Consulting Services

What does it mean to consult with us?

• Instructional consultations are typically 1-on-1 meetings with Schreyer Institute faculty.
• All consultations are free and confidential, and may be in person or virtual.
• You set the agenda to discuss any aspect of teaching and learning.
• Consultations are available to anyone who teaches Penn State students, of any rank or title, at any location.
• We also offer small group consultations to instructors who share a common concern.
• Administrators, leaders, and staff responsible for teaching and learning also consult with us.
• Find your consultant, review their areas of specialty or send a request to site@psu.edu.

Common Consultation Topics

We work with instructors to address questions or concerns that are too complex or too private to be addressed in a workshop or other group settings.

• Course Design and Planning

  Talk with us about using evidence-based, effective course design; ask us to review your syllabus and course learning objectives; or discuss aligning course activities and assignments.

• Teaching and Assessment Strategies

  Discuss effective teaching in different modes, classroom management concerns, motivating and engaging students, constructing exams, and effective grading strategies. We are also happy to discuss how to write effective test items and interpret item analyses.

• Teaching Feedback and Evaluation

  Instructors regularly consult with us about interpreting and responding to their Student Ratings of Teaching Excellence (SRTEs). However, we also can help you with strategies to gather student feedback before the end of the semester through Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), non-evaluative class observations, and mid-semester class interviews.

• Teaching and Learning Grants

  Institute consultants will assist you with proposals for internally or externally funded grants with a curricular or pedagogical focus. Our consultants have served as served as co-PIs, Senior Personnel, and grant evaluators (typically with an associated salary buy-out), but also as collaborators on internal grants.

Department, Program, College, and Campus Consultations

Schreyer Institute consultants also meet with department, program, college, and campus representatives to design custom programs or discuss other topics with broad applicability such as equity and inclusion initiatives and Teaching and Learning Scholarship.