Teaching-as-Research (TAR) Seminar

Teaching-as-Research (TAR), or the reflective use of research methods to improve teaching and student learning, is at the heart of CIRTL. In this 1-credit spring seminar, participants learn to become reflective teacher-scholars by asking questions about student learning and developing a small classroom research project. See some of the questions our past TAR participants have asked below (or check out the full archive of projects here) and get inspired to create your own! This course is only offered in the spring semester.

My cohort was amazing & kept me on my toes! I come from a pure engineering background, with very little exposure to other academic disciples. This experience allowed me to learn so much from other people and opened other perspectives. I also appreciated the small class size. It allowed us to get detailed feedback both from the instructors, as well as my peers. It also facilitated many meaningful discussions. -student response from end-of-semester survey, Spring 2024

Interested students must either have their Associate Level certification or equivalent knowledge to take this seminar. You do not need to be actively teaching a course, but you must be willing to work with a faculty member on a project.

If you're interested in participating in the IA627: Teaching-as-Research Seminar, currently offered each spring, contact course instructors Lisa Elfring (elfring@arizona.edu) or Kristin Winet (kwinet@arizona.edu).

The variety of topics you can delve into once you start to get interested in how people learn will completely change your perspective about the classroom. -student response from end-of-semester survey, Spring 2024