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Continuing Studies staff, faculty honored as Teaching Fellows

Dr. Suzanna Waters-Castillo, director of UW-Madison Continuing Studies programs on aging, was inducted into UW-Madison’s Teaching Academy this spring.

Waters-Castillo joins five other Continuing Studies faculty and academic staff in the Teaching Academy: Sage Goellner (languages), Narra Smith Cox ( health education), Jamie Henke (music), Susan Paddock, and Jane Terpstra (distance education).

Comprised of about 200 UW-Madison faculty members and instructional staff, the Teaching Academy was established to strengthen undergraduate, graduate, and outreach teaching and learning at UW-Madison. The group promotes effective teaching and learning on this campus and beyond by encouraging innovation, experimentation, and dialogue among faculty, instructional staff, and teachers of the future.

“Being a part of the Teaching Academy helps me connect to a vibrant community of people on campus who privilege teaching,” Goellner noted.

Waters-Castillo attended the group’s four-day Annual Summer Institute on Teaching and Learning, which focused on faculty development and curriculum innovation. This year’s Summer Institute featured keynote speaker Emily Auerbach, an award-winning Continuing Studies English professor who directs the UW Odyssey Project, a life-changing humanities course for low-income adults.

The Institute gave faculty and instructional staff the opportunity to:
• design a new course or redesign an existing one, either individually or collaboratively;
• meet and network with organizations (DOIT-AT, libraries, etc.) across campus;
• transform teaching via technology, community building, and classroom innovation;
• meet and interact with individuals across the campus passionate about teaching, and
• learn new tools and approaches that may enhance classrooms.

Other Academy activities include: Fall/Spring Discussion Series, Winter Retreat, and the Spring Teaching and Learning Symposium.