The Certificate in Teaching (CUT) seminar series offers a crash course in the essentials of teaching in higher ed. Most departments require a certain number of seminars to earn a CUT. Learn more about CUT requirements.
The 8-part series consists of the topics listed below. Each seminar is offered once per academic year. Dates/times for the seminars are announced on the FPP listserv and appear on the Graduate School calendar.
Fundamentals of Instructional Design
This seminar explores how the incorporation of instructional design principles into instruction enhances success in reaching expected learning outcomes. The session begins with a brief overview of learning principles (what is learning and how does it work?) and instruction (how can instruction be designed so that it facilitates learning?). The overview will be followed by a review of a variety of higher education cases, focusing on the nature of the learning in each case and what the instruction might look like. We will end with a debrief session emphasizing how you might go about critiquing and enhancing your instruction to more fully engage your students and help them achieve expected learning outcomes.
Leading an Effective Classroom Discussion? Questions are the Answer
One of the critical features of an active learning environment revolves around students having opportunities to engage in productive classroom discussions about important concepts. Classroom discourse can take on many forms and requires thoughtful consideration and planning by the instructor to be truly effective. This workshop will focus on facilitating effective classroom discussions using a variety of questioning strategies to promote student engagement and while serving as an assessment tool for instructors. Participants will observe a model teaching lesson that highlights various questioning techniques in action, critique a short videotaped lesson segment regarding the instructor’s questioning skills, and learn tips for improving their own questioning skills in various instructional situations.
Lesson Planning for the Real World: How to Increase Student Engagement and Better Utilize Instructor Time
One of the primary challenges instructors face is how to create effective and engaging class sessions week in and week out. In the churn of the academic year, balancing course responsibilities with research and administrative responsibilities can interfere with course preparation and planning, which can lead to stagnation, decrease student engagement, and impact instructor motivation. In this workshop we will take a skills-based approach to lesson planning and offer tools and strategies instructors can rely on in any situation. Instructors will leave the workshop ready to better design class sessions and also place individual class sessions strategically in the scope of the entire course.
Building Better Assessments: Strategies for Academic Educators
Are you ready to elevate your teaching with effective assessments? This session will teach you how to align assessments with course objectives to ensure they measure what matters. The session will explore how to scaffold assessments to support student learning step by step. We will also cover the key differences between formative and summative assessments and how to use them effectively. Discover the benefits of self-assessment and peer-assessment in fostering student reflection and collaboration. Learn how to craft meaningful questions that assess knowledge and critical thinking. Explore best practices for creating diverse and engaging assessment tools.
Active Learning: Making the Most of “Lecture” Time
Lecture continues to be the most common mode of instruction in higher education. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing! You don’t have to full-on “flip your classroom” to make ample use of evidence-based methods for improving student learning. Whether you teach small or large classes, in-person or online, this workshop is intended to build your toolbox of active learning strategies that can be applied across courses, reshaping “lecture” time to center student engagement in the process of learning.
Ethical Intelligence: Developing Professional Judgment in the Age of AI
This workshop centers on the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence and the questions, responsibilities, and opportunities it presents to today’s college instructor. Through a combination of individual reflection, scenario-based discussion, and skill-building exercises, participants will:
- explore how generative AI intersects with their work as instructors, from course design and grading to mentoring;
- learn to recognize ethical risks and professional responsibilities associated with AI in teaching and learning;
- practice communication strategies that encourage responsible and transparent AI use among students;
- develop a concise “Instructor’s AI Toolkit” with sample policies, scripts, and proactive approaches to common classroom situations.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Advancing the Inclusiveness and Impact of Your Instruction
This workshop will provide individuals new or newer to the UDL principles with foundational concepts and collaborative opportunities for the practical application of UDL in your classroom instruction. Learn why to use UDL, what the UDL lens offers, and how to do UDL. Bring yourself ready to engage.
Communicating Your Teaching Narrative
In this session we will discuss what it means to cultivate a growth-minded approach to your teaching career, as well as how to document and communicate your teaching for professional advancement. We’ll identify how effective college teachers incorporate regular reflection and innovation into their daily teaching practices, intentionally developing a trajectory for their ongoing professional growth. We will also look at how early-career educators can clearly communicate this trajectory and their own unique narrative, both via static documents like teaching portfolios, statements of teaching philosophy, and personal websites, and in real-time interactions such as job interviews and teaching demonstrations.