Participate in Seminars and Workshops
Every semester, Eberly Center offers a series of seminars covering various teaching topics. Each seminar is highly interactive, presents relevant research, and gives participants the opportunity to apply the topic to their own teaching context. You do not have to be actively teaching to attend our seminars!
Seminars are designed specifically for PhD, Master, and Postdoc audiences, but are also open to staff and undergraduate TAs. If you are faculty, please register for programs here.
Programs Open for Registration: Synchronous
Supporting with Intentionality: Mental Health Support in the Classroom
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Remote on Zoom
How can you attend to students’ mental health needs while setting boundaries? How can you design and teach courses in a way that inherently supports student well-being? This seminar, jointly facilitated by Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS), the Eberly Center, and DICE office at Heinz, provides a guide in how to understand and approach mental health requests from students and present actionable strategies to approach this situation.
Tags: u26, dei
Sign in to RegisterCrafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement Workshop
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Tepper Quad 1308
Will you be going on the academic job market soon? Teaching statements are often requested as part of an academic job application packet. Writing a teaching statement can serve both practical and reflective purposes, as you reflect on your approach to teaching and what you do as an instructor to improve student learning in your discipline. In this workshop, we will examine research on how search committees evaluate teaching effectiveness. We will provide you with questions to guide your reflection process as well as strategies for drafting your teaching statement. Please note: Completing a Teaching Philosophy Statement is a requirement for the Future Faculty Program (FFP), however this workshops does NOT count toward the eight required FFP seminars.
Tags: f26, workshop
Sign in to RegisterEngaging Students in Active Learning
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 9:30am – 11:00am
Remote on Zoom
Did you learn to ride a bike, multiply, or read simply by listening to someone explain how to do those things? Probably not. Learning actively rather than passively helps students better understand and retain knowledge. Participants will discuss research findings regarding the benefits of active learning in different disciplines and teaching contexts. You will experience and learn about a variety of active learning strategies and begin developing your own active learning activity to use in your classroom.
Tags: f26
Sign in to RegisterRefining Your Teaching Philosophy Statement Workshop
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Tepper Quad 1308
In this interactive workshop, participants bring a draft of their teaching philosophy statement (a reflective document often included in academic job applications) and through a series of hands-on activities receive feedback from workshop facilitators and other participants. This workshop will prime participants to revise their statement for the upcoming job market and to complete the FFP teaching statement project. Each participant will be connected with an Eberly consultant who will schedule a one-on-one follow-up to review a second draft.
Not sure where to begin? This workshop is the second in a two-part series. In the first, “Crafting Your Teaching Philosophy Statement Workshop,” you will have an opportunity to generate content in advance of completing a draft. Now in part 2, you will have an opportunity to receive feedback on a draft of your teaching philosophy statement. You may attend Part 2 even if you did not attend Part 1, as long as you have a draft.
Please note that this workshop is scheduled for 2 hours to give adequate time for workshopping and feedback. Completing a Teaching Philosophy Statement is a requirement for FFP, but this workshop will not count towards the FFP seminar requirement.
Tags: f26, workshop
Sign in to RegisterTeaching Inclusively: Teaching in Tumultuous Times
Tuesday, October 6, 2026 10:00am – 11:30am
Remote on Zoom
Instruction can be difficult for both teachers and students following a major incident or tragedy. These events may take an emotional and cognitive toll on students, disrupt their lives, and interfere with learning for extended periods of time. Students’ proximity to such an event does not always determine their response. For example, students may be seriously affected by incidents that involve total strangers. Additionally, students’ surface responses may not be indicative of the actual effect.
As an instructor, it’s important to consider the impacts such events have on students as human beings and learners. In this seminar, we will discuss considerations for determining whether or not to address an event in the classroom and develop multiple strategies for addressing distressing events in your classes.
Tags: f26, dei
Sign in to RegisterReading Group: The Courage to Teach
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 10:00am – Wednesday, November 18, 2026 11:30am
Remote on Zoom
Join us for a four-session reading group on Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach.The experience of teaching is complex and even if we care a lot, it isn't easy. This book explores the difficult and joyous parts of teaching, especially our own integrity as teachers. We'll meet four times to discuss the book in sections, with space for honest conversation about our own teaching lives and identity. Faculty, graduate students, and postdocs are welcome.
This group meets 4 times. The reading group will meet at 10:00 to 11:30am on Wednesdays, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18. Readings and resources will be provided at least two weeks in advance of the first session. Attendance of all four sessions will count as one seminar towards the requirements for the Future Faculty Program.
Tags: f26
Sign in to RegisterTeaching Inclusively: Creating Trust in the Classroom
Monday, November 9, 2026 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Remote on Zoom
Do you trust your students, and do your students trust you? These questions are critical to building a supportive environment for learning in your classroom. In this seminar, we will review various ways to conceptualize trust in a learning environment and share research on why trust is essential to learning from K-12 to higher education. Finally, we will explore various actions instructors can take to build and show trust in their classrooms. Participants should expect to leave with a series of implementable “teaching moves” that foster and demonstrate trust in the classroom.
Tags: f26, dei
Sign in to RegisterTeaching Demos Workshop (Fall 2026)
Thursday, December 10, 2026 2:00pm – Friday, December 11, 2026 12:30pm
Two options: in person or on Zoom
Teaching Demos Workshop are open to graduate students and postdocs, and count as one observation for the Teaching Feedback Consultation requirement for the Future Faculty Program. Because there are multiple workshops,
please sign up for a Teaching Demos Workshop here.
Upcoming workshop dates:
- Thursday, December 10, 2:00pm-4:30 pm ET (Tepper 1309)
- Friday, December 11, 10am-12:30pm (remote)
Do you want to improve and receive feedback on your teaching? In this interactive workshop, you will deliver a prepared 20-25 minute synchronous lesson and receive feedback on your teaching from the other participants and the workshop leaders. You will also observe and provide feedback on other participants’ lessons. All participants receive a written observation memo after the workshop documenting their teaching strengths and strategies.
Please note: Participants are required to sign up for a brief (15-30 min) consultation with the workshop facilitator prior to the workshop. Once your registration is confirmed, the facilitator will reach out to schedule this meeting. If workshops are full, you can still sign up to observe the workshop (this is optional) and be notified of future workshop dates.
Tags: f26, workshop
Sign in to RegisterPrograms Open for Registration: Asynchronous
GUSIO: Grading and Delivering Feedback on Quantitative Assignments (Code, Problem sets, etc.) (Async Seminar)
Available until Monday, August 31, 2026 11:59
This seminar is asynchronous. You will receive instructions for enrolling in the GUSIO Canvas in the confirmation email.
This session will focus on evidence-based strategies for grading and providing feedback on quantitative work, such as problem sets and code. You will consider the relationship between grading and feedback, the characteristics of effective feedback, and research on the impacts of different types of feedback on student learning. Through hands-on exercises, you will also practice grading and providing feedback using rubrics, as well as analyzing examples of feedback on student work.
Please note: This seminar is the SAME as "Grading and Delivering Feedback on Writing Assignments," but the examples and practice differs. Please only complete one of the two seminars, based on your disciplinary background or TA appointment. If you complete both, it will only count as ONE FFP seminar.
Tags: gusio, core
Sign in to RegisterGUSIO: Grading and Delivering Feedback on Writing Assignments (Papers, Lab Reports, etc.) (Async Seminar)
Available until Monday, August 31, 2026 11:59
This seminar is asynchronous. You will receive instructions for enrolling in the GUSIO Canvas in the confirmation email.
This session will focus on evidence-based strategies for grading and providing feedback on QUALITATIVE work, such as writing assignments or short-answer exam questions. You will consider the relationship between grading and feedback, the characteristics of effective feedback, and research on the impacts of different types of feedback on student learning. Through hands-on exercises, you will also practice grading and providing feedback using rubrics, as well as analyzing examples of feedback on student work.
Please note: This seminar is the SAME as "Grading and Delivering Feedback on Quantitative Assignments," but the examples and practice differs. Please only complete ONE of the two seminars, based on your disciplinary background or TA appointment. If you complete both, it will only count as ONE FFP seminar
Tags: gusio, core
Sign in to RegisterGUSIO: Working Well One on One with Students (Async Seminar)
Available until Monday, August 31, 2026 11:59
This seminar is asynchronous. You will receive instructions for enrolling in the GUSIO Canvas in the confirmation email.
This session will focus on strategies for working effectively with students one-on-one in a variety of teaching contexts. What strategies can you employ to best support and advance student learning when interacting with students individually during studio, lab, recitation, and/or office hours sessions? How can you handle the difficult interactions that may arise during office hours or other one-on-one interactions? You will consider and practice using effective approaches and campus resources to support you and your students.
Tags: gusio, core
Sign in to RegisterGUSIO: Creating a Welcoming and Supportive Climate from Day One (Async Seminar)
Available until Monday, August 31, 2026 11:59
This seminar is asynchronous. You will receive instructions for enrolling in the GUSIO Canvas in the confirmation email.
Whether you have taught before or this is your first time teaching, this session will help you create an inclusive classroom climate from the start of your course. You will explore strategies for: (1) getting to know your students; (2) calibrating your instruction to CMU students; (3) creating a classroom climate that welcomes and supports learning for all students; (4) setting appropriate expectations; and (5) motivating and engaging students with course content from day one.
Tags: gusio, core, dei
Sign in to RegisterGUSIO: Conducting Productive and Engaging Discussions (Async Seminar)
Available until Monday, August 31, 2026 11:59
This seminar is asynchronous. You will receive instructions for enrolling in the GUSIO Canvas in the confirmation email.
How can you design effective discussion activities for your students? What facilitation strategies maximize student participation, engagement, and learning outcomes? You will learn about the factors that influence student learning and engagement during discussions and acquire a toolkit of active learning methods for structuring productive discussions. Through hands-on activities, you will practice strategies for both designing and facilitating effective discussion activities, such as designing discussion questions, selecting discussion activities aligned with learning objectives, and identifying facilitation strategies to address common concerns about student participation and teaching inclusively.
Tags: gusio, core
Sign in to RegisterGUSIO: Teaching Problem Solving in Recitation (Async Seminar)
Available until Monday, August 31, 2026 11:59
This seminar is asynchronous. You will receive instructions for enrolling in the GUSIO Canvas in the confirmation email.
Leading a recitation section can be very different than teaching a large course or lecture. Recitations provide students the opportunity to practice solving problems and discuss questions about course material outside of lecture, often in a smaller group setting. This provides both benefits and challenges to TAs or instructors leading recitations. In this session, we will discuss learning goals for recitations and how to design sessions that help students achieve those goals, explore strategies for promoting student engagement and activity during problem-based recitation sessions, and look at research on how to best coach students through example problems.