Lunch and Learn: Teaching as Postdoc

Date: November 17, 2015

Invited Speaker:

• Patrick Tripeny, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning

Summary: Dr. Patrick Tripeny provided a comprehensive overview of the resources available at the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence (https://cte.utah.edu/). We spent the majority of the time discussing the Higher Education Teaching Specialist certification (https://cte.utah.edu/hets/), that is available to graduate students and postdocs. This certification is designed to prepare you to teach your first course, can be listed on your C.V., is a great way to demonstrate a commitment to teaching during your postdoc even if you don’t have the time  to teach a class, and takes approximately 12-18 months to complete. It was also highlighted that postdocs are welcome to attend the teaching seminars/workshops (https://cte.utah.edu/tws/) that are advertised for either graduate students (if you have little teaching experience) or faculty (if you have experience and/or are teaching your own course).  Also, the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence offers one-on-one advising appointments to review job application materials, such as the teaching section of your C.V. and your teaching philosophy. You are encouraged to browse the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence website if you are interested in becoming more involved in teaching or just knowing more about the resources available on campus.