This Week for Graduate Students: Get ready for fall! Teaching Orientation, Essentials workshops

Preparing for Fall

The fall semester is suddenly right around the corner! If you’re preparing to TA or step into another instructional role in September, CTL has online and in-person support ready for you.

Register for on-demand Teaching Orientation, and then deepen your knowledge with Essentials of Teaching and Learning workshops.

Fall 2021 Teaching Orientation for Graduate Students

CTL offers graduate student instructors orientations to learn about practical, evidence-based strategies that they can implement on the first day of class. These orientations help supplement department-based orientations and trainings. CTL orientations are open to all new teaching assistants, teaching fellows, and graduate students in an instructor role.

CTL is offering orientation materials online, available to graduate students anytime. Orientation comprises a series of five self-paced modules. We are also offering one-hour debrief sessions with CTL staff both in-person and online in early September.

Essentials of Teaching and Learning Workshop Series

The Essentials of Teaching and Learning workshop series offers new or developing graduate student instructors approaches to better facilitate student learning and improve teaching practices. Join us at these foundational workshops to deepen insight that you have started to develop at teaching orientations or in early teaching experiences. Sessions listed below. Each live session is accompanied by a 20-minute module in Canvas to be completed in advance. Participants can join either in-person or via Zoom.

• Inclusive Teaching: Creating Engaging Learning Environments: Thursday, September 16, 10:10 AM – 11:40 AM 
• Designing Learning Objectives: Thursday, September 23, 10:10 AM – 11:40 AM
• Active Learning: Thursday, September 30, 10:10 AM – 11:40 AM
• Assessment & Feedback: Thursday, October 7, 10:10 AM – 11:40 AM

STEM Teaching Resources

Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Network Opportunities 

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is an NSF Center for Learning and Teaching in higher education. The goal of CIRTL is to improve the STEM learning of all students at every college and university, and thereby to increase the diversity in STEM fields and the STEM literacy of the nation. The CIRTL Network offers a variety of free, online resources, workshops, and courses that can fit into graduate students’ busy schedule.

Job Opportunities

Applications due *today*: Co-Facilitator for Pedagogies of Race and Oppression Learning Community

The GSAS Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion (OADI) and Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) seek two advanced doctoral students (years 3-7) from departments within GSAS who would work together to co-facilitate its Pedagogies of Race and Oppression Learning Community in AY2021-2022. This Learning Community is offered in partnership with the CTL. The deadline has been extended to today, August 23, 2021.

The co-facilitators are appointed as OADI Fellows and are provided with a $3000 stipend for the year, beginning in August 2021 and ending in May 2022. With ongoing guidance and administrative support from OADI and CTL staff, the fellows work as a pair to create and deliver a year-long series of activities (3 sessions each in fall and spring semester) to engage Learning Community participants in collective exploration and learning about focused topics in pedagogy and teaching practice as they relate to race and/or marginalization.

Learn more about this past year’s learning community here, and apply for the fellowship here (search for Job ID 406) by August 23, 2021. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact CTLgrads@columbia.edu. 

Call for Applications: SOLER Student Research Assistants

The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce this call for applicants for SOLER Student Research Assistants (SSRAs). Graduate (masters and doctoral) students across Columbia University are invited to apply for this paid position.

SOLER—an initiative of the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation—is dedicated to facilitating the systematic generation of insights about teaching and learning in the context of Columbia courses and degree programs through the process of Discipline-Based Education Resear

ch (DBER). SSRAs will operate with mentorship and guidance from the SOLER leadership team and support various elements of faculty DBER projects and other SOLER efforts.

SSRAs will be hired for a period of one semester with the possibility of extension. Typical weekly commitment is 5-10 hours. New deadline: apply by Friday, September 3 at 5 pm ET.