History
The UTHSCSA Teaching Excellence Course, UTEC, has been offered in various forms since 1976. In those three decades, over one-thousand faculty and staff have completed the program. Graduates include department chairs, deans, and current UT system Chancellor Dr. Francisco Cigarroa. The content and format of the course has changed over time as different faculty become involved and new materials and methods become available. As you can imagine, the instructional technologies available thirty years ago were nothing like what are available today. We are continually evaluating and revising the content and methods to better meet the needs of our learners.

Purpose and Rationale
The Academic Center for Excellence in Teaching routinely offers professional development programs designed to help faculty improve or augment their teaching skills. UTEC, by design, is something different. While much of the content may parallel our other workshops and seminars, UTEC offers unique educational opportunities. First, by meeting over a period of several weeks we are able to strategically plan and build on previous content. We will know, for example, that when we discuss teaching the large group or lecture hall that participants will have already learned the principles of adult learning, motivation, and instructional technologies and can draw on that knowledge when presented with new content. Second, effective learning is about more than the simple transmission of information, and we design instructional experiences to take advantage of the added value inherent in classroom learning. Collaboration, relationship building, and interprofessional opportunities are promoted, and we continuously draw on the collective knowledge and experience of the group. In short, UTEC is more than learning how to teach; it is about developing a community of learners. We view UTEC as an opportunity to model principles of effective teaching and learning such as active learning, group work, critical thinking, authentic assessment, and transparency. You learn not just from the presenter but from each other in a climate that supports individual and collective growth and development.
Who Can Benefit
UTEC is open to all UTHSCSA faculty and staff. This includes fellows, teaching assistants, administrative personnel, and preceptors. If you have responsibility for student learning in any way, we welcome and encourage your participation. Enrollment is not limited to new or novice teachers. UTEC participants typically have a range in experience both in terms of number of teaching years and types of teaching settings. All five schools are usually represented, as are classroom and clinical faculty.
Participant Expectations
Unlike a graded course, we have no control over your level of participation or performance. Nonetheless, we do have some expectations of course participants. Because the course is designed to be developmental, and because we place a great deal of emphasis on collaborative learning, please do not take the course if you cannot commit to regular attendance. We understand that occasional circumstances will require missing a session. However, we request that you do not view this as an “a la carte” experience, picking and choosing sessions to attend based on their perceived value.
There may be pre-readings; there will be assignments. However, in keeping with the value of authentic assessment, we will not expect you to do anything that does not have real value for you in either your personal or professional development as an educator. Developing and writing a statement of teaching philosophy, for example, may be a product of the course. A reasonable requirement as most of us will be asked to write such a statement at some time during our careers. We certainly recognize the significant limitations on time faced by Health Science Center faculty, and we do not expect any weekly activity outside of the UTEC classroom to take more than one hour.
Time and Place
Thursday evenings beginning 17 September and ending 17 December.
4:00pm to 6:30pm
Briscoe Library (Long Campus), Howe Conference Room, 5.076
Tentative Syllabus, Fall 2009

17 Sept	Introductions Personal Philosophy of Teaching
24 Sept	Adult Learning Theory and Motivation Learning Climate
1 Oct	Curriculum Design Writing Course Goals and Student Learning Outcomes
8 Oct	Best Practices in Online Teaching and Learning with Technology
15 Oct	Encouraging Critical Thinking with Technology
22 Oct	Strategies and Methods for Teaching in Large Groups or Lecture Halls
29 Oct	Strategies and Methods for Teaching the Small Group
5 Nov	Providing Effective Written and Oral Feedback
12 Nov	Clinical Teaching Skills
19 Nov	Authentic Assessment and Competency Based Education
26 Nov	Thanksgiving Holiday
3 Dec	Test Development and Test Item Writing
10 Dec	Alternatives to the Multiple Choice Exam
17 Dec	TBA

Enrollment
Logistics and our wish to maximize the benefits of small group learning dictate that class size be limited to no more than 30. The maximum number of participants is usually met, and we are therefore required at times to ask applicants to postpone admission to the following year. We select participants based on a number of criteria including representation from a cross-section of educational units, teaching experience and history, a mix of clinical and classroom teaching (collectively, not individually), and individual goals for participating in UTEC. Enrollment decisions are made by a group of no less than three ACET staff.

The application process includes two steps. First, complete and submit the online application. Second, notify your department chair, section head, or advisor of your intent to enroll in UTEC. This condition serves two purposes. First, it communicates your desire to improve your teaching skills and your willingness to invest the time and effort to excel. Second, it assures us that your immediate supervisor is aware of your participation in UTEC and is willing to support your decision in terms of time and effort.

 

For more information or questions about UTEC, please contact Course Director, Dr. Bret Simon

(bret.simon@uthscsa.edu), 567-2284.