Press Related to the CTLE
UHD Receives Library of Congress Grant
By Dr. Gregory Dement | Article from UHD News - March 21, 2024
Since 2014, the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) has been driving
innovation in teaching and learning through fostering a culture of belonging, collaboration,
and continuous improvement at UHD. Programs like the Teaching Circles and Course Innovation initiatives provide financial and operational support to faculty teams proposing
to explore and pilot new pedagogical or student engagement strategies.
This often leads to the adoption of new instructional approaches and strategic initiatives
that contribute to enhanced student success at UHD. On occasion these collective efforts
lead to successful bids for external grant funding, and that's just what happened
recently, as CTLE Director, Dr. Gregory Dement, and Professor of Spanish, Dr. Raquel
Chiquillo, collaborated as co-PIs with CTLE Instructional Designer, Fabiola Vacatoledo,
and Online Learning Librarian, Jennifer Fuentes on submission of a successful grant
proposal to the Library of Congress (LOC). 
The grant team's project, titled "Discovering Afro-Latino Heritage: A Reflective Story
Map Project to Enhance Student Belongingness and Learning," was awarded $69,084 through
the LOC's Connecting Communities Digital Initiative (CCDI). This initiative is sponsored by a LOC program called Of the People: Widening the Path, which is supported by the Mellon Foundation. The initiative provides opportunities
for more Americans to engage with the Library and add their perspectives to the LOC's
collections toward centering marginalized groups and telling a more inclusive American
story.
"Our goal with this project is to improve student success at UHD through the strategic
use of digital and experiential learning strategies," said Dr. Dement. "By focusing
on storytelling, we hope to build community and enhance our students' sense of belonging.
In addition to the direct impact on target course curriculum, I am excited about the
research and communication skills students will gain through engagement with this
project."
The UHD grant team is excited to collaborate with faculty, students, and the community
in building an interactive digital story map that integrates original content and
materials available through the LOC's digital collections. The story map(s) will explore
Afro-Latino Heritage with a focus on the trans-Atlantic slave routes focused on Latin
America, the lives of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, and the migration of Puerto
Rican, Cuban and Garifuna Afro-Latinos to the United States.
For her part, Dr. Chiquillo sees the project as an opportunity to engage students
in research. "I'm excited to receive this grant," she said. "It will not only help
our students participate in and learn about Afro-Latino communities, but will also
help their academic and intellectual confidence."
In addition to providing a relevant and engaging resource for the broader UHD student
body and community, this project seeks to enhance teaching and learning in key target
courses through providing the historical context instructors need for units in Latin
American and Latino Studies literature classes, especially those that focus on Afro-Latino
writers and poets. Since this is an area that has not been traditionally emphasized
in Latin American Literature classes, there is limited material available and ready
for use by students and instructors. This project would help fill that gap, enhancing
teaching and learning in key target courses through faculty/student creation and use
of the proposed Afro-Latino Story maps.
CTLE Instructional Designer Vacatoledo hopes the story maps "will keep growing as
work with UHD faculty, staff, and students lays the groundwork for more understanding,
empathy, and empowerment of our Afro-Latino students at UHD and in their communities."
Through the programmatic support of the grant team, such faculty work with students
will take place in key target courses, with an aim to remix and create content for
the Afro-Latinos Story Map(s) project.
The project team recently solicited proposals and selected six UHD faculty members
who will create student assignments in key target courses that leverage LOC digital
collections. In addition to Dr. Chiquillo, the awardees for the Spring 2024 semester
who will be implementing projects are Rafael Andugar Sousa, Albert DeJesus-Rivera,
Fernell Jimenez-Pabon, Giuliana Lund, and Christal Sánchez.
A primary objective of the project is to increase students' sense of belonging through
building community. This objective aligns with giving students a voice and inviting
them to share their stories. Students contributing to the Afro-Latino Story Map(s)
will gain research skills, develop digital fluency, and engage in metacognition through
reflecting on their own stories. Student deliverables might be submitted as narrative
text, videos, podcasts, digital maps, photographs, etc.
In addition, students will have the option of interviewing Afro-Latino members of
the UHD and Houston communities to create original content. Faculty will create content
for the Story Map(s) as well, in addition to supervising their students. To further
foster community building within UHD, students that identify as Afro-Latino will be
encouraged to create short video segments about their communities that will form part
of the content used in the Story Map(s), if they so wish. In addition, students in
the Translation Minor at UHD will be encouraged to help caption the Story Map(s) in
both English and Spanish.
"This is a truly collaborative project for students, faculty, CTLE, the W.I. Dykes
Library, and beyond," Online Learning Librarian Jennifer Fuentes. "That not only speaks
to UHD's commitment to educational and research endeavors, but also its commitment
to fostering understanding and belongingness within the Houston area."
About Connecting Communities Digital Initiative (CCDI) Grant Program:
CCDI Publications about UHD Grant:
About Story Maps:
Grant Provides Extreme Makeover for Mathematics Learning Space
UHD Receives $132,000 Grant from Steelcase Education
By Mark Kramer | Article from UHD News - January 24, 2022
The extreme makeover of a University of Houston-Downtown classroom is set to transform
students’ learning experiences in mathematics. Thanks to a $132,000 grant from Steelcase
Education, a traditional learning space in Room N602 of the One Main Building has
been reimagined into an Active Learning Classroom, which will be utilized by mathematics
classes engaging in Inquiry Based Learning.
As a project of a Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) led by mathematics
professors Dr. Judith Quander and Dr. Timothy Redl, the University was one of four
institutions nationwide that received the grant.
“This grant is providing UHD a space that is a perfect fit toward the implementation
of this teaching model by faculty in the math department," said Dr. Gregory Dement,
CTLE Director and principal investigator on the grant.
Through the inquiry-based method of instruction, professors use questions, problems
and scenarios to help students learn through individual thought and investigation.
Redl said the Active Learning Classroom’s modern and innovative design features allow
for easy movement of tables and chairs throughout the room, inviting collaboration
and group work as part of inquiry-based learning.
“The new classroom is designed to provide a friendly and welcoming environment for
our students," Redl added. “We hope that these features, those that you typically
do not see in a traditional classroom, will be beneficial in alleviating math anxieties
that our students might possess."
The learning space also includes personal whiteboards throughout the room, giving
students opportunities to engage with their classmates and the instructor. A mural
on the west wall of the classroom also provides inspirational words and quotes for
those engaged in studying and learning mathematics.
“The University of Houston-Downtown was chosen as a recipient of this grant because
of a demonstrated commitment to active learning," said Jami Moyer of Steelcase Education.
“Research shows that space impacts behavior, and these classrooms will help a new
group of teachers/professors and students explore the learning possibilities that
an interactive space can bring."
Along with receiving funding for the classroom renovation, UHD will receive training
from Steelcase on how to use their new spaces and share insights and best practices
with all awarded schools. Over the two-year program, Steelcase Education and the UHD
grant team will partner to conduct assessments and research on the impact of the newly
designed space.
“We are very appreciative to Steelcase Education for this grant award," Redl emphasized.
“Several of our mathematics faculty members are presently engaged in and passionate
about using active learning and inquiry-based learning techniques in our classes;
and we're excited to begin teaching in this new space."
UHD Gateway Course Redesign Initiative Receives Academic Excellence Award
Article from UH Newsroom - August 07, 2017
The University of Houston System Board of Regents presented the Regents’ Academic
Excellence Award to the University of Houston-Downtown’s Gateway Course Redesign Initiative.
The award recognizes University of Houston System institutions’ programs and initiatives
that exemplify excellence in teaching, research and/or public service.
The Gateway Course Redesign Initiative has evolved, starting with a grant in 2000
aimed at improving outcomes for at-risk underrepresented minority students. The program
was expanded through the 2006 Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) at UHD to encourage the
development of active classroom engagement strategies. Efforts focused on improving
key gateway courses in College Algebra, English Composition II and U.S. History I.
Through additional grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
from 2011-2016, the program expanded to include additional courses.
“With a focus on collaborative faculty development and redesign of primarily first-year
courses, the initiative targets critical early interventions to the most frequent
and continuous touch points the institution has with students – the faculty and classroom”
said Edward Hugetz, interim senior vice president for academic and student affairs
and provost at UHD.
Dr. Gregory Dement accepted the Regents’ Academic Excellence Award on behalf of University
of Houston Downtown. Pictured (L to R): Regent Tilman Fertitta, UHD Associate Dean
of the University College William Waller, UHD Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence
Director Gregory Dement, Chancellor Renu Khator and UHD President Juan Sánchez Muñoz.
The initiative has continued to succeed, receiving numerous grants from the THECB
and strongly influencing current course design. The Gateway Course Redesign Initiative
has encouraged collaboration with local, regional and national institutions to further
encourage success strategies and best practices. Data practices have been published
at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Student Success Summit, the JNGI
Gateway Course Conference, and the SACS/COC Annual Meeting.
The most significant impact can be seen in the number of students earning a passing
grade (A, B, or C) in key gateway courses. Beginning in 2011, the percentage of students
earning a passing grade rose from 54 percent to 74 percent. U.S. History I has seen
the passing rate increase from 52 percent to 71 percent since 2006. Other courses
that have seen similar significant changes include Integrated Reading and Writing;
College, Intermediate and Beginning Algebra; College Math for Liberal Arts; General
Biology I, General Chemistry I, and Federal Government.
