
Are you looking for ways to demonstrate your teaching skills and commitment to pedagogy? Academic job and grant listings often ask applicants to provide “evidence of teaching excellence,” which might include student evaluations of teaching, letters of recommendation, a teaching portfolio, or credentials in pedagogical professional development.
The Graduate Student Teaching Initiative at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Teaching and Learning provides a credential in pedagogy for Pitt graduate students. Attend six qualifying Teaching Center workshops in three of five possible focus areas (two in each area), such as “Pedagogy” or “Online Teaching,” then complete assignments associated with each workshop, like developing a lesson plan, to earn the University Center for Teaching and Learning’s “Achievement in Pedagogy” badge. Participants also compose a final 2-3 page reflective essay on the impact of the badge on their teaching.
In addition to being able to reference this pedagogy credential in a c.v. or teaching resume, participants will also earn a “digital badge”—an electronic credential specifying the work completed for the badge, which you may share with hiring and grant committees or other third parties.
The following indicates qualifying Teaching Center workshops and the focus areas which they satisfy.
1. Pedagogy | 2. Educational Technology |
3. Professional Development |
4. Online Teaching | 5. Diversity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Assessing and Developing Writing Assignments | Teaching with (and without) PowerPoint | Developing a Teaching Philosophy Statement | Best Practices in Online Teaching | Teaching Inclusively |
Developing a Lesson Plan | Panopto Video Hosting and Streaming | Developing a Teaching Portfolio | Canvas For Remote Instruction | Teaching International Students |
Getting Started in the Classroom | Active Learning with Top Hat | Role of the TA | Making Your Digital Course Materials Accessible & Inclusive | Developing a Diversity Statement |
Encouraging Student Participation | Peer Assessment Tools | Developing a Diversity Statement | Incorporating Active Learning into Remote Teaching | |
Syllabus Construction/Development | Qualtrics Online Survey System | |||
Cheating and Plagiarism | ||||
Classroom Strategies: Labs, Case Studies, and Simulations |
*Please consult our workshops schedule to identify which workshops are offered each semester.
Workshop | Deliverable |
Assessing and Developing Writing Assignments | Writing Assignment Rubric |
Developing a Lesson Plan | Lesson Plan |
Getting Started in the Classroom | First Day Lesson Plan |
Encouraging Student Participation | Participation Activity |
Syllabus Construction | Syllabus (excluding calendar of readings) |
Classroom Strategies: Case Studies, Labs, and Simulations | Lesson Plan/Outline |
Teaching with PowerPoint | PowerPoint Presentation |
Cheating and Plagiarism | Personal Academic Integrity Statement |
Panopto Video Hosting and Streaming | Panopto Presentation |
Audience Response Systems | Poll Question Activities |
Peer Assessment Tools | Peer Assessment Assignment |
Qualtrics Online Survey System | Qualtrics Survey |
Developing a Teaching Philosophy Statement | Teaching Philosophy Statement |
Developing a Teaching Portfolio | Teaching Portfolio Prospectus |
Role of the TA | TA Plan |
Best Practices in Online Teaching | Online Course Flowchart |
Canvas For Remote Instruction | Canvas Activity Assignment |
Incorporating Active Learning into Remote Teaching | Portion of a Lesson Plan |