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Graduate Students and Postdocs

What DCAL Offers

DCAL offers professional development programs and services for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars primarily focused on teaching and academic careers. We focus on instructional methods that are inclusive and learner-centered.  Workshops allow grad students and postdocs from disciplines across campus to gather, exchange ideas, and learn from each other in addition to learning from DCAL.  We sometimes refer to you as "future faculty" although we recognize that you have many career options and may still benefit from these resources even if you do not intend to be a faculty member.  Please join us!   

In support of the current campus expectations of physical distancing, remote teaching & learning, and working remotely for many of us, DCAL transitioned our programs to online and remote formats for the foreseeable future.

TA Workshop Series & Orientation

DCAL offers a campus-wide TA orientation each fall (usually in December), a TA panel at the start of term, and many other workshops that may be useful to you.  TA-specific workshops often are led by experienced TAs who share what they have learned. 

Due to the unique circumstances of 2020, DCAL is shifting our TA programming to a mix of self-paced online and synchronous sessions on Zoom.  If you are interested in joining the Graduate TA Canvas Site, please fill out this survey.  See the workshop sign-ups for grad students and postdocs for details about when in-person (synchronous on zoom) workshops  will be offered. Below is what has been offered since going remote.  

  • Graduate TA Panel on Remote Teaching - Will you be TAing remotely for the first time this summer? Join us on zoom to ask questions of a panel of experienced graduate student TAs who will talk about their experiences this spring and what they learned. 
  • Remote Teaching for TAs - Join a zoom session to talk about remote teaching for TAs and specifically using zoom. 
  • Zoom drop-in practice for TAs - This drop-in is especially for those who have already participated in "Remote Teaching for TAs" or some other zoom training. If there's anything you want to try out or ask about zoom, here's your chance.  Drop-in at any time during the hour to see what's happening, ask a question, perhaps join in on someone experimenting with zoom's capabilities, or try out your own thing.   

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS

TEACHING STATEMENT WORKSHOPS

Most academic institutions ask that those who are applying for an assistant professor position should submit a teaching statement/philosophy. If you're not sure how to articulate your philosophy in a concise essay, come to the Teaching Statement Workshop Series. If you have a statement you're working on, please suggest we offer the workshop or make an appointment with Cindy Rosalbo.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY RESOURCES

The Teaching Statement Workshop is part of a larger Future Faculty Academic Job Search Series offered in collaboration with colleagues from the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.  Working on your Diversity Statement and Talking about Teaching During the Interview are other DCAL workshops that are part of the series.

 

FUTURE FACULTY TEACHING WORKSHOP SERIES

In this workshop series, graduate students and postdocs are introduced to educational literature, basic elements of course design, and different instructional methods. Participants also have a chance to practice teaching and to evaluate teaching by others. Participants are expected to attend all sessions via zoom and do work on Canvas between sessions.

Those who attend all the sessions have the option to  receive a certificate of completion.

This series is offered at least two times per year and has been offered regularly since 2008.  100% of participants who completed the post-workshop survey said they would recommend the series to a peer.  Recent participants commented: 

"I learned a lot and I'm excited for a chance to put these new skills into practice." 

"This was well-taught and I learned a lot of things I will be using in my own teaching. I feel more confident not only in my own teaching but also helping others to be more effective."

"As always, your series and workshops are SUPER helpful!"

"I thought it was a great series and really enjoyed all of the topics! Cindy was a fabulous teacher and model a lot of good things to think about!"

"Great course, excellent instructor. It has already changed the way I teach and proved effective."

"I really like this course for chance to work with different people, people not from my field."

"I was very pleased with the structure and the activities within this course."

"[Cindy] was able to engage all of us in the remote meeting as well as to transmit her motivation and knowledge about teaching and learning. She made these topics very interesting and I think all the class enjoyed every meeting."

LEARNING COMMUNITY FOR FUTURE FACULTY

DCAL has established a Learning Community for Future Faculty (LCFF) to cultivate a community focused on teaching and learning amongst graduate students and postdocs. The focus of this group is to share the rewards and challenges of college teaching, while digging a bit deeper into best practices and techniques for teaching and related career development issues. The LCFF meets regularly (usually monthly) and the topics and format are chosen by its members. Regular attendance is welcomed yet only coming to the one session you can attend is fine too!  If you'd like to be involved, email Cindy Rosalbo.

Syllabus Design Workshop Series

This 3-part series focuses on learning objectives, assessment methods, and creating a complete course syllabus. You should come with a specific course in mind.  We will work through steps to help you get to the goal of bringing the draft of a syllabus for your class to the last session to share with the other participants and get feedback.  This is different from DCAL's course design sessions for people working on Dartmouth courses, which is more in-depth.  The goal here is really to have a syllabus for the job market. Priority will be given to people who have completed DCAL's Future Faculty Teaching Series. We meet 3-4 times depending on the number of participants.