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About & Consultations

CONSULTATIONS

Pedagogy Consultations                     Technology Consultations

 

Click on either of these links to set up an appointment with pedagogy coaches or instructional design team members. Our teams are here to meet your teaching needs! 

Our pedagogy and education research experts can help you think about strategies to promote inclusion and equity in the classroom, design a course from outcomes to assessments, evaluate teaching efficacy, analyze course evaluations, clarify course outcomes and objectives, assist with classroom alignment, develop assessments and syllabi, and so much more

Our academic technology experts and instructional designers can help you integrate remote teaching into your course, organize your CatCourse pages, build accessibility and inclusion into the course structure, optimize and integrate Zoom, Canvas, Clickers, and other instructional tools, and so much more

 

OUR MISSION

We are a collaborative team comprised of several partners including Academic and Emerging Technologies (AET), the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL), the English Language Institute (ELI), and Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL)

Our Mission is to provide a centralized physical and virtual location for programs, resources, and services focused on delivering student-centered, innovative, and high-quality learning experiences to improve student outcomes. Teaching Commons is held by three pillars: 

  • Pedagogy – the development and implementation of high-impact, innovative evidence-based teaching practices
  • Academic Technology – training and adoption of effective and emerging technologies for teaching
  • Education Research – evaluation and investigation to improve programs, teaching, and learning

 

To accomplish this, Teaching Commons:

  • Provides information and consultation on current educational research, particularly the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and discipline-based education research (DBER), to promote evidence-based instructional practices, services, and programs across the institution
  • Collects, analyzes, and reports data regarding the student experience and identify opportunities to improve teaching and learning in the classroom
  • Supports and trains instructors in active learning, emerging technologies, and other instructional strategies to enhance teaching effectiveness
  • Collaborates with instructors to investigate the impact of instructional innovations
  • Focuses on research and best practices regarding equity and inclusion for first-generation and underrepresented students.

 

OUR PEOPLE

Eileen Camfield

Eileen Camfield Ed.D.
  • Interim Director
  • Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning

Ed.D. Higher Education

Pronouns: she, her, hers

ecamfield@ucmerced.edu

Rachel Leigh Bellofatto

Rachel Leigh Bellofatto M.S.
  • Director, Academic & Emerging Technologies
  • Academic and Emerging Technologies

M.S. Instructional Technology and Design

Pronouns:

rpeters3@ucmerced.edu, rbellofatto@ucmerced.edu

Jackie Shay

Jackie Shay Ph.D.
  • Associate Director
  • Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning

Ph.D. Quantitative and Systems Biology

Pronouns: she, her, hers

jshay@ucmerced.edu

Adriana Signorini

Adriana Signorini Ed.D.
  • Students Assessing Teaching and Learning (SATAL) Program Coordinator
  • Educational Assessment Coordinator
  • Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning

M.A. TEFL & Applied Linguistics

Pronouns: she, her, hers

asignorini@ucmerced.edu

Joan Holmquist

Joan Holmquist M.Ed.
  • Senior Instructional Designer
  • Academic and Emerging Technologies

M.Ed. Instructional Tools

Pronouns: she, her, hers

jholmquist@ucmerced.edu

Sushma Jolly

Sushma Jolly Ph.D.
  • Senior Instructional Designer
  • Academic and Emerging Technologies

Ph.D. Leadership in Higher Education, Educational Administration

Pronouns: she, her, hers

sjolly@ucmerced.edu

Alex Hernandez
  • Service Delivery Manager
  • Academic and Emerging Technologies

Pronouns: he/him/his

ahernandez-perez2@ucmerced.edu

James Cha
  • Learning Technologies Manager
  • Academic and Emerging Technologies

Pronouns: he/him/his

jcha239@ucmerced.edu

Belinda Braunstein

Belinda Braunstein
  • English Language Institute (ELI) Coordinator

M.A. TESOL

Pronouns: she, her, hers

bbraunstein@ucmerced.edu

Ramsin Tamraz

Ramsin Tamraz
  • Instructional Video Coordinator

B.A. Art

Pronouns: he, him, his

rtamraz@ucmerced.edu