Summer is fast approaching, and we at the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) are looking forward to sunny days and some time to help you plan your teaching for next year. There’s also still time to get applications in for Tier 4 Educational Innovation Grant to support your academic unit’s plans for innovative approaches to learning. Also check out our new Teaching Guides, which examine important pedagogical practices and approaches to help guide future instruction.
Keep reading for more programs, events, and updates from the TLC!
Ready, Set, Summer!
Preparing Graduate Students to Teach in Summer Session
10–11:30 a.m., June 17 and 18 | Zoom
Join the TLC’s Graduate Student & Postdoctoral Scholar Engagement team for two support sessions for graduate students who will be primary instructors in Summer Session. Get a short overview of BruinLearn as well as tips for engaging students and creating assignments or syllabi. All graduate students teaching in summer are welcome to attend one or both sessions, which will cover different topics. Visit the registration link for details. Register here
Events
10 + 10 Pop up Series
The TLC’s educational developers and designers offer a series of 10-minute pop-up sessions on course design, teaching, learning, and learning assessment topics—each followed by 10 minutes of Q&A and interactive audience discussion. Join us on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. during spring quarter. For more information and the schedule of topics, visit the10+10 Pop-up Series website page
May 6 – How to Use Student Experiences of Teaching (SET) Data to Inform Your Teaching
May 13 – Explore the AI Toolkit for the Humanities Classroom
May 20 – How to Compare and Evaluate AI Tools
Beyond the Discussion Board
Polling, Social Annotation, Forums and Other Ways to Engage Students
Noon–1 p.m., May 6 (Today) | Young Research Library 21570
Discussion boards are a widely-used tool for extending classroom conversations. This hands-on workshop introduces additional evidence-based strategies to boost peer engagement, agency, and belonging. Please bring a laptop, tablet, or web-enabled device to fully participate. Register here
How to Give Efficient and Effective Feedback for TAs and Postdocs
Noon–2 p.m., May 7 | Powell Library Room 190
Learn techniques for delivering feedback that encourages student growth and boosts motivation. For the first hour, participants will discuss how feedback impacts students’ mindset, motivation, and academic outcomes and will practice giving constructive feedback on assignments. During the second optional hour, the session will cover time-saving tips for delivering feedback efficiently and effectively, including using Bruin Learn tools. This workshop is geared toward TAs and postdocs, but all instructors are welcome. Register here
TA/Postdoc Drop-In Hours
Join us for drop-in hours! Consult with the Graduate and Postdoctoral Student Engagement (GSPSE) team on your teaching and pedagogy questions; build community with your fellow TAs. Learn More
2–4 p.m., May 8 | Powell 190
9:30–11:30 a.m., June 3 | Zoom
Educational Innovation and Scholarly Teaching Seminars Series
Making the Most of Active Learning
Why Teaching Expertise Matters and How it Develops
10–11 a.m., May 14 | Young Research Library Conference Room 11360
Tessa Andrews, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Genetics and the Director of the Scientists Engaged in Education Research center at the University of Georgia, will share findings from a suite of studies about the specialized teaching knowledge that college instructors rely on as they design and implement active-learning instruction in large classes. She will also share insights from a longitudinal study of teaching expertise development among early-career instructors. Register here
Empowered Teaching
Ungrading 101
Noon–1 p.m., May 20 | Young Research Library 21570
This workshop will explore “ungrading,” a framework that eliminates or greatly minimizes the use of assigned points or letter grades. Participants will learn about different strategies for ungrading, including considerations for different class sizes and disciplines, and will also troubleshoot obstacles to implementing ungrading. Register here
Assignments and Grading with Bruin Learn for TAs
Noon–1 p.m., May 21 | Zoom
Co-sponsored by the Bruin Learn Center of Excellence
Enhance your teaching skills and streamline your grading in Bruin Learn! This session is designed primarily for TAs and will cover creating and grading assignments and discussions, navigating the Gradebook, and providing student extensions and accommodations. Register here
Instructional Design Showcase
Scaffolding Research and Writing with Interactive Library Resources
10–11 a.m., May 22 | Zoom
Members of UCLA Library’s Writing Instruction and Research Education (WI+RE) team will introduce the audiences to short, interactive lessons developed mainly with H5P that can be imported into Bruin Learn course sites and help students learn crucial steps of the writing and research process. The WI+RE team will also share how its design processes can be applied to instructional design more broadly, including in breaking down and addressing hidden learning outcomes, and improving instructor and student experiences. Register here
Equip Your AI Toolkit with HumTech
Noon–1 p.m., May 22 | Zoom
Humanities Technology (HumTech)–HumTech is developing an AI Toolkit in collaboration with their graduate student RITC’s, Research and Instructional Technology Consultants who provide both instructional and research support. Join this workshop to hear about resources such as AI best practices in the classroom, the ethics of AI use, sample AI-based activities and lesson plans, and AI-based assignments and assessments. Register here
Digital Accessibility Drop-In Hours
Need help making your course materials digitally accessible? Join TLC experts during our open drop-in hour to get your questions answered and receive direct support with accessible documents, accommodations, course content, and Bruin Learn tools. All instructors and staff are welcome! Learn more
2–3 p.m., May 27 | Zoom
2–3 p.m., June 16 | Zoom
Bring Your Own Syllabus
Co-working and Consultation Session
1–3 p.m., May 29 | Powell Library 190
Join the TLC for a co-working session during which participants will look at example syllabi, consider best practices for student-centered and inclusive syllabus design, and peer review each other’s materials. Register here
Educational Innovation and Scholarly Teaching Seminars Series
From Practice to Policy
Scalable Approaches that Promote Undergraduate Success at the UC
10–11 a.m., June 11 | Location TBD
Mike Wilton, a faculty member in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at UC Santa Barbara, will showcase two approaches developed and implemented at the UC that aim to promote first-year student success. The presentation will examine evidence on the impact of a scalable, near-peer mentorship structure that leverages upper-division students who mentor small groups (4–6) of first-year students on how to navigate and succeed academically at the UC. Register here
From Our Campus Partners
Mentor & Mentee Conversations
Fostering Research Productivity
Noon–1:15 p.m., May 8 | Hershey Hall Salon 158
Hosted by the Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences
Intro to Accessible Research
11 a.m.–noon, May 9 | Zoom
Hosted by UCLA Library
Creating Connections Symposium on Writing Pedagogy
Writing Across
9:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m., May 16 | Hershey Hall Salon (room 158)
Hosted by Writing Programs
Spring Cornerstone Research Workshop Series
Hosted by UCLA Library
See a list of May topics
Undergraduate Research Week
May 19–23
Hosted by Undergraduate Research Centers