Essentials of Teaching and Learning
This certificate provides a foundation in important aspects of teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty, academic support staff, and graduate students seeking to earn the Essentials of Teaching and Learning Certificate should attend each of the five workshops in this series. The program has been designed so that the certificate can be earned in one semester but there is no time limit. Participants who complete all the requirements will be issued a digital credential via a Credly badge.
Prerequisite
- Basic Computer Skills: email, accessing the internet, uploading and downloading files, linking pages
- No prior workshops required
Learning Outcomes
The participants will be able to
- Design a course syllabus
- Develop clear learning objectives
- Identify tools and strategies for giving and receiving feedback
- Identify active learning strategies
Required Workshops (13-15 hrs)
- Syllabus 101: Roadmap to Success (3 hrs): Your course syllabus is one of the most important documents you create for your class. It serves as an agreement between you and your students about your goals for the course and your expectations for your students, plus it conveys a first–and lasting–impression with your students. This session will provide information about the important components of a syllabus, ways in which you can enhance your course syllabus, and strategies for using your syllabus as a learning tool.
* Workshop format: 3-Day, Online Asynchronous with a facilitator - Introduction to Learning Objectives and Backward Design (5 hrs): This workshop clarifies the use of learning objectives and provides concrete steps to write objectives for your course.
* Workshop format: 5-Day, Online Asynchronous with a facilitator - Using Feedback to Improve Teaching and Learning (3 hrs): Feedback is integral to the teaching and learning process. Providing students with feedback can motivate and guide behavior change that translates into student success. Soliciting feedback from students allows faculty to make changes in their instructional strategies that also lead to student success. This workshop provides an overview of tools and strategies for giving and receiving feedback – both traditional and technology-based – that can be easily incorporated into any course.
* Workshop format: 5-Day, Online Asynchronous with a facilitator - Enhancing Cultural Awareness (3 hrs): The session leaders will present an overview of the common definition and assessment of culture at UNC Charlotte and explore cultural dimensions based on theory and research. Participants will receive resources for sample assignments and a mapping exercise to enhance student cultural awareness.
* Workshop format: 3-Day, Online Asynchronous with a facilitator from the Office of International Programs - Getting Started with Active Teaching and Learning (1 hr): Active learning requires students to be engaged in their learning rather than being passive listeners. To enhance learning, students must speak, write, think deeply, and collaborate with others about the content and concepts presented in class. This workshop provides an introduction to active teaching and active learning strategies that can be used during class.
* Workshop format: Online Synchronous
FAQs
- Who is eligible to pursue and earn this certificate?
- The CTL certificates are for instructors, academic support staff, and gradaute students.
- Do I have to complete all the requirements in a single semester or year?
- No! You may take as long as you like to earn the certificate.
- How is the certificate awarded?
- Participants who complete all the requirements will be issued a digital credential via a Credly badge.