On Jan. 17, NYU Abu Dhabi announced the official opening of the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning. It supports the pedagogical needs of faculty by providing resources and learning technology to enhance their teaching in rapidly changing circumstances.

The Ballon Center began operations in fall 2019 under the leadership of Nancy Gleason, Associate Professor of Practice of Political Science and the Center’s inaugural director. She was appointed to the position after an extensive search by the university’s early leadership headed by Bryan Waterman, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Development.

“The pedagogy that the Center promotes that is embedded in the mission and vision of the college is teaching students not just exclusively what to learn but also how to learn, so that we can foster curiosity and creativity for lifelong learning,” Gleason explained.

Named after the late Hilary Ballon, the Center was set up to commemorate her and continue her legacy. Ballon was the Deputy Vice Chancellor of NYUAD and played a crucial role in developing the curriculum. During the early years, Ballon was essentially the center of teaching and learning, personally mentoring junior faculty and working with them on their curriculum. But as the university grew in size and with her passing in late 2017, the plan for a full fledged center to increase faculty support was developed.

As the transition to remote learning happened rapidly last year, one of the Center’s priorities was to provide a bank of distinctive resources that would assist faculty in implementing their teaching during online learning. The wealth of information available on their website is backed by evidence-based best practices and covers an array of content ranging from course design to assessment grading.

The Center also hosts workshops for faculty that are designed to enhance their teaching skills and to provide a platform where they can exchange ideas on the best pedagogical approaches.

From Jan. 11—13, the Center conducted seven development workshops as part of their Week Zero Series which aims to capture faculty outside of the classroom. Topics covered included community building, belonging and microaggressions.

“We had 130 registrations and 96 total participation points. That shows a lot of trust in the quality of the program,” Gleason remarked.

Mohamed Eid, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been a regular attendee of such workshops.

“For me, the Center has been a timely and an indispensable resource for all of our faculty during the turbulent transition to the "remote plus" teaching mode ... through several workshops … meetings the center offered, I personally feel inspired and prepared to explore innovative teaching methods; an exercise that made me rethink our education system as a whole and what kind of skills our students need for the twenty-first century.” said Eid.

The Center’s inaugural research fellow, Alexandra Urbanikova, Class of 2019, knew of its opening in the spring of her senior year and immediately became interested in working for it. “When I learned that the Center will be named after [Hilary Ballon], it was almost like a sign for me because I heard so much about her, and I really admire the work that she has done for the core curriculum … For me, the core curriculum was really where the classes that shaped and impacted me to the person that I am right now.” shared Urbanikova.

Although the Center works exclusively with faculty, Urbanikova is proud of how it advocates for student needs, especially during the pandemic. Prior to social distancing regulations, Gleason would drop in at student tables during meal times to get feedback on courses. She also worked closely with Student Government to better understand how the Center could support students in their learning.

Apart from working on administrative tasks for the Center, Urbanikova also conducted an independent research project studying the impact that transformative courses had on students. She finished her fellowship last month and will be teaching Computer Science at the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh.

The Center hosts one Post-Graduation Research Fellow every year. The fellow works with the Ballon Center as well as on an educational research project.

In a post-pandemic world, Gleason envisions a model of higher education that will be drastically different from what came before.

“I look forward to understanding this transition with the students and faculty. There is a lot of research to be done and I hope the Ballon Center can help support and guide it so that there is an effort to systematically understand what that post-vaccination face-to-face classroom looks like.” said Gleason.