How to deepen teaching skills at any stage of faculty expertise
Center for Engaged Learning & Teaching
Housed under the Dean of Faculty, the Center for Engaged Learning & Teaching (CELT) exists to deepen our faculty’s impact on pedagogy, both on campus, through programs that support curriculum redesign, and off campus, through the distribution of The Babson Collection’s cases and teaching materials to colleges and universities around the world.
Mission Statement
CELT coordinates and provides training, resources, and support to create meaningful learning for our students. Our work focuses on:
Deepen
Design
How to design and create innovative and effective learning materials and experiences for our students
Display
How to display our teaching expertise to benefit Babson’s reputation
CELT Works with Faculty in Three Specific Areas:
Faculty Development
Faculty Development includes providing small, focused, and concentrated programs to support the continuous improvement of excellence in teaching methods and materials developed by our faculty. Facilitating and sponsoring a small number of programs each academic year that go “deep with less,” we invest in high-potential faculty and cutting-edge teaching initiatives.
The Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching offers numerous opportunities for faculty development. Some of these opportunities include:
- Teaching Training Programs (TTPs): Immersive, peer-to-peer programs that offer faculty a chance to critically engage with pressing pedagogical topics in collaborative settings. Past TTPs have focused on online education, inclusive teaching, and AI in the classroom.
- Inspire Studio: a 3-day development workshop to inspire Babson faculty to continue to bring excellence to their craft of teaching and learning facilitation. This program helps faculty at all levels to transition or enhance their role from that of a traditional teacher to a student-focused, engaging facilitator of deep and relevant learning.
- Lunch and Learn sessions: Monthly workshops for faculty to explore a spectrum of methodologies, teaching practices, classroom activities, and research possibilities in a convivial, collaborative environment.
Teaching Innovation Fund
The Teaching Innovation Fund supports the development of cutting-edge cases and teaching materials that:
- Reflect Entrepreneurial Leadership pedagogy.
- Ensure Babson’s curriculum is current, global, and crosses disciplines.
- Uncommonly engage students through experiential learning methods.
The Babson Collection
CELT manages the strategic development and distribution of The Babson Collection, an integral facet of the College’s strategy. Its mission is to:
- Maintain high standards for developing and writing Babson-authored cases.
- Encourage the development of cases and teaching materials that align with Babson’s curriculum and institutional objectives to continuously strengthen our reservoir.
- Showcase Babson faculty’s unique talents and strengths.
- Provide resources such as editorial review and education on copyright law and ethical practices.
- Expand awareness and distribution of teaching materials published in The Babson Collection.
Babson College prepares and empowers entrepreneurial leaders who create, grow and steward sustainable economic and social value—everywhere. This mission guides our community of faculty, staff, and students, and shapes teaching and learning at Babson. Our curriculum is transdisciplinary and, at the undergraduate level, blends business fundamentals with the liberal arts and sciences for a holistic education. Teaching and learning at Babson both invites and upholds scholarly rigor, curiosity, and integrity.
In an increasingly uncertain and complex world, where rapid advancements in technology are changing classroom and work environments, Babson is forward-thinking in its approaches to teaching and learning. We continue to elevate and celebrate experimental, experiential, transdisciplinary, and innovative pedagogy (please see Babson Faculty Stories for examples). As we incorporate new methodologies and adapt to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), we continue to affirm that teaching and learning at Babson College is:
Student-Centered
At Babson, our curriculum is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to excel in the ever-evolving business landscape and to tackle unforeseen challenges of the future. Here, students sharpen their problem solving, communication, leadership, and critical thinking abilities across various settings and contexts. We create opportunities for hands-on experiences with the latest technologies, including AI, all while emphasizing the ethical dimensions of innovation and the use of those technologies for activities such as brainstorming and concept development. Moreover, we encourage a multidisciplinary approach to discern when, why, and how to deploy AI resources.
The Writing Center and Speech Center at Babson offer consulting services to students as they brainstorm, draft, edit, and revise writing and speaking assignments, respectively; there are several other learning centers on campus, which offer face-to-face academic resources for students. When students violate academic integrity policies, they are reported to Community Standards (see 2024-2025 Community Code of Student Conduct (pdf)). Our graduates emerge as lifelong learners, driven to explore, question, and create value within their broader communities.
Faculty-Driven
Our faculty members play a pivotal role in shaping the classroom experience, ensuring that teaching methods and course content are current and align with disciplinary, program-level, and overarching curricular objectives. Faculty enjoy academic freedom in developing course policies, including those pertaining to AI integration, which are clearly articulated in course syllabi and other relevant documents. The Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching provides instructional resources and strategies for faculty, including materials pertaining to AI and course work. Continuously engaged in scholarship and practice, our faculty actively update and adapt their course content and delivery mechanisms to remain at the forefront of their respective fields. Leveraging their expertise, our faculty prepares students to navigate the opportunities and challenges they will encounter post-graduation, including those co-emergent with AI technologies.
Institutionally Supported
Recognizing the need for faculty support in an ever-evolving higher educational landscape, Babson College is committed to providing and investing in college-wide AI capabilities so faculty can lead dynamic classroom experiences with state-of-the-art AI tools. The College develops innovative training and learning opportunities, to help faculty remain at the forefront of advancements in technology and innovation to encourage their fair, equitable, and responsible use. To ensure that our faculty are well equipped to educate the leaders of tomorrow, the college relies on shared disciplinary expertise to inform decisions related to the procurement of materials, subscriptions, and equipment essential for contemporary teaching and learning.