Blog
Reflections on SoTL, 2025
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development On Friday, April 11, fourteen Valpo faculty and staff attended this year’s annual Midwest Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) conference at Indiana University, South Bend. The theme of the conference was “Care,...
What VUE Students are Doing for Fieldwork
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development One of the distinctive features of the VUE (Valparaiso University Experience) courses that have replaced Core is Academic Experiential Learning, otherwise known as VUE Fieldwork. Since this is the first year of the...
Using the Gaming Center to Promote Student Engagement
By Cynthia Rutz, Director, Faculty Development (CITAL) On Monday, March 31, there was an Open House for faculty at the new Center for Games & Interactive Entertainment. Martin Buinicki (English) introduced the features of the Center and spoke to faculty about...
A Day of Music with VOCES8
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITA On February 25, the Music Department created a hands-on music education experience for 180 music students from 12 different local high schools as well as for Valpo music students. Classes and sessions...
A Student Perspective on Valpo’s Transition to Canvas
By Soniya Ottayil, Junior Nursing Major & CITAL student aide Last semester, all of my courses were still on Blackboard; this semester, every one of my classes are in Canvas. This transition was pretty extreme for me; I didn’t know...
My Experience at CITAL as a Student Aide
By Soniya Ottayil, Senior Nursing Major & CITAL student aide I began working at the Center for Innovation in Teaching, Assessment, and Learning (CITAL) during my sophomore year at Valparaiso University. When I first accepted the position, I was nervous...
Helping Students Connect Your Class to Their Future Career
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development Your students may not realize it, but in your classes, they are developing the skills that their future employers are seeking. To help your students understand this connection between classroom and career, Valpo...
January Teaching Tools Symposium
By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL On Tuesday, January 14, 2026, CITAL held our annual Symposium on Teaching Tools. Faculty learned from their colleagues and CITAL staff about some of the best online teaching tools available to enhance...
Faculty Development Fellowship Opportunity
Do you have some pedagogical ideas that you would like to try out in your classroom? Would you like to work collegially with other faculty to learn more and to hone your ideas? Then consider applying for CITAL's Faculty Development...