Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion (PDTCC)
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.
CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS:
To earn the Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion, participants must (while they remain postdocs at CSU) satisfy the six program-specific learning outcomes highlighted below. The minimum requirements for completion are to enroll in and successfully complete three Best Practices in Teaching (BPiT) courses (course options for each learning outcome are listed below), three designated workshops (listed below), and one of the options offered toward additional practice and application (named below).
To get started with the Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion, enroll in the program via the To Enroll Please Click Here button on the top right of the page. Enrolling in the program will enroll you into the program’s Canvas course which houses the program materials and which will help you track your progress in the program. We recommend you visit the TILT Calendar of Events to track the BPiT course and workshop offerings each semester and create a plan for yourself; additionally, we routinely announce in the Canvas course upcoming courses, workshops, and other professional development that can satisfy the program requirements.
PDTCC Learning Outcomes and How to Fulfill Them
Learning Outcome #1: Inclusive Classroom Climate
Develop skills and confidence in creating a supportive, accessible, and inclusive classroom climate
Take at least one of the following BPiT Courses:
- Inclusive Pedagogy
- Classroom Climate
- Student Motivation
- Accessible and Inclusive Electronic Content
Learning Outcome #2: Inclusive Instructional Strategies
Use a variety of inclusive instructional strategies that engage all students, are accessible, and promote critical thinking
Take at least one of the following BPiT Courses:
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Learning Outcome #3: Classroom Strategies
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Identify and use classroom strategies that cultivate an effective, engaging, and productive learning environment
Take at least one of the following BPiT courses:
- Planning an Effective Class Session
- First Four Weeks
- Teaching Online: Facilitation and Engagement
Take the following workshop:
- Classroom Strategies – Optimize Your Time and Increase Student Engagement
Learning Outcome #4: Teaching Philosophy
Create a teaching philosophy and persona informed by research-based practices from the Teaching Effectiveness Framework
Take all of the following workshops:
- Writing a Teaching Philosophy workshop
- Developing a Teaching Persona workshop
Learning Outcome #5: Additional Practice and Application
Practice, apply, and/or deepen understanding of pedagogical best practices
To satisfy this learning outcome, complete one of the following options, depending on your time, availability, and interests. The expectation of time spent toward each is approximately 15 hours.
- Participate in TILT’s Teaching Squares program for one semester. (Note: this is offered only in the Spring semesters.)
- Produce a teaching portfolio that includes, at minimum, the following: an observation of your teaching (and subsequent report) by a disciplinary faculty member; your observation (and report) of a disciplinary faculty member’s teaching; a sample course syllabus, sample assignment, and sample assessment criteria/rubric for the assignment; the teaching philosophy document you’ll create after the workshop required for the learning outcome above; and a short reflection framing the portfolio.
- Complete an additional Best Practices in Teaching (BPiT) course of your choice in an area you want more specialization. Visit the TILT Course Catalog for course descriptions and see the TILT Calendar for when they are being offered.
Learning Outcome #6: Reflection
Recognize and appreciate reflection as a tool to refine future teaching practices
- This is accomplished through successful completion of a BPiT course Practice and Reflect assignment, Teaching Squares or other reflection activities you complete in this program.
Each Best Practices in Teaching course is offered at least once per year (including the summer). The workshops on classroom strategies, teaching philosophy, and teaching persona are each offered at least once per semester (including the summer). TILT recommends that you check the TILT Calendar of Events and create a plan for yourself.
Please note: The Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion Program is not a teacher certification or licensure program. The Certificate is available to all CSU postdocs who successfully fulfill the program requirements. Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Completion and can add the Certificate to their cv/resume.
Contact Info
Dr. Kelly Bradbury
Director, Graduate Student & Postdoc Teaching Certificate of Completion Programs
Contact
Email: [email protected]
To Enroll
PDTCC RESOURCES
BEST PRACTICES IN TEACHING (BPiT) COURSES
BPiT courses, offered on Canvas through TILT, are facilitated, asynchronous three-week experiences that foster collaborative learning and provide opportunities to apply your learning to current or future teaching. To successfully complete a BPiT course you must actively participate with others in your course, complete the weekly assignments, and successfully submit the final Practice and Reflect assignment. Courses require approximately 5 hours of time per week.
TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS FRAMEWORK AND DOMAINS
The PDTCC’s curriculum aligns with the seven essential domains for effective teaching practices articulated in TILT’s Teaching Effectiveness Framework (TEF). Domains for effective teaching practices (including curriculum/curricular alignment, pedagogical content knowledge, student motivation, inclusive pedagogy, classroom climate, instructional strategies, and feedback and assessment) are grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Each BPiT Course focuses on two of the seven domains of the TEF.
REQUIRED WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
- Writing a Teaching Philosophy
As instructors in higher education, it is increasingly important to have an individual teaching philosophy when applying for college or university faculty positions or when undergoing promotion reviews. This workshop will give participants the opportunity to learn about best practices in creating a teaching philosophy and analyze sample teaching philosophies from different disciplines. - Developing a Teaching Persona
The Latin word “persona” most directly translates to “mask.” Should we wear a mask while teaching? What kind of mask should we wear? This workshop will explore why and how we might develop a teaching persona that works for us as instructors and is also conducive to student learning. It will also allow participants to consider how to interact with undergraduate students who may be close in age to the instructor. - Classroom Strategies – Optimize Your Time and Increase Student Engagement
Do you ever avoid student discussions because it’s too difficult to get their attention, wasting precious classroom time? What about the beginning or end of class? Do students wander in minutes after the start of class or pack up minutes before the end, wasting even more time? In this workshop, we offer several techniques to manage class time and student engagement in a positive and productive manner.
TEACHING SQUARES
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 program.
Upcoming Workshops
Best Practices in Teaching at CSU: Accessible and Inclusive Electronic Content
This three-week, mostly asynchronous course TAKES PLACE IN CANVAS. Participants can expect to spend 4-5 hours per week completing assignments, discussions and readings. Engage in..
- Date: October 27, 2025 - November 16, 2025
- Time: All Day
- Date: October 27, 2025 - November 16, 2025
- Time: All Day
- Date: November 11, 2025
- Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Canvas
Best Practices in Teaching at CSU: Rubrics as a Tool to Support Student Success
This three-week, mostly asynchronous course TAKES PLACE IN CANVAS. Participants can expect to spend 4-5 hours per week completing assignments, discussions, and readings. Rubrics are..
Location: Canvas
Community of Practice: Alternative Grading Practices
Sponsored by TILT, the Alternative Grading CoP explores and shares different types of assessments and how to make grading practices more equitable. Topics include mastery..