The Seminar in College Teaching, the first course in the Certificate sequence, is designed to acquaint participants with basic principles and theories of education and instructional practices associated with effective college teaching. These concepts apply across numerous disciplines as the emphasis is on pedagogy, not course content. The seminar includes readings, lectures, discussions, and individual and group activities. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will have prepared a Pre-teaching Portfolio demonstrating mastery of the following course objectives: 1.) Articulate a philosophy of teaching and explain how it will be put it into practice; 2.) Develop performance based objectives and a course syllabus with required components; 3.) Develop assessment and evaluation techniques based on sound pedagogical principles; 4.) Demonstrate ability to design and deliver an effective lecture presentation; 5.) Articulate and develop varied active learning methods; 6.) Integrate Web-based tools into instructional activities; 7.) Articulate roles and responsibilities of college faculty. The Pre-teaching Portfolio, which documents a course of the participant's design, is revised and expanded in subsequent Certificate courses. This course is also available online during some semesters.
Prerequisite: Acceptance in Certificate Program & successful completion of 5-credit Certificate course sequence
The Practicum in College Teaching serves as a capstone experience for the Certificate in College Teaching. Participants enrolled in the Practicum engage in a mentored teaching experience and document the teaching experience by preparing a course portfolio. Each student is assigned a pedagogical mentor (the Practicum instructor) and, as appropriate and possible, a content mentor (a faculty member in the discipline). Details of the Practicum are negotiable depending on the level of experience and particular circumstances of the participant. The goal of the Practicum is to provide students with peer and pedagogical mentorship through a teaching and/or course development experience. The Practicum "product" is a polished teaching portfolio (built on the Pre-teaching Portfolio that was begun in IDND30501 Seminar in College Teaching) for use in a job search.
Prerequisite: IDND 30501: Seminar in College Teaching or Permission of Instructor
As educators, we know a great deal about how "language in action" works to induct students into rigorous intellectual practices, and how, on the contrary, it can serve to shut students out of the academic conversation. Simply getting students to talk (in recitation sessions, in small cooperative groups, or in large, teacher- guided group discussion) does not guarantee that the talk will be productive. For talk to promote rigorous thinking and problem solving that leads to high quality academic research and writing, talk must be accountable to the classroom community, to appropriate evidence, and to standards of rigorous thinking in that particular discipline. Accountable classroom talk includes and supports all learners as participants in the conversion, not just native English speakers or the economically and academically advantaged students. For talk to be productive, faculty must be able to link - in practice - their academic purposes (content), the design of tasks/activities, and the talk they orchestrate. This course is about "Accountable Talk" - what it is, what it looks like across a range of disciplines, and how to make it happen reliably in one's classroom teaching. Participants will develop tools with which to reflect on their own teaching practice and students' learning, create tools for looking closely at the culture developed in the class, and design effective framing questions or tasks. The final project involves producing a CD-ROM portfolio of teaching which demonstrates participants' ability to reflect critically on teaching goals and effectiveness. The course will help participants refine course designs documented in the Pre-teaching Portfolio project in IDND 30501 Seminar in College Teaching.
Prerequisite: None
Faculty need to be cognizant of legal issues that may arise both in the classroom and during interactions with students outside of the classroom. This course focuses on legal principles in the context of situations typically confronted by faculty. Course activities include discussion of statutory and case law, lectures, examination of sample college policies and procedures, and analysis of hypothetical problems. Course content addresses confidentiality of student records, academic honesty, students with learning and psychological disabilities, use of copyrighted materials in teaching, sexual harassment, academic freedom and grading. Nothing in this course is offered as or should be construed as specific legal advice. Any student in the course who is involved in an actual or potential legal dispute should seek the assistance of counsel.
Prerequisite: None
With a focus on the instructor as the primary user of technology in the classroom, this course offers participants an opportunity to deepen their thinking about effective teaching with technology and challenges them to make on-going improvements to their teaching practice. The course supports participants in creating an on-line portfolio featuring lessons or projects that exemplify effective instructor use of technology to promote student learning and demonstrated proficiencies. Teaching technologies include (but are not limited to) the following: Web pages, multimedia presentations, spreadsheet activities, desktop publishing, interactive quizzes, and learning management systems. The central focus of the course is for participants to understand a variety of roles that technology can play in supporting teaching and learning; be comfortable discussing various teaching technologies and how they apply to classroom teaching; share strategies and resources with other educators within their community of practice; and develop an on-line portfolio which demonstrates proficiency in selected teaching technologies.
Prerequisite: IDND 30501 Seminar in College Teaching helpful but not required
This course will focus on fundamental elements of learner-centered assessment in higher education, contrasting the traditional teacher-centered paradigm (which focuses on what is taught) and a learner-centered paradigm (which focuses on what students learn). The assessment process plays a key role in shifting to a learner-centered approach by asking such questions as "What have our students learned and how well have they learned it?" Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences. The assessment process culminates when results are used to improve subsequent learning. Students in the course will develop learner-centered intended learning outcomes, devise appropriate classroom assessment techniques, incorporate course assignments/activities that address intended learning outcomes and construct grading rubrics designed to focus on and promote student learning. The course will include readings, lectures, discussions and individual and group activities. The course will help participants refine course designs documented in the Pre-teaching Portfolio project in IDND 30501: Seminar in College Teaching.
Prerequisite: IDND 30501 Seminar in College Teaching helpful but not required
The goal of this course is to provide participants with models, strategies and tools to aid in creating and assessing learning activities consistent with course objectives. In addition to exploring specific types of learning activities (e.g. problem sets, films, observations, simulations, games, case studies, journals, model building, observation, peer tutoring, fieldwork, problem posing, group tests, oral reports, research papers, lab investigation and data collection, in-class exercises), the course focuses on the challenges and opportunities related to conducting these assignments in various course environments (traditional, hybrid, or online) and with either individual or group tasks. This course, which includes readings, discussions, and individual and group activities, provides participants with hands-on workshop sessions with an opportunity to critique provided assignments and to present their own course assignments. The course will help participants refine course designs documented in the Pre-teaching Portfolio project in IDND 30501: Seminar in College Teaching.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of IDND 30501: Seminar in College Teaching, or significant prior teaching experience, or permission of the instructor.
The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), involves applying research methods and common assessment techniques to investigate questions of teaching or learning. In this course, students learn how to define, conduct, assess, and present a SoTL project in the context of their discipline and their teaching.
Prerequisite: IDND30501 Seminar in College Teaching is helpful, but not required.
Examining the "writing across the curriculum" movement, we consider how writing can be used to promote learning in all subject areas. Through reading, case study and in-class demonstrations, we examine the features of effective writing assignments and a variety of classroom activities to guide students through planning, drafting and revising. We examine a range of student papers to consider the most effective ways to respond to and evaluate student writing.
Prerequisite: None
This course will provide an introduction to the theory and practice of online course design and pedagogical practices. Participants will learn how to: develop content for online presentation; establish dynamic online collaborative student communities; assess and test student performance in online learning environments; and leverage the functionality common learning management systems (e.g., Blackboard) and content management systems (e.g., Microsoft's SharePoint) to achieve a rich and interactive online course experience. This course is appropriate for any faculty member interested in teaching a course completely online or who may want to significantly augment a traditional face-to-face course with online interaction. Participants will be expected to be able to send and receive email messages and attachments, browse websites, and have consistent access to a reliable internet connection. All course material will be presented online in an asynchronous fashion, with the exception of a single synchronous exercise. Participants should assume that they will need to allocate approximately 2-3 hours per week for the duration of this course.
Prerequisite: None
As higher education continues to become increasingly diverse, faculty members will be faced with the challenge of preparing and delivering instruction to students with widely divergent cultural, economic, social, and linguistic backgrounds. In this course, we will look at theoretical and practical ways to prepare ourselves to teach (and learn from) students in ways that reflect culturally relevant pedagogy. Students in the class will analyze and discuss individual and social differences as they manifest themselves inside and outside the classroom, and will have opportunities to design practices that can be applied in their own teaching.
Prerequisite: None
The use of cases can create a lively and engaging student experience across a range of academic and professional disciplines. Cases promote problem-centered teaching and participant-based learning. This course will show how cases can convey knowledge, develop skills, educate for judgment, and assist with assessment. Course participants will: learn about case resources within their specialty areas; distinguish and be able to use different types of cases (mini, text, multi-media, “live”); explore multiple methods of using cases to achieve learning objectives; become skilled in helping students learn from cases; integrate cases into an existing course design; and determine when cases are not appropriate. Because the course pedagogy will rely upon the case method, we will directly experience both the challenges and rewards of teaching with cases. The course is appropriate for graduate students as well as for faculty who are interested in adding a powerful tool to their teaching repertoire.
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces participants to the concepts and practices associated with mentoring undergraduate research, so that current/prospective university faculty can serve as effective research mentors for their undergraduate students. The focus of the course is on participants designing an undergraduate research program at their institution. At the successful completion of this course, participants will have prepared a personal statement articulating their philosophy concerning the role and structure of an undergraduate research program, suitable for inclusion in a teaching portfolio or job application. Students will articulate a brief, overarching philosophy of mentoring undergraduate research; the fundamental elements of scholarship within their discipline, and which of the elements undergraduate students can engage effectively; one potential project that undergraduate students could engage effectively; performance-based objectives for evaluating the success of an undergraduate research program; a plan for recruiting and supporting undergraduate researchers; and the roles and responsibilities of students, faculty and administrators in the execution and promotion of the chosen undergraduate research program.
Prerequisite: IDND 30501 Seminar in College Teaching recommended but not required
Teaching engineering requires the general skills of teaching (e.g. structure, guidance, practice, enthusiasm) as well as special skills (e.g. problem solving, use of visual organization and heuristics, and familiarity with technology). This course addresses participants' needs to develop both pedagogical skills and engineering skills. If engineering is defined as problem solving through technology, faculty must possess skills in problem solving (heuristics, visualization, and an intuitive approach) and be able to guide development of these skills in students. Participants will present lectures, lead discussions, perform evaluations, and participate in discussions. Participants will produce a portfolio including a design for an engineering course, course objectives, textbook selection, lecture topics, a sample lecture with visuals, a sample homework assignment and test, lab topics, and a sample lab. The course will help participants refine course designs documented in the Pre-teaching Portfolio project in IDND 30501: Seminar in College Teaching.
Prerequisite: None
This course is designed for participants to critically examine sound pedagogical practices while exploring how they can be applied to teaching in the humanities. Many hallmarks of good teaching are transferable among disciplines, but certain approaches make particular sense in teaching the humanities. The course will allow participants to examine their own classroom experiences in order to analyze strategies for preparing classes, developing assignments, managing discussions, lectures and other classroom activities, and evaluating student work. The course involves an examination of the main components of humanities classes, teaching strategies, course creation strategies, and classroom strategies focused on improving student learning.
Prerequisite: None
This course is designed to familiarize participants with theoretical and practical considerations associated with teaching foreign languages. Participants will explore methodology trends from the early 20th century to current communicative approaches, as well as from a broad range of alternative methods (e.g. total physical response, suggestopedia, community language learning, multiple intelligences, competency-based language teaching). The course investigates ways in which different approaches and methods can be utilized in the foreign language lesson to afford a rich learning environment. Participants are required to give practical presentations demonstrating a range of teaching methods by staging short teaching sequences. The course also takes a critical look at traditional dichotomies: explicit versus implicit language instruction, grammar versus communication, foreign language versus mother tongue. The concepts of language awareness, language learning reflection, and learner autonomy will be examined as indicators of a shift in language teaching towards learner-centered approaches. The course is designed for graduate students and faculty intending to teach Modern Foreign Languages or English as a Second Language in institutions of secondary and/or higher education.
Each summer, the University of New Hampshire offers GRAD 980 Preparing to Teach a Psychology Course. This online course is designed for graduate students who are interested in preparing to teach psychology at the postsecondary level. Students from anywhere can take the course. UNH has assembled a distinguished team of faculty from across the United States to teach the course. To learn more about them, click here. For a working draft of the course syllabus, click here. For information about registration, contact Judy Miller.