The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) seeks to transform higher education through implementing innovative, culturally responsive pedagogy that benefits all learners. CIRTL was founded in 2003 and uses graduate and postdoc education as the leverage point to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to enrich undergraduate education that is accessible to all learners (About CIRTL, 7/21/25). In 2025, the University of Rhode Island became a member of this cross-institutional network of research universities.
Through CIRTL, all of URI is working with the next generation of faculty to develop knowledge about and engagement with evidence-based teaching practices. Our membership in the CIRTL Network provides you with access to virtual courses and workshops offered by the Network’s 40+ member institutions. Your engagement in these cross-network offerings, in addition to URI-specific professional development opportunities can all count towards your progress through CIRTL’s three badge levels—completion of which can be included on your vitae and enhance your postgraduate job applications.
Badge Levels
CIRTL offers three different levels of badging to recognize the work you put into your professional development as an effective educator and distinguish you as an emerging leader in evidence-based teaching and research on teaching.
CIRTL Associate: Describe and Recognize Value
Completing the CIRTL Associate badge indicates that you dedicated time and effort to learning best practices in teaching and learning. You are able to describe these practices and recognize their value for improving undergraduate learning.
CIRTL Practitioner: Engage
Completing the CIRTL Practitioner badge indicates that you have applied best practices in a teaching setting, and have built an awareness of the value of Teaching-as-Research.
CIRTL Scholar: Advance and Disseminate
Completing the CIRTL Scholar badge indicates that you have contributed to knowledge about best practices in teaching by completing a Teaching-as-Research project and sharing your work publicly through presentation or publication.
Program Outcomes
| Outcome | Associate Level | Practitioner Level | Scholar Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge | Describe key evidence-based teaching practices | Apply evidenced-based teaching knowledge | Develop evidence and knowledge for new teaching practices |
| Goal 2: Connect with community to enhance teaching | Participate in a graduate/postdoc learning community | Facilitate or mentor within a graduate/postdoc learning community | Share research-based evidence in a learning community |
| Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement | Describe the value of reflective teaching | Use reflection to iteratively improve your teaching | Illustrate/Evidence teaching improvements through scholarship |
| Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career | Describe how evidence-based teaching skills transfer to other areas of professional life | Craft an evidence-based teaching statement or teaching philosophy | Craft a research statement that integrates TAR/SOTL |
Get Started with CIRTL
Interested in participating?
- Fill out the CIRTL Interest form to be added to CIRTL @ URI’s Brightspace Site.
- Identify programming at URI and from the CIRTL Network to participate in.
- Submit evidence of meeting CIRTL Learning Outcomes via Brightspace to earn your CIRTL badge(s).
Questions? Reach out to our leadership team for more information, or email teach@uri.edu to get directed to the right person.
