The Teaching Center provides graduate students and postdocs with a variety of opportunities to learn about evidence-based teaching through workshops, a professional development in teaching program, consultations, and a number of other events and engagements.

Workshops draw on the most recent educational research and are facilitated by professional staff from the Teaching Center. Workshops are 90-minutes in length and they focus on a range of foundational topics and advanced-level topics which will help graduate students and postdocs in building their teaching knowledge. These workshops are offered throughout the academic year on both the Danforth and Medical campuses.

Participating in Teaching Center workshops is one of the major components for completing the Teaching Center’s Professional Development in Teaching Program. This program allows graduate students and postdocs to document their dedication to evidence-based and reflective teaching practices over the course of their time at Washington University. The program is designed so that all participants may find a level of engagement that is right for them. To learn more about the Professional Development in Teaching Program, schedule a consultation today.

The Teaching Center staff also offer confidential consultations on teaching-related topics to all graduate students and postdocs affiliated with Washington University in St. Louis. Conversations during these in-person or virtual consultations routinely cover topics such as engaging in the Professional Development in Teaching Program, troubleshooting teaching challenges, offering suggestions on best-practices for designing classroom materials (e.g. syllabi, assignments, rubrics, Canvas course pages, technology in the classroom), discussing teaching observations, and providing feedback on teaching-related academic job market materials.

The Teaching Center also offers graduate students and postdocs a number of other ways to engage with evidence-based teaching practices. These other engagements allow for more extended conversation about teaching and learning. Graduate students will all take part in the annual Graduate Student Mentored Teaching Orientation before their first teaching experience at Washington University in St. Louis. Graduate students in their 1st through 3rd years can also participate in the year-long EPIC Learning Community to engage in further interdisciplinary pedagogical conversation, while advanced-level graduate students can apply to become part of the Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC). Advanced-level graduate students and postdocs can learn more about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through taking the SoTL seminar and implementing a SoTL research project. They can also join the GSPD Reading Community, participate in a Course Design Institute, or sign up for the Jump-Start to Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement Program.