The Certificate Program

The CIRTL@UCLA certification pathway will give you foundational training in teaching and professional development that will prepare you to become competitive in academia and industry positions.

There are three levels of certification for the CIRTL program: Associate, Practitioner, and Scholar. Each level has unique learning outcomes:

- Associate level: recognizes the role of the CIRTL core ideas in effective teaching and learning
- Practitioner level: addresses scholarly teaching using the CIRTL core ideas to demonstrably improve learning of students by completing a teaching-as-research (TAR) project
- Scholar level: advances teaching and learning, and makes the results from TAR project public.

The CIRTL program outcomes permit anyone to enter the CIRTL Network learning community from a wide variety of disciplines, needs, and past experiences. This allows participants to achieve success as an educator for a variety of disciplines and industries. Learn more about the different requirements for each certification level below.

Join the CIRTL Community by participating in any courses or events associated with the National CIRTL Network or the local CIRTL@UCLA program. You can also subscribe to the CIRTL Network newsletter and the CIRTL@UCLA newsletter.

Levels of CIRTL Certification

Level 1: Associate Level 2: Practitioner Level 3: Scholar

Requirements for Associate Level

If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact CIRTL Program Director, Benjamin Hà (bha@ceils.ucla.edu).

- Complete an Introduction to Evidence-Based Teaching Course: You must complete one course on Evidence-Based Teaching (EBT) that aligns with the CIRTL learning outcomes. Options include, but are not limited to:
  - GRAD PD 496A (course offered in Fall. Grad students can enroll for units via MyUCLA. Interested postdocs should contact CIRTL Program Director)
  - Departmental TA Training Courses: LS 495, Public Health 495, Physics 495
  - CIRTL Network: Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching Course (asynchronous)
- Complete Additional Professional Development: You must complete at least 20 hours of an additional course or workshop related to EBT or professional development (be sure to keep a record for yourself). At least one of these hours must also be completed on the CIRTL Network. Examples of courses and events that qualify include:
  - Entering Mentoring Training Program (course offered in Winter for grad students, applications open around September)
  - Postdoc Research Mentor Training (1-2 day training for postdocs, sign up for their email listserv to learn about upcoming workshops)
  - Graduate Certificate in Writing Pedagogy
  - Online CIRTL Network courses and workshops (must complete at least 1 hour with CIRTL Network)
  - Community Engaged Teaching (Grad PD 495CE)
  - EPIC Workshops
  - TLC Workshops, including TA Conference and workshops
  - If there are courses you have taken that are not on this list and you think may align with the CIRTL learning outcomes, please contact the CIRTL Program Director
- Submit a Draft Teaching Statement: Submit a draft of a teaching statement through the Associate Tracking Form below.
- (After completing all of the above) Complete the Tracking Form: Complete the CIRTL Associate Tracking Form so we can confirm that you have completed all of the requirements.

Have you finished completing the CIRTL Associate Level requirements? Consider continuing your professional development by working on the CIRTL Practitioner and CIRTL Scholar levels!

What is a Teaching-as-Research (TAR) Project?

The next steps in the CIRTL certification pathway are centered around the idea of “Teaching as Research” or TAR. The improvement of teaching and learning is a dynamic and ongoing process similar to how research advances any other discipline. At the core of improving teaching and learning is the need to accurately determine what students have learned as a result of teaching practices. This is a research question, to which instructors can effectively apply their research skills and ways of knowing. In so doing, instructors themselves become the agents for change in teaching and learning. Learn more: What is Teaching as Research?

TAR involves the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of students and teachers. The process of completing a TAR project includes identifying a research question and designing an intervention to assess the effectiveness of your teaching. However, a TAR project is not necessarily a Discipline-Based Research Project, in the sense that it is meant to be a relatively small intervention, and not a publishable research study (although some students design TAR projects with the intent to publish). The goal is to learn how to become a reflective teacher so that wherever you end up working, you will be able to apply these methods to assess your own teaching.

For examples of TAR projects, visit our TAR Scholars page.

Requirements for Practitioner Level

If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact Benjamin Hà (bha@ceils.ucla.edu).

- Complete GRAD PD 496B and 496C: This is the CIRTL@UCLA TAR course series, which are designed to help you plan and implement your TAR project. Courses include GRAD PD 496B: “Teaching as Research” (offered in Winter) and GRAD PD 496C “Implementing a Teaching as Research Project” (offered in Spring)
- Implement Your TAR Project: In order to become an official CIRTL Practitioner, you must actually implement the TAR project that you plan. This means designing a project proposal and collecting data. The data does not need to be analyzed in order to complete the CIRTL Practitioner level; however, data analysis and presenting your project is a requirement to become a CIRTL Scholar.
- (After completing all of the above) Complete the Tracking Form: Complete the CIRTL Practitioner Tracking Form so we can confirm that you have completed all of the requirements.

Have you finished completing the CIRTL Practitioner Level requirements? Consider analyzing and presenting your TAR project to become a CIRTL Scholar!

What is a Teaching-as-Research (TAR) Project?

For examples of TAR projects, visit our TAR Scholars page.

Requirements for Scholar Level

If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact Benjamin Hà (bha@ceils.ucla.edu).

- Analyze and Present Your TAR Project: Analyze your TAR project data and present your findings in a scholarly setting. You can present your project at the following events:
  - CIRTL@UCLA TAR presentation event (varies each year, but typically offered in Fall or Winter)
  - CIRTL Network TAR Presentations (offered in Spring)
  - CEILS Journal Club or EdTalk
  - In a departmental seminar or other local venue
  - As a poster or oral presentation at a local or national conference
- Submit a Final Teaching Statement: After completing your TAR project, update and revise your draft teaching statement (the one you submitted to become a CIRTL Associate). Submit your revised teaching statement through the Scholar Tracking Form below.
- (Optional) Submit a Bio and Photo: If you would like to be featured on our website or to have your accomplishments shared in our newsletter, please submit a short bio and headshot using the Scholar Tracking Form below.
- Subscribe to the CIRTL Alumni Network: Stay in touch with CIRTL by joining the National CIRTL Alumni Network and the CIRTL@UCLA LinkedIn group.
- (After completing all of the above) Complete the Tracking Form: Complete the CIRTL Scholar Tracking Form by submitting a copy of your presentation so we can confirm that you have completed all of the requirements.

CIRTL Course Offerings

Grad PD 496A, An Introduction to Evidence Based Teaching (Associate Level)

A learning community focused on Scientific Teaching, based on the CIRTL MOOC: An Introduction to Evidence Based Teaching. This is a 10-week, 2-unit course and includes instructor mini-lectures and peer-to-peer interactions in class (1.5 hours/week), selected readings and videos outside of class (2.5 hrs/week), and weekly reflective writing and responding on discussion posts (1hr/week). Additionally, there will be a culminating written assignment that will require students to apply the course’s pedagogical principles to a lesson plan they develop using backward design to sequence learning activities that represent inclusive practices. Students will get feedback from instructors and peers on these lesson plans.

This course is designed to provide students with foundational knowledge on the large body of educational research that supports effective teaching strategies. This is a fully flipped S/U class, with online videos each week and an in-person learning community comprised of graduate students and post docs who are committed to teaching inclusively. Open to ALL disciplines and you are not required to be teaching concurrently. This course also counts toward CIRTL Associate Level and is a pre-requirement for the Teaching as Research course taught in winter.

For more information or questions, contact Dr. Rachel Kennison at kdixie@ceils.ucla.edu

Grad PD 496B, Planning your Teaching-as-Research Project Teaching as Research (Practitioner Level)

Planning your Teaching-as-Research Project is an is an interdisciplinary course open to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars as well as research staff interested in teaching. This is an intermediate-level 10 week course designed for students who are ready to plan a Teaching-as-Research project. Students are expected to have a working knowledge of, and experience with, evidence-based teaching methods. You should have completed a course that covers the basic knowledge of evidence based teaching practice and have achieved these CIRTL Associate-level learning outcomes:

Describe and recognize the value of realistic well-defined, achievable, measurable and student-centered learning goals.
Describe several known high-impact, evidence-based effective instructional practices and materials and recognize their alignment with particular types of learning goals.
Describe several assessment techniques and recognize their alignment with particular types of learning goals.

For more information or any questions please contact Dr. Rachel Kennison at rkennison@ceils.ucla.edu

Grad PD 496C, Implementing a Teaching as Research Project (Practitioner Level)

Offered in spring/summer. This is a learning community that provides you with support while you are iterating and implementing your project, analyzing your data and planning to present. This course should be taken directly after Grad PD 496B.

You can complete Associate Level requirements according to your own timeline, depending on where you are in your graduate degree progress. Some students may start in the fall with one of the evidence based teaching courses (required) but may not be ready or have time to do a teaching as research project. This is fine! Your can wait until the next year to take the Teaching as Research course, which is a bigger larger time commitment.

For more information or questions, contact Dr. Rachel Kennison at rkennison@ceils.ucla.edu

Optional: Mol Bio 497: Career Readiness Inside and Outside the Academy (Any Level)

Offered by CIRTL@UCLA

We know that time and structured opportunities for career focused professional development are scarce for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Co-taught by STEM and Humanities faculty, our goal is to build a community that provides you with support and guidance to explore any possible career paths, expose you to a variety of options and give you the tools to pursue them in a systematic way.

This 2-unit course is offered to Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars across all disciplines who want to be part of a community supporting individualized professional development and a systematic approach to career exploration.

-It is recommended that graduate students are advanced to candidacy

For more information or any questions please contact Dr. Rachel Kennison at rkennison@ceils.ucla.edu or Dr. JoAnn Roberts at jsroberts@ceils.ucla.edu.

Change Leadership for Inclusive Teaching and Learning

The CIRTL Change Leadership Development Program (CLDP) seeks to transform STEM teaching and learning in higher education to be more equitable and inclusive by using evidence-based and antiracist practices.

Learn to:

Develop a professional identity as a Change Leader
Examine higher education institutions as complex organizations
Analyze leadership approaches and change theories appropriate for promoting inclusive evidence-based teaching and learning

Eligibility:

Associates Level of certification or ability to demonstrate fundamental knowledge of evidence based teaching practices by having completed training and have some teaching experience

TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS STARTING

JUNE 11 – JULY 18 (NO CLASSES THE WEEK OF JULY 1ST) 11AM -12:30 PM PT |12PM – 1:30 PM MT | 1PM – 2:30 PM CT | 2PM – 3:30 PM ET

Courses and Events Offered by Our Campus Partners (Associate-Level)

The Entering Mentoring Training Program seeks to develop a mentoring ethos by providing leadership, mentorship, and diversity sensitivity training to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. This course is specifically for those who directly mentor trainees working on STEM research projects. The seminar is based on a curriculum developed by the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching titled “Entering Mentoring: A Seminar to Train a New Generation of Scientist”. This course is supported by the NIH Diversity Program Consortium.

Please contact the Program Director, Dr. Diana Azurdia, at dazurdia@mednet.ucla.edu for questions.