The Center for Educational Innovation programs that assist faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants build community among their peers and explore a wide range of teaching topics.
Faculty and Instructor Cohort Programs
Assessment Deep Dive
This 5-day working webinar series is designed to help instructors create or redesign a comprehensive assessment plan that supports learning for all students in their course(s). During four of the five interactive sessions we will make use of 3 hours to dive into assessment topics, to work independently, and to incorporate consultation time. During each of the interactive sessions we will focus on a different aspect of assessment design and planning to apply during 45 - 60 minutes of individual work time.
Early Career Teaching & Learning Program
Continue to enhance your teaching, research, and public engagement by participating in the Early Career Teaching and Learning Program within the first five years you are an instructor or faculty member. Through discussion, practice, and reflection in large and small group interactions, you'll work to deepen your understanding of student learning and broaden teaching strategies with your courses in mind.
Inclusive STEM Teaching Program
This 6-week program engages UMN STEM faculty, instructors, and postdocs in learning, discussion, and reflection that guide and deepen the creation of inclusive learning environments. This cohort experience is designed to advance the awareness, self-efficacy, and the ability of faculty, instructors, and postdocs to cultivate inclusive STEM learning environments for all their students and to develop themselves as reflective, inclusive practitioners.
Graduate Student Programs
International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program
The International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program offers training and support to nonnative English speakers who teach courses and undertake other instructional responsibilities at the University of Minnesota.
Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Program
The Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Program assists graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in developing teaching skills and exploring the faculty role at the college or university level.
Spoken English Test for Teaching Assistants (SETTA)
The SETTA measures spoken English pronunciation, fluency, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as listening comprehension. University of Minnesota policy states that in order to be employed as a teaching assistant or instructor, graduate and undergraduate students whose home language growing up was not English are required to be tested for spoken English proficiency.
Teaching Assistant and Postdoc Professional Development Program (TAPD)
The Teaching Assistant and Postdoc Professional Development Program (TAPD) offers graduate students and postdocs formal recognition for investing in teaching-related professional development. After successfully completing the required elements of the program, you'll receive a formal letter of recognition from the Center for Educational Innovation and the option of accepting a digital badge.
Teaching Assistant and Postdoc Professional Development Program
Programs for All Who Teach
The following programs are open to all who teach at the University of Minnesota (tenure-track faculty, P&A and adjunct faculty, graduate students and postdoc TAs and instructors).
Designing and Delivering Online Learning
Explore and make plans to implement effective pedagogical practices in your online courses. The seminar will make use of active learning strategies throughout, and participants will be encouraged to reflect on those strategies and how they might be used or adapted in their own teaching.
Teaching for Student Well-being
Ever feel like you’ve had superb training in your discipline, but little preparation for the student mental health challenges facing educators today? Or that you’d like a chance to discuss in-depth how course design and teaching practices affect student well-being and learning? This program is for faculty, instructors, and graduate students within the University of Minnesota System who wish to explore the answers to these questions.
Teaching with Access & Inclusion
Are you committed to supporting diverse students but still feel unsure of how to address questions of exclusion and belonging in your courses? Through 4 highly interactive synchronous Zoom sessions, the Teaching with Access and Inclusion (TAI) Program offers an exploration of critical frameworks and practical strategies towards creating more equitable educational experiences for all.
"Teaching with AI" Book Club
The "Teaching with AI" Book Club invites faculty, staff, and graduate students to explore the impact of AI on education through the book Teaching with AI by Jose Bowen and Eddie Watson. Participants will engage in discussions on AI's origins, its influence on learning and teaching, and develop strategies for integrating AI in education. Sessions include chapter overviews, guest speakers, and breakout discussions, welcoming all regardless of reading progress.