OCPD: Science Teaching Effectiveness Program for Upcoming Professors (STEP-UP) / 6 Week Course

What: This 6-week course is an introduction to science education for UCSF postdoctoral scholars and graduate students who are planning on teaching at our partner institutions, serving as a teaching assistant at UCSF or applying to faculty positions in the future.

Participants in the course will be given priority for guest lecturing positions at City College of San Francisco through OCPD, and will be invited to join the STEP-UP community for occasional discussion and practice sessions throughout the year.

When: Every Thursday morning from 9am to 12pm, from April 16th to May 21st, 2015 (6 weeks). In addition, expect to spend 4-5 hours of work each week on assignments outside of class.

Where: Mission Bay Campus, Genentech Hall

How To Join: Space is limited. Registration required by April 1st, 2015 but spots fill up fast. Because the STEP-UP curriculum is designed so that each session builds significantly on the previous one, we will give priority to UCSF students and scholars who can attend all 6 sessions of the course. We will confirm enrollment after reviewing your information.

Please contact Laurence Clement if you need to discuss your particular situation. The next iteration of the STEP-UP course will be offered in the Fall/Winter, and priority for will be given to trainees who have been waitlisted in April.

Note: We will start advertising teaching opportunities at USF and CCSF for the Fall 2015 after the start of this course. If you plan on applying to one of these opportunities, we highly recommend that you enroll in the course.

Course Learning Goals:

- - Explore different types of faculty positions, plan career goals, and find out how to demonstrate teaching effectiveness when applying to positions,

- - Use teaching strategies grounded in education research to serve all types of learners at the undergraduate or graduate level,

- - Apply pedagogical theory to real-life situations,

- - Receive feedback on a curriculum your have developed and on your teaching skills,

- - Build a community with other trainees interested in becoming better instructors.

What STEP-UP participants had to say about the course:

“Before this course, I had no idea how to teach and was petrified just at the idea that I may have to teach. Now, I have the tools I need and a good starting point if I need to teach. I even think I would like to do it.”

”Before this course, the teaching experience was unclear, mysterious. Now, I think it is doable as long as you have the resource and fundamentals on design and teaching strategies.”

“Before this course, I didn’t have a framework to set-up my lessons and curriculum. I now have a framework to design a wonderful curriculum”

Contact: Laurence Clement, Program Director of Academic Career Development, UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development, Laurence.Clement@ucsf.edu