This Week for Grad Students: Teachers’ Lounge this week on climate change and eco-pedagogy
Teachers’ Lounge: Climate Cafes
Teachers’ Lounges are a series of informal discussions about teaching practices and the culture of learning at Columbia. Our conversations often introduce participants to related educational models, research, and theory, and invite dialogue about their pertinence to day to day teaching. A light lunch is available to participants in Teachers’ Lounges.
In 2024–2025, Teachers’ Lounge is hosting Climate Cafes where instructors can gather to explore the interplay between climate change and learning. Join us for one or multiple sessions to discuss how to leverage your teaching to build a just, sustainable, and resilient future, no matter the discipline!
Teachers’ Lounge sessions count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.
Climate Cafe: Emotions in the Classroom | Register
Tuesday, October 15, 12:10-1:25pm, 212 Butler Library
In this session, we will discuss the power of emotions in the learning process, especially in the context of climate justice. Participants will leave with concrete strategies and resources for supporting themselves and their students in confronting challenging topics, as well as ideas for how to funnel those feelings into regenerative action.
Climate Cafe: Indigenous Knowledge and Interdisciplinarity | Register
Tuesday, November 19, 12:10-1:25pm, 212 Butler Library
In this session, we will discuss how the boundaries between disciplines can hinder climate justice, and how Indigenous ways of teaching and learning can help to break down those barriers. Participants will leave with concrete strategies and resources for incorporating interdisciplinary methods and materials into their teaching, as well as ideas for how to connect their students to Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing.
CTLgrads Learning Communities
CTLgrads Learning Communities are interdisciplinary conversations about teaching and learning topics, designed and co-facilitated by CTL Senior Lead Teaching Fellows and other select graduate students. By participating in these discussions of the teaching literature with other graduate student instructors, you will develop new frameworks to innovate your teaching and connect to a network of interdisciplinary colleagues focused on pedagogy at Columbia. 
CTLgrads Learning Communities count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.
Bridging the Divide: Interdisciplinary Teaching and Its Pedagogical Effects
In-Person Learning Community designed and run by Senior Lead Teaching Fellows Emma Leidy (Art History and Archaeology) and Marissa Swan (Classics)
Last Call: Pedagogies of Race and Oppression Learning Community
This Learning Community is sponsored by the GSAS Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with Columbia’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The Learning Community is open to all Columbia University graduate students, with priority given to GSAS students who currently hold teaching appointments at the University.
The Learning Community collectively engages focused topics in pedagogy and practice as they relate to race and marginalization, with particular emphasis on anti-racist and anti-oppression pedagogy. Participants explore how various forms of oppression shape teaching and learning at Columbia and develop skills to support anti-racist and anti-oppression pedagogical thinking and practice. All participants must commit to attending the workshops as part of the year-long cohort and to completing brief reading and writing exercises. Because capacity is limited, participants are selected by application.
- Part 1: Friday, November 1, 2024, 11:00am-1:00pm, 212 Butler Library
- Part 2: Saturday, November 23, 2024, 10:00am-12:00pm, Horace Mann High School
Apply on the GSAS website by October 14 at 11:59pm.
This learning community counts for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.
Mid-Semester Reflection Events
TDP Reflection Retreat
Have you attended CTL workshops or the Essentials series this year, but haven’t found the time to complete your reflections for Teaching Development Program (TDP) credit? Fear not! Join us for a TDP Reflection Retreat. During the Retreat, we’ll review elements of good reflections before diving into four Pomodoro-style sessions where you can reflect with a bit of structure, snacks, and peer support! We’ll end with a quick discussion on how you might use the reflections you’ve just completed in the classroom and in job documents.
Date: Wednesday, October 16
Time: 10:00am-12:00pm
Location: 203 Butler Library
Checking In: Does Your Teaching Practice Feel Sustainable?
Welcome to office hours for graduate student instructors! Gather with your fellow teachers and the friendly CTL team to discuss what’s going on in your classroom this semester and make a plan for the future.
In this session, we’ll reflect on teaching experiences so far and chat about crafting a sustainable teaching practice by exploring questions like: Are you giving efficient and effective feedback? How much time are you spending preparing for class sessions? Can you and your students keep up? Inclusive teaching is sustainable teaching!
Date & Time: Friday, October 25, 2:00-4:00pm
Location: 212 Butler Library
Note: Graduate students with questions about any other aspects of pedagogy or CTL programming are welcome to drop in to our regular office hours, also in 212 Butler on Friday at 2:00pm, or on Zoom (email CTLgrads@columbia.edu to obtain the link).
💡Resource Spotlight: Mid-Semester Feedback
The Center for Teaching and Learning recommends capturing student feedback at various points within the semester, including mid-term. The goal is a dialogue about students’ learning, not an evaluation of the instructor’s teaching. This resource outlines two approaches for collecting feedback from your students.
Upcoming Lead Teaching Fellow Events
The 2024-25 Lead Teaching Fellows are running workshops and discussions in departments all around Columbia. These are generally advertised locally. Below are upcoming events that are open to participants beyond the LTFs home department.
Read more about the LTF program here, connect to an LTF in your department via the LTF directory, and discover more upcoming LTFs events on the LTF calendar.
LTF events count towards track completion in the Teaching Development Program.
Beyond Grading: Developing Timely and Effective Feedback Practices
Beyond merely correcting errors, praising high performance, or justifying low grades, what constitutes an effective and timely approach to providing feedback that genuinely promotes student growth? What practices should be avoided, and what should be cultivated to meaningfully engage students with their performance and encourage continuous improvement? In this roundtable event, we will explore the challenges faced by instructors and teaching assistants of ancient languages and content courses. Our discussion will focus on identifying strategies and pedagogical techniques that address these challenges, emphasizing the need for feedback that is not only corrective but also developmental.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Jazmín Novoa (Classics). Students in Classics, Classical Studies, and other fields related to the study of the ancient world are welcome to join.
Date: Tuesday, October 15
Time: 4:00pm
Location: Hamilton Hall, 618
Register: Email Jazmín at jan2191@columbia.edu
Community Building in the Language Classroom: Pitfalls of Talking about the Self and How to Address Them
This event will offer language instructors a platform to address their concerns and explore solutions related to the focus on the self in elementary language classes. We will examine how certain discussion topics can unintentionally reveal disparities among students, potentially undermining the sense of community within these classes. Together, we will develop strategies to navigate these challenges, focusing on discussion formats and exercises that encourage meaningful dialogue without necessarily centering on personal experiences.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Eponine Senay (French) and is open to graduate students in language departments.
Date: Thursday, October 17
Time: 5:00pm
Location: 521 Philosophy Hall
Register: Email Eponine at es4032@columbia.edu
Becoming a Mentor: How to Teach in a Lab Environment
Mentoring a student in lab for the first time? Want to refine your mentorship skills? Join us for an in-depth discussion of mentorship styles, approaches, communication and boundaries that will lead to a successful mentorship experience for both you and your mentee.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Kylee Dresbach-Hill (Nutritional and Metabolic Biology) and is open to all graduate students.
Date: Wednesday, October 23
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Hammer Health Sciences Center, Room LL207 (CUIMC)
Register: Email Kylee at kd2866@cumc.columbia.edu
Rethinking Undergraduate Mentoring in STEM
In many STEM fields, research experience has become a prerequisite for graduate school admissions. While in the past, students would often formally learn how to do research when they arrived in graduate school, now most have multiple years of experience under their belts. However, they often receive no formal training. Whether or not they are taught best research practices can be dependent on the advisor. While many advisors are well-suited to this, others who are not used to mentoring students completely new to the field may not be. We can tackle the problem in two ways. First, by introducing a formal class to teach undergraduates best research practices, an idea which is gaining prevalence across the country. Second, by focusing on improving the mentoring that undergraduates receive during their first research experiences.
In this event, we will focus on the second approach. Attendees will discuss what constitutes a positive research experience for undergraduates and how mentoring plays a critical role in that, before suggesting and evaluating specific strategies that all mentors can refer to and rely on in the future.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Kiyan Tavangar (Astronomy). This event is open to all STEM instructors who are interested in discussing the undergraduate research experience and how mentorship can shape it. It is primarily intended for departments which have a significant amount of undergraduates doing research.
Date: Tuesday, October 29
Time: 4:00-5:00pm
Location: Pupin Hall 1402
Register: here
Running the Music Theory Lab: Active Learning Workshop
In this workshop, active learning strategies will be presented, such as the “techniques for assessing learner reactions to instruction” (CATs). Active learning resources will be adapted to the real situation of the music theory lab, presenting specific examples. After that, various case studies will be shared. Participants will reflect in groups about how to implement active learning and feedback strategies in different sample situations.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Cristina González Rojo (Music). While the workshop will be dealing with specific aspects of music theory, the active learning strategies that will be presented can be applicable to any lab TA across the University.
Date: Wednesday, October 30
Time: 4:30pm
Location: Dodge 622
Register: Email Cristina at cg3336@columbia.edu
Grade Smarter, Not Harder
All TAs have been overwhelmed looking at all of the assignments they have to grade. Some instructors are even more daunted with the idea of adapting assignments to be more inclusive of many different circumstances and fair across the board. However grading more inclusively does not necessarily mean more work for the instructors!
In this event, we want to introduce the idea that grading smarter can be both efficient and more inclusive. We will introduce new grading tools and creative assignments that will help TAs lighten their load and prioritize helping students learn.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Sophie Windemuth (Biomedical Engineering) and is open to all engineering graduate students.
Date: Thursday, October 31
Time: 10:00am
Location: BME multipurpose room (ET 343)
Register: here
Crafting Inclusive Classrooms: Developing Effective Content Warnings Across Disciplines
Join us for an interactive workshop exploring the crucial role of content warnings in fostering inclusive educational spaces. Participants will gain insights into the importance of content warnings, discuss implementation challenges across various disciplines, and practice crafting effective warnings for diverse course materials. This session is ideal for current and aspiring teaching assistants from all fields who aim to enhance their inclusive teaching practices.
This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Jan Picconi (Film, School of the Arts). It is open to all Columbia University graduate students
Date: Friday, November 1
Time: 3:00pm
Location: Dodge Hall Room 511
Register: here