About the Center for Teaching and Learning

About CTL

The Center for Teaching and Learning empowers educators to imagine and create meaningful learning experiences at UC Berkeley. Our mission is to uplift instructors so that they can teach in ways that matter to them, their students, and the broader instructional community at Berkeley. We see classes as transformative spaces for instructors and students alike to cultivate a caring environment. As such, when we work with Berkeley’s instructional community, our approach is:

Student-Centered: We attend to diverse student voices to better understand their learning experiences and continuously work with students as partners in designing their public education.

Equitable & Inclusive:We validate and affirm the teaching and learning experiences of students and educators from excluded communities.

Community-Based: We celebrate the important work of Berkeley educators by gathering in community to reflect, connect, and share.

Growth-Oriented: We acknowledge that growing as an educator requires trying new things, taking risks, and making mistakes we can learn from.
Relevant & Authentic: We listen to instructors and respect their different needs, goals, and contexts as educators.

CTL programs and services are informed by the idea that effective teaching is learned and improved over time. Our offerings are available to any members of the Berkeley community interested in developing and enhancing their skill set. CTL is part of the Research, Teaching, and Learning (RTL) organization reporting into the Division of Undergraduate Education to serve the campus community. Reach out to CTL staff by emailing teaching@berkeley.edu.

CTL Staff

Jenae Cohn, PhD -- Executive Director

Jenae has worked in higher education for over a decade, supporting faculty in their teaching and advancing student-centered learning. She holds a Ph.D. in English with an Emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies from UC Davis, with expertise in digital and information literacy, digital reading, metacognitive thinking, and reading and writing across the curriculum.

Glynda Hull, PhD -- Professor and Faculty Director

Glynda holds the Elizabeth H. and Eugene A. Shurtleff Chair in Undergraduate Education. A recipient of UC Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Hull offers undergraduate, graduate, and teacher education courses on literacy and media.

Liam Aiello, PhD -- Active Learning Consultant

Liam holds a PhD from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and was most recently a postdoc at UC Davis, where he studied how teachers learn to adopt more discussion-based instruction. He began his career as a 5th grade humanities teacher, and his time in K-12 classrooms continues to inform his work in higher ed settings. His interests include active learning, inclusive teaching, and practitioner inquiry in service of pedagogical change.

Tracie Allen -- Access & Innovation Strategist

Tracie collaborates with faculty, staff, and campus partners to enhance teaching and learning in ways that empower student success. With over 20 years in education, she focuses on supporting DSP accommodations, enriching instructional approaches, and fostering engaging learning experiences. Her work is driven by a commitment to innovation and transformation, helping educators develop strategies that inspire deeper learning and meaningful student engagement.

Amanda Bradley, MS -- Instructional Designer

Amanda is an Instructional Designer with a deep commitment to education. She holds a Master's of Science in Instructional Technology and has been working in higher education designing online courses for over fifteen years.

Rebecca Farivar, MFA -- Senior Manager

Rebecca supports CTL’s core services and explores new programming and collaboration opportunities within RTL and the campus community. She has a background in instructional design and provides guidance and consultation on best practices in digital pedagogy.

Courtney Gomas, MLIS -- Instructional Designer

Courtney has worked with UC Berkeley's online courses for over 14 years, first as a Program Coordinator and then, in the role she currently holds, as an instructional designer. Before working for UC Berkeley, Courtney spent time as both a classroom teacher and a university information literacy librarian. Courtney co-founded and co-chairs the campus's Instructional Design Community of Practice.

Joseph Kearns -- Manager, Instructional Design and Innovation

Joseph coordinates CTL’s instructional design and innovation services, partnering with faculty to enhance course design through evidence-based teaching strategies. He offers consultation on integrating digital tools and active learning approaches across in-person, blended, hybrid, and online formats to improve student engagement and learning outcomes.

Melissa Ko, PhD -- Assessment & Curriculum Design Specialist

Melissa uses data collection and analysis approaches to investigate student learning at multiple levels of scale from courses to programs to institution-wide initiatives. Melissa has a particular interest in matters of equity, and how assessing the student experience can reveal disparities and guide educators to address them.

Becca Mason, PhD -- Online Programs Coordinator, Online Program Providers

Becca holds a PhD in Philosophy from Northwestern University. Before joining UC Berkeley, Becca was an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Francisco, where she also served as the Vice President of the University of San Francisco Faculty Association. She is committed to reducing barriers to education so that everyone can transform their lives through learning.

Tara Mason, PhD -- Universal Design for Learning Consultant

Tara holds a PhD in Special Education from Texas Tech University and a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to joining UC Berkeley, she worked as both a faculty member and K-12 educational professional. Tara's research interests are primarily related to UDL, promoting equity and inclusion, mentoring, and teacher preparation.

Delaram Rahimighazikalayeh, PhD -- RTL Training Specialist

Delaram (Dela) supports RTL training needs through workshops, consultations, and strategic programming. With a background in higher education, she understands the complexities of teaching and the challenges faculty face in the classroom. Dela holds a PhD in Hispanic Studies and she taught Spanish language and culture courses at Rollins College prior to joining UC Berkeley.

Marisella Rodriguez, PhD -- Inclusive Teaching Manager

Marisella partners with educators, staff, and campus units to advance equity and inclusion. She holds a PhD in Political Science and publishes on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and Educational Development (SoED). Her work in the CTL, teaching, and research aim to promote racial equity in higher education.

Rachel Weiher, PhD -- Equitable Assessment Consultant

Rachel’s background is in applied linguistics and critical pedagogy, and her doctoral research focused on developing best practices for teaching languages from a critical, sociolinguistically informed perspective. She began doing instructional design work in graduate school, and at present leverages her expertise in access-oriented assessment strategies to support Berkeley instructors as they work to develop equity-minded teaching practices.

CTL Student Team

Maya Wu

Maya supports the Presidential Chair and Lecturer Teaching Fellows through research and data analysis, providing insights to improve teaching efficacy and student learning experiences. She is pursuing a B.A. in both Operations Research and Cognitive Science, with an interest in social impact and project management.

Maricruz Montes de Oca-Sanchez

Maricruz focuses on collecting and analyzing data to evaluate educational initiatives and supports the Presidential Chair Fellows and Teaching Excellence Colloquium programs. She is completing her Bachelor’s in data science at UC Berkeley, and is interested in STEM education and social good.

Jishan Jiang

Jishan supports logistics and qualitative data analysis for projects such as the Distinguished Teaching Award and Student Grading Perceptions. She is pursuing a B.A. in both Data Science and Legal Studies, with a minor in Education. Jishan is interested in data ethics, educational policy and equitable STEM education.

Breanna Cabusao

Breanna supports the Teaching Excellence Colloquium and Presidential Chair Fellowship program through qualitative and quantitative data analysis and assists in general logistics for various research projects. She is pursuing a B.A. in both Data Science and Cognitive Science, with an interest in social good, mental health, GenAI, and using various data types to improve system efficiency.

Faculty Advisory Group

The Center for Teaching and Learning partners with faculty across campus to promote evidence-based teaching and learning strategies.

Learn more about our Faculty Advisors

Anne Baranger, Professor, Chemistry
Faculty Assistant to the Vice Provost
Serena Chen, Professor, Psychology
Faculty Director, Berkeley Undergraduate Teaching Collegium
Robert Full, Professor, Integrative Biology
Pablo Gonzalez, Continuing Lecturer, Ethnic Studies
Vesna Rodic, French, Director of The Lower Division and Coordinator of the Second-Year French Language Program
Andrea Roth, Professor, Law
Chair, Academic Senate's Committee on Teaching
Lisa Yan, Assistant Teaching Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science