Elizabethtown College Academic Affairs has announced the appointment of Dr. Katie Caprino as the new Director of the Teaching and Learning Design Studio (TLDS).
The TLDS is Etown’s dedicated center on professional and organizational development.
“I’m excited about stepping into this Director role,” explained Caprino, who currently serves as an Assistant Professor of PK-12 New Literacies in Etown’s Education Department. “I want the Studio to be a place where faculty can come and not only learn new ideas but also share the fabulous work they are already doing in their classes.”
Katie Caprino, Director of the Teaching and Learning Design Studio at Elizabethtown College
As Director of the TLDS, Caprino plans to focus on coaching new faculty members as they transition into their roles on campus, as well as being a resource for colleagues as they continue to innovate their teaching. She will also lend support to faculty members who are teaching fully online, along with those who are incorporating online teaching components within their in-person courses.
“Dr. Caprino is a remarkable teacher-scholar who will bring fresh vision to the Teaching and Learning Design Studio,” Matt Skillen, Dean of Faculty and Associate Provost for Student Learning said. “She is a thoughtful leader, dynamic teacher, and a human-centered designer with a keen interest in creating opportunities for people to pursue their professional goals together.”
Prior to Etown, Caprino coordinated the English Education program at the University of Florida. She completed her doctoral work in Education, with a minor in English, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her areas of expertise are the teaching of reading and writing; children’s, middle grades, and young adult literature; and technology integration in the literacy classroom. She is also a trained reading specialist and instructional coach.
About the Teaching and Learning Design Studio
The Elizabethtown College Teaching and Learning Design Studio promotes and supports a relationship- and learner-centered culture of instruction, guidance, and scholarship, with a focus on evidence-based pedagogies from the scholarship of teaching and learning that foster student academic engagement, advance the College’s mission, and cultivate innovative teaching.
Caprino will lead a dedicated team of instructional designers and design thinkers who have established themselves as experts in design and application. The studio team consists of:
- Dr. Sharon Birch, Assistant Director of the Elizabethtown College Teaching and Learning Design Studio, and Instructional Technologist
- Crystal Donlan, Instructional Designer & Online Learning Specialist
- Jillian Kleis, Teaching & Learning Design Studio Program Coordinator