any other possibility, require adaptability, creativity, a more robust understanding of the bigger picture and the pieces of which it is comprised, and greater awareness of the self and the world. Traditional teaching approaches of lecturing, memorization, and testing through quizzes and exams are no longer adequate for the demands each faces in the world. The ability to apply learning, think critically and proactively, and troubleshoot problems are necessary functions to possess. 
• Student Opportunity Center (SOC): Our office offers demos of the Student Opportunity Center (SOC), a platform for finding and promoting research, internships, service learning, and other experiential learning opportunities. We provide student-focused demos (in-class or co-curricular) that cover how to access, search, and apply for opportunities. We also offer faculty and staff sessions that demonstrate how SOC supports experiential learning goals, including how to get departmental or program opportunities featured on the site. Presentations can be tailored for students across varying majors, as well as for faculty, advisors, BEP participants, and academic departments.
• Communicating the BEP/Creating buy-in: The Academy for Experiential Learning provides strategic support to help departments effectively communicate the purpose, value, and expectations of the Bridge Experience Program (BEP) to internal and external audiences. We assist faculty, staff, students, and community partners in understanding how the Bridge integrates into academic pathways and contributes to student development, career readiness, and applied learning outcomes. We offer customized communication strategies, including presentation materials, messaging frameworks, departmental briefings, and outreach templates, that help colleagues and administrators articulate the program’s goals clearly and consistently. We provide guidance for engaging external stakeholders, including community partners, employers, and alumni, by helping departments communicate partnership opportunities, mutual benefits, and the role of experiential learning in student success. Together, these efforts support stronger relationships, clearer expectations, and a shared commitment to delivering high-impact experiential learning opportunities to students.
• 3900 Canvas System: Our office provides support for the implementation and use of the 3900 Canvas System, a centralized platform for managing and documenting experiential learning requirements. This system helps students track their progress through experiential milestones such as reflection submissions, activity approvals, and BEP requirements within a single, accessible course structure.
• Reflection: As an integral piece to holistic growth and developing a greater level of emotional intelligence, reflection enables students to think more deeply. By understanding significance, opening their mind to new perspectives, and learning to identify and think more critically about behaviors, interactions, and results, students increase their leadership, creativity, and innovation skills. Embedding reflection throughout the plan of study prepares students to maximize classroom and experiential learning. The Academy for Experiential Learning offers support and training in scaffolding the plan of study with a progressive sequence of learner-centered approaches and reflection, as well as assists in how and when to incorporate reflection, improve reflection prompts, and assess reflection responses. 
• Assessment: Providing feedback to students is critical to their learning and growth. The more understanding and awareness a student possesses, the more they can maximize their experience and develop the skills needed to flourish in the world. By providing salient and robust feedback, students are able to make greater connections and meaning. Feedback also enables a student to realize elements of which they were previously unaware or were unexplored. To optimize experiential learning, students should have the guidance and skills to think more critically and intentionally. Assessing the BEP student submission can be challenging, particularly discerning if a student indeed met the requirements outlined in the rubric. The Academy for Experiential Learning offers support, guidance, and training on assessing student submissions and providing feedback to nurture and enhance student knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Showcasing Student Work (Experiential artifact): Our office supports the development and presentation of experiential learning showcases designed to highlight student achievements, applied projects, research outcomes, internships, community-engaged work, and other high-impact experiential learning activities. These showcases provide students with an opportunity to reflect on their learning, articulate their growth, and present their work to faculty, peers, community partners, and campus or external stakeholders. We assist departments, programs, advisors, and faculty with the full lifecycle of planning and executing a showcase event. This includes consultation on event design, supportin creating reflection prompts or presentation rubrics, guidance on recruiting participants, and guidance on developing communication materials such as posters, digital slides, and program summaries.
• Consultation: The Academy for Experiential Learning is available for one-on-one, group, departmental, and college-level consultations. The scope of the consultations is not limited, but determined by the assistance you seek.