The Expertise in Student-Centered College Teaching program from the UC San Diego Teaching and Learning Commons equips graduate student and postdoc educators with evidence-based practices for cultivating student-centered college classrooms that support diverse student needs, promote meaningful student engagement, and integrate aligned assessment of student learning.
This program is designed for participants to develop core pedagogical competencies needed to teach effectively at UC San Diego and in future careers (based on Gilmore & Hatcher, 2021). Each level of the program interacts with these competencies at different depths and in different ways - see below for specific learning outcomes associated with the badge or certificate of recognition awarded at each level.
In order to achieve the Foundations of Teaching Badge:
Participants actively engage in a minimum of 10 total hours of pedagogical training which prepares them to utilize evidence-based practices to guide student learning and implement strategies to create an equitable learning experience. This training involves completion of a minimum of five Foundations of Teaching workshops or approved equivalent training (e.g. a departmental pedagogy course achieving similar outcomes) and submission of a final reflection.
Learning outcomes associated with the Foundations of Teaching Badge
This level prepares instructors with the following skills, knowledge, and values, as applied within the context of student interactions and planning a class session:
Gain knowledge of how people learn and how to teach in a way that is consistent with these principles of learning, using a variety of techniques appropriate for the discipline, course level, and learning context.
Explain the core principles of how people learn from the science of teaching and learning.
Plan and employ strategies for asking questions and responding to students that are consistent with the principles of learning.
Identify teaching techniques that are consistent with the principles of learning, and defend those teaching choices based on the research on how students learn.
Consistently set and communicate specific and measurable learning goals, outcomes, and expectations, both for individual class sessions and the overall course, that are appropriate for the discipline, level, learning context, and the institutional curriculum.
Describe the purpose of learning outcomes.
Teach with an equity mindset so that every student has the opportunity to learn, can see themselves in the curriculum and discipline, feels valued in the learning process, and can meaningfully contribute in ways that integrate their lived experiences and perspectives.
Identify and practice teaching strategies, structures, and design that promote an accessible and equitable learning environment, including technology and use of physical space that promote accessibility.
Identify and implement on-going strategies that build community, sense of belonging, and connection between the instructor and student, and among students.
Assess student learning using equitable and evidence-based practices that align with learning goals, and use the results to enhance and support student learning.
Identify techniques to regularly assess student learning and to formulate timely and constructive feedback on learning that are in alignment with learning goals.
In order to achieve this level, participants actively engage in a minimum of 30 total hours of pedagogical training which prepares them to utilize evidence-based practices to guide student learning, navigate teaching decisions, and implement strategies to create an equitable learning experience. This training involves completion of the quarter-long Introduction to College Teaching (ICT) course and submission of a final reflection and lesson plan.
In order to achieve this level, participants actively engage in a minimum of 40 total hours of advanced pedagogical training which prepares them to utilize evidence-based practices to guide student learning, navigate teaching decisions and implement strategies to create an equitable learning experience, and implement a deep understanding of student-centered teaching practices and course design as an instructor of record. This training involves completion of either the Foundations of Teaching Badge or Practitioner level, in addition to the quarter-long Advanced College Teaching (ICT) course and submission of a final reflection and course syllabus.
In order to achieve this level, participants actively engage in a minimum of 40 total hours of advanced pedagogical training which prepares them to utilize evidence-based practices to guide student learning, navigate teaching decisions and implement strategies to create an equitable learning experience, and implement a deep understanding of student-centered teaching practices and course design as an instructor of record.
Participants facilitate an independent teaching experience that demonstrates evidence-based strategies and equitable teaching practices, during and after which they reflect on and assess their own teaching informed by a community of scholarly instructors.
Participants use the assessment of their teaching experience to contribute to an online showcase of scholarly and reflective teaching resources and practices, and advance shared knowledge of effective pedagogy and/or scholarship.