Teaching and learning centers exist to help instructors improve their teaching skills and modernize their style. They provide professional development services like instructional coaching, workshops, and faculty learning communities. Their goal is to help teachers effectively convey course content and concepts to students in a way that promotes deeper learning. Services may also include support for educational technologies, student learning, and faculty career development.

1. Teaching and learning center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teaching and learning centers are independent academic units within colleges and
universities that exist to provide support services for faculty, to help
teaching faculty to improve their teaching and professional development. They
may also provide learning support services for students, and other services,
depending on the individual institution. These centers may have different kinds
of names, such as faculty development centers, teaching and learning centers,
centers for teaching and learning, centers for teaching excellence, academic
support centers, and others.
Contents
1 Purpose
2 Faculty support services
3 Other activities
4 References
Purpose[edit]
University professors, part-time instructors, or teaching assistants approach
teaching as experts in their field and know their contents. However, that does
not guarantee success in teaching, as teaching expertise is an altogether
different matter. Many instructors have not been trained in teaching methods,
and may have difficulties conveying contents and concepts to students, who are
relative novices. Novice students approach the information and contents in a
course in a much different way than expert teachers, and teachers may not
understand the conceptual divide between them and their students. Novice
students may perceive the contents of lectures and textbooks as large amounts of
information, rather than as meaningful concepts, in contrast to experts, who can
naturally see the materials as coherent and meaningful, due to years of mastery.
[1] Those who rely on traditional teacher-centered methods such as pure lecture
may inadvertently subject students to an information dump, or fail to connect
with students at a conceptual level, leaving students unable to learn or retain
information in a meaningful manner.
Teaching and learning centers exist to help instructors to modernize their
teaching style, to scaffold concepts and information in a way that students can
meaningfully take in, and to help students learn more deeply and retain what
they have learned. As such, these centers assume roles as educational change
agents.[2][3] Such centers also attempt to help instructors with other problems
that they might have, such as managing graduate students, designing courses,
technical writing, trying novel teaching methods, and designing better
assignments and exams. Some centers may address learning difficulties at the
students' end, by providing support services for better learning and study
skills. Some centers may also be involved in e-learning and similar movements.
Faculty support services[edit]
Teaching and learning centers typically offer professional development services
for faculty, particularly to help them improve their teaching and professional
careers. Depending on the institution, these may be optional for professors, or
required for new professors or those facing difficulties in teaching
performance. Some universities in the American system may require graduate
teaching assistants who teach university courses to participate in training or
coaching programs. Such centers also work to promote more modern teaching
methods, discussion, and institutional changes in teaching practices and in the
academic environment.
Instructional coaching is one service typically offered to faculty members. In a
coaching session, an instructor meets with an instructional coach or consultant
(an education specialist or researcher), who can provide guidance to the
instructor in improving his or her teaching skills and pedagogical expertise.[4]
[5] Depending on the institution, this may be optional or required for new
professors or other teaching staff. Others may be required to seek coaching if
cited for poor teaching performance. Others may chose to visit an instructional
coach for help with difficulties in teaching, or simply out of a self-motivated
desire to improve one's teaching ability, or for advice or instruction on using

2. new teaching techniques.
Micro-teaching workshops are sessions where instructors present a short demo
lecture or mini-lecture, either part of a real lecture, or a condensed version
of a lecture, in front of other colleagues or an educational consultant. The
presenter can receive feedback on his or her teaching and presentation skills
from peers and from the instructional coach or consultant.
Workshops or "brown bag" meetings may be offered by the center's staff or
outside speakers on various aspects of professional development and teaching
techniques. Workshops may provide instruction in newer teaching techniques, by
introducing techniques to instructors and/or helping them to better implement
these methods, as well as helping them to make more effective use of traditional
methods such as lectures and lecture-discussion formats. Newer or more student-
centered techniques might include group activities, active learning or
cooperative learning, problem based learning (PBL), discovery based learning,
experiential learning, or non-traditional forms of assessment such as portfolios
and formative assessment techniques. Orientation workshops can also introduce
teaching skills as well as other necessary information for newer faculty
members.
Teaching and learning centers may also sponsor and facilitate faculty learning
communities (FLCs) for professional development in teaching. FLCs consist of
instructors, often similar or related fields, to meet in small groups to
troubleshoot difficulties and issues that they face in teaching, and to
brainstorm or research solutions. Members meet regularly to discuss issues and
findings, and may engage in journaling or other means of promoting reflective
practice about their teaching. FLCs also promote a sense of community and
sharing of teaching experience.[6][7]
Other services may include workshops, brown bags meetings, or consultation
services in other areas of professional development for teachers.[8] Topics in
teaching skills can be addressed, such as improving one's lectures or course
design for more student-centered and interesting lessons, teaching specific
academic skills, using new instructional technologies, and help with
presentation skills. Teacher-student issues might include understanding and
addressing difficulties that students might have; guidance on how to mentor
graduate students; and understanding issues of gender, race or other factors
that can affect classroom dynamics and academic performance; e.g., linguistic
and educational research has shown that female and male students interact
differently in small group versus full-class discussions.[9] Evaluation and
assessment issues can include such as designing assignments, designing quizzes
and exams, grading, and giving feedback. Career-related help is provided by some
centers for matters like help with writing grants, academic job search skills,
and creating teaching portfolios for those seeking academic jobs. For
instructors who are not native speakers of English, such centers may provide
some help or referrals for instructors in English for academic purposes (EAP).
Other activities[edit]
Other services might be offered by a teaching and learning center, though this
varies among institutions.
Some centers provide support services for students in study and learning skills,
or even peer tutoring programs.[10] At many institutions, however, student
support services may fall under the domain of learning resource centers or
student counseling centers.
Some centers provide support for e-learning and research on e-learning programs
and technqiues. Some may participate in e-learning movements and consortiums
such as the OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement.[10]
Such centers may also conduct internal evaluations on the effectiveness of
academic programs, or may manage student feedback on instructors' performance,
and provide faculty help in understanding and making use of students' course

3. feedback.[11] Educational researchers at some centers conduct educational
research on teaching methods or e-learning programs, and research in the
scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL). The POD Network sponsors annual
conferences and publications.[12]
A learning resource centre is a facility within a school, staffed by a
specialist, containing several information sources.
Purpose Information and communication development opportunities and information
flow are the big challenges arising from a dedicated review of most educational
questions, whether from theoretical frames or material :wikt:facilitate|
facilitations. School libraries are then considered one of the most important
resources within educational facilities. The need to develop school libraries is
urgent in that, on the one hand there is a need to convey information via a wide
diversity of technologies and resources, and on the other hand, there is a
myriad of new teacher and student roles to support. Within this view, came the
project of learning centers. The objective is to raise school libraries to an
international and more technical standard. Learning Resource Centres can also be
institutionalized in various institutions for teaching and learning purposes.
The purpose of a resource center is to advanced the learning experience of
students and teachers in any educational sector.
Concept A school utility driven by a qualified expert. It contains several
information resources and their techniques, which the teacher directly deals to
acquire searching skills of information, analyze and evaluate to build a new
knowledge and experience, then develop them using several learning methods. It
also provides services to, facilitate the useful for both teaching and learning.
Contents [hide]
1 The beginning
2 Assignments
3 Collections
4 Learning resources center specialist's role
5 Activities
6 Notes
7 References
The beginning[edit]
This view encourages educational trends, ruled in mid of 1960s and 1970s,
whereas these are the methods of self-learning, from programmed learning and
learning for mastery and learning throughout audio media to passing earliest
beginnings to employ computer in learning process. And, information technology
and teaching and learning theories have added a new dimension into learning
resources centers concept.
Reasons for establishing resources centers
The strong connection between learning resources and method, and passing away
supporting and cultural general role of school libraries into essential,
accurately planned, role to achieve the method and its purposes.
The book and printed material become not the only information resource.
Development of educational theories, international tends to self learning,
taking in account differences of individuals, make the learner the axis of
educational process, and the teacher role change into a leader and facilitator
of learning process.
Learning resources centers concentrate on amalgamation of resources, information
and communication technologies with educational practices inside centers.
Assignments[edit]
Definition the goals of learning resources centers programs, with and
implemented, evaluated plan to achieve these goals.
Center activities planning and to amalgamate them with school educational
program.
Establishing a balanced group that contains printed and non-¬printed educational
and learning materials supporting curriculum.
School man-power development through continuous training during the period of
teachers service and ensuring technical resources, and notify them about new

4. materials, and sharing with them in decision making processes related to
resources purchasing.
Presenting consultation services in the educational techniques field and
teaching methods.
Ensuring educational techniques production requirements and acquainting about
methods of their production and amalgamating them into educational curricula.
Make the periodical maintenance for materials and educational instruments
available in the center.
Encourage students on self-learning.
Assert the concept learning resource (E.N OSARONWI IAUE PH )
The aim Learning resources center's general aim is to ensure learning
educational suitable environment that allows learner benefit from any kind of
learning resources.
Learning resources centers, material ingredients
A) Self-learning auditorium: Self-learning auditorium should facilitate access
to all kind of information resources: printed, depending on learning instrument
and computerized resources. Then this auditorium should be available, attractive
and suitable for student of all grades. Self-learning auditorium includes the
following: – Reception and visitors serving area, cataloguing, borrowing and –
management. – Reading and perusal area. – Self-learning area (using several
resources) – Electronic learning area – Area when can be maintained learning
resources (printed and not printed) – Catalogues area (using computer)
B) Group-learning auditorium: The most important characterizing this auditorium
is: it has a various equipments and uses, whereas available projectors depend on
computer, radio or live presentation through digital camera. There is available,
also, flexible furniture which can be reshaped to suit all kind of group and
cooperative learning. And it also prepared for simple designing and production
of educational materials and several media.
Collections[edit]
Educational resources are considered as most important element of the center,
and without it the center cannot achieve its main role. Building and developing
collections to be made according to specific policy, made and adapted in order
to satisfy center's goals. This policy should ensure the building and
development of integrated collection that can help and enrich educational
curricula.
Learning resources center specialist's role[edit]
As a teacher, the library media specialists works with students and other
members of the learning community to analyze learning and information needs, to
locate and use resources that will meet those needs, and to understand and
communicate the information the resource provides. The library media specialist
is knowledgeable about current research on teaching and learning and skilled in
applying its findings to a variety of situations – particularly those that call
upon students to access, evaluate, and use information from multiple sources in
order to learn, to think, and to create and to apply knowledge. In short, the
library media specialist teaches students to use information for critical
thinking and problem solving using the information literacy standards for
student learning set.
A learning resources center's success depends firstly on the range of its
engagement in modern learning methods implementation, which gives more
concentration to learner role in learning process, and evaluates work mechanism,
in learning resources centers on the bases that learning resources center is not
a place supported with learning resources accordingly, but educational action
and substantial element of different elements of classroom lesson. The Work
mechanism in learning resources centers requires following two methods and
merging between them.
Benefiting from learning resources centers requires each teacher to implement
one lesson weekly (or according to school classes number) in the learning
resources center and to depend, in this lesson, mainly on group learning method

5. (cooperative learning) .
In the second method, benefiting from learning resources centers does not
require teacher to implement class lesson in learning resources center, but he
has to follow up the same previous procedures, then allow the students to
implement their projects referring to learning resources center outside the
lesson time, and students to be given, in this case, more time to implement the
project, then require do a presentation and discussion in the class.
Activities[edit]
The learning center implements a group of activities, designed and implemented
by teachers in cooperation with center specialist. Methods of implementation of
these activities differs according to educational grades and concentrate on
implementation of modem educational and learning methods. Such activities are:
Reading activities: aim to sow reading habits those like; summarization and book
presentation.
Learning activities: these activities are done by student depending on himself
to support his learning.
Educational activities: these activities are done by teacher to support student
learning.
Information search: search on internet and using references.
Cultural activities: these activities to be done by student in order to improve
his cultural level; school radio, seminars, lectures and competition.
Cooperative activities: these activities are done by students to help center to
achieve its aims as a center group.
Administrative' activities: these activities appear to occupy center with
waiting lessons, school meetings and educational coordinator's meetings etc. .
Social activities: the aim of these activities is community service; like anti-
terror activity, anti-smoking etc.
Services
Center offers a group of services to meet student and educational staff needs,
and these services can be developed according to their needs. These services:
guiding readers, references services, borrow out, copying and scanning and
bibliographical services.
Conclusion
Learning resources centers are the correct way to activate school library and to
amalgamate it into educational procedure as well as it is a part from it, but
not among subsidiary utilities. One of the biggest problems that still face
school libraries is that school libraries still playing general cultural role
lead to isolate them away from educational process. So they became a place to
cover waiting lessons and an escape for every lazy teacher, who does not desire
to carry out lessons, whereas learning resources centers project has put the
center among educational process through its support by necessary technical and
librarian equipments needed for teachers educational tasks performance within
modem method, and supported these centers with supporting for curriculum
educational resources, suitable for age types existing there, so center became a
necessary place where teachers run to, to help them to implement their tasks and
achieve their educational aims.[1]

6. (cooperative learning) .
In the second method, benefiting from learning resources centers does not
require teacher to implement class lesson in learning resources center, but he
has to follow up the same previous procedures, then allow the students to
implement their projects referring to learning resources center outside the
lesson time, and students to be given, in this case, more time to implement the
project, then require do a presentation and discussion in the class.
Activities[edit]
The learning center implements a group of activities, designed and implemented
by teachers in cooperation with center specialist. Methods of implementation of
these activities differs according to educational grades and concentrate on
implementation of modem educational and learning methods. Such activities are:
Reading activities: aim to sow reading habits those like; summarization and book
presentation.
Learning activities: these activities are done by student depending on himself
to support his learning.
Educational activities: these activities are done by teacher to support student
learning.
Information search: search on internet and using references.
Cultural activities: these activities to be done by student in order to improve
his cultural level; school radio, seminars, lectures and competition.
Cooperative activities: these activities are done by students to help center to
achieve its aims as a center group.
Administrative' activities: these activities appear to occupy center with
waiting lessons, school meetings and educational coordinator's meetings etc. .
Social activities: the aim of these activities is community service; like anti-
terror activity, anti-smoking etc.
Services
Center offers a group of services to meet student and educational staff needs,
and these services can be developed according to their needs. These services:
guiding readers, references services, borrow out, copying and scanning and
bibliographical services.
Conclusion
Learning resources centers are the correct way to activate school library and to
amalgamate it into educational procedure as well as it is a part from it, but
not among subsidiary utilities. One of the biggest problems that still face
school libraries is that school libraries still playing general cultural role
lead to isolate them away from educational process. So they became a place to
cover waiting lessons and an escape for every lazy teacher, who does not desire
to carry out lessons, whereas learning resources centers project has put the
center among educational process through its support by necessary technical and
librarian equipments needed for teachers educational tasks performance within
modem method, and supported these centers with supporting for curriculum
educational resources, suitable for age types existing there, so center became a
necessary place where teachers run to, to help them to implement their tasks and
achieve their educational aims.[1]