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Teaching Academy Certifications Program

Goals for the CTLE Teaching Academy:

  • Encourage engagement in the CTLE programs
  • Provide opportunity to recognize faculty who strive to improve their teaching
  • Provide a structured program that identifies key areas of expected competencies for our teachers

Learning Objectives

Those who pursue Teaching Academy Certificates will be able to:

  • Examine your own assumptions about teaching and learning
  • Engage in the process of experimenting, assessing, and revising your teaching strategies and practices in order to improve student learning
  • Practice critical reflection to catalyze your professional growth as a teacher

    Faculty Learning Outcomes

    • Learning Theory & Strategies
      • Bloom’s Taxonomy, Metacognition, Learning Strategies, Study Cycle, Growth Mindset
    • Course Design
      • Backward Design, Facilitating Diverse Ways of Learning
    • Teaching Methods
      • Discussion-Based Learning, Collaborative Learning, POGIL, Technology Tools (e.g., Canvas), Online Teaching, Service Learning, Experiential Learning
    • Assessment
      • Formative Assessment, Summative Assessment, Grading, Providing Meaningful Feedback

    Foundational Ability

    • Reflective Practice and Observation
      • Peer-reviewed teaching, receiving formative feedback

    Logistical Notes

    • The CTLE Teaching Academy Certificate can be completed at your own pace during a one or two-year period
    • Approximately 13-14 hours required to complete the CTLE Teaching Academy Certificate: Foundations of Teaching
    • Approximately 12-15 additional hours required to complete the CTLE Teaching Academy Advanced Certificate: Reflective Practitioner
    • Certificate recipients will be recognized at Fall Convocation annually in August

    How To Enroll

    Declare your intent to join the Teaching Academy and pursue one or both certificates by sending an e-mail to Chris Garrett, CTLE Director (via ctle@nsc.edu), and the CTLE will help you track your progress towards completing the learning experiences.

    Foundations Of Teaching Certificate

    Learning Experiences

    • Attend at least five (5) CTLE Workshops that include at least two (2) Foundational Teaching Topics
    • Actively engage in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) on a teaching and learning topic for at least one (1) semester (active engagement = attend at least 75% of the scheduled FLC meetings)
    • Participate in a CTLE Teaching Circle (an interdisciplinary partnership, focused on formative feedback):
      • receive two (2) teaching observations from your Teaching Circle colleagues and engage afterwards in reflective sessions;
      • provide one (1) teaching observation for your Teaching Circle colleague and provide feedback afterwards in a reflective session.
    • Write a one- to two-page reflective essay about your personal growth as a teacher during these learning experiences; share reflections on new activities and innovative ideas that you implemented into your teaching; record how you assessed the impact of those implementations. This reflective essay will be shared at the end-of-the-year celebratory event for the Teaching Academy (held in the spring).

    Advanced Certificate: Reflective Practitioner

    Learning Experiences

    • Attend at least two (2) additional CTLE Workshops (with the goal of additional breadth, covering each of the Foundational Teaching Topics)
    • Actively engage in one additional (1) Faculty Learning Community on a teaching and learning topic (active engagement=attend at least 75% of the scheduled meetings).
    • Participate in one additional CTLE Teaching Circle:
      • receive two (2) teaching observations from your Teaching Circle colleagues and engage afterwards in reflective sessions;
      • provide one (1) teaching observations for your Teaching Circle colleagues and provide feedback afterwards in reflective sessions.
    • Request the Mid-Semester Feedback from Students (aka Small Group Instructional Diagnosis) service conducted by the CTLE and engage in the consultation process to discuss student responses.
    • Submit your Teaching Portfolio to the CTLE to post in a digital repository to share with NSC faculty.
      The Teaching Portfolio should include your teaching philosophy statement, teaching strategies, assessment methods, response to course evaluations, statement on professional development, and artifacts of teaching and learning.