Center for Academic Innovation (CAI)
Distance teaching and learning has unique challenges. Maintaining Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI), ensuring accessibility, and fostering student engagement and interaction are a few of the must-does to maintain a successful distance learning experience. The Center for Academic Innovation offers guidance as instructors develop their courses and course content using nationally recognized best practices and cutting edge technologies and techniques.
Educational development is provided for faculty specifically, but also recognizes staff and students as integral elements of success. Numerous options on topics that include technology use (including the LMS), pedagogy and andragogy, and instructional design are offered in multiple formats. You can attend a face-to-face session in CAI's training room, request boot camps or cohort trainings, or take advantage of the on-demand selections that are available through the CAI catalog.
The Center for Academic Innovation: Energizing STEM Education at Tech
Step into a world where fresh ideas meet cutting-edge education! The Center for Academic Innovation is your partner in transforming teaching and learning. Our expert instructional designers bring years of hands-on experience across diverse modalities, from in-person to hybrid and online classrooms. Equipped with the latest tools and strategies, we collaborate with you to reimagine how STEM concepts are taught—empowering you to captivate your students while keeping your focus where it belongs: in the classroom and the lab.
Explore New Frontiers in Teaching
Innovation drives STEM, and it should drive teaching too. At the CAI, we explore emerging technologies, creative teaching methods, and novel tools to help you present even the most familiar topics in ways that inspire curiosity and engagement. Using such techniques as design thinking and iterative questioning, we explore ways to turn complex concepts into moments of discovery.
Fostering Connection and Collaboration
Learning thrives in a community, so we build opportunities for meaningful collaboration across departments and disciplines. Our Communities of Learning and Practice (CLPs) bring together faculty from diverse fields to spark conversations, share insights, and create interdisciplinary breakthroughs. Whether it’s teaming up with engineers to design new prototypes, collaborating with data scientists to uncover hidden trends, or conversing with creative writers to think way outside the box, we help turn big ideas into groundbreaking results.
Shape the Future of Education
Be part of a bold vision to elevate Tech’s educational leadership in Montana and beyond. Together, we can position Tech at the forefront of innovation by exploring synergies between STEM fields, fostering dynamic cross-disciplinary partnerships, and creating tools that excite and engage today’s learners.
Discover how the Center for Academic Innovation can help you expand your impact, transform your teaching, and ignite the imaginations of the next generation.
Resources for Teaching Excellence @ Tech
Visit the following offices for additional support of your pursuit of excellence at Tech:
Montana Tech Library - Scott Juskiewicz
Disability Services - Shauna Goodell
Academic Center for Excellence (ACE)
Upcoming Events
The Horizon Report
The 2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition (from the Horizon Report webpage)