Who We Are

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is an NSF Center for Learning and Teaching in higher education. CIRTL uses graduate education as the leverage point to develop a national STEM faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse student audiences. The goal of CIRTL is to improve the STEM learning of all students at every college and university, and thereby to increase the diversity in STEM fields and the STEM literacy of the nation.

 

The CIRTL Network

The Network is a learning community of 43 diverse research universities across North America who share teaching and learning resources, collaborate on courses, workshops and webinars, and provide online support for developing faculty in the sciences.  These resources are open to anyone associated with a member institution, including faculty, staff, students, and postdoctoral trainees.
 

CIRTL @ UAB

Participants at UAB can earn certificates in College Teaching at 3 Levels by taking courses on campus and on the network.

CIRTL Associates learn the foundations of college teaching and develop a Teaching Portfolio for the job search. CIRTL Practitioners partner with faculty teaching mentors to gain hands-on experience and learn about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. CIRTL Scholars develop and implement scholarly Teaching-As-Research projects.

UAB is the only university in the network to offer class A Certificates for CIRTL Practitioner and Scholar, meaning that these certificate designations appear on your official transcripts.

Core Ideas of CIRTL

Teaching-as-Research

Teaching As Research—deliberate and reflective application of research methods to improve teaching & learning for both students and teachers.

Learning Communities

Learning Communities bring together groups of people for shared learning, discovery, and generation of knowledge.

Learning-through-Diversity

Learning Through Diversity capitalizes on the rich array of experiences and skills of all participants to enhance the learning of all. It recognizes that excellence and diversity are necessarily intertwined.