Pedagogical Pathways

Overview

The UCLA Teaching and Learning Center’s Pedagogical Pathways bring together our programs, resources, and learning opportunities to help educators connect professional learning programs with broader instructional practices and teaching strategies. Taken together, the pathways provide a flexible structure for building, applying, reflecting on, and demonstrating growth in teaching practices over the arc of one’s instructional experience.

How Pedagogical Pathways Work

Pedagogical Pathways are a flexible structure that helps UCLA educators connect educational development and professional learning programs with broader instructional practices and evidence-based teaching strategies. Pedagogical Pathways support teaching effectiveness and inclusive excellence at UCLA while allowing instructors to engage at the level best suited for their experience, interests, and goals. 

Every Pedagogical Pathway offers two tracks of engagement: Discover (for exploration, connection, and application of teaching practices) and Deep Dive (for sustained learning, reflection, and assessment).

Discover

Introduce & Design

The Discover track offers a low-barrier entry point for educators at any stage of their teaching journeys. They can explore (or refresh) core concepts, connect them to teaching contexts, and design approaches to implement in the classroom. 

Discover tracks typically include 4-6 workshops, each ranging from 60 to 90 minutes, that are available to instructors throughout the academic year. To complete a Discover track, instructors select any four sessions on the track along with any additional track requirements (e.g., participation, capstone reflection, project). Instructors receive a certificate of engagement for investing time in their instructional development. 

Example

For example, if an instructor is interested in implementing digital accessibility into their classroom and attends the following four workshops:

• Workshop 1: What is Digital Accessibility?
• Workshop 3: Making Your Documents Accessible
• Workshop 4: Making Your Slide Presentations Accessible
• Workshop 5: Learn How to Write Great Alt Text

After completing these workshops and any associated work (i.e., a capstone reflection), the instructor earns a certificate of engagement and completes the Discover Track of the Digital Accessibility Pathway. 

Pathway content is designed to foster continuous growth and reflect the instructor’s efforts to develop effective instructional approaches that draw on multiple forms of evidence about teaching. The Pathways certificate serves as additional documentation of the instructors’ investment in the development of new and effective techniques of instruction. Pathways programming aligns with guidance to advance teaching effectiveness (see University of California’s Academic Personnel Manual (APM 210) and excellence (see Holistic Evaluation of Teaching Dimensions of Teaching Excellence).

Deep Dive

Apply & Assess

The Deep Dive track offers an opportunity to translate pedagogical ideas into action by engaging instructors in sustained, collaborative, and community-based experiences designed to gather evidence, assess impact, and advance teaching practice. 

Deep Dive Tracks typically include extended interactions and projects involving 8 to 10 (or more) program hours completed throughout the academic year. … Project-based work may differ depending on the project goals and timelines. 

Programs offered through Deep Dive tracks typically require participants to invest more time building community, developing a project, and/or assessing the impact of teaching innovations. Examples include participating in an intensive program or event (such as intensives and institutes; faculty learning community; or project-related work).

Example

For example, an instructor wants to actively integrate artificial intelligence into their course and would like to learn from other instructors’ experiences to build awareness of emerging AI instructional practices. The instructor applies to and is accepted into the AI and Teaching Faculty Learning Community. Upon finishing the faculty learning community experience and any associated work (i.e., experience survey, reflection, and/or project), the instructor would earn a certificate reflecting the completion of the Deep Dive Track of the AI and Teaching Pathway. The depth of engagement represented by participating in the Deep Dive Track serves as demonstrated evidence of the instructor’s development of new and effective techniques of instruction and pedagogical innovation.