Format

This asynchronous course consists of eight modules. Each module contains a 90-minute lecture video with embedded activities, a reflection assignment, and a way to engage with other participants. A time commitment of 2.5 hours per week is recommended and the course will take 20-30 hours to complete (12 hours of instruction + 8-18 hours of individual work). Participants will receive a video orientation to the course materials and then be paced (through reminder emails) to complete one module per week. Participants will provide feedback to peers each week, providing community and accountability. Live Learner Groups with other participants and drop-in sessions with the instructor are also available to support staying engaged throughout the course.

Full course
Those who complete all eight modules and the associated work can earn a Letter of Completion from OCPD.

Independent modules
Modules 1-6 may be taken independently, meaning no previous or subsequent modules are required to be taken. (Modules 7 and 8 are only suitable for those taking the complete course). If you are not seeking a Letter of Completion, you may take as much or as little of the course as you wish. You will retain access to the course materials as long as you are affiliated with UCSF.

Modules

Module 1 - Teaching is a Science: How to Use Evidence to Teach Well
No prerequisite
One of the biggest misconceptions around teaching in the sciences is that good teaching cannot be measured and that teaching is an innate skill that cannot be taught. In fact, teaching effectively requires using methods that are grounded in research. In this module, we will explore and experiment with effective and inclusive teaching practices grounded in scientific evidence.

Participants who complete this module will be able to:

• Identify effective and inclusive pedagogical methods to meet the needs of undergraduate and graduate students
• Explain how the use of evidence-based practices is tied to inclusivity in the classroom
• Use student learning data to improve their teaching approach over time

Modules 2 and 3 - Teaching Students Who Aren’t You: How to Be an Inclusive Instructor
Recommended but not required: Prior module
Privilege is invisible to those who benefit from it. In this 2-part module, we will explore the evidence around barriers to access, success and retention for students who come from historically excluded groups in science, and how traditional teaching practices perpetuate inequalities. We will also discuss the teaching philosophy as well as the classroom management and curriculum design practices which can be used to create an inclusive environment, where all students have a chance to succeed.

Participants who complete this module will be able to:

• Describe the evidence surrounding barriers to access, success and retention for historically excluded groups in education
• Describe inclusive teaching methods around curriculum design, classroom management
• Describe how different philosophies about teaching can affect the ability to become more inclusive as an instructor
• Develop a plan to mitigate inequities as an instructor

Module 4 - To Lecture or Not to Lecture: How to Design an Effective Lesson Plan
Recommended but not required: Prior modules
The way you design your lesson plan will have a huge impact on how much and how well your students learn, as well as who learns. In this module, we will explore tools to design lesson plans that will optimize student learning. We will then use a case study to design a lesson plan and receive feedback from our peers on how to improve it.

Participants who complete this module will be able to:

• Explain the difference between transmissionist and constructivist approaches to teaching
• Explain how different students benefit from different approaches
• Design a lesson plan using the 5E model
• Use a spreadsheet template to develop a balanced lesson plan for their discipline

Modules 5 and 6 - Why Your Students Aren't Really Learning: What to Teach and How to Know What They Learned
Recommended but not required: Prior modules
Do students who graduate from the best institutions actually know what they should? In this module we will discuss why faculty don’t always succeed at teaching their students what they should learn by the time they graduate college. We will then learn how to design learning goals that can be used to optimize lesson plans and design effective exams that will measure student learning. We will also learn how to assess laboratory notebooks, as well as assignments that assess students’ ability to apply concepts and demonstrate higher order thinking skills.

Participants who complete this module will be able to:

• Explain why students fail some types of test questions more than others
• Explain how designing learning goals is tied to creating an inclusive learning environment 
• Design a lesson plan to identify what content to cover and how to cover it to optimize student learning
• Distinguish between lower and higher order cognitive skills in learning goals
• Design exam questions that measure learning in an inclusive manner
• Explain how to use rubrics to assess open-ended questions, essays, laboratory notebooks and other written work inclusively

Module 7 - Getting Started with Evidence-Based Teaching
Required: All prior modules
Getting started with evidence-based teaching as a new instructor can be intimidating at first, especially in educational environments where a majority of colleagues still use traditional teaching methods. In this module, we will use case studies to apply the principles learned in prior modules to real-life situations. We will hear advice from experienced instructors on the best way to get started with these more inclusive approaches. Participants will also design and teach a short learning activity tailored to their target student population on the subject of their choice, and receive constructive feedback from a small group of classmates on how to improve their teaching approach.

Participants who complete this module will be able to:

• Apply evidence-based principles learned in prior modules to problem-solve common teaching challenges and address common misconceptions in education
• Describe strategies to help them get started as a new instructor in evidence-based teaching
• Design and teach a short learning activity to a small group of classmates
• Collect evidence to improve their teaching in an iterative manner

Module 8 - Designing a Teaching Statement
Required: All prior modules
The research conducted at OCPD suggests that many misconceptions on the value of teaching statements when hiring faculty in academia. Although a large portion of faculty appear to not find teaching statements useful for assessing teaching potential, those trained in evidence-based teaching do. These faculty look for evidence that trainees are familiar with discipline-based education research and have experimented with evidence-based practices. In this module, participants will synthesize what they have learned in the previous modules to develop a teaching statement that reflects their teaching philosophy, knowledge and experience with evidence-based teaching.

Participants who complete this module will be able to:

• Reflect on their experiences to define a teaching philosophy
• Synthesize knowledge of evidence-based practices and experiences to describe and illustrate their teaching philosophy in a teaching statement