Professional Development Opportunities for Grad Students and Postdocs with CIRTL

There are 3 sessions left in the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning (CIRTL) Joyful Journey series for graduate students and postdocs. These sessions, like all CIRTL programs, are free to everyone at Penn State. Events meet online in Zoom; schedule varies. Upcoming events in this series are:

• March 10, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Writing Your Research Statement for the Academic Job Market
• April 2, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Careers Beyond Higher Education Panel 1: Government, Non-profits & Consulting
• April 7, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm: Careers Beyond Higher Education Panel 2: Private Industry, Consulting & Non-profits

CIRTL staff and instructors will take measures throughout this event series to support accessibility for all our learners.

Register for your choice of CIRTL development opportunities: https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3vNGqkPKRuTL5oq

The Improv and Pedagogy Teaching Community is Back!

The Improv and Pedagogy Teaching Community offers two workshops this spring semester. These stand-alone, interactive workshops are scheduled for Friday, Mar. 7 and April 25 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET, in downtown State College at the Blue Brick Theater (209 W Calder Way). Each workshop features lunch, small and large group discussions on connections between improv and our teaching, and improv games and exercises facilitated by company members of Happy Valley Improv and PSU instructors.

Space is limited. Sign-up at https://forms.gle/HHi8d5gwGZRXyAja7.

Questions? Email Andrea McCloskey at mailto:avm11@psu.edu

OPAIR Hosts UDL and Assessment Webinar

Wednesday, March 26th, The Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research (OPAIR) will host a virtual workshop on improving program assessment through Universal Design for Learning (UDL) facilitated by Gina Pazzaglia, teaching professor and director of the Master of Professional Studies Program in Nutritional Sciences, and Christopher Barnes, assistant director of assessment. They'll explore the purpose and key concepts of the UDL 3.0 Guidelines, focusing on their impact on learning outcomes assessment, as well as on assessment strategies that align with UDL principles to foster inclusivity and enhance student learning.

The webinar will take place on March 26th, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST.

Register at https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1CihsOiGS1JyXdQ to receive the Zoom link prior to the event.

Direct questions to opair@psu.edu.

Explore Professional Development Opportunities at the Schreyer Institute

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence offers many great development opportunities for instructors including seminars, consultations, workshops, and teaching communities. Take steps to increase your teaching excellence now through our Spring programs and services.

Meet with a Consultant

The Schreyer Institute has a diverse team of eight instructional consultants who work 1-on-1 or in small groups with Penn State instructors to discuss course design and planning, teaching and assessment strategies, teaching feedback and evaluation, and teaching and learning grants. Consultations are free, confidential, and can be virtual or in-person. Schedule a meeting with a consultant or email site@psu.edu.

Register for Upcoming Workshops

How CIRTL Can Benefit Grad Students and Post Docs

Monday, 2/24/2025, 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Join us for this brief overview of how CIRTL programming—both at Penn State and through the 44-university network—can help grad students and postdocs to 1) strengthen their teaching skills and 2) document their professional development through CIRTL certification.

Hands-on Workshop: Demystifying Disciplinary Writing Tasks for Our Students

Wednesday, 2/26/2025, 10:10 A.M. - 11:25 A.M.

If you’re a grad student or postdoc who is preparing or facilitating writing tasks in your teaching, you’re invited to bring a current writing assignment or draft of a proposed writing assignment for developmental advice and feedback. Schreyer Institute consultants will facilitate individual and peer activities to help you design writing assignments that support your students in writing like a scientist, critic, analyst, extension communicator, etc.

Making Our Teaching Materials Accessible

Thursday, 2/27/2025, 10:10 A.M. - 11:25 A.M.

This workshop, of special interest to graduate students and postdocs, will introduce the accessibility of teaching materials as a component of inclusive course design, provide an introductory overview of best practices and things to consider when designing accessible materials, and offer participants opportunities to set their own task lists for designing and/or revising accessible teaching materials.

Leveraging UDL Options for Accessible Course Design

Thursday, 3/6/2025, 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Facilitated by Sonya Woods, Lead Accessibility Consultant for Penn State World Campus - In this webinar, we’ll delve into real-world examples, best practices, and practical strategies for seamlessly integrating UDL options into course design to minimize the need for special accommodations and make the course more accessible, empowering both students and instructors.

Writing A Diversity Statement

Tuesday, 3/18/2025, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

In this interactive workshop, participants will reflect on their own role and their contributions to advancing DEI, and we’ll explore useful frameworks for conceptualizing and writing DEI statements.

General Education Colloquium

Friday, 3/21/2025, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Join us for a lively conversation with the incoming co-editors of the Journal of General Education, as well as the head of Penn State University Press (the journal's publisher) to learn more about what scholars are thinking about when it comes to general education practice; what editors are looking for when it comes to general education scholarship, and how your interests might align with those of the journal (and its publisher).

Accessibility & Belonging: Pedagogical Strategies

Tuesday, 3/25/2025, 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Focusing on the intersections of accessibility and belonging, participants of this interactive webinar will discover the foundational role of accessibility in fostering a sense of belonging as well as evidence-based pedagogical strategies for making their courses more accessible.

Talking about Microaggressions

Friday, 3/28/2025, 1:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

In this session of the Talking about Teaching Series, Leah Hollis, Associate Dean, College of Education, will lead a discussion on how to manage microaggressions from students to faculty and between student peers in the classroom space.

Join a Series or Course

Inclusive Syllabus Workshop Series

Please register by 5pm on February 20, 2025. This program supports 15 faculty (first come, first served.)

Commonwealth Campus faculty are invited to participate in the Inclusive Syllabus Workshop Series, a professional development opportunity designed to help faculty strengthen their syllabi to better support student engagement and success. Open to faculty of all ranks and lines, the series consists of three one-hour sessions this spring, where participants will explore strategies to promote a growth mindset and cultivate a sense of belonging through their syllabi.

Universal Design for Learning Course

Tuesday, 2/25/2025 to Saturday, 5/31/2025

This Universal Design for Learning (UDL) course is self-directed and asynchronous. The course provides an introduction to the rationale for UDL, supporting research, and applications of UDL. We welcome instructors and designers who embrace student variability, strive for equity, and seek to empower students. Participants will explore UDL terms, principles, structures, and applications, and ways to adapt teaching practices.

Decoding the Disciplines: A Cohort for Grad Students and Postdocs

The program will involve 1.5-hour group meetings on Zoom (9:00-10:30 a.m. on March 19, March 26, and April 9)

In this Schreyer Institute short course for graduate students and postdocs, participants will work through the preliminary steps in the framework:

• Identifying a concept/skill where many of their students struggle
• Describing all of the unconscious or automatic steps they take as an expert when dealing with that concept/skill
• Planning ways to model their expert knowledge for students and to create opportunities for students to practice the target concept/skill

As participants in the cohort undertake this challenging and rewarding work, they will have guidance and support from Schreyer Institute facilitators Shannon McClellan Brooks and Chas Brua.

Additional information for all workshops, webinars, series, and courses can be found on our events page.