Whether you're facing a challenge in the classroom or are eager to explore a new pedagogical approach, the Center for Teaching Excellence has services to support you. We offer confidential consultations, innovative teaching spaces, and pedagogical resources to further your teaching practice.
CTE staff are available to meet one-on-one with instructors to talk through a range of teaching questions. Whether you are trying to figure out how to improve student participation, design a new Canvas course, or explore a new pedagogical approach, our experienced staff are here to serve as resources and sounding boards.
CTE staff take an evidence-based approach to consultations that attends carefully to each instructor鈥檚 particular teaching context. Consultations are sometimes paired with a classroom observation or mid-semester feedback session to allow for greater insight into the specifics of a particular class.
Consultations with the CTE are always initiated at the request of the instructor and remain confidential within 艾可直播 College. To arrange for a consultation, email us at centerforteaching@bc.edu.听We ask that you direct all queries to this central account, rather than contacting staff individually, so we can better manage the flow of requests.
Pre-Semester Instructional Tech Appointments
In the weeks leading up to the semester, the CTE maintains an instructional tech appointment calendar where you can time with a CTE staff member. Held over Zoom, these consults are a chance to work out questions about Canvas, GenAI, or other BC-supported teaching technologies.听
After you , you鈥檒l receive a calendar event where a Zoom link will be added prior to your appointment. If you don't see any times that work for you, or have any other questions, email us at centerforteaching@bc.edu.
Inclusion And Accessibility Consultations
As part of the CTE鈥檚 commitment to inclusion and accessibility, we take a particular interest in working with 艾可直播to听听to students with disabilities and inclusive of students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in U.S. higher education. 听We welcome the opportunity to work with 艾可直播on a range of questions related to inclusion and accessibility.
In addition to the campus-wide programs we offer, the CTE also works with individual departments and schools to tailor programs specifically for their 艾可直播and graduate student instructors. We work closely with you to make sure we鈥檙e prepared to address the particular context and needs of your faculty, and we are flexible in accommodating your time constraints.
Common Topics
- Canvas or other supported instructional tech
- Cultivating Academic Integrity
- Designing Transparent Assignments
- Engaging Large Classes
- Facilitating Critical Conversations in the Classroom
- Grading for Learning
- Inclusive Classroom Practices
- Partnering Effectively with TAs
- Planning for More Dynamic Discussions
- Responding to Student Writing
- Strategies for Active Learning
- Syllabus Design
- Universal Design for Learning
To learn more about how the CTE might work with your 艾可直播or graduate student instructors, please contact us at centerforteaching@bc.edu.
The CTE is available to consult with instructors interested in gathering anonymous feedback from their students mid-way through the semester. This confidential service allows instructors to identify areas where small course adjustments can lead to improved student learning in the remaining weeks of the course. Working with CTE staff can happen in tandem with the opt-in mid-semester feedback form administered by The Office of Student Services, or separately. Request a consultation by emailing centerforteaching@bc.edu.
For those not interested in a consultation, we also have a that walks you through the choices involved in developing your own approach to gathering mid-semester feedback and interpreting the results.
What Is The Process?
CTE staff are available to help instructors develop feedback questions, facilitate gathering feedback from students, and make sense of the feedback.
Developing feedback questions:听A CTE staff member can work with you to develop feedback questions tailored to your particular course鈥檚 learning goals.
Facilitating a feedback session:听A CTE staff member can attend one of your class sessions and, once you have left the room, will gather individual or group feedback from your students. That anonymous feedback is then shared with you.
Interpreting feedback:听Once you鈥檝e collected your feedback, a CTE staff member can then serve as a sounding board, helping identify trends in your students鈥� feedback and strategizing how best to respond to them.
You鈥檙e welcome to request a single consultation to discuss developing feedback questions or interpreting feedback, or you can sign up for help with the full process. If you would like a CTE staff member to gather the feedback, that will involve a pre-meeting to develop the questions and a post-meeting to discuss the feedback.
How Is This Confidential?
In line with the CTE鈥檚 confidentiality policy, no information related to a mid-semester feedback consultation will be shared with anyone aside from the instructor. You choose what, if any, feedback data to share with CTE staff, and we delete any feedback records we have once the consultation has concluded.
If you鈥檇 like a second set of eyes to help you identify patterns in student engagement or changes you might want to make to your classroom practice, CTE staff are available to conduct confidential, formative classroom observations at any time during the semester.听
Typically paired with a pre-meeting to discuss goals and a post-meeting to debrief, formative observations can be a helpful tool for getting a new perspective on what鈥檚 happening in your classroom.
Please contact us to learn more about how CTE staff approach classroom observations.
CTE Resources is a digital repository of all the guides and other resources that CTE staff have developed over the years.听
Featuring comprehensive documentation of all of BC鈥檚 supported instructional technologies, CTE Resources also includes guidance on a range of pedagogical topics, such as inclusive teaching practices, assignment and syllabus design, and pedagogical decision-making in the AI era.听
If you鈥檙e looking for information on a topic not included in CTE Resources, please reach out to centerforteaching@bc.edu, and we鈥檒l direct you to external resources that might be of use.
Teaching in the AI Context is a self-paced online series of five modules, offering in-depth exploration and guidance on pedagogical decision-making in light of AI. The course covers key terms and concepts related to AI, frameworks for ethical considerations, and development of AI aware assignments and policies. Modules are freely navigable as well as sequential and interactive, and each includes optional exercises to help you apply key insights to your practice.
The AI Teaching Artifact Repository features examples of assignments and exercises from diverse fields and teaching settings at BC. Artifacts can be perused by school, or a range of approaches to our AI context, ranging from AI-integrated to AI-free by design.
Please reach out to centerforteaching@bc.edu if you want to discuss the specifics of your course or teaching context.
O鈥橬eill 246, the CTE鈥檚 Active Learning Classroom (ALC), provides 艾可直播and students with an innovative space to explore engaging and inclusive approaches to learning. Equipped with flexible seating, collaborative technologies, and extensive whiteboard space, the ALC invites 艾可直播to experiment with learning-centered pedagogies and invites students to be active participants in their own learning.
Learn more about the ALC's technology and potential configurations below or by visiting the BC Classroom Profile for O'Neill 246.
If you would like to apply to teach a course in O'Neill 246 for the spring 2027 term, please complete by September 15, 2026.
Technology
- Mersive Solstice wireless projection:听Wirelessly project video and audio from most Windows, iOS, or Android devices using the Solstice app
- HDMI projection:听Plug in any HDMI-compatible device for video and audio projection
- Panopto Lecture Capture:听Request to have classes recorded听through Lecture Capture, which can be viewed through Canvas.
Classroom Features
- Wheeled tables and chairs for easy assembly in a variety of layouts
- 4 power outlets and 4 USB chargers at each of the 5 pods
- 1 glass board at each of the 5 pods
- 2 power outlets and 2 USB at the front of room
- 1 sliding whiteboard & 1 large glass board at front of room
- 1 large glass board at the back of the room
The classroom can be configured in many ways:
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Conference-Style
Total capacity: 16 seats
The Active Learning Classroom may be configured in a conference-style layout, which provides opportunity for large group discussion and interactive learning. The 艾可直播member may stand at the board, lecture at the podium, or sit with students at the table.
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Pods Setup
Total capacity: 30 seats (6 seats per pod)
The pod setup allows for students to engage in group work and larger class discussions simultaneously. Each of the pods is equipped with an individual monitor for projection and a glass board for group writing. Faculty may instruct from the podium, lecture at the board, or join discussions.
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Individual Stations
Total capacity: 24
The individual stations configuration discourages student interaction. Students sit diagonally from one another, with the 艾可直播member at a separate station at either the front or back of the room. For limited distraction, monitors and projection can be turned off on all screens.