Workshop Requirements
Participants in the AT Program are required to:
- attend an Introduction to Teaching Resourses session;
- take four core workshops; and
- take two elective workshops
PLEASE NOTE: Before registering for a workshop, be certain that you are able to attend the entire session.
Introductory Session
The introductory session, Introduction to Teaching Resources, is offered at the beginning of each semester.
If you have not yet attended Introduction to Teaching Resources, you are still welcome to enroll in other workshops. While a required program component, the introductory session is not a prerequisite for enrollment and participation in other program events.
Core Workshops (offered every semester)
The four core workshops are described in detail below. To register, please see the CNDLS Workshops page.
Effective Classroom Interaction
This workshop covers various types of classroom interaction including lecture, discussion, and other activities that can be used in both small and large classes. Possible additional topics include the use of online communication environments to enhance class interactions both in and outside the classroom.
Assessment and Grading
In this workshop, we explore a variety of ways to understand what and how students are learning. Why wait until the end of the semester to find out that your students didn't 'get it'? We will introduce a number of techniques to use early in and midway through the semester to assess your students' true understanding of material. We will also discuss topics such as rubrics and taxonomies for easy and effective grading, and accounting for prior knowledge and possible misconceptions on the part of students.
Syllabus Design: Fundamentals & Innovations
In this workshop we will discuss the fundamental components of a good syllabus as well as organizational approaches to designing them. In light of these components and approaches, we will discuss best practices of syllabus design through past examples. Participants should bring a syllabus or ideas for a syllabus to the workshop to receive informal feedback from the group.
The Teaching Portfolio
This workshop explains and demonstrates how to document and reflect on the knowledge and skills gained from your teaching experience through developing a professional teaching portfolio. We will illustrate the iterative and continuing nature of portfolio construction by demonstrating the revision process used in writing and revising a teaching philosophy statement. Participants will leave the workshop with a template for building their own teaching portfolios, as well as examples to support them in writing their own teaching philosophy statement.
Elective workshops (vary by semester)
The CNDLS workshops listed below are examples of elective workshops offered in previous semesters. All CNDLS workshops qualify as AT program electives. To view and/or register for current elective offerings, please see the CNDLS Workshops page.
Bringing Curricula to Life and Life to Curricula
This workshop will explore engaged learning through a focus on one form called 'curriculum infusion.' Curriculum infusion is a form of engaged learning that brings students' real-life issues into the content of any course from anthropology to zoology. Workshop participants will learn about the history and theory of curriculum infusion and about student life issues that might be brought into conversation with disciplinary work. They will also be presented with examples of how curriculum infusion has been done in a variety of disciplines, and be given the opportunity to explore how they might do it in their own disciplines.
"Did you say what I think you said!?" Facilitating Discussion on Challenging Topics
Instructors are often hesitant to introduce topics like racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism in the classroom because their training has not prepared them to handle the issues and exchanges that may result. This interactive workshop will provide participants an opportunity to share stories about when discussions about these topics took an unexpected turn they were unprepared to handle, then to share ideas about how to address these circumstances in the future.
Learning Styles
Both students and instructors have preferred ways of taking in and processing information. Research on learning styles has indicated that undergraduate students and university faculty often have different learning style preferences, suggesting that developing flexibility in our approaches to teaching and learning could benefit both students and professors. This workshop will introduce you to a variety of frameworks for assessing learning styles, including a free online inventory that you can take yourself or direct your students to use in exploring their learning styles. We will also discuss Kolb's 'learning cycle' and how you can use it to increase your ability to reach a wider variety of students in your classes whose learning preferences may differ from your own.
Online Writing
Many teachers are incorporating online writing assignments into their course requirements. In this workshop, we will consider several different sorts of online writing environments -- threaded discussions, weblogging software, and email -- and explore how the use of these environments shapes teaching and learning. We will consider different online writing assignments, how these assignments might be evaluated, and how requiring students to do online writing can change the regular face-to-face interactions of the classroom. (Please note that this is not a hands-on technology workshop. We'll be discussing issues raised by the integration of online writing into student assignments rather than learning how to use particular online technologies.)
What Does 'Diversity in the Classroom' Mean?
As educators, we too easily focus on a particular group when we address student diversity. For some, this means students with learning disabilities or from minority groups. For others, this may be students from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background. In this workshop we will explore the question of What IS 'diversity in the classroom.' As a group we will redefine our understanding of diversity, and brainstorm teaching methods able to reach across the diverse student body. We will also have time to discuss particular examples of classroom diversity that you encountered in recent semesters.
Howard University's Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Workshops
CNDLS has an established partnership with Howard University's Preparing Future Faculty (PFF). Howard has reserved up to five spaces for Georgetown students in select PFF workshops. Each workshop will fulfill an elective workshop requirement toward completion of the AT program. For more information, please contact the PFF Program.
Checked this semester's CNDLS Workshops and still don't see what you want?
CNDLS will consider other teaching workshops to determine whether they meet the elective criteria. If you would like CNDLS to consider counting a particular workshop offered at another venue, please submit the Elective Workshop Proposal form to The Apprenticehip in Teaching Program . The workshop must be pre-approved, so please submit your request at least one week in advance.
