Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Fellows
The Center for Teaching Innovation promotes best practices in teaching to support excellence in undergraduate learning at Cornell and beyond. We can support you in designing and implementing the best learning opportunities for your students, and prepare you for future teaching-related endeavors. Where do I start?
Our programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will help you:
- Use effective teaching practices based on research on how people learn
- Establish an inclusive, caring, and fair learning environment
- Apply the backward course design process to develop appropriate learning outcomes, assessment, and course activities to achieve curricular alignment
- Explore innovative teaching strategies to foster student engagement, self-efficacy, and creative thinking
- Communicate with clarity and confidence as an instructor
- Articulate your teaching values and methods and how they have changed over time to improve learning outcomes
- Value perspectives on teaching that come from working with colleagues across disciplines
Explore Our Programs
GET SET Institutes & Conference
The GET SET Institutes invite you to explore specific topics more deeply and anticipate how to apply the concepts and practices in the context of your teaching. We also host an annual teaching celebration conference designed to explore multiple topics over the course of the day.
CTI Courses
The CTI offers several courses for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in significantly accelerating their preparation to teach effectively in a higher education setting. These courses include Teaching in Higher Education, Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom, Improvisation and Teaching, and the International Teaching Assistant Program course.
Teaching Assistant Online Orientation
The TA Online Orientation, designed to prepare new graduate teaching assistants for success in their first few weeks of teaching, is a series of self-paced, asynchronous modules that introduce teaching essentials and resources available at Cornell.
Teaching Portfolio Program
Whether you begin your journey early with us, or are headed to the job market soon, a portfolio encourages you to document and reflect on your teaching journey at Cornell. Register at any time to be part of CTI’s Teaching Portfolio Program.
International TA Program
The International Teaching Assistant Program (ITAP), which includes English language assessment and courses focused on building oral proficiency, supports international teaching assistants in meeting required levels of oral English proficiency for teaching assignments at Cornell as set by the Office of the Provost.
CTI Fellows Program & Awards
Apply for the selective CTI Fellows Program and, together with peers, deepen your understanding of effective course and workshop design, assessment of learning, and the development of resources that foster teaching excellence and innovation.
Developing Your Teaching Journey
Our approach to teaching is anchored in five elements: innovation, diversity, evidence-based practices, assessment, and technology. Through our programming, you have the opportunity to learn more about how people learn, explore evidence-based teaching strategies, develop pedagogical skills, and reflect on and document your teaching journey at Cornell.
- Getting started: If you are preparing to teach your first class the following programs will help you prepare for future teaching opportunities:
- Evolve in your teaching practice: As your interests develop, explore programs targeted at specific aspects of teaching:
- Active Learning Institute
- Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom online course
- Inclusive Teaching Institute
- University-wide Teaching conference
- Workshops on instructional technology (PollEverywere, Social Annotation, Peer Feedback, Gradescope, EdDiscussions)
- Prepare for future teaching opportunities: If you anticipate a future teaching-related role or faculty career, the following programs will help you deepen your knowledge and communicate your teaching experiences and approaches: