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CIRTL@ Stanford Teaching Certificate Program

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The CIRTL@ Stanford program provides an opportunity for participants at various stages (graduate students, postdocs, and lecturers/academic teaching staff) to engage in professional development around teaching to ultimately improve student learning in their current and future courses.

Engagement in the CIRTL@ Stanford program will allow participants to work toward teaching certificates that can be listed on resumes and CVs and provide the opportunity for development of teaching-related materials that are critical for job applications.

While professional development opportunities like these have not been shown to increase a student's time to degree, higher levels of involvement with teaching development were shown to be associated with gaining tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty positions (Connolly, 2016). In addition to being more effective in the classroom, participants will build a foundation that may help them be more competitive in the job market and in obtaining research funding.

Submit information about completed teaching certificate requirements here.

Program levels

The program has been designed to accommodate participants from a variety of disciplines and roles. Choose from a list of options to build an experience that fits your needs and schedule. These opportunities are independent of any department or program requirements.

More details about the requirements for each of the levels are below this section.

Associate

CIRTL participants will be able to describe and recognize the value of the CIRTL core ideas in effective teaching and learning through their engagement in campus and network offerings. See details about the program and requirements below.

Practitioner

CIRTL participants will engage in the process of utilizing CIRTL core ideas to improve the learning of students through the design and execution of a Teaching-as-Research project. See general requirements below.

Scholar

CIRTL participants will advance knowledge on teaching and learning through scholarship, through publication or conference presentation of their Teaching-as-Research project. See general requirements below.

Register here first to start working toward a certificate

Questions?

Feel free to contact us at cirtl_stanford [at] stanford.edu

Associate level requirements

 

Explore and DevelopEngage and PracticeReflect and Assess

Build a foundation in the following areas (complete one per area):

1) Evidence-based teaching in a local learning community

2) IDEAL/Learning through diversity

3) CIRTL network community engagement

Choose from a variety of options to engage with or impact teaching practices

Draft a teaching portfolio

Complete associate level survey

Full lists of requirement options can be found below or on this pdf (must be logged into Stanford to view). See example paths for grad students, postdocs, and lecturers/academic teaching staff. If you would like additional guidance to help you choose opportunities to engage with, please feel free to contact us at cirtl_stanford[@]stanford.edu. Please submit your requirements to the system as you complete them—no need to wait!

Step 1: Explore and develop (three requirements, complete one from each of three areas)

Evidence-based teaching in a local learning community (complete one)

  • Grad Course Design Institute (grad students and postdocs)
  • Course Design Institute (faculty and instructors)
  • CTL280: Learning and Teaching of Science
  • CTL312: Science and Engineering Course Design
  • CTL341: Learning and Teaching in the Humanities
  • Introduction to evidence-based undergraduate STEM teaching (CIRTL network course) with participation in a local learning community
  • Advancing learning through evidence-based STEM teaching (CIRTL network course) with participation in a local learning community
  • Scientific Teaching Summer Institute (OPA)

IDEAL/Learning through diversity (complete one)

CIRTL network community engagement (complete one)

Step 2: Engage and practice (complete one)

When you are close to completing steps 1 and 2, we will contact you with resources to help you construct your teaching portfolio and provide detailed instructions for how to submit it for step 3.

 Step 3: Reflect and assess (complete both)

  • Portfolio draft
    • Cover letter that describes and provides context for items in portfolio
    • Statement of teaching philosophy
    • Course related artifact (i.e., syllabus or annotated lesson plan)
    •  Annotated student feedback
  • Associate level completion survey

Submit information about completed requirements

Practitioner level 

Explore and DevelopEngage and PracticeReflect and Assess

Completion of Associate level

SGSI course: Teaching as Research (TAR): Leverage Your Skills as a Scholar to Improve Your Teaching or approved CIRTL network TAR course

 

Execute project in a learning environment, mentored by a CTL/CIRTL team member

Project report and presentation

Complete survey

Step 1: Explore and develop 

  • Completion of Associate level
  • SGSI course: Teaching as Research (TAR): Leverage Your Skills as a Scholar to Improve Your Teaching or approved CIRTL network TAR course

Step 2: Engage and practice

  • Execute project in a learning environment (mentored by a CTL/CIRTL staff member)

Step 3: Reflect and assess (complete both)

  • Project report (must include details of project design, implementation, methods, analysis, and outcomes)
  • Complete survey

 

Scholar level

Scholars complete all the requirements of the Associate and Practitioner levels and present their teaching-as-research project at a national or international conference or symposium and/or publish their work in a scholarly journal. They will be asked to share details with the CIRTL@ Stanford program to achieve a certificate at this level.

Join the CIRTL@ Stanford community

Interested in learning about upcoming events and opportunities? 

Join our mailing list and Slack channel

Questions?

Contact us at cirtl_stanford [@] stanford.edu

Program contacts

Visit our Program contacts page for additional contact information.