This Week for Graduate Students: Apply now for Innovative Course Design Seminar

Innovative Course Design Seminar

Participants in the Innovative Course Design Seminar (ICDS) explore inclusive, evidence-based instructional design practices and apply these concepts to the creation of a learner-centered syllabus. Participants use the principles of backward design and inclusive teaching to develop context-specific learning objectives, aligned and scaffolded assessments, and a range of engaging activities across formats and contexts within a single course. Applications are now being accepted through Monday, September 23.

ICDS is running in Fall 2024 in person from 10:10am-12pm in Butler Library on five successive Thursdays: October 10, October 17, October 24, October 31, and November 7.

For those enrolled in the Teaching Development Program (TDP), this seminar satisfies the Advanced Track seminar requirement.

Essentials of Teaching and Learning Workshops

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 insights that you have started to develop at teaching orientations or in early teaching experiences. Sessions are listed below. Each live session is accompanied by a 20-minute module in Canvas to be completed in advance. Workshops are conducted in-person in Butler Library. 

• Essentials 2: Designing Learning Objectives – Wednesday, September 18, 10:10-11:40 am
• Essentials 3: Active Learning – Wednesday, September 25, 10:10-11:40 am
• Essentials 4: Assessment & Feedback – Wednesday, October 2, 10:10-11:40 am

Completion of the Essentials workshop series satisfies a core requirement of the Teaching Development Program

Checking In: Get Feedback on Your Teaching! 

This fall, CTLgrads office hours will focus on specific topics to check in on. Gather with your fellow teachers and the friendly CTL team to discuss what’s going on in your classroom this semester. In this session, we’ll be chatting about how to get feedback on your teaching—from your peers, from the CTL, and (most importantly) from your students!

Date & Time: Friday, September 20, 2:00-4:00pm
Location: 212 Butler Library
Registration: Register here

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). 

SOLER Journal Club

Science of Learning Research Initiative (SOLER) Journal Club

The SOLER initiative uses a scientific lens to understand and improve the experiences of students and instructors through Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Research, Learning Analytics, and Applied Learning Sciences while building the Science of Learning community.

Join colleagues to discuss the article “Choosing to learn: The importance of student autonomy in higher education” (Cullen & Oppenheimer, 2024). The session will be led by Dr. Jalisha Jenifer, Associate Director of Faculty Development at SPS.  

Date: Tuesday, September 24
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm 

SOLER Journal Clubs count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.  

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. 

Upcoming Learning Community:

Ctrl+Alt+Teach: Using In-Course Technology to Promote Active Learning

In-Person Learning Community designed and run by Senior Lead Teaching Fellows Rachel Cohen (Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology) and Luke Lea (Classics)

• Part 1: Friday, October 11, 2024 1:10-2:25pm, 212 Butler Library | Register
• Part 2: Friday, October 18, 2024 1:10-2:25pm, 212 Butler Library | Register

Learning Communities count for the Pedagogy Workshop requirement in the Teaching Development Program.  

Approaching the Academic Job Market

Starting your academic job search and looking for guidance on the standard components of an academic job application? The CTL has designed three self-paced resources to introduce you to the teaching statement, diversity statement, and the elements of a compelling teaching portfolio. Each resource is designed to introduce the material, help you kickstart the writing of your first draft, and give you ways to edit and revise current drafts. Click on the links below to access the respective modules and get started!

• Intro to the Teaching Statement: Access module
• Intro to the Diversity Statement: Access module
• Intro to the Teaching Portfolio: Access module

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. 

Soft Skills: Not Hard to Assess

How can you tell if your students have learned to think critically, reason ethically, or gain intercultural competence? These and many other so-called “soft skills” are central to learning outcomes across higher education, but are remarkably difficult to assess. In this workshop, we’ll discuss techniques for adapting existing assignments and rethinking everyday classroom activities to become assessment opportunities, allowing you to incorporate these approaches instantly into courses you teach or TA.

This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Gareth Cordery (Music Department) and is open to all graduate students.

Date: Friday, September 27
Time: 10:00-11:30am
Location: 620 Dodge Hall 
Register: Contact Gareth Cordery at gjc2141@columbia.edu

Developing your Teaching Signature: Intentionality, Reflection, and Progress

What type of teacher do you want to be? How do you make that dream a reality? In this workshop, we’ll explore concepts and methods for developing your own teaching signature. First we’ll situate ourselves by defining teaching signatures. Then we’ll consider what it means to self-assess, and examine how we can better achieve pedagogical goals. Finally, we’ll work on developing personalized statements that summarize our own pedagogical goals in a class-independent way. By the end of this session you should be able to:

1. Identify teaching characteristics you wish to embody
2. Reflect productively on your current teaching style
3. Develop a two-sentence statement that defines your personal teaching signature

This workshop will be focused on instructors in the natural sciences. All material needed for the workshop will be provided there, as well as snacks! This workshop is led by Lead Teaching Fellow Bennett Slibeck (Earth and Environmental Sciences) and is open to all graduate students.

Date: Tuesday, October 1
Time: 4:10-5:10 pm
Location: 558 Schermerhorn Extension
Register: via this form