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Office of the Provost

Future of Teaching & Learning

Autumn 2024 updates:

  • Following recommendations from this initiative’s working group, the Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning is sponsoring Class A legislation to update the Faculty Code’s decades-old language around teaching.
  • Teaching@UW is incorporating the core elements of effective teaching into the resources, workshops, and programs available to UW instructors.

Background of the initiative

In spring 2022, the president and provost convened a group of faculty, staff, and students to informally and collectively identify key questions regarding the future of teaching and learning at the UW, as well as related issues that we should address on behalf of our students as we emerge from the pandemic. They looked at national trends and incorporated what we learned during the pandemic about using instructional technologies and the importance of ensuring equitable learning outcomes in the face of great societal upheaval. This initial group prioritized key areas for the UW to address.

Based on their recommendations, the provost launched two working groups in autumn 2022, one focused on the course and program access and the other on instructional quality.

Each group included tri-campus tenured faculty, tri-campus teaching faculty, members from the Faculty Council on Teaching and the Faculty Council on Academic Standards, student leaders, associate deans for academics, and instructional support staff experts.

The UW’s new provost reviewed these working groups’ recommendations and has charged new, more focused groups in response.

Defining Instructional Quality Working Group (Autumn 23-Spring 24)

Builds on the work of the previous year to gather broad input on draft core elements of quality instruction at the UW, refine it based on feedback, and, once finalized, provide recommendations to the Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning (FCTL) around how to implement a coherent, aligned approach to supporting instructional quality at the UW. Details and membership can be found in the following documents:

Defining Instructional Quality Advisory Council (Autumn 23-Spring 24)

Supports the working group by helping ensure the work is truly representative of faculty input and results in realistic, transformative, and actionable recommendations to the FCTL. Details and membership can be found in the following documents:

Course and Program Access Working Group (Autumn 22-Spring 23)

Addresses questions related to providing better access to courses and programs, including more flexible options for students. Details and membership can be found in the following documents:

Instructional Quality Working Group (Autumn 22-Spring 23)

Addresses ways to enhance the quality of instruction at the UW. Details and membership can be found in the following documents:

Initial Brainstorming Group (Spring 2022)

They identified key dimensions of the future of teaching and learning and related questions. Prioritized those and presented recommendations to the provost for future working group efforts. Details and membership can be found in the final report to the provost.

For questions related to the Future of Teaching & Learning initiative, please get in touch with Marisa Nickle, Sr. Director of Strategy & Academic Initiatives, at mnickle@uw.edu.