Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion
Enhance your teaching credentials with a free, research-based professional development program in 18-24 months
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
The Institute for Learning and Teaching’s (TILT’s) Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion (PDTCC) Program offers all CSU postdocs the opportunity to learn about, practice, and reflect on teaching at the post-secondary level. If you are a postdoc who plans to teach at a college or university after completing your degree, the Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion program will give you a head start.
The program takes approximately 70 hours and can be completed in 18-24 months. It is an optional, noncredit, no-cost, self-paced experience. Program participants who successfully complete the requirements during their time as a postdoc at CSU earn a Certificate of Completion that demonstrates their commitment to college teaching and can enhance their professional credentials on the job market.
Time to Complete
18-24 Months
Cost
Free
Requirements
3 Professional Development Courses
3 Workshops
1 Offering of your choice
Eligibility
All CSU Grad students
Certificate Requirements
To earn the Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion, participants must complete all of the following before graduating:
Students may complete these requirements in any order.
3 Best Practices in Teaching (BPiT) Courses
Best Practices in Teaching (BPiT) courses are asynchronous, 3-week professional development Canvas courses facilitated by TILT staff that require approximately 5 hours of time per week for 3 weeks (15 hours total). BPiTs join faculty, graduate students, and postdocs in learning about teaching through individual work, collaborative asynchronous discussions, and feedback from facilitators.
Complete three total BPiT Courses, chosen as follows:
Inclusive Classroom Climate
Choose 1
-
Inclusive Pedagogy
-
Classroom Climate
-
Student Motivation
-
Accessible and Inclusive Electronic Content
Inclusive Instructional Strategies
Choose 1
-
Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Classroom Strategies
Choose 1
- Planning an Effective Class Session
- First Four Weeks
- Teaching Online: Facilitation and Engagement
3 Required Workshops
Workshops are focused, 60 or 75-minute sessions offered in person or virtually at least once a semester.
Complete all three workshops
Writing a Teaching Philosophy
This workshop gives participants the opportunity to learn about best practices in creating a teaching philosophy and analyze sample teaching philosophies from different disciplines.
Classroom Strategies – Optimize Your Time and Increase Student Engagement
This workshop offers several techniques to manage class time and student engagement in a positive and productive manner.
Developing a Teaching Persona
This workshop explores why and how we might develop a teaching persona that works for us as instructors and is also conducive to student learning.
Practice or Application Offering of Your Choice
To satisfy this requirement, complete one of the following options, depending on your time, availability, and interests. The expectation of time spent toward each is approximately 15 hours.
Teaching Squares
Want to benefit from feedback on your classroom teaching and giving feedback to others on theirs? A teaching square is a group of four instructors who agree to observe each other a few times during a semester, using an agreed upon set of observation norms. It is designed to be a non-evaluative, supportive, and growth-based process. Participants are coached in setting a personal teaching goal and then observe others to give feedback and reflect on their own practice. All participants are expected to be teaching a CSU course during the semester they participate. For more information, contact Tonya Buchan at [email protected].
Teaching Portfolio
Want to have a teaching portfolio you can use on the job market? If you choose this option, you will complete the following: obtain an observation of your teaching by a disciplinary faculty member; observe (and report on) a disciplinary faculty member’s teaching; prepare a sample course syllabus, sample assignment, and sample assessment criteria/rubric for the assignment; a teaching philosophy, and a short reflection framing the portfolio. You will receive feedback on your portfolio. For more information about pursuing this option, contact Kelly Bradbury at [email protected].
Additional BPiT Course
Do you want to complete an additional BPiT course–one you did not complete to satisfy Learning Outcomes #1-#3? This is an opportunity to gain additional knowledge from our BPiT course offerings in an area where you want more specialization. For example, perhaps you completed the Inclusive Pedagogy BPiT for Learning Outcome #1 but you are also interested in learning about accessibility by taking the Accessible and Inclusive Electronic Content BPiT. Visit the TILT Course Catalog for course descriptions and see the TILT Calendar for when they are being offered.
Book Club
Want to read and discuss a book about teaching? Gather some colleagues and choose a book from TILT’s curated book kit collection. TILT book kits include: 4 copies of the book, guiding questions, optional activities, a recommended meeting schedule, and suggestions for leading the group – everything you need to run a successful book club. Book clubs typically meet for one semester. For more information on choosing a text and organizing a group, reach out to Jennifer Todd at [email protected]
6 Certificate Learning Outcomes
Participants completing the certificate requirements will satisfy the following 6 learning outcomes grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning and reflective of prominent and contemporary issues in teaching in higher education.
Inclusive Classroom Climate
Develop skills and confidence in creating a supportive, accessible, and inclusive classroom climate
Inclusive Instructional Strategies
Use a variety of inclusive instructional strategies that engage all students, are accessible, and promote critical thinking
Classroom Strategies
Identify and use classroom strategies that cultivate an effective, engaging, and productive learning environment
Teaching Philosophy
Create a teaching philosophy and persona informed by research-based practices from the Teaching Effectiveness Framework
Additional Practice and Application
Practice, apply, and/or deepen understanding of pedagogical best practices
Reflection
Recognize and appreciate reflection as a tool to refine future teaching practices
Reflection
Recognize and appreciate reflection as a tool to refine future teaching practices
This outcome is accomplished through successful completion of BPiT course Practice and Reflect assignments, participation in Teaching Squares, or a similar experience offered by your department.
What You'll Gain
The Postdoc Teaching Certificate (PDTCC) Program helps you learn, reflect on, and apply best practices in college teaching. You’ll develop greater competence and confidence as a teacher through research-based professional activities.
Upon completion, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion that demonstrates your commitment to excellence in teaching – a valuable addition to your CV and job applications.
Key Benefits
- Flexible schedule
- Applicable skills
- Collaborative learning
- No cost
Upcoming Workshops
*BPiT courses and workshops are offered throughout the year. Check the TILT professional development calendar and create a learning plan for yourself. Also, when you enroll in the PDTCC, upcoming BPiTs and workshops will be announced and registration links provided through Canvas Announcements.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enroll in the PDTCC program?
To enroll in the program, click on the “To Enroll Please Click Here” green button on the top right corner of this page. Enrolling in the program will enroll you into the PDTCC Canvas shell where you will find more information about the program. You will also use the Canvas shell to submit the required materials for each of the 7 requirements (including completion certificates for Best Practices in Teaching courses, post-workshop written requirements, and documentation for the choice offering).
When are the BPiT courses and workshops offered?
The 3 required workshops are offered at least once a semester (including the summer term). We work to rotate the dates/days/times we offer the workshops each semester to help meet participants’ schedules. If you are unable to attend a live version of the Writing a Teaching Philosophy or Developing a Teaching Persona workshops, we do have on-demand recordings you can view.
Several BPiT courses are offered every semester (including the summer term), but not every BPiT is offered every semester. You’ll need to watch the TILT calendar and note the Canvas announcements that come through (if you’re registered) to ensure that you sign up for BPiTs that satisfy Learning Outcomes #1, #2, and #3 (only certain BPiTs satisfy each).
How do I track my progress?
When you enroll in the PDTCC, you are automatically enrolled into a PDTCC Canvas shell where you will submit required documentation of having satisfied each of the requirements, allowing you to track your progress.
In the Canvas shell, you will see a Module assignment for each learning outcome that needs to be satisfied by a BPiT course or a workshop. There will be 7 assignments that align with the 7 requirements (3 BPiT courses, 3 workshops, and the choice offering).. When you complete a BPiT course, you receive a completion certificate for that course. You will upload that certificate under the Module assignment for the Learning Outcome that BpiT course satisfies. Once received, the program director will mark that learning outcome assignment “complete”.
The workshops require you to complete a written assignment following your participation in the workshop (an action plan for Classroom Strategies, a teaching philosophy draft for Writing a Teaching Philosophy, a 4-question reflection for Developing a Teaching Persona). When you complete the workshop and the required written assignment for each, you upload them under the respective Module assignment. Once received, the program director will mark that learning outcome “complete” (or “incomplete” if it is incomplete or doesn’t satisfy the expectations).
Depending on your choice for the final requirement, you will either upload the reflective document at the completion the Teaching Squares or the Book Club, your teaching portfolio, or your additional BPiT certificate.
Can I complete the Certificate online/asynchronously?
Nearly all of the requirements of the PDTCC are offered virtually, though there is one workshop that is only offered in person (Classroom Strategies: Optimize Your Time and Increase Student Engagement). BPiT courses are offered virtually and asynchronously, though they are scheduled and run at specific times (for example, a BPiT may run January 12-February 1). BPiTs are not offered “on demand.” The Developing a Teaching Persona and Writing a Teaching Philosophy workshops are routinely offered virtually and synchronously. If you need access to an on-demand recording of these two workshops, they are available.
Teaching Squares are in person only. Book clubs could be run virtually if the group agrees. Teaching portfolios and the additional BPiT are both attainable virtually.
What if I am completing my Postdoc assignment soon?
The program is designed to be completed in 18-24 months and it may be difficult to complete it in less time.
What if I start the certificate but don't complete it?
If you complete some of the requirements of the PDTCC but are unable to complete all of them before your postdoc position ends, you will not receive the Certificate of Completion. However, you will be able to highlight on the job market or in other contexts the Best Practices in Teaching courses and workshops you completed. For example, you could showcase what you learned from taking the Inclusive Pedagogy BPiT course and the Developing a Teaching Persona workshop if those are the two requirements you completed.
Contact Info
Dr. Kelly Bradbury
Director, Graduate Student & Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion Programs
Contact
Email: [email protected]