The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) offers a certification programme for all faculty who desire to participate and for new faculty who have a contractual obligation to complete this programme. It is designed as a UWI postgraduate certificate. Fifteen credits are required for completion with 84 contact hours, directed readings and structured experiential and reflective learning. The following four courses are offered either face-to-face or online:

 

It is recognised that university lecturers in many instances have very little formal preparation for teaching in higher education.  Accordingly, this course will introduce lecturers to the theoretical foundations of teaching and learning and research.  This is a fundamental course on instructional design and delivery for higher education.  Approaches to teaching and learning are engaged, learning theories are investigated and practical applications of these theories are incorporated into the programme.  Further, learners will consider their personal philosophies of teaching and learning; as well as what it means to be an educator in the postmodern era, especially in the Anglophone Caribbean.

 

Questions of the accuracy and appropriateness of assessment arise due to issues of power; diminished student self-esteem, and conditions of testing. In addition, assessment is often thought of only in terms of its role in certifying student achievement to the exclusion of the equally valuable purpose of student development. This course aims to provide the participant with knowledge of the purposes of assessments and techniques for implementing appropriate strategies consistent with curriculum intentions and curriculum implementation methods. This course distinguishes between formative and summative assessment methods, underscores the role of validity and reliability in assessing student achievement, and emphasises the use of feedback in facilitating student development.

 

This course prepares faculty to utilise innovative and student-centred techniques in their approach to teaching and learning by incorporating a variety of online and offline instructional uses of appropriate technology. It immerses participants in the world of educational technology for teaching and learning. 

 

This final course provides opportunities for faculty members to implement strategies and methodologies introduced and reinforced in the previous courses. One important focus will be the development of a critically reflective teaching practice which will aid them in applying their knowledge and abilities to respond to various learning contexts, including learning in a Caribbean environment and in diverse disciplinary contexts. Faculty members’ presentation skills and interactive communication skills (oral communication, diction, enunciation, and informal feedback methods) will be self and peer-evaluated during classroom peer observation visits and classroom seminars. Participants will reflect on classroom experiences to create an action research proposal in their area of research speciality. A teaching dossier/portfolio, which reflects work done from course 1 through 4, will be submitted at the end of this course/programme.

The completion of all 4 courses is required to obtain the UWI certificate in University Teaching and Learning. The entire programme may be completed in 4 semesters which culminates with peer observation during that final semester and the development of a professional portfolio.