The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning serves as a catalyst for effective teaching and engaged learning at Elon University. Learn more about CATL’s Mission & Values or our last Strategic Plan, 2016-2021. We are in the process of updating our next Strategic Plan, so stay tuned!

Center Faculty and Staff

Sarah Bunnell Director (336) 278-5503 sbunnell@elon.edu

Dr. Sarah Bunnell is the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and an Associate Professor of Psychology. She is past-president of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, an ISSOTL Distinguished Service Award winner, and was recently selected as a Gardner Institute Russell Edgerton Innovation Fellow, which “recognizes distinctively innovative contributions to improving postsecondary education and student success.” A co-author of Being Human in STEM (2023, Routledge), Sarah is passionate about building student-faculty-staff partnerships to enhance teaching, learning, and thriving across educational spaces. Her research merges her disciplinary training in developmental and cognitive psychology with her 20 years of work in faculty development and SoTL. Please reach out to Sarah to explore ways that CATL can support your individual, departmental, and institutional teaching and learning efforts.

Jill McSweeney Assistant Director (336) 278-5765 jmcsweeney@elon.edu

Headshot of Jill McSweeneyDr. Jill McSweeney is an Assistant Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and an Assistant Professor of Wellness. She has been working in the area of faculty development for over a decade, actively publishes in the area of SoTL, the scholarship of educational development, and is a two-time recipient of the Explorance Faculty Research Grant for her work on the ethical use of course evaluation data for research purposes. Jill is a former Executive of SoTL Canada (2019 – 2022) and co-chair of the Ethical Practices of Educational Development (2015 – 2019), a special interest group of the Educational Developers Caucus of Canada. While she has interests in learning spaces and their impact on student and faculty experience, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and inclusive spaces, and the philosophical underpinnings of SoTL, she is happy to have a conversation about all things teaching and learning related.

Brandon Sheridan CATL Pedagogy Fellow (336) 278-5945 bsheridan4@elon.edu

Headshot of Brandon SheridanProfessor Brandon Sheridan is a CATL Pedagogy Fellow and Associate Professor of Economics in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. He teaches a wide range of courses, including Principles of Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, International Trade and Finance, Economic Growth and Development, and the Federal Reserve Challenge course. In his courses, Professor Sheridan emphasizes active learning and real-world application to demonstrate the relevance of economics to students. His disciplinary economics research explores the intersection of international trade and economic growth, with peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of Macroeconomics, Empirical Economics, World Economy, and Review of International Economics, among others.

Professor Sheridan is also committed to evidence-based pedagogy and creating an inclusive environment in his courses. He researches the effectiveness of teaching techniques and innovations, such as social media and generative AI, among various others. He has published peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Economic Education, International Review of Economics Education, AEA Papers and Proceedings, and Education Economics. A former CATL Scholar, he recently helped establish the Economic Education Network for Experiments, a collaborative research network intended to advance large-scale, multi-site studies of educational interventions. Professor Sheridan is also passionate about undergraduate research and has mentored 18 students through the completion of independent research, culminating in multiple conference presentations and publications for the students.

Jen Uno Associate Director (336) 278-6327 juno@elon.edu

Dr. Jen Uno is an Associate Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and an Associate Professor of Biology. Dr. Uno’s disciplinary research focuses on the interactions between the immune cells and the microbes that reside in the intestine. She is an active mentor, having formally mentored over 23 Elon undergraduate students through independent research projects, including 5 successful Lumen applications and multiple honors projects. The 2016 recipient of the Elon College of Arts and Science Excellence in Teaching Award, Dr. Uno has actively pursued professional development and grant funding to support her teaching and SOTL work, including participating in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) funded, multi-year, multi-institutional grant focused on inclusive teaching in STEM, and being selected as a CATL Scholar for a project adding service-learning component to a human physiology course (2015-2017).

Marna Winter Associate Director (336) 278-5881 mwinter2@elon.edu

Professor Marna Winter is an Associate Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, an Associate Teaching Professor in the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, and a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). She served as Chair of the Department of Education from 2017 to 2023 and currently serves on Elon’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Professor Winter teaches across teacher education, Elon’s Core Curriculum, and HealthEU.

Marna regularly incorporates relationship-centered, wellness-based, and inclusive teaching strategies into her courses, including co-created learning experiences, reflective practices, and classroom structures that support students’ mental health and sense of belonging. A common theme in her teaching, scholarship, and professional activity is the power of authentic relationships and intentional community-building as foundations for learning. She has led faculty learning communities and interdisciplinary collaborations focused on inclusive teaching pedagogies. Her teaching areas include wellness pedagogy, inclusive instructional design, student engagement, and reflective teaching practices

Emily Moser Program Coordinator (336) 278-5652 emoser3@elon.edu 

Headshot of EmilyEmily Moser provides coordination support for CATL and the Center for Engaged Learning‘s programs and events, ensuring effective planning and implementation.

Emily is a master’s student in Elon University’s M.A. of Higher Education Program with interests in public history, community engagement, and creative approaches to learning. She brings a love for art and creativity to her work and values building meaningful connections across academic and community spaces.

 

CATL / CEL Students
headshot of saffie
Elizabeth Shum (’27)
Shreveport, Louisiana
Major: Accounting & Finance
Minor: Economics		 Saffie Hollingsworth (’27)
Burlington, NC
Major: Computer Science
Minor: Game Design, Music Production & Math
Elizabeth is part of the 3+1 Accelerated Path Program on a CPA track to earn an MSA by her fourth year. She is an Odyssey Scholar and a First-Generation Student. On campus, she serves as the Junior Class President in Student Government Association. She is also involved in Greek life (Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated), other student leadership roles, and civic engagement initiatives. Elizabeth is making progress in her behavioral economics focused research. After college, she aspires to work on the federal side of accounting and finance. Saffie is a Junior computer science major (Honors) with minors in game design, music production, and math. Her research interests are in game development and other code development. She has previously presented “Analyzing The Effects of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Adults Anxiety Levels With Children and Without Children” and “Exploring the Development of a Board Game to Support Students in their First Year of College” at SURF.

See a list of previous CATL Directors & Associate Directors.

 

The CATL Faculty Advisory Board provides insight and guidance regarding mission, programs and services.

Location

The Center is located on the Elon University main campus in the William Henry Belk Pavilion near the corner of Haggard Avenue and N. Antioch Avenue in the Academic Village.

The campus map provides easy directions.

Mailing Address:
2610 Campus Box
Elon University
Elon, NC 27244

Phone:  336-278-5100
Fax:  336-278-5108