This Week for Grad Students: Join Upcoming Lead Teaching Fellow Events

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.

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 

Decolonizing Climate Change Teaching

Decolonizing Climate Change is a series of workshops that challenges entrenched biases in climate science by promoting the integration of native knowledge. This event fosters an understanding of the connections between climate change, culture, and knowledge systems. Through discussions and activities, participants will unlearn biases, promote cultural humility, and embrace diverse perspectives to create more inclusive and equitable teaching approaches to addressing the global climate crisis. Recognizing the Western bias in research, the workshop emphasizes learning from diverse cultural perspectives, valuing the wisdom and experiences of all communities.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Aandishah Samara (Earth and Environmental Sciences). It is open to all graduate students. Everyone and anyone interested in climate justice and incorporating non-traditional knowledge into STEM is welcome.

Date: Thursday, October 31
Time: 1:00-3:00pm
Location: 208 Butler Library
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

Enhancing Accessibility in STEM Through the Arts

Science is most often communicated with equations and fancy plots. To the trained scientist, these methods neatly encapsulate information and convey scientific ideas and results. To the untrained, figures and equations can cause confusion, bring up past memories of evil math teachers, and ultimately do more harm than good. For some, viewing figures and equations is not even possible. There must be a better way. In this workshop, we consider the pedagogy used in both the arts and sciences to find a more inclusive and effective way to tell the stories of our science.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Max E. Lee (Astronomy). It is open to graduate students in the Arts and Sciences.

Date: Tuesday, November 12
Time: 4:00-5:00pm
Location: 1402 Pupin Hall, the Astronomy Library
Register: Email Max at max.e.lee@columbia.edu

💡Resource Spotlight: Teaching During and After the 2024 U.S. Elections: Resources for Faculty and Students

U.S. elections can be stressful for both instructors and students, thereby impacting the learning environment in courses. Regardless of the outcome of the elections, instructors can take steps to ensure that both they and their students are supported during this time. Explore the Teaching During and After the 2024 U.S. Elections resource for tips as you teach and learn through an election season.

CTLgrads Journal Club

Are you interested in creating an inclusive educational climate for all STEM learners? Join us for the CTLgrads Journal Club. This informal discussion community is an opportunity to discuss resources and research on teaching and learning with fellow grad students and postdocs. Each session will help you consider how you can use findings in education research—in your field and beyond—to inform your own teaching practices.

This semester, the CTLgrads Journal Club is open to graduate students and postdocs across the CIRTL Network. Sessions are being facilitated by CIRTL Fellows and will run online via Zoom. Upcoming session:

• Tuesday, October 29, 2:00-3:00pm | Register
• Tuesday, November 19, 2:00-3:00pm | Register
• Tuesday, December 3, 2:00-3:00pm | Register

CTLgrads Journal Club sessions count towards completion of CTL’s Teaching Development Program (TDP) for graduate students.

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 to discuss how to leverage your teaching to build a just, sustainable, and resilient future, no matter the discipline!

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.

Teachers’ Lounge sessions count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.