Certificate Programs

Through a series of interactive workshops, you will gain the necessary skills to effectively communicate with and support your students.  You will explore effective student-centred practices for working effectively in teaching teams (of Teaching Assistants, Course Instructors, and other student support staff), and adapting diverse facilitation strategies, models, and practices for online, hybrid and in-person teaching. You will also learn about how to integrate EDIA and universal design principles in your teaching to address institutional and systemic barriers to and inequalities in student learning. Gaining this foundation in learning design, you will come away with a toolkit that will enable you to plan effective learning experiences and reflect on the learning that results from them.


Learning Outcomes:

• Implement effective practices for communicating effectively and professionally with students and teaching teams
• Explore and adapt diverse strategies, models and practices for supporting student learning in online, hybrid and in-person teaching.
• Integrate EDIA and universal design principles in your teaching to address institutional and systemic barriers to student learning.
• Apply principles of learning design to plan effective learning experiences, and to reflect on the learning that results from them.

Transferable Skills:

• Communicate effectively and professionally.
• Effective planning and content delivery via online, hybrid and in-person environments.
• Establish leadership skills for developing and fostering supportive and inclusive communities of diverse persons.

Requirements

1. 10 hours of workshop

• • At least 2 hours of Foundations of Teaching Workshops
  • At least 2 hours of Accessible, Inclusive, and Anti-Oppressive Pedagogies Workshops
  • At least 2 hours of Educational Technology Workshops
  • Up to 4 hours workshops in any category

2. 30 minute written reflection

This certificate will introduce you to different theoretical frameworks and strategies for creating a more accessible, equitable, and inclusive teaching practice. Through a combination of interactive, skill-building workshops, you will learn the principles of inclusive, equitable and accessible teaching. Further, you will build awareness and capacity to engage with anti-oppressive and decolonial approaches to teaching and learning from a variety of critical, reflexive, and culturally responsive pedagogies. The practicum component will provide opportunities to translate knowledge into action. You will reflect on how your identities, lived experiences, values, and commitments inform your teaching identity, and apply the skills and tools you have developed to foster equity, inclusion and belonging in your teaching practice.


Learning Objectives:

• Engage with different theories, concepts, principles and strategies foundational to equitable, inclusive, accessible, and anti-oppressive education and apply this knowledge to your own teaching practice.
• Reflect on the interconnections between identity, power, privilege, and bias and understand why these matter in teaching and learning contexts.
• Apply a range of practices to create accessible (AODA-focused) content and learning environments.
• Articulate your values and commitments as they relate to EDIA and anti-oppressive education in your teaching practice.

Transferable Skills:

• Communicating in writing and verbally; expressing ideas and reflections; storytelling; writing skills (editing/proofing)
• Identifying problems; gathering information; defining needs; forecasting and predicting;
• Communicating across cultures; managing conflict; recognizing individual differences and perspectives; recognizing and respecting people’s diversity and lived experience; empathizing with others; actively listening to others; providing support for others
• Being open and responding constructively to change; promoting change; accepting responsibility; fostering a growth mindset

Requirements

1. 8 hours of Accessible, Inclusive, and Anti-Oppressive Pedagogies Workshops
2. Microteaching Session or  In-Class Observation
3. 30 minute written reflection

In this introduction to teaching with educational technologies, you will explore best practices for integrating educational technologies to enhance learning in in-person, hybrid and fully online classrooms. You will start by building an understanding how technologies can enhance student learning, as well as key considerations and limitations when integrating digital tools and strategies. From there, you will explore practical design considerations when using educational technologies to make learning more accessible, inclusive, engaged and collaborative. You will have the opportunity to identify teaching challenges and explore solutions using educational technology supported by U of T. By applying EdTech integration models and effective pedagogical approaches, you will come away with practical experience and the technological curiosity and confidence to facilitate teaching and learning using institutionally supported tools and/or in technologically enhanced active learning classrooms.


Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the importance of using educational technologies to enhance learning in in-person, hybrid, and fully online classrooms.
• Identify technological affordances and limitations when integrating digital tools into in-person and/or online teaching
• Explore practical design considerations when using educational technologies to make learning more accessible, inclusive, and collaborative
• Apply EdTech integration models and pedagogical approaches to institutionally supported tools and/or technologically enhanced active learning classrooms.

Transferable Skills:

• Selecting and integrating appropriate EdTech tools to collaborate, communicate, create, innovate, and solve problems.
• Demonstrating a willingness and confidence to explore and use new or unfamiliar digital tools and emerging technologies
• Managing the use of EdTech respectfully, inclusively, safely, accessibly and ethically gathering and synthesizing information to define needs and problem-solving strategies.
• Forecasting and predicting changes in the landscape of technology in industry and academic settings.

Requirements:

1. 8 hours of Educational Technology Workshops
2. Microteaching Session or  In-Class Observation
3. 30 minute Reflection

In this introduction to course design, you will explore a range of course design models and practices for online, hybrid, and in-person teaching. You will gain both a theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of how and why to align course components (learning outcomes, assessments, and teaching practices) for effective learning experiences. After attending a series of interactive asynchrnous modules and workshops that introduce course design models and practices, you will be able to choose from a range of practicum options that allow you to develop teaching skills and resources, from lesson preparation and delivery to syllabus and assessment design. You will have the opportunity to apply principles of backward design, integrated course design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and/or EDIA practices to improve student engagement and learning. By the end of this certificate, you will reflect on your upcoming teaching context and set goals for designing course elements to support your students’ learning experiences.

Learning Outcomes:

• Explore a range of course design models and practices for online, hybrid and in-person teaching.
• Align course components (learning outcomes, assessments, and teaching practices) for effective learning experiences.
• Apply principles of backward design, integrated course design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and EDIA practices to improve student engagement and learning.
• Reflect on your goals for an upcoming teaching context and develop applicable skills through your choice of a practicum component.

Transferable Skills:

• Facilitation and mentorship: coaching, guiding, and mentoring; facilitating effective learning experiences in a range of modalities
• Project management and problem-solving: planning, designing, managing, and implementing projects with well-defined goals and outcomes; predicting, identifying, and solving problems;
• Innovation and analysis: innovating and adapting to change; gathering, synthesizing, and responding to large amounts of information\Communication: actively listening; providing, receiving, and incorporating feedback; developing rapport and working with diverse audiences; motivating and inspiring people

Requirements:

1. 6 hours of Course Design Workshops
2. 2 hour asynchronous course design module. This component must be completed prior to attending a peer review session.
3. Peer Review Session for syllabus or assessment
4. 30 minute written reflection

Through a four-part series of asynchronous modules, you will reflect on your own teaching identities, learn about the purpose of teaching dossiers, and come away with a plan for how to document and articulate your teaching experiences, teaching development, and teaching-related activities for non-academic, alt-academic and academic careers. After identifying and assessing your teaching values, instructional strategies, and impact on student learning through the modules, you will attend a Statement of Teaching Philosophy (STP) Clinic to get peer feedback on a draft of your own statement. You will identify the context and purpose of your STP and teaching dossier and determine how best to align the various sections of your dossier with a cohesive narrative about your teaching. Throughout this process, you will be encouraged to view your teaching dossier as a living document and a valuable tool for your career exploration, as STPs and other professional documents, when combined, help to draw important connections between personal values and professional goals.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand teaching dossiers and their purpose for your professional development;
• Devise a plan/system for gathering and documenting teaching experience, teaching development, and teaching-related activities;
• Develop a Statement of Teaching Philosophy (STP) through a deep reflection on your teaching values, instructional strategies, and their impact on student learning;
• Learn strategies to align the various sections of your dossier into a cohesive narrative about your teaching.

Transferable Skills:

• Effective communication strategies to a diverse audience through storytelling. data literacy; measurement, analysis, and synthesis; graphic and visual design; ability to locate, gather, and organize complex information; analysis and synthesis of data for the purpose of reflection and professional development.
• Give and receive feedback through active listening, as well as being open and responding constructively to change.
• Self-directed learning; evaluating progress; setting and accomplishing goals (planning for and achieving your learning goals); fostering a growth mindset

Requirements:

1. 4.5 hours of teaching dossier asynchronous modules
2. A 2 hour Statement of Teaching Philosophy Clinic
3. Dossier submission and consultation
4. 30 minute reflection

This cohort-based certificate offers an introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), guiding you step by step through the stages of doing an inquiry or research on your own teaching practice. Each session will explore the complex SoTL landscape by examining diverse approaches to research, scholarship and inquiry on teaching and learning. You will interrogate a range of theories of learning, research design models, strategies for research (formulating effective research questions, writing a research proposal, getting ethics approval, etc.), collecting and using data, and disseminating research results. Throughout the interactive sessions, you will explore key SoTL trends and translate these skills and knowledge into a final deliverable: a research proposal or a knowledge translation tip sheet

Learning Outcomes:

• Recognize a range of scholarly methodologies and disciplinary practices used to examine what takes place inside the classroom.
• Identify the key trends in current scholarship of teaching and learning and translate this knowledge into a final work product.
• Ask meaningful questions about the impact of your teaching practices on student learning.
• Engage in dialogue and idea exchange to inform teaching practices and develop methodologically sound processes for future reflection and action.

Transferable Skills:

• Communicating in writing and verbally; expressing ideas and reflections clearly and concisely; writing skills (editing/proofing); persuasion; communicating to a non-specialist audience.
• Attending to details; extracting information; thinking critically; developing evaluation strategies; cultivating data literacy; measuring, analyzing, and synthesizing.
• Self-directed learning; evaluating progress; promoting change; sharing credit;  fostering a growth mindset.

Requirements:

1) 10 Hours of in-person Workshops

• Introduction to SoTL: October 22nd, 2pm – 4pm
• Effective Library Research for SoTL: October 29th, 2pm – 4pm
• Methodologies Toolkit: Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies: November 5th, 2pm – 4pm
• Working with Data in SoTL: From Collection to Interpretation: November 12th, 2pm – 4pm
• Celebrating SoTL Creativity: A Showcase of Ideas and Insights: November 26th, 2pm – 4pm

2) Practicum Requirement (5 hours). Choose one of the following options

• Project Proposal Outline
• Annotated Bibliography
• Knowledge Translation (5-3-1 Tipsheet)
• Teaching Practice Improvement Plan

3) 30 minute reflection

To apply for this certificate:

• Register in EVE by October 1^st, 2024.
• An application form will be emailed to you on registration. Complete this form by October 8^th, 2024
• Decisions on admittance to the certificate will be made by October 11^th, 2024.