About CTE

Engaging with the teaching community at KU and beyond.

We know that teaching can be both rewarding and frustrating, and we are here to help you to navigate the ups and downs of the academic year. We are happy to schedule a consultation, help you learn more about our services and programs, and provide assistance for you as an instructor. Contact us to start a consultation or collaboration.

People of CTE

CTE Faculty Ambassadors

CTE Advisory Board

Additional Information

The primary purpose of CTE is to build community among faculty and help instructors make student learning visible.

Established at the University of Kansas in 1997, CTE includes faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral educators from a wide range of disciplines. Our work is supported by the Teaching Excellence Advisory Members (TEAM), departmental Ambassadors, and Faculty Fellows.

CTE guides instructors through innovative course transformations and helps make those changes visible through posters presented at our annual Celebration of Teaching. Faculty can also engage in our course portfolio process, which documents course changes in scholarly detail and supports reflective teaching practice.

Teaching and learning form the heart of higher education.

We recognize that teaching and learning are fundamental to the university's mission and deserve our commitment and attention.

We believe that students want to learn.

We approach our work with the conviction that all students are motivated to grow and succeed when provided with supportive, engaging learning environments.

We are each unique and worthy of respect.

We honor the varied backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of each member of our community and create welcoming and respectful spaces where everyone can thrive.

Evidence and experience inform practice.

We ground our educational approaches in research, data, and reflective practice, continuously learning from both scholarly evidence and lived experience.

Community empowers our work.

We believe that collaboration, shared purpose, and collective wisdom strengthen our individual efforts and amplify our impact on teaching and learning.

Good teaching is reflective and iterative.

We view teaching as an ongoing process of growth, experimentation, and refinement, always seeking to improve our practice, and in turn student learning, through reflection and feedback.

Excellence and empathy are complements.

We believe that excellence in teaching and learning is strengthened by care for and understanding of each learner as a whole person.

One of our main goals at CTE is to foster intellectual exchange and create community around teaching and learning at KU. Regardless of discipline or modality, we want to help instructors find new ways to innovate and experiment in their classes, and to make their work visible to colleagues. Our portfolio gallery contains excellent examples of the innovative pedagogical work undertaken by KU faculty members.

We are dedicated to building a community where instructors can share their pedagogical concerns, successes, and research. CTE prides itself on providing guidance and mentorship to instructors at all stages of their careers. We host numerous workshops and events for faculty members and GTAs. If you need assistance with matters related to teaching and learning, or just want to brainstorm ideas for improving your courses or curricula, CTE can help.

How we connect with the KU learning community: