The University of Delaware Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning (CTAL) has announced three new appointments for director, associate director for educational assessment, and faculty developer.

Kathy Langan Pusecker is now director of the center, after serving as interim director since January 2016. Kevin R. Guidry has been promoted from senior research analyst to associate director for educational assessment, and Stacie Larkin, former director of Clinical Education in the UD Department of Physical Therapy, will be a new faculty developer.

“Kathy has a strong record of providing professional development for faculty and support for the University’s Middle States accreditation,” said Deputy Provost Lynn Okagaki. “Under her leadership, CTAL has made great strides in reaching out to faculty in our Associate in Arts program and to adjunct faculty.”

Pusecker joined the University of Delaware in 2005 and began serving as director of educational assessment in 2009. In her new role, she looks forward to working with a board of faculty members from across campus to enhance CTAL programming and assess the Center’s offerings.

CTAL has expanded the support for faculty in our other campuses by offering virtual consultations and developing new online teaching resources.

“The research on faculty development indicates that after one-on-one consultation, the most impactful learning occurs when faculty work collaboratively on targeted topics,” Pusecker said. “Consequently, we expect more of our programming to offer support for faculty learning communities working on topics such as helping freshman succeed, increasing student engagement in online and hybridized courses, and creating inclusive classrooms.”  

Guidry’s promotion reflects the leadership he has shown in his role as senior research analyst.

“During his five years in CTAL, Guidry has been entrusted with progressively complex responsibilities for educational assessment at UD,” Okagaki said. “His leadership with the Faculty Senate Curricular Mapping project has allowed UD to evaluate how General Education objectives are met in all of our undergraduate courses.”  

Larkin brings experience from her 19 years in the Department of Physical Therapy, during which she served two years as a faculty assessment fellow with the Office of Educational Assessment where she developed skills in creating and assessing expected student learning outcomes and was actively involved in the program’s accreditation activities.

The CTAL, formally known as the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, was chartered by the UD Faculty Senate in 1975. The Office of Educational Assessment merged with the unit in 2011. CTAL envisions a learner-centered university where everyone values learning, high quality teaching is supported and rewarded, and communities of educators and students constantly advance their understanding and practices of teaching and learning. A strategic priority for this year is to assist faculty in their understanding and utilization of high-impact pedagogical practices that result in deeper student learning.  Specific topics will include backward design, universal design for learning, and reflective teaching. By focusing on real-world connections, high-levels of student engagement, and a classroom conducive to community and shared values, all of UD’s students will be better equipped to achieve their academic goals.