The Yehuda Elkana Center for Teaching, Learning, and Higher Education Research works collaboratively with faculty on a voluntary and non-evaluative basis. We support faculty in learning about the culture and practices of teaching at CEU and in developing their own courses throuh workshops, guest lectures, events, consultations, courses, and certificates.
Since 2022, we offer courses for faculty as part of a teaching certificate program. The teaching-related courses and certificate are particularly beneficial to colleagues within their first few years of joining CEU, although they are open to colleagues of any rank or tenure. The only requirement for participation in these courses and the certificate is to be a visiting or regular member of the academic staff (ie., faculty, teaching staff, or research staff), a postdoctoral fellow, or other CEU employee who already holds a doctoral degree. (For simplicity, all will be referred to here as “faculty.”)
Faculty are welcome to attend individual courses, sessions within the courses, or complete the entire Certificate in Teaching for University Faculty.
Please contact elkanacenter@ceu.edu for registration.
Certificate Pilot (New in AY 22-23)
The Certificate in Teaching for University Faculty is designed as a two-year, structured, faculty-driven, and collaborative experience to support faculty in their early years of teaching at CEU. It can be shortened to one year or extended to three, depending on an individual's experience and circumstances. The Certificate combines small seminars and workshops with guided application in your own, disciplinary-specific teaching. It consists of 6 US credits (12 ECTS) within the Certificate, itself, and generally carries the expectation that participants will teach at least 4 US credits (8 ECTS), providing them a chance to reflect on the intersection of theory and practice.
The Certificate unfolds in three stages.
Foundational Stage. (Year 1 fall and winter for most participants)
The Certificate begins with a three-course sequence (the first of which can be waived for those familiar with teaching at CEU). These courses, which generally take the form of seminars, provide a systematic groundwork for faculty colleagues to explore their own teaching practices and experiences. Courses in this stage include:
Introduction to Teaching for University Faculty – 1 credit, consisting of workshops and individual sessions spread over fall and winter terms. Topics include use of classroom technologies, CEU teaching culture and policies, planning classes/sessions, lecturing, facilitating inclusive discussions, and developing as a teacher in higher education. *Can be waived for those familiar with teaching at CEU.
Teaching in Higher Education for University Faculty, Part I – 1 credit (seminar meets every other week in fall term). Topics focus on student-centered course design and assessment.
Teaching in Higher Education for University Faculty, Part II – 1 credit (seminar meets every other week in winter term). Topics focus on advanced techniques for facilitating classroom learning (beyond lecturing and discussions), and an introduction to supervising student research and theses.
Exploratory (Self-Directed) Stage. (Year 2 fall & winter for most participants)
In this stage, faculty work on deepening and further developing an aspect of their teaching they identify as a priority. In AY22/23, this stage consists of 1 credit. Beginning in AY23/24, this stage consists of 2 credits. Participants can elect one of 3 options:
Stage 2, Option 1: Discipline-Specific Pedagogies and the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning – (Fall and Winter) This sequence (2 credits) combines group reflections with other participants, individualized mentoring, and self study. Faculty elect one of two tracks. Participants in the first track of Discipline-Specific Pedagogies design and carry out their own teaching-related research. Alternatively, participants in the second track engage in a series of teaching-related workshops or readings that they then apply and reflect on in their own teaching practice. Both tracks emphasize the reflective implementation of scholarship in the field of teaching and learning (SoTL) in their own, discipline-specific teaching practices.
Stage 2, Option 2: Rather than enrolling in Discipline-Specific Pedagogies, participants may register in advanced, elective courses (also open to CEU doctoral students).
Stage 2, Option 3: Alternatively, with the consent of the program director, participants may transfer credits from prior teaching development courses, summer courses, or external courses on teaching development.
Consolidation Stage 3. (Year 2 spring for most participants)
In this final stage, faculty develop, revise, and submit a comprehensive teaching portfolio. The portfolio consists of syllabi, a teaching philosophy statement, a teaching diversity statement, a teaching observation and associated materials from the lesson/session plan, and a sample assessment. (It is not required to submit student course evaluations as part of the Certificate.) To assist participants in preparing these materials, they should enroll in the following, largely asynchronous online course, with short workshops and individual support:
Creating a Teaching Portfolio for University Faculty (1 credits – spring)