Improving Teaching and Learning

Headshot of Krishna Kumar.

Krishna Kumar

Current Fellow
Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
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Cockrell School of Engineering
Initiative Focus
Experiential Learning
Improving Teaching and Learning

Krishna Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the Civil, Architecture, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Krishna’s work involves developing exascale micro and macro-scale numerical methods for modeling natural hazards. Krishna also develops Scientific Machine Learning algorithms: Graph Network Simulators and Differentiable programming to accelerate numerical methods and solve optimization, design, and inverse problems.

Headshot of Samy Ayoub.

Samy Ayoub

Current Fellow
Middle Eastern Studies
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College of Liberal Arts
Initiative Focus
Experiential Learning
Improving Teaching and Learning
Headshot of Carlos Torres-Verdin.

Carlos Torres-Verdín

Current Fellow
Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering
|
Cockrell School of Engineering
Initiative Focus
Assessment
Improving Teaching and Learning

Carlos Torres-Verdín received a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Geoscience from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. During 1991-1997, he held the position of Research Scientist with Schlumberger-Doll Research. From 1997-1999, he was Reservoir Specialist and Technology Champion with YPF (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Elon Lang, wearing a vertically blue-striped shirt, smiles while leaning against a red pole.

Elon Lang

Current Fellow
Liberal Arts Honors and Humanities Programs
|
College of Liberal Arts
Initiative Focus
Curriculum (Re)design
Faculty Communication
Improving Teaching and Learning
Institutional Resource

Elon Lang is an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches a variety of undergraduate literature survey courses on ethical topics, medieval and early modern studies, dramatic literature, and Experiential Learning courses based in archival research. One example was his 2020-2021 courses called Archival Advocacy in which students learned how to bring archival techniques to bear on a real-world social justice issue facing the East Austin, Texas, community: the closing of one of Austin's historically Hispanic elementary schools.

A headshot of Tolga Ozyurtcu, a man with a dark brown beard, smiling in a suit and tie.

Tolga Ozyurtcu

Current Fellow
Kinesiology and Health Education
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College of Education
Initiative Focus
Improving Teaching and Learning
Student Wellbeing

Tolga Ozyurtcu is a faculty member in Sport Management and Physical Culture and Sport Studies, in the department of Kinesiology and Health Education. He also serves as the department's Undergraduate Coordinator. He holds a PhD and MSc in Kinesiology from UT Austin and a B.A. in Political Science from Haverford College. Ozyurtcu teaches courses on the business and culture of sports and exercise, including topics such as organizational behavior, history, philosophy, and ethics.

A photo of Navid Saleh, a man with dark hair and glasses, standing and smiling in a striped yellow button up shirt.

Navid Saleh

Current Fellow
Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
|
Cockrell School of Engineering
Initiative Focus
Improving Teaching and Learning
Institutional Resource

Navid Saleh is a Professor at the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering department. He is an environmental engineering faculty member with a passion for teaching. His mission as an educator and researcher has been to engage with the community and co-create knowledge. He has developed modules utilizing problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy, conducted detailed and systematic evaluation, and devoted himself to student learning at UT.

Head and torso of Jonathan Perry, a white man with brown hair and a brown goatee, standing on front of a brick wall.

Jonathan Perry

Current Fellow
Physics
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College of Natural Sciences
Initiative Focus
Improving Teaching and Learning
Institutional Resource

Jonathan Perry is a Texas native who, after completing his BA and MS in physics at Baylor University and his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University, has managed to stick around the state. For his doctoral work he found himself with an unexpected passion for teaching and learning in his field, and so he focused on physics education research. He joined the faculty at UT Austin in 2019 as an Assistant Professor of Instruction.

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Developing Experiential Learning in Organizations

Cohort
2021
Fellow(s)

My project, “Developing Experiential Experiences in Organizations,” assessed HDO students’ access to experiential learning
in organizations, particularly in the form of internships; additionally, our program aimed to provide more built-in
opportunities HDO students to engage in experiential learning. To gauge need, I surveyed HDO students. Results
demonstrated that many of our students were graduating without any organizational experience, especially first-generation

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Peer Mentor Leadership Project

Cohort
2021
Fellow(s)

The Peer Mentor Leadership Project (PMLP) empowers undergraduate students to explore and develop their leadership styles. Participants design and implement mentoring and leadership projects that align with their goals and values, while assessing the impact of their work. The program emphasizes introspection, reflection, and professional growth, helping students strengthen their resumes and leadership skills.

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Sync-Up - Teach-Up - Texas Teach-Up on Demand

Cohort
2021
Fellow(s)

Educators need increased opportunities to participate in Texas Teach-Up in order to benefit from modeling teaching at UT Austin. This project will explore two specific elements of this problem. Currently you can only participate during officially scheduled time/dates, you cannot participate on-demand. This limits access to only those who can make it, or are a part of the university, during the on-schedule times and dates. Additionally, as an on-schedule event, seats have closing limits. Some people who want to participate may not be able to do so because the session is full.

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