Introduction to College Teaching

UCSD Teaching + Learning Commons - Center for Engaged Teaching (CET)

Term: Fall 2017

Class Meeting Times: Tuesdays 9-11am, Wednesday 2:30-4:30, or Thursdays 9-11am
Class Location: CET, Literature Building, Room 210 (pdf map, google map)

Instructor: Erilynn Heinrichsen, PhD

Email: erusso@ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-246-1961 (email is better to reach me)
Office Location: CET, Literature Building, Room 216
CET Website

Intro to College Classroom- Fall 2017 Cohort Class website

Welcome! 1

Course Overview and Learning Outcomes 2

Student Expectations 3
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. 3
Professionalism and Academic Conduct. 4

Course Logistics and Policies 4

Course Prerequisites. 4
Course Communication and Appropriate, Relevant and Meaningful (ARM) Technology. 4
Course Credits and Basis for Successful Completion. 5
Attendance Policy. 5
"Incomplete" Assessment. 5
Disability Access. 5
Title IX Compliance. 5

Tentative Schedule 6

Welcome!
I am excited to work with you over the quarter. You each bring a different experience and
expertise that will add to our discussion of evidence-based theory and practice.

There is a lot of great material to cover in just nine 2 hour sessions, so to make the most of this
limited time together, we will be using a flipped approach. This means that before each class,
you will do something to learn the basics about that weeks topic (reading an article, writing
down your thoughts, etc). By coming to class with some awareness of the information, we can
jump right into the interesting parts of the material!

All information and any necessary/helpful materials will be posted on our class G
oogle Site
(sites.google.com/ucsd.edu/collegeteaching). If at any point you cannot access something,
please let me know at erusso@ucsd.edu. Heres to a fantastic quarter of exploring the ins and
outs of teaching at the college level!

Course Overview and Learning Outcomes

In this course, we will look at instruction beyond the IA/TA role and consider the art and science
of teaching. We aim to develop your expertise in evidence-based effective teaching practices
that support student learning, culminating in creating a lesson plan for a class in your discipline.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain and implement evidence-based teaching strategies to create a
student-centered, inclusive classroom, such as:
a. Scaffold instruction with an awareness of how people learn and support of a
growth mindset
b. Align learning outcomes to timely and constructive assessment to support
student learning
c. Identify appropriate and relevant active learning strategies
2. Engage in an active and productive discussion surrounding effective teaching
a. Practice metacognition in their development as instructors through regular
reflection opportunities
b. Analyze how effective teaching strategies discussed in class might impact
learning, and consider the idea of teaching as research
3. Develop a lesson plan for a class in your field
a. Recognize, create, and evaluate alignment of learning outcomes, assessment
and teaching strategies
4. Connect the value of a learning community associated with teaching and learning
to their development as instructors
5. Access and apply resources and support for their continued development as
instructors

Center for Engaged Teaching, Program Outcomes

- Create a campus-wide culture of engaged teaching.
- Provide an integrated and coordinated structure for existing and expanded programs
that promote engaged faculty development.
- Support faculty, departments and programs in assessing the effectiveness of teaching.
- Promote excellence in scholarly teaching by providing faculty development, by
advancing student-centered, research-informed, outcomes-determined practices.
 - Assist faculty interested in meaningfully incorporating technology into their instruction.
- Enable, distill, and promote Scholarship of Teaching across the university.

University Strategic Goals

- Delivering an educational and overall experience that develops students who are
capable of solving problems, leading, and innovating in a diverse and interconnected
world.
- Cultivating a diverse & inclusive community that encourages respectful open dialogue
and challenges itself to take bold actions that will ensure learning is accessible and
affordable for all.
- Nurturing and supporting a collaborative and interdisciplinary research culture that
advances the frontiers of knowledge, shapes new fields, and disseminates discoveries
that transform lives.
- Supporting and promoting just and sustainable forms of economic development, shared
prosperity, and social and cultural enrichment regionally and globally.
- Creating an agile, sustainable, and supportive infrastructure by ensuring a dedication to
service, people, and financial stewardship.

Student Expectations
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
I believe very strongly that the classroom is a place to expand our knowledge and experiences
safely, while being respected and valued. I support the values of UC San Diego to create a
diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus in which students, faculty, and staff can thrive. I strive
to uphold the values articulated by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion: We believe that true excellence is achieved through productive relationships among
people of diverse perspectives. When the collective talents of our students, faculty, and staff at
UC San Diego are united in an environment that is open and inclusive, creativity and innovation
prospers. I hope you will join me in creating a class that upholds these values to further
enhance our learning as a community.

Professionalism and Academic Conduct.

Please attend to all university policy and classroom etiquette procedures. Those not heeding the
policies will be asked to leave the class so as to not disrupt the learning environment. Please
arrive on time, be attentive, and respectful for all class meetings.

Participants are expected to uphold the Fundamental Values of A cademic Integrity, including
submitting their own work, with proper acknowledgements and attribution of ideas. Although this
course does not have any exams, any form of plagiarism (submitting all or part of someone
elses work or ideas as your own) or other violation of academic integrity will be dealt with by the
instructor and may affect completion of the course.
Active, positive, engaging, participation in class activities is essential. As professionals, you
should be at the point in your career where you have learned to ask and answer these
questions:
1. How do I know when I know something? What is the evidence and how reliable is it?
2. How are events, theories, models or people connected? What is the cause and effect?
3. What is new and what is old - have I run across this idea before? When, where, what did it
mean to me then, and how I can expand and further connect the concept now?
4. So what? Why does it matter? What does it all mean?

Course Logistics and Policies

Course Prerequisites.
This course is designed for advanced graduate students and postdocs, ideally who have
experience as instructors or TAs, and are interested in deepening their teaching skills before
making the leap to be instructor-of-record. Participants are expected to be ready to reflect on
their own teaching and learning experiences, and to engage in thoughtful discussion with their
colleagues.

Course Communication and Appropriate, Relevant and Meaningful (ARM) Technology.

Email will be used frequently throughout this experience by the instructor and teaching
assistants, and material shared via a shared Google Drive folder.

Mobile Devices: We encourage the use of mobile devices during the learning experience, if it
will assist you in further processing the information. If we determine that the device is becoming
a distraction, we may institute strategies to minimize the challenge.

Other Electronic Information Sites: We will regularly use Google Drive and may use a microblog
(Twitter), podcast, etc., if we believe the media will assist in attending to various ways of
learning.

Course Credits and Basis for Successful Completion.

Through active participation in the majority of work sessions and thoughtful completion of the
final lesson plan, you will receive a CET Certificate of Completion, as well as a UC Learning
Certificate. In order to receive the UC Learning Certificate, you must register for this course on
UC Learning- watch this screencast for more information on how to register. Successful
completion of the course is also recognized on your co-curricular record (C CR), which is
associated with your transcript.

Attendance Policy.
We will assume that students want to engage in this experience, both physically and mentally.
Engagement means to be present in the current moment and not distracted. To earn a
Certificate, you will need to be engaged and present for at least 80% of the sessions. If you
need to miss a session and are available to attend a different class time, contact the instructor
in advance to inquire if this is a possibility.

"Incomplete" Assessment.
Incomplete outcomes are given in situations where unexpected emergencies prevent a
participant from completing the course and the remaining work can be completed the next
quarter. We will evaluate this on a case-by-case basis. Incomplete work must be finished by the
end of the subsequent quarter in order for a Certificate to be provided.

Important Dates to Remember. All the dates and assignments are tentative, and can be
changed at the discretion of the instructor.
No class Thanksgiving week: November 21, 22, and 23, 2017

Religious Observances. Students are expected to notify their instructor in advance if they
intend to miss class to observe a holy day of their religious faith.

Disability Access.
The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with
disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Students who need
accommodations must be registered with Student Disability Services. Students with special
needs who meet criteria for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions must provide
written documentation of the need for accommodations from the Counseling Center by the end
of week three of the class in order for the instructor to plan accordingly. Failure to provide
written documentation will prevent your instructor from making the necessary accommodations.
Please refer any questions to the Dean of Students.

Title IX Compliance.
The University recognizes the inherent dignity of all individuals and promotes respect for all
people. Sexual misconduct, physical and/or psychological abuse will NOT be tolerated. If you
have been the victim of sexual misconduct, physical and/or psychological abuse, we encourage
you to report this matter promptly. As the instructor, I am interested in promoting a safe and
healthy environment, and should I learn of any sexual misconduct, physical and/or
psychological abuse, I must report the matter to the Title IX Coordinator. Should you want to
speak to a confidential source you may contact the Counseling Center.

The Office for the Prevention of Harassment & Discrimination (OPHD) provides assistance to
students, faculty, and staff regarding reports of bias, harassment, and discrimination. OPHD is
the UC San Diego Title IX office. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the federal
law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that are recipients of federal
funds. Students have the right to an educational environment that is free from harassment and
discrimination.
Tentative Schedule

Week Concepts LO View Do (Due midnight before that

of weeks class)

10/3 How We Learn 1, 4 Pre-survey (due anytime up to

start of class)

10/10 Mindset and 1, 2, 4 Read The Secret to Reflection: When you learned
Motivation Raising Smart Kids, something well, WHY did you
by Carol Dweck. go through that effort to learn
it? What motivated you? What
Watch: A great made you persevere?
60-second video of (written or link to multimedia
Carol Dweck talking artifact- video, captioned
about her favorite picture, tweet, etc)
word, yet!
Register for class on UC
Learning by Tuesday

10/17 Learning 1, 3 Read What is the Identify a topic for your lesson
Outcomes and Value of plan
Aligned Course-Specific
Assessment
Learning Goals Reflect on the link between
learning outcomes and
Read Bloom et al.s motivation/mindset
Taxonomy of the
Cognitive Domain to
the end of the second
table

10/24 Timely and 1, 3 Read: p.137-144 of

Appropriate How Learning Works
Feedback by Ambrose et al.
(2010).

10/31 Facilitating Active 1, 2, 3

Discussion
 11/7 Learning 1, 2, 3
Experiences:
Active Learning

11/14 Inclusive 1, 2, 3
Classroom

11/28 Higher Ed Lesson 3, 5

Planning and
Acting as
Instructor (or
Guest Instructor)

12/5 Peer Review of 3, 4

Lesson Plans

Instructor Goals. At a minimum, I hope to pursue the following goals and solicit your open and
timely feedback on how well we are meeting these goals:
Communicate effectively and frequently;
Be an enthusiastic, active and involved;
Demonstrate a mastery of the discipline;
Relate material to current practices;
Clearly explain complex concepts and ideas;
Provide a framework for lifelong learning;
Strive to involve participant in class activities;
Be available to assist participants in or out of class; and
Have respect and concern for all participants.