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.
The Searle Fellows Program is a time-honored Northwestern professional development initiative that recognizes and supports the great promise of early career faculty members who will make significant and long-term contributions to Northwestern University. Since 1999, over 300 faculty have completed the program, cultivating a community of learning & teaching leaders who center equity/excellence through pedagogical experimentation, critical reflection, and joyful celebration.
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.
C. Edward Watson
Preparing Students for Life Beyond College: Embracing AI as Essential Learning
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching as part of the efforts of Northwestern's Generative AI Advisory Committee to promote pedagogical opportunities related to ongoing advances in related technologies. Made possible by the Klopsteg Lecture Fund.
September 9, 2:00–3:30 PM | Reception to follow, 3:30–4:00 PM
There will a videographer at the event to create a high-quality recording that will be shared on our website.
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 reads we can’t stop thinking about.
Central to her book Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal (2022) is the idea that burnout needs to be discussed openly and destigmatized without normalizing the harmful academic practices that lead to it.
Pope-Ruark offers a compelling exploration into the issue of faculty burnout, blending her own experience of burnout and the personal narratives of other faculty with research-based insights and solutions. Although burnout is experienced individually, the book positions burnout as a systemic issue rooted in the culture of academia. It advocates for significant systemic change over superficial solutions that focus only on how individuals can recover from burnout. Pope-Ruark argues effectively that the path through burnout involves not just individual resilience but also a collective reimagining of academic culture to foster well-being.
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.
As an instructor, I try to create classes that, hopefully, people will look back on and might remember, 'Oh, that class actually helped me to think about how statistics get used in the world. That was a really warm, supportive environment!'”
2024–25 Brochure Coming Soon
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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