by Eric Royer, Program Manager, Reinert Center
August represents change in many ways. Many of us are yearning for a crispness in the air and a return to routines and schedules (especially those of us with children). Soon we’ll welcome new students to our classrooms and begin another academic year. It’s also a time for us to reflect on our teaching, try new approaches, and cultivate new learning experiences that embody cura personalis by supporting the academic and personal growth of our students.
As SLU’s teaching and learning center, the Reinert Center facilitates programming and a variety of certificate programs that help instructors situate and apply effective design practices in the courses they teach. We also support and provide services to any instructor teaching at SLU, such as consultations, classroom observations, and Small Group Instructional Feedback (SGIF) sessions at the midway point in a course.
As a commitment to this, we recently revised our Online University Teaching Skills Certificate to better serve instructors teaching (or expecting to teach) in a distance format. Our hope is that these changes will provide additional flexibility in how instructors develop their online teaching praxis.
Our Online Certificate now provides two paths for those interested in digging deeper with online pedagogy, and considering what that all means in the design and facilitation of a distance course:
- The Principles in Online University Teaching Skills Certificate requires 10 Effective Teaching Credits and is designed for instructors seeking a more in-depth exploration of online teaching, culminating in a capstone project where they complete the design of an online course. This certificate can be earned by completing:
- Introduction to Distance Teaching (two credits)
- Three one-week online courses in distance teaching (three credits, one credit each)
- An elective (taking an additional online course, attending two distance learning workshops, or participating in an Asynchronous Small Group Instructional Feedback (ASGIF) session) (one credit)
- Capstone Guided Self-Assessment (three credits) and Reflection on Online Teaching Development (one credit)
- The Foundations in Online University Teaching Skills Certificate requires 7 Effective Teaching Credits and is designed for instructors seeking an entry point into distance teaching, with the certificate introducing key principles of online course design and evidence-based teaching practices for distance formats. This certificate can be earned by completing:
- Introduction to Distance Teaching (two credits)
- Three one-week online courses in distance teaching (three credits, one credit each)
- An elective (taking an additional online course, attending two distance learning workshops, or participating in an Asynchronous Small Group Instructional Feedback (ASGIF) session) (one credit)
- Reflection on Online Teaching Development (one credit)
Participants begin either Online Certificate option by completing Introduction to Distance Teaching and then fulfill the remaining certificate requirements by participating in additional courses, workshops, and/or an ASGIF session.
In order to enroll in one of the Online Certificate options, complete the Statement of Intent. To see a current schedule of online courses and workshops for the Online Certificate, please visit the Reinert Center Events page.
The Notebook 