Embedded Files
What is the Foundations of Teaching Badge and how do I earn it?
What is the Foundations of Teaching Badge and how do I earn it?
At the Foundations Badge level, instructors will be ready to use foundational skills to interact with students and guide student learning.
You can earn the badge by:
(1) participating in at least five of the stand-alone Foundations of Teaching workshops
Workshops are offered by the Teaching and Learning Commons (more info below) or through equivalent training through a departmental pedagogy course (as approved by Teaching & Learning Commons)
AND
(2) submitting a final reflection.
The final reflection is submitted through the Foundations of Teaching Canvas site, and will become available after completion of five of the workshops.
How and when to complete the workshops:
These stand-alone workshops can be completed in any order, at your own pace, and can be done through a mixture of synchronous (in-person or zoom) and asynchronous (video + assignment on Canvas) sessions.
Get started by enrolling in the Canvas site here: https://canvas.ucsd.edu/enroll/DE4P48
The workshop topics include (covering the associated learning outcomes):
Cultivating Community in the Classroom
Balancing Relationships and Responsibilities in Teaching
Exploring How People Learn and Communicating Learning Outcomes
Make Learning Stick with Active Learning & Formative Assessments
Fostering Growth Mindsets Through Feedback and Assessments
Meaningful Engagement and Facilitation
Note that the content of these workshops overlaps directly with the first six weeks of Introduction to College Teaching - please only complete both if you appreciate repetition in learning!
What happens when I complete the workshops and reflection?
Once you have submitted the assignments or exit tickets for at least five of the workshops on Canvas and your final reflection, Engaged Teaching staff will review your submissions and award the badges (or offer feedback as needed). Reviews happen once or twice per quarter - if you need your badge by a particular date, please email engagedteaching@ucsd.edu to let us know and we will do our best to assist!
Completion of this badge will earn you a Foundations of Teaching digital badge, which you can share on your CV or website. When you are ready to prepare your own course, this also fulfills the prerequisites for the Advanced College Teaching pedagogy course.
Who should aim for this level and when?
Graduate Students, Postdocs, or Undergraduate IAs wanting to explore new teaching strategies, applicable starting as an Instructional Assistant and beyond.
Graduate Students or Postdocs looking to hone existing skills and develop a shared language of student-centered teaching (either on its own or as prerequisite for Advanced College Teaching).
Ideal for those who prefer to complete training in a more flexible or self-paced format.
Timing for Graduate Students: If possible, this is great to start with in your first few years-- that way it both benefits your Instructional Assistant experience and also paves the way for taking part in Advanced College Teaching toward the end of your grad career!
Quick Start Links
Quick Start Links
Enjoy learning in person? Register for synchronous Foundations of Teaching workshops when offered: https://tinyurl.com/register-FoT
(in 2025-2026, approximately two workshops will be offered in-person or on Zoom each quarter - you are welcome to complete a mix of synchronous and asynchronous workshops if you don't want to wait for the other workshops to be offered synchronously)
Looking for the asynchronous Foundations of Teaching workshops?
1) Enroll in the Foundations of Teaching canvas site: https://canvas.ucsd.edu/enroll/DE4P48
2) Once enrolled, you can directly access the course here: https://canvas.ucsd.edu/courses/66560
To access the exit tickets for synchronous sessions that you recently completed, and later find the final reflection (same Canvas site as above):
1) Enroll in the Foundations of Teaching canvas site: https://canvas.ucsd.edu/enroll/DE4P48
2) Once enrolled, you can directly access the course here: https://canvas.ucsd.edu/courses/66560
Should I complete the Foundations of Teaching Badge or Introduction to College Teaching course?
Should I complete the Foundations of Teaching Badge or Introduction to College Teaching course?
The Introduction to College Teaching course directly covers the content from the Foundations of Teaching workshops in the earlier weeks of the course. Both options will introduce you to evidence-based practices for guiding student learning and creating an equitable learning experience, both will fulfill the prerequisites for Advanced College Teaching, and both are recognized with a digital badge or certificate upon completion.
Which you choose depends on what type of experience you are seeking, your engagement needs/preferences, and what you want out of it. The main differences are in structure, pacing, content depth, and community. To clarify:
Introduction to College Teaching involves...
Synchronous, quarter-long commitment: You commit to regularly attending and engaging with the course during the quarter you participate - this includes 10 weekly sessions of 2 hours, out-of-class assignments along the way (~0.5-1 hour each week), and submission of a final lesson plan and reflection. The classes are synchronous, with a choice of either in-person or Zoom, both of which are highly interactive.
Community: You get to spend 2 hours each week as part of an ongoing community of fellow grad students and postdocs who care about teaching.
Increased depth and exploration: With the additional time for both content and community development, you get more depth of learning, can explore conversations around navigating teaching decisions, and can get peer feedback on your ideas.
Recognition: You earn the Practitioner in the Expertise in Student-Centered College Teaching certificate of recognition.
Foundations of Teaching workshops involve...
Choice of synchronous or asynchronous modalities: You can opt for engaging in synchronous workshops (when offered) and/or asynchronous workshops through Canvas. You complete at least five workshops, with four core topics and one where you can choose the topic that you most resonate with.
Self-paced completion: You complete these at your own pace - you can complete multiple in a week, or spread them out over a quarter, a year, or more. Completion is tracked on Canvas either through exit tickets of synchronous workshops or assignment completion for asynchronous workshops. Submission of a final reflection comes after all workshops are completed.
Self-driven application and exploration: Since there is not an ongoing cohort (in the current structure) or outside-of-class assignments, you will need to be self-driven when it comes to applying the learning to creating a lesson plan or other materials, and would need to seek out peer feedback from other colleagues. Given that there are fewer sessions and time involved in the sessions themselves, compared to Introduction to College Teaching, the content is specific to the topics presented. Deeper exploration is driven by your seeking it out within the workshops, asynchronous assignments, or in conversations with colleagues.
Recognition: You earn the Foundations of Teaching badge.
Fulfilling Advanced College Teaching Prerequisites
Fulfilling Advanced College Teaching Prerequisites
Advanced College Teaching (ACT) is an advanced pedagogy course that prepares you to design a course and teach more effectively as an Instructor of Record. This course builds on prerequisite foundational knowledge and assumes that you have had at least a strong introduction to some key concepts in teaching and learning.
These prerequisites can be fulfilled by completing any of the following:
1) Foundations of Teaching Badge with the Teaching & Learning Commons
2) Introduction to College Teaching with the Teaching & Learning Commons
3) Significant prior pedagogy training that meet the ACT prerequisites learning outcomes. This might include training from your previous institution or graduate department / program training you have completed at UC San Diego.
Unless your course is listed below, prior training must be approved by Engaged Teaching (engagedteaching@ucsd.edu) - please email to share more about your prior training, including a syllabus or specific information about how it meets the prerequisites.
Specific UC San Diego Department/Program courses that have been confirmed to fulfill the ACT prerequisites* include (this is not a comprehensive list and will be updated ongoing):
CAT 200: Writing & Critical Pedagogy; Culture, Art, and Technology (Sixth College)
MMW 501: Teaching Making of the Modern World
HUM 501 - must complete both the Fall course AND the new Winter quarter course with Dr. Rodriguez
BGGN 500: Introduction to Biology College Education
CHEM 509: Teaching Methods in Chemistry and Biochemistry
POLI 284D: Evidence-Based Teaching in Political Science
VIS 502: Grad Teaching in the Visual Arts
The following courses or series partially fulfill the prerequisites - if you have completed these, please contact engagedteaching@ucsd.edu to find out more:
DSC 599, Teaching Methods in Data Science
Philosophy TA Training and Support
*Note: Completion of a course listed above does not automatically come with the Foundations of Teaching Badge, but it does fulfill the prerequisite learning outcomes for ACT.
Page updated
Report abuse