| June 16, 2009 CONTACT: Dr. Amy Andersen, 806-651-2609, aandersen@wtamu.edu COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu WTAMU's Teaching Excellence Center Offers Faculty Support CANYON, Texas—Faculty members at West Texas A&M University have a bit more support for their teaching efforts with the creation of the University’s new Teaching Excellence Center (TEC). Dr. Amy Andersen, assistant professor of education, has been named the director of the TEC, and she is already busy scheduling guest speakers, setting up a web page and gathering resources that will enhance the teaching experience not only for the professors but also for WTAMU students. “The Teaching Excellence Center supports the University’s mission and Quality Enhancement Plan by supporting faculty across campus,” Andersen said. “It will reinforce and nurture what our faculty members do by strengthening teaching effectiveness and student learning overall.” Andersen is designing the Center to meet the many different needs across campus. A major component of the TEC will be the website and the variety of information available for teaching and learning in higher education. Numerous links will cover a wide spectrum of information ranging from effective outlines for different courses of study to effective student engagement in large lecture classroom situations. The Center also plans to schedule guest speakers and workshops for innovative ideas about successful teaching strategies. The first TEC speaker visited the WTAMU campus in April when Dr. Susan Walcott spoke to the faculty about helping students improve thinking. Dr. Peter Facione will make three appearances at WTAMU during the 2009-2010 academic year to talk to faculty members about critical thinking. The TEC also will use WTAMU faculty in peer reviews of teaching effectiveness and provide consultation services for faculty and department heads. “Teaching is an important job, and we want to help make it easier for faculty to engage students to be lifelong learners,” Andersen said. “We want to provide the best education possible for our students, and the Teaching Excellence Center will be there to support and enhance those efforts.” For more information about the Teaching Excellence Center, call Andersen at 806-651-2609. —WTAMU— | 