Mini-Courses

Educators are responsible for creating classes in which all students feel welcome and capable of succeeding. How can identities salient to our students (race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and other backgrounds) not only be valued in the classroom, but leveraged as strengths for learning? In this five-session mini-course, participants will uncover a variety of approaches to help students learn and thrive to the best of their abilities.  Participants will complete a series of readings, engage in discussion on inclusive teaching, and identify skills and practices to implement in their classes to make these more inclusive and equitable.  

This course is open to Penn doctoral and terminal master’s students and postdoctoral fellows. Attendance counts as two workshops towards the CETLI Teaching Certificate. 

The Course in College Teaching is an eight-session mini-course intended to prepare postdoctoral fellows and graduate students nearing the job market to teach college courses and develop as instructors. In this structured series of workshops and discussions, participants will consider concrete ways of organizing, preparing for, and teaching a course. They will also engage in practical, hands-on activities to help them reflect on their own teaching goals and style. Participants will finish this course with a portfolio of teaching materials – including sample assignments, in-class activities, and syllabi – that they can use on the job market and to prepare for their future as teachers. 

This course is open to PhD students or postdoctoral fellows with little or no teaching experience. (Note: except in fields like design where a masters is a terminal degree, the Course in College Teaching is not appropriate for master’s students.)  

Attendance counts as three workshops towards the CETLI Teaching Certificate. 

One section is open for enrollment for Summer 2024: 

June 5 – August 7, Wednesdays, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 
(June 5, 12, 26; July 10, 17, 24, 31; August 7.)
All sessions on Zoom.

For more information, contact Ian Petrie.

Sample Syllabus

The Course Design Institute is an opportunity for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are designing a course, whether that be for a proposed course at Penn or for a job market sample. This mini-course will provide structure, camaraderie, and feedback over the course of a 3-day institute. Alongside CETLI staff, the cohort will consider evidence-based practices in course design as they work collaboratively on articulating course objectives, brainstorming in-class activities, designing assignments and assessments, and crafting course policies. Participants will leave the institute with a new foundation in course design that can be applied to future courses. 

This course is open to Penn doctoral and terminal master’s students and postdoctoral fellows. Attendance counts as two workshops towards the CETLI Teaching Certificate.  

One section will be offered in May 2025 (dates to be announced). 

For more information, contact Karen Lagasse. 

This four-session mini-course is designed to introduce graduate students to online teaching. Participants will consider how to teach a fully online course that is both engaging for students and meets rigorous standards.  In weekly sessions, they will gain experience working with the Canvas platform as they they think creatively about how to use Canvas and a wide range of other online tools. Alongside this technical experience, participants will consider key pedagogical questions for teaching online such as keeping students motivated and creating a sense of community. This mini-course will help graduate students prepare for online and technology-enhanced teaching at Penn, and it will also better equip them in their future careers as faculty in an increasingly digital academy. 

This course is open to Penn doctoral and terminal master’s students and postdoctoral fellows. Attendance counts as two workshops towards the CETLI Teaching Certificate. 

One section will be offered in Spring 2025 (dates to be announced).
All sessions on Zoom. 

For more information, contact Ellen Rhudy.