Cultivating Inclusive & Engaged Learning Environments
Learn More about UsCurious, Reflective, Evidence-Informed
We approach learning and teaching as scholarly endeavors by encouraging a curious mindset, a reflective process of inquiry, and iterative changes informed by evidence. We model openness to brave conversations embracing the discomfort that leads to growth. We connect educators to knowledge-sharing communities to fortify engagement and the pursuit of lifelong learning.
We organize our work as educational developers around seven interconnected focus areas. These areas highlight Searle’s priorities and our commitment to being at the forefront of emerging trends in learning and teaching. Each focus area page features an overview and a curated list of books, resources, guides, and relevant programming suggestions.
We engage with Northwestern University educators across all stages of their careers by designing leading-edge programs, interactive workshops, featured events, affinity groups, and community gatherings. We also offer expertise and educational thought partnership in individualized consultations and customized offerings for academic units.
We closely examine trends in Higher Education and synthesize the research to spark innovative ideas and to showcase proven strategies for making small-changes to address a particular teaching pinch-point. Our Learning & Teaching Guides prompt reflection and offer an array of carefully-curated resources that are available to instructors at Northwestern and beyond whenever the need arises or time allows.
Interested in (re)designing a course to integrate more inclusive and engaging practices? Want to jumpstart building your course for winter or spring quarter? Experiment with generative AI tools to craft meaningful learning outcomes, design authentic assessments, and sequence activities as you are guided step-by-step in the creation of Canvas-ready modules in this special generative AI edition of our popular Course Design Institute.
December 12 & 13, 2024
Classroom environments have felt the impacts of a world faced with crises. Worry and fear can influence how students show up in classrooms and their ability to focus on learning. This Learning & Teaching Guide offers ten strategies for instructors to support students during turbulent times while also being attentive to their own professional and personal well-being.
We were recently honored to host national expert on digital innovation in higher education, Eddie Watson, for a thought-provoking talk. Sign in with Northwestern credentials to watch the video.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Searle Center as part of the efforts of Northwestern's Generative AI Advisory Committee to promote pedagogical opportunities connected to ongoing advances in related technologies. Made possible by the Klopsteg Lecture Fund.
Reimagining Assessment Practicum
Our popular practicum is now an Open Educational Resource! Created by the Northwestern University Reimagining Assessment Practicum (RAP) Faculty and Staff, RAP guides instructors of all levels, backgrounds, and teaching contexts through a reflection of their assessment and grading practices, emphasizing equitable approaches and alternative methods.
Recent and forthcoming publications from our educational developers.
Active learning, a method encompassing a broad range of techniques to engage students in their own learning, decreases failing (Freeman et al., 2014) and closes "achievement gaps" (Theobald et al., 2020)—differences measured by academic performance (e.g., grades). Despite its effectiveness, the high attrition rate of students with identities and backgrounds historically underserved in higher education remains a persistent problem, even in classes that have fully transitioned to active learning. This attrition is even more pronounced in undergraduate STEM majors, where—in the words of David Asai, Senior Director for Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute—"students leave science almost as quickly as they arrive” (Asai, 2020a).
In a new peer-reviewed study, Searle Center Assistant Director of STEM Education, Erika Nadile, demonstrates how tapping into intrinsic motivation (i.e., the drive to learn for learning’s sake) and self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in one's abilities) increases persistence and fights attrition to enhance equity and inclusion in STEM education.
Nadile's study provides much-needed insight into contributing factors to the high attrition rate of undergraduate STEM majors and identifies a positive new direction for equitable and inclusive STEM education at Northwestern and beyond.
Each quarter, we feature Northwestern University educators doing innovative work in the classroom. These short interviews showcase their educational journeys, signature styles, and how their teaching has been shaped by their work with the Searle Center.
It's one of the goals of my career: to be able to understand what we can bring together from the brain and behavior to support students’ education and development.”
2024–25 Brochure
The Searle Center is on a mission to enhance learning and teaching at Northwestern University. We enthusiastically work alongside the next generation of faculty to develop their teaching practices so they can facilitate deep learning and advance educational equity at Northwestern and beyond.
We have created a digital brochure outlining the educational activities and resources we offer to graduate students and postdocs—a one-stop-shop for grad students, postdocs, and their advisers to envision how educational development compliments degree programs and responsibilities.
Our array of flexible programming is designed to fit every schedule, allowing grad students and postdocs to feel confident in the classroom and on the job market while making timely progress toward their degrees.
Keep up to date with Searle's latest events, resources, and opportunities for ongoing learning.
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