Details, materials, and links to past sessions of T4LC programming are made available to Mizzou faculty and staff. Please contact the Teaching for Learning Center at teaching@missouri.edu for more information.
Celebration of Teaching
The Celebration of Teaching is an educational development conference at the University of Missouri where teaching professionals and instructional support staff come together to refresh, reflect, and celebrate our community. We feature thought leaders from Mizzou and beyond, discussing topics related to high-impact practices for student learning, sense of belonging, and success in college. These offerings provide a welcome opportunity to connect with colleagues and engage in discussions about strategic practices to enhance student learning.
Teaching and Learning Consultations
Year-round, we offer individual and small group consultations on any teaching and learning topic. We provide formative feedback on teaching, course design and lesson planning guidance, suggestions for how to equitably engage and assess students, and ideas for how to address various other challenges that may arise in the learning environment—whether face to face or online. Everyone involved with instruction in our community is welcome to request a consultation, please contact us at teaching@missouri.edu for more information or visit our events page to schedule an appointment https://tlcmu.libcal.com/
Inclusive Teaching Offerings
As part of our mission to support inclusive excellence at Mizzou, we offer several opportunities for educators to enhance their implementation of inclusive teaching methods and models. We have customized workshops for academic units that address immediate concerns such as how to have productive difficult dialogues and how to present sensitive material in a way that is protective of students. We also provide more general, interactive presentations on relevant topics such as implicit bias and microaggressions. Learning to be a more inclusive person and teacher is an ongoing process, and we support that process by sharing resources on how to promote inclusive climates, online engagement, assessment, and other practices. Check our email updates for current offerings. To request a specific workshop or presentation, email Flower Darby, Associate Director, at fdarby@missouri.edu.
In addition to our workshops and presentations, we invite faculty, instructors, graduate instructors, and teaching assistants to join one of our Mizzou cohort experiences with Cornell University’s five-week online course, Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom. This self-paced course has modules that introduce key concepts. Furthermore, our cohort will offer weekly Zoom meetings to share stories and practices that promote inclusive learning environments. Stay tuned for news about upcoming cohorts. Contact teaching@missouri.edu with questions.
Communities of Practice
The Teaching for Learning Center convenes Communities of Practice (CoP) to deepen scholarly teaching by bringing together faculty, graduate instructors, and others for collaborative inquiry, reflection, in order to make progress toward goals germane to Mizzou’s teaching for learning mission.
The term, Communities of Practice (CoP), originally conceptualized and used by Jean Lave and Etienne Wegner in 1991, refers to “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” Members of the CoP are referred to as practitioners, and they collectively engage in order to maximize social learning to “. . . develop their practice through a variety of methods, including: problem solving, requests for information, seeking the experiences of others, reusing assets, coordination and synergy, discussing developments, visiting other members, mapping knowledge and identifying gaps.”
If you are interested in proposing a CoP for future academic years, please write to teaching@missouri.edu.
Graduate Instructor and Teaching Assistant Workshops
The Center offers workshops and development opportunities specially designed just for graduate instructors and teaching assistants. These varied sessions equip graduate students with essential skills and knowledge to excel in various aspects of their teaching, including course management, instructional design, student engagement, and technology integration. Contact teaching@missouri.edu with questions about upcoming events.
Teaching Essentials: An Evidence-Based Approach to Inclusive and Effective Teaching at Mizzou for New and Returning Faculty
- An engaging and interactive workshop series
- Timely topics for teaching classes in all disciplines and modalities
- Evidence-based practices that align with MU’s definition of inclusive and effective teaching
Teaching Essentials launches every September and is open to all educators. Watch for recruitment announcements early in the academic year. For more information, please contact: Flower Darby, Associate Director, Teaching for Learning Center at fdarby@missouri.edu
Teaching Renewal Week
Teaching Renewal Week (TRW) is a virtual educational development conference for the MU faculty, graduate instructor, and instructional support staff community. Each January, TRW provides virtual opportunities for idea exchanges and other formats for enhanced teaching for learning. This event promotes an open, collaborative culture across campus, and highlights great examples of research and teaching on this campus. Guest speakers present on key topics and issues related to teaching for learning. Additionally, attendees can learn about numerous programs and resources.
New Faculty Orientation
New Faculty Orientation provides an opportunity for faculty and T4LC to learn and explore inclusive and effective teaching practices at the University of Missouri. During New Faculty Orientation, T4LC provides workshops and guidance on the most pertinent topics for new faculty, including: Tips for inclusive teaching across modalities, online teaching effectiveness, introductions to active learning, and other guidance related to course design, activities, and assessments.
Details about our workshops will be shared in our frequent newsletters, and any questions can be directed to the Teaching resource email at teaching@missouri.edu.
In addition to our workshops, you can always reach out for one-to-one guidance on any topic, from course design to assessment. Please contact us at teaching@missouri.edu for more information.
Wakonse – an affiliated conference
The Wakonse Foundation brings together people who find inspiring and influencing others is what they do for a living. They create a climate where it is important and appropriate to display and discuss teaching talents, where colleagues learn about themselves as teachers, where they see and consider the tasks and issues of creative teaching in a manner characterized as enjoyable, where providing feedback to one another is the norm and where that feedback is outside of any institutional mandate to improve or to evaluate teaching. Participants become Wakonse Fellows. That means, in the simplest of terms, to support, promote and share the excitement and satisfaction of teaching – to inspire others and ourselves.