Not every course can be taught in the same style and every student doesn’t learn the same way. In November of 2023, the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning – or CITL – was formally established, with Megan Rector becoming Faculty Chair the following August of 2024.

Rector has been with Arapahoe Community College since January 2013, starting as a part-time instructor, then moving to Faculty Director for Professional Enrichment before becoming the Faculty Chair of CITL; the role of Faculty Chair was already fit for Rector due to her previous positions consisting of faculty work.

What CITL does is assist instructors at ACC in ways instructors may think or feel they need, said instructors can be teaching online or in-person.

 “CITL is primarily faculty facing, so faculty come in to talk to us about teaching their classes,” Rector said. 

Instructors can go to different staff’s offices (or schedule virtual appointments) within the CITL department, and depending on what assistance they need, instructors could get help with (but not including to) the review of syllabi, help with instructional design, technology help, and content development and organization. 

“They can invite me to observe their class, and then [I] debrief with them and give them feedback,” Rector said. 

Even though CITL is under a year old, there are many hopes for the future of CITL and how it can help ACC as a whole, both its students and faculty. 

“Eventually, what we really want is for [CITL] to be a space where people do come in frequently and want to talk about ideas for their classes,” Rector said. 

CITL has been sending out messages and hosting professional development events offering their services, these efforts have already been bearing fruit, many instructors having already attended these events. 

“I hear a lot from faculty and instructors how helpful our team members have been in supporting their… teaching,” Rector said. 

Bringing more awareness to CITL can prove to be beneficial for all faculty and instructors, for the more instructors who recognize and utilize CITL, the better chances of growth for everyone at ACC.