Mission Statement
Our mission is to develop, nurture, and recognize excellence in teaching while creating, testing, and disseminating innovative educational practices in higher education classrooms that facilitate optimal learning among diverse students who leave UM prepared for a global, technological, multicultural future.
Educational Innovation and Advancement
The Platform for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETAL) strives to facilitate a centering of institutional excellence in teaching and educational development and innovation through four foci; 1) An academy for faculty to learn and practice pedagogical innovation, 2) An organizing unit that incubates, develops, evaluates, empirically examines and disseminates innovative approaches to teaching and learning across UM's multiple campuses, 3) A convener of thought leadership for teaching in higher education to advance the knowledge base for excellence and guide the implementation of teaching and learning initiatives at UM, and 4) A site for recognition of excellence in teaching at UM.
Our History
Educational excellence is one of the pillars of the University of Miami's Roadmap to Our New Century, our strategic plan. Emerging from these plans, the Platform for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETAL) was formed in 2019 with the goal of elevating teaching practice across the university, providing faculty development programs, resources, and incentives to support teaching. Dr. Laura Kohn-Wood, Dean of the School of Education and Human Development, and Dr. Allan Gyorke, Assistant Provost for Educational Innovation, were appointed as co-leads for PETAL. In addition, a group of faculty, staff, and administrators from across the university were identified to help shape the newly formed organization.
This coalition of educators designed and implemented a workshop series and the Course Mentors program. Course Mentor groups are composed of five to six faculty who meet several times over the course of a semester to discuss a particular pedagogical challenge or topic. Each Course Mentors group is led by a faculty member with expertise in the group’s chosen topic, as well as an instructional designer. These groups have explored areas of interest such as difficult conversations, engaging with the literature, online teaching, teaching large courses, ungrading, flipped learning, and assessment techniques. In spring 2021, the PETAL Speaker Series was initiated to bring in external experts who discussed convergent teaching and integrating social justice discussions into courses. Also in spring 2021, the Provost's Teaching Awards were launched to recognize excellence in experiential teaching, innovation, and mentorship. PETAL staff lead the faculty learning communities for the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) on Dialogue and Discussion Based Teaching. In 2023, PETAL launched a new initiative for Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and offers faculty learning communities for faculty who are interested in implementing COIL practices in their courses. Currently, PETAL faculty are engaged in educational research, exploring alternative approaches to teacher evaluations, and examining factors that influence student retention and success.
