Center for the Advancement of Scholarship & Teaching (CAST)

Welcome to the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship & Teaching (CAST) at Goucher College.

CAST opened in January 2017 and was designed to assist faculty with their teaching, scholarly, and creative work. The center works to apply evidence-based practices to improve student success while simultaneously working to be a resource for faculty in all aspects of their work at Goucher. 

Our center strives to create spaces on campus for faculty to come together and critically reflect on their existing teaching and pedagogical practices while also exploring new pedagogical approaches. We seek to help foster a culture of teaching excellence at Goucher by aiding in the creation of inclusive, equitable classrooms in which every Goucher student can wrestle with complex ideas and problems, drawn on and build upon their own unique sources of knowledge, and have transformational educational experiences.

CAST also champions the use of critical and inclusive pedagogies that encourage faculty to examine the power dynamics, structures, and assumptions that underlie our courses. These tools help to embody Goucher’s commitment to social justice and global education not just in the subject matter of the classes we offer, but also in their form and structure. 

We do our work through a variety of faculty programming that ranges from one-on-one consultations, to small group conversations and workshops, to college-wide events that bring the entire Goucher faculty together. 

CAST actively partners with other offices on campus such as:

 Do you have an idea about how CAST can help support faculty teaching, scholarship, and the Goucher community as a whole? CAST welcomes faculty, staff, and students to contribute to and collaborate on upcoming programming. Please reach out to Bill Harder, the Director of CAST, to schedule a time to talk.