On-demand Teaching Resources

Teaching support available anytime 

CTL offers several on-demand modules for graduate students that can be accessed anytime by Columbia University affiliates. These asynchronous offerings offer support for teaching and professional development. Though some of the resources listed here supplement CTL orientations and workshops, all also serve as standalone resources. We invite graduate students to drop by office hours for guidance on best use of these materials, given your situation and interests.

Available offerings include:

• Orientation to Teaching for Graduate Students
• Essentials of Teaching and Learning modules
• Introduction to the Teaching Statement

Click the button below to access many more teaching guides and resources.

⭐️ Resource Spotlight ⭐️

Taking care of yourself and your students

Emotions play a vital role in teaching and learning, and it is especially important to be responsive to the vast range of emotions that may surface in the classroom during challenging times. This resource offers strategies for teaching during times of stress and highlights campus support available to help you and your students.

Access resource: Teaching in Times of Stress and Challenge

Upcoming Programs

Exploring Teaching Careers Workshops

Every spring the CIRTL Network brings together alumni who have gone into different types of work to hear about their pathway from degree to employment, the moments in their graduate careers that helped them figure out their professional priorities, and the challenging and rewarding parts of their academic careers. This online event series starts this Tuesday, April 1.

Find out more and register for sessions on:

• Teaching careers at research universities (April 1)
• Teaching careers at teaching-intensive universities (April 8)
• Academic careers beyond the professoriate (April 15)

These CIRTL workshops count towards track completion in the Teaching Development Program.

Teaching with AI Fellows Showcases

Join members of the Columbia teaching community for a showcase of adaptable models for using AI to support better teaching and learning across a variety of disciplines. These models have been developed, tested, and refined by 2024-25 Teaching with AI Fellows, a cohort of select graduate students with advanced interest and CTL-supported experience in applying AI to teaching.

At the showcase, after a description of these pedagogical models and a panel discussion with the Fellows, participants will be able to try out the models and engage in informal conversation with the Fellows and CTL staff about adapting them to different teaching contexts.

These showcases count towards track completion in the Teaching Development Program.

Showcase 1:  STEM focus
Date: Thursday April 10
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Location: 212 Butler Library
Register: Register for April 10 session

Showcase 2:  Humanities focus
Date: Tuesday April 22
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: 212 Butler Library
Register: Register for April 22 session

CTLgrads Journal Club

Online discussions designed and facilitated by CIRTL Fellows

Are you interested in creating an inclusive educational climate for all STEM learners? This informal discussion community is an opportunity to discuss resources and research on teaching and learning with fellow grad students and postdocs across the CIRTL Network. These sessions are designed by a Columbia graduate student to help you consider how you can use findings in education research–in your field and beyond–to inform your own teaching practices.

CTLgrads Journal Club sessions count towards track completion in the Teaching Development Program.

Date: Friday April 11
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Online
Register: Register for April 11 session

LTF Departmental Events

2024-25 Lead Teaching Fellows are running workshops and discussions in their departments all around Columbia. These are generally advertised locally. Below are upcoming events that are open to participants beyond the LTF’s home department. 

LTF events count towards track completion in the Teaching Development Program.

Integrating AI Tools in the Classroom: Enhancing Teaching and Learning

Discover how AI tools can enhance teaching and create more inclusive classrooms. Discuss practical ways to engage students in new, interactive ways. Learn how these tools can support backward design, aligning learning objectives with diverse student needs.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Jan Picconi (Film, School of the Arts). It is open to all interested Columbia graduate students.

Date: Thursday, April 3
Time: 5:00 – 6:00 PM
Location: Online (Zoom)
Register: RSVP here

Assigning Work in the Era of Generative AI

How should we think about assigning work to our students in STEM when they have access to AI? Many of the issues with traditional assignments in the lecture – problem set model have been exacerbated in recent years with the growing use of generative AI tools which make it easier than ever for students to complete assignments without retaining the information we are trying to teach them.

Join us for a discussion about approach this problem and come up with example assignments that center student learning and attempt to avoid generative AI interference (or perhaps leveraging it to our advantage).

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Kiyan Tavangar (Astronomy). It is open to all graduate students who are teaching or preparing to teach in STEM.

Date: Tuesday, April 8
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Location: 1402 Pupin
Register: RSVP here

In Your Own Words: The Role of Language in STEM Higher Education

Science is more than a way of knowing—it’s also a language. In STEM education, concepts (e.g., gravity) are often bundled with technical language (e.g., free-fall, acceleration, vectors), which can overwhelm students—especially those from underrepresented cultural backgrounds. In Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education, Bryan A. Brown argues that transmitting science ideas separately from specialized language—the practice of disaggregate instruction—can improve learning outcomes.

In this workshop, we’ll explore the applications and limits of disaggregate instruction in university STEM classrooms. We’ll consider the role of language in accelerating science learning, and we’ll discuss practical teaching tactics to make science teaching more accessible without compromising accuracy.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Sean Li (Physics). The workshop will focus on STEM, but though all Columbia community members are welcome.

Date: Wednesday, April 9
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Location: Emailed to registrants
Register: RSVP here

Teaching in the Museum

This session will meet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to focus on strategies for teaching in the museum. We will discuss and practice ways to encourage students to engage with the unique pedagogical opportunities permitted by studying works of art in person. The 90-minute session will allow participants to share and design exercises for classes that take place in museums, and to practice leading those activities. We will also discuss logistics including moving through crowded spaces with large groups via accessible routes.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Julia Carabatsos (Art History and Archaeology). Graduate students from any discipline who are considering strategies for teaching in spaces beyond the classroom are welcome; RSVP required.

Date: Friday, April 11
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Register: RSVP here

Creativity in Assessment: An Introduction to Creative Assignment and Rubrics Design

Creative pedagogies, or the implementation of ‘creativity’ as a core teaching value and practice, has run parallel with the interrelation of critical thinking and classroom innovations across disciplines. In times of socio-political turmoil, hybrid classes, and rapidly evolving AI technologies, creative pedagogies are becoming an emerging field of discussion and experimentation.

This session will provide key notions and strategies for the appropriate integration of creativity into activity planning and evaluation. We will explore the relationship between critical thinking and pedagogical creativity through the consideration of AI in lesson planning, as well as the crafting of creative-inspired rubrics for assessment. These two main threads will help to revitalize our engagement with formative feedback, peer review, or assessment transparency.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Miguel Ángel Blanco Martínez (Latin American and Iberian Cultures). Language and content instructors from any language department are welcome.

Date: Friday, April 11
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Biblioteca Sobejano, Casa Hispánica, Floor 2, 612 W 116th St.
Register: RSVP to mb4613@columbia.edu

The CTL is here to help!

Office Hours

Drop by CTL’s Office Hours for graduate students to consult with us about any aspect of teaching, CTL fellowships and other offerings, job market preparation, or making progress in the Teaching Development Program. Learn more about office hours.

Consultations

Graduate students can now request consultations to get support for their teaching and learning needs. The CTL provides consultations on a range of topics, including syllabus design, creating and refining a teaching statement, integrating instructional technologies into class activities, and presentation practices. Learn more and request a consultation.