TIGER Series on CIRTL Pillars Piques Instructors’ Interest, Builds Learning Community

A successful series of sessions offered in July by TIGER (The Teaching Institute for Graduate Education Research) introduced the foundational principles of CIRTL to a new CIRTL Network campus, the University of Colorado-Boulder.

One session each week addressed each of CIRTL’s three “pillars” - Teaching-as-research, Learning communities, and Learning-through-diversity. TIGER’s web site advertised a practical and engaging list of discussion topics such as “creating objectives for student learning” and “functional connections among learners.”  

“People were very interested,” said Dr. Laura Border, Director of the Graduate Teacher Program and the Colorado Preparing Future Faculty Network. “The major question [was], ‘How does this fit with what we’re already doing?’”

TIGER, a CIRTL project led by Border and graduate student Alexander Krolik will augment the teaching and learning resources offered by UC-Boulder’s award-winning Graduate Teacher Program, which has been active since 1984.

Border said UC-Boulder’s participation in CIRTL will benefit both organizations and that “the campus will be stimulated by CIRTL.” Drawing on UC-Boulder’s experience in preparing future faculty, Border said, TIGER will also “share best practices” with the larger CIRTL Network.

Conversation about the CIRTL pillars will continue at UC-Boulder throughout the upcoming year. TIGER plans to hold ongoing discussion groups about ways to apply CIRTL concepts to teaching.

Graduate students nationwide are asking for “more help on teaching in science,” Border emphasized. She said she hopes that the UC-Boulder’s connection with CIRTL will contribute to “improved teaching and learning in the STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] disciplines.”

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