The Teaching Development and Initiatives Team (TDI)
The Teaching Development and Initiatives (TDI) team at Yale’s Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning collaborates with faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students of all backgrounds and abilities to develop practices that promote equitable and engaged teaching, grounded in our guiding framework. As scholars and leaders in the field of educational development, we draw from our own disciplinary expertise and specializations within the educational development field:
- Joshua Abreu primarily works with instructors in the social sciences, law, public health, and clinical medicine and has expertise in social justice.
- Gina Marie Hurley primarily works with instructors in the humanities, divinity, and the arts and has expertise in object-based teaching and teaching across the collections.
- Jennifer Imamura primarily works with instructors in STEM and has expertise in working with graduate students and postdocs as current and future instructors.
- Malia Piper primarily works with instructors in the humanities and has expertise around facilitating conversations on challenging topics.
- Amanda Valdespino works with instructors across disciplines to share her expertise in accessibility and disability pedagogy. She has a joint position with the Teaching Development and Initiatives team and ITS’s Digital Accessibility team.
- Julie McGurk partners with Kim Kuzina to support the work of the team and has expertise on rigor and deficit mindset
Through consultations, classroom observations, workshops, learning communities, and departmental collaborations, we support instructors in navigating their pedagogical and career goals, institutional demands, and student needs. We help translate educational research into practical strategies, centered on instructor voice and experience, and create community around teaching. Through this work, we aim to strengthen teaching and learning across Yale by fostering reflective and equitable instructional practices that contribute to a more just and engaged academic community.
