The GSI Center’s Workshops on Teaching for GSIs cover a wide variety of topics related to university teaching and the GSI experience. The purpose of the series is to offer GSIs, and other graduate students interested in teaching, opportunities for hands-on learning and practical discussion about pedagogy.
To assist us in planning, pre-registration is required.
Workshops marked with an asterisk fulfill a requirement of the Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. If you would like your participation in a workshop to count toward the Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, you must stay for the entire workshop.
Handouts and videos from selected workshops are available online.
All workshops will be offered via Zoom.
Fall 2025 Workshops
Creating Inclusive Classrooms*
Wednesday, September 03, 2025, 9:00 – 10:30 AM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Enhancing Student Engagement and Participation*
Thursday, September 11, 2025, 10:00-11:30 AM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Developing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy and Teaching Portfolio*
Friday, September 19, 2025, 2:00-3:30 PM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Peer Exchange and Feedback on Statements of Teaching Philosophy*
Friday, September 26, 2025, 2:00-3:30 PM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Assessing Teaching and Learning*
Thursday, October 2, 2025, 3:00-4:30 PM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Working with Student Writing*
Tuesday, October 07, 2025, 1:00-2:30 PM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
How Students Learn*
Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 11:00 AM -12:30 PM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Syllabus & Course Design*
Monday, October 20, 2025, 2:30-4:00 PM, via Zoom
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Workshop Description
Workshop Descriptions
Creating Inclusive Classrooms*
This workshop is designed to help GSIs understand the character and consequences of microaggressions, and to help them begin to develop the tools to address them in their role as instructors. For those who attended any one of the similarly-themed workshops during the Fall or Spring conference for first-time GSIs, this will be an opportunity to revisit some of the topics discussed there, as well as to address any issues that may have emerged in the course of teaching since. For other GSIs, this workshop will provide a basic understanding of microaggressions and an opportunity to reflect on them in the context of their own teaching. Fulfills a Category 2: Strategies for Teaching and Learning workshop requirement.
Enhancing Student Engagement and Participation*
Do you ever have trouble eliciting student participation in class? Do some consistently take the floor while others rarely speak up? Do you wish you had more strategies to get students involved with the course material? In this workshop we will discuss reasons students may tend to hold back and practical strategies to encourage them to participate more fully. Fulfills a Category 2: Strategies for Teaching and Learning workshop requirement.
How Students Learn*
While graduate students do not need to become experts in how students learn, a basic understanding of the research on learning can enable GSIs to make informed teaching decisions. Drawing on research findings from neuroscience, anthropology, and cognitive and social psychology, this workshop will enable GSIs to consider ways to apply research-based principles to the learning environments they create for their students. Fulfills one of the four required workshops.
Syllabus & Course Design*
Are you responsible for designing a course and syllabus for this coming summer or next fall? Are you interested in developing a syllabus for the academic job search? In this workshop, participants will learn ways to turn their syllabus ideas into integrated courses and will work out criteria for selecting course materials, assignments, and methods of assessment. Fulfills one of the four required workshops.
Developing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy and Teaching Portfolio*
Improve your teaching and prepare for the academic job search. Come find out what is typically addressed in a teaching philosophy statement and participate in activities that will help you get started. Fulfills one of the four required workshops.
Peer Exchange and Feedback on Statements of Teaching Philosophy*
This workshop is designed for graduate students who are interested in improving their statements of teaching philosophy through feedback from peers. Workshop participants will exchange statements of teaching philosophy and provide and receive input. Participants must bring two copies of a draft of their statement of teaching philosophy to participate in the workshop. Fulfills one of the four required workshops.
Assessing Teaching and Learning*
This workshop will show GSIs how to collect and analyze data about their teaching to understand and improve student learning. Participants learn to use practical, hands-on tools like mid-semester evaluations and to understand how to align these assessments with learning objectives, providing valuable skills for both academic and non-academic careers. Fulfills a Category 1: Grading and Assessment workshop requirement.
Working with Student Writing*
Writing, more than simply a mode of communication, is a powerful means of learning. Within each discipline students must learn techniques of observation,
critical thinking, conceptualization, and particular terms and modes of discourse. The process of writing affords students with needed practice in all these areas.
Often the practitioners of a given discipline are in the best position to teach students how to write for that discipline. Further, people learn to write more fluently by writing often, receiving frequent feedback from instructors and peers, and revising their work. Fulfills a Category 2: Strategies for Teaching and Learning workshop requirement.