Our Vision
The Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences (CEILS) envisions a UCLA where all students, regardless of their identity and background, thrive in the discipline of their choosing with the support of a highly trained, inclusive, anti-racist instructional community. UCLA faculty and instructors feel valued in their teaching efforts and have easy access to the latest research, skills training, and technology to support their teaching.
Our Mission
The Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences (CEILS) creates a collaborative community of instructors committed to advancing teaching excellence, assessment, diversity, and scholarship, resulting in the enhancement of student learning experiences in the Life and Physical Sciences at UCLA.
Our Values
We value community building and collaboration.
CEILS collaborates with regional, statewide, and national organizations to bring the latest knowledge from the field of education research in order to drive change forward and increase equity, diversity and inclusion in the sciences here at UCLA. On campus, we engage individuals and departments at every level to build learning communities and create spaces and opportunities for change.
We put our time, resources, and energy into initiatives that drive systemic change toward equity in higher education.
CEILS provides training, learning communities, and resources for teams, departments, divisions, and institutions to tackle systemic bias and racism in higher education . We understand that systemic racism (among other “isms”) is a powerful force and requires us to rethink our policies and practices related to teaching at UCLA.
We value an equity-minded approach to teaching innovation that utilizes feedback and assessment to demonstrate impact.
Our workshops, programs, and resources challenge instructors to embrace evidence-based teaching practices to engage all students and create inclusive classroom climates. We contribute to and engage with the scholarship of teaching and learning.
We invest in future leaders in higher education.
In partnership with the national Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) we provide training and professional development to current graduate students and postdoctoral scholars through our local CIRTL@UCLA to prepare them to be excellent educators, effective change agents, and the future higher education leaders.
Our Goals
CEILS transforms the culture of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teaching by pursuing the following five principal goals:
- Lead initiatives that promote current and future faculty teaching development and create inclusive, student-centered classrooms.
- Train instructors in innovative, validated teaching methods, assessment, and course design.
- Create a community of instructors that advances the scholarship of teaching and learning in STEM education.
- Partner with faculty to acquire grant funds to support undergraduate and graduate instructional initiatives in STEM.
- Engage in collaborations and conversations across campus, regional, and national partners to promote multidisciplinary institutional transformation.