Overview

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) partially funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) is a consortium of 37 research universities across the United States. The consortium is committed to advancing the teaching of STEM disciplines in higher education. CIRTL aims to enhance the STEM learning of all graduate students and post-doctoral scholars in an effort to increase both diversity in STEM fields and STEM literacy nationwide.

About Drexel CIRTL

Drexel is a member of the CIRTL network through a collaboration between Drexel's Graduate College and the Center for the Advancement of STEM Teaching and Learning Excellence (CASTLE). Drexel CIRTL programs serve graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and interested faculty and staff in STEM and STEM-equivalent programs.

The mission of Drexel CIRTL is to prepare graduate students and post-doctoral scholars for the future professoriate, with a focus on three areas: evidence-based practice of teaching in higher education, inclusive teaching and learning, and effective mentoring for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs. All Drexel CIRTL participants are eligible to receive nationally-ranked certificates of achievement in evidence-based teaching and mentoring practices.

CIRTL Core Ideas

CIRTL programming is based on three core ideas:

Learning-Through Diversity

Learning-through-diversity capitalizes on the rich array of experiences, backgrounds, and skills among STEM undergraduates and graduates-through-faculty to enhance the learning of all. It recognizes that excellence and diversity are necessarily intertwined.

Teaching-as-Research

Teaching-as-research is the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of both students and teachers.

Learning Communities

Learning communities bring together groups of people for shared learning, discovery, and generation of knowledge. To achieve common learning goals, a learning community nurtures functional relationship among its members.

For more information please contact castle@drexel.edu.