Aaron M. Brower
Vice Provost for
Teaching & Learning
Professor,
School of Social Work;
Harold C. Bradley Faculty Fellow
117 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Dr.
Madison, WI 53705
Tel. 608/262-5246
ambrower@wisc.edu
Aaron Brower's web page
Aaron Brower's blog posts 
- High Impact Educational Practices at UW-Madison Oct. 1
- Go Big Read, In Defense of Food -- and you, and me Sept. 24
- The College of 2020 according to the Chronicle of Higher Education July 13
- It's not a card catalogue world anymore... June 30
- 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the College Classroom June 26
- More ยป
Teaching and Learning
The Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning works with deans and directors, programs and units, and faculty, staff and students to lead UW–Madison’s teaching and learning missions. In addition to chairing the Council of Associate Deans, Aaron also serves as the provost office point person for the Morgridge Center for Public Service, the Institute for Cross-College Biology Education, Technology-Enhanced Learning, the Student Awards Office, the University Honors Council, the Undergraduate General Education Committee, the Council of Academic Advisors, and the Center for First Year Experience.
The Wisconsin Experience
The Technology-Enhanced Learning Project (TEL)
Addressing textbook costs
Undergraduate learning experience
Graduate/professional learning experience
Faculty and staff teaching and learning
Related university resources
Teaching and Learning Excellence
We invite you to explore our new interactive teaching and learning Web site: https://tle.wisc.edu. Find tips and suggestions on how to construct syllabi, how to better use course evaluations, and whether or not to post your lecture notes online. Join discussions about cheating and how to engage large classes. Post your own questions, comments, and events. This site also provides a calendar of T&L events, as well as links to other T&L resources and centers on campus and beyond. The TLE website is a joint effort of the Teaching Academy, Academic Technologies, and the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning.
UW–Madison graduates become extraordinary citizens, community members and national and global leaders. We have produced more Peace Corps and Teach for America volunteers than almost any other university in the country over the past 20 years. More leaders of major corporations have graduated from UW–Madison than any other university in the country. We are among the top producers of faculty members who teach at research-intensive institutions around the world. Many local, state, and national leaders are our graduates. Something about the UW–Madison experience prepares our students to become outstanding leaders who are engaged locally, nationally and globally. Learn more about The Wisconsin Experience and our commitment to it (pdf).
On average, UW–Madison student are spending upwards of $700 yearly on textbooks for their courses—even more if they’re enrolled in several large, introductory courses. Under the direction of the Provost’s Office, a campuswide student, faculty, and staff committee reviewed the university’s efforts to address this problem and issued a report and series of recommendations in November 2007 to help students manage these costs. An updated report was submitted in August 2008, and a report that focused on textbook rentals and swap program feasibility was completed in February 2009.
The Technology-Enhanced Learning Project
UW–Madison has embarked on a three-year program to enhance teaching and learning throughout the university through the various uses of technology. The TEL (Technology-Enhanced Learning) Project will develop classroom learning modules, "hybrid" and technology-heavy courses, searchable databases, and build capacity among UW–Madison faculty, instructors, and future faculty. Key to the TEL project will be developing teaching & learning collaborations across our schools and colleges, and creating ways to seamlessly integrate technology into our students' educational experience.
In the 2007–08 academic year, individual Schools and Colleges are developing pilot projects that are pushing the limits of how technology can be used in and out of the classroom. We invite you to explore the thirteen projects summarized in the accompanying table, and to contact any of us who are working on these projects or who are on the TEL Committee.
In the 2007–08 academic year, individual Schools and Colleges developed pilot projects that pushed the limits of how technology can be used in and out of the classroom. We invite you to explore the thirteen projects summarized in the accompanying table.
In the 2008–09 year, Schools and Colleges collaborated on six projects to generate resources and infrastructure that support UW–Madison's abilities to create, and teach effectively in the “classrooms of the future.” These “classrooms” take explicit advantage of learning moments whenever and wherever they occur, blending experiences in and out of the traditional classroom.
We had two goals for the 2009–10 project year, and our TEL funds were divided between these two goals: (1) Build on the successful projects of the previous two years, as we continue to help move the campus forward in our ability to more effectively teach in the “classrooms of the future.” The UW–Madison version of these classrooms will not entirely be about technology, but they do use technology wisely. They will provide the kinds of high-impact educational interactions and experiences, in and out of the classroom, that produce the distinguished graduates that we do. (2) Address achievement gaps that exist within many of our large gateway, or introductory lecture courses. We looked for projects that use technology and teaching best practices that transform classroom instruction and provide opportunities for wholesale course redesign.
Undergraduate learning experience
Center for the First-Year Experience
"Cultivating Excellence: UW–Madison's Challenging Undergraduate Academic Experience," a speech (PDF) and presentation (PowerPoint) to the UW Board of Regents Education Committee, December 2005.
Annual Undergraduate Symposium
Undergraduate Departments and Programs
Academic enrichment programs
Learning communities
Undergraduate research opportunities
Service learning
Pathways to Excellence
Division of International Studies
Graduate/professional learning experience
Teaching and Learning Excellence at UW–Madison
TLE@Madison is the campuswide virtual teaching and learning center with resources for everyone involved in teaching and mentoring students.My Professional Development web portal
Faculty and staff teaching and
learning
Center for the First-Year Experience
Annual Teaching & Learning Symposium
May 20–22, 2009Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Task Force Report
June 22, 2006My Professional Development web portal
Teaching and Learning Excellence at UW–Madison
TLE@Madison is the campuswide virtual teaching and learning center with resources for everyone involved in teaching and mentoring students.
Colleges and schools
ComETS Community of Educational Technology Support at UW-Madison
Division of Information Technology
Office of Human Resource Development
UW System Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID)