Teaching + Learning Commons Moves to Geisel Library!

Posted On: October 4, 2016

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Monday, October 17, at 9 a.m., to celebrate the opening of the Teaching + Learning Commons, now located on the 1st floor (lower level), West Wing of the Geisel Library building.
Interested members of the campus community are invited to attend the event, which will include remarks from Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, University Librarian Brian Schottlaender, and T+LC faculty director Gabriele Wienhausen, as well as refreshments and tours of the new space. Click here to RSVP.
The Commons, which moved to Geisel Library to be more accessible to students and faculty and to provide collaborative services with the Library to enhance learning and teaching, occupies approximately 10,000 square feet in the northwest, lower level of Geisel. Given the role the Library plays in supporting and advancing faculty and student research as well as learning, The Commons and Library staff are anticipating a number of collaborations that will further strengthen services and programs for faculty, students, and scholars.
The Commons offers a robust network of resources for students—from workshops to strengthen communications and writing skills to services  designed to support and increase the effectiveness of all instructors, including teaching consultations, workshops, training and educational innovation grants, as well as online courses and programs.
In 2015, UC San Diego established the Teaching + Learning Commons to change and improve how we teach and learn. Today, a suite of services and programs are in place to develop better instructors and more engaged learners. Our campus is committed to delivering an educational experience that prepares students who are capable of solving problems, leading, and innovating in a diverse and interconnected world.
While the campus established the Commons to accelerate and advance teaching and learning among faculty and students, another driving factor is the need to better prepare students for the workplace. This reflects the values expressed in the university’s strategic plan, to be “a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented university” that equips students to become “creative, solution-oriented leaders” adept at innovating in a diverse and interconnected world.
The Commons, an outgrowth of the university’s Education Initiative, was launched by Academic Affairs to invigorate and enhance teaching and learning at UC San Diego. The Education Initiative seeks to harvest the best global thinking on educational strategies, and adapt teaching and learning best practices for the University.
For more information about the Teaching + Learning Commons visit: commons.ucsd.edu.