Supporting Graduate Students' Academic and Professional Success
Career Pathways: Teaching
Career Pathways: Teaching includes panels and workshops each Spring for those aiming to teach at community colleges, CSUs, and liberal arts colleges. In Spring 2025, we are planning in-person and remote events. Zoom links will be sent the day before the session(s) for which students register. Interested graduate students and postdocs must register before 4:30pm at least one day before the session if you would like to attend. See below for the schedule and registration information.
IMPORTANT: If you are attending the Teaching Development Track in order to apply for the University Teaching Certificate program, you must register for and attend all sessions in that track. These sessions have been marked as *Teaching Development Track.
We are preparing for Career Pathways events for the 2024-2025 academic year. The following content from Spring 2024 is for informational purposes only.
Monday, May 6th, 2024 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm | HUB 367 | Keynote Address with Dr. Brian Sato
Dr. Brian Sato is Associate Dean (Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation) and Professor of Teaching (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Speaker Bio:
Professor Sato is a leader in undergraduate STEM education. His research involves investigating how students learn and ways to improve the classroom experience. He helps lead the Postsecondary Education Research & Implementation Institute (PERI2) at UCI. He has also organized several regional and national STEM conferences aimed at disseminating evidence-based teaching practices including meetings for the Association for Biology Laboratory Education, Project Kaleidoscope, and a UC-wide STEM Education Consortium that he co-founded.
Lunch will be provided at the keynote address.
Monday, May 6th, 2024 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm | Life Sciences Courtyard | Networking Time with Dr. Brian Sato
Meet with Dr. Brian Sato to discuss a career plan focused on teaching at a college or university.
Dr. Sato is a Professor of Teaching in the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry department of the School of Biological Sciences at UC Irvine. He is also Associate Dean in the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation. Join him and other graduate students and postdocs for a time of conversation and mentoring.
Light refreshments will be served.
Monday, May 6th, 2024 | 2:00pm - 2:50pm | Life Sciences (LFSC) 1425 (GradQuant)| Workshop 1: Decolonization in Pedagogical Practice
*Teaching Development Track
In this session, we'll discuss practical approaches to decolonizing curriculum. This includes reshaping syllabi, selecting diverse course materials, and adopting inclusive teaching methods to empower students and challenge colonial frameworks.
by Guadalupe Maldonado and Jose Alvarez
Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 | 10:00am - 11:00am | Getting Hired: CSUs and Community Colleges Panel
Interested in working at a California State University or a Community College? Come listen to panelists as they share their experiences and advice on creating competitive applications as well as their experience in their current positions.
- Panelist 1: Dr. Wendy Ochoa, San Diego State University
- Panelist 2: Dr. Maritza Morales-Gracia, Cal State LA
- Panelist 3: Dr. Christina Trujillo, Santa Barbara City College
- Panelist 4: Dr. Aaron Sappenfield, Riverside City College
Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 | 1:00pm - 1:50pm | Life Sciences (LFSC) 1425 (GradQuant)| Workshop 2: Effective Instruction in a Laboratory Setting
*Teaching Development Track
Do you feel that 10-15 minutes at the beginning of a lab section is not enough to instruct effectively? Do you feel helpless in a lab course where so little instruction and structure is under your control?Do you find yourself repeating the same instructions about the simplest of things in a lab? Do you want to discuss how to instruct labs to manage student expectations better? ...then this workshop is for you! Stop by to discuss all this and more with other TAs who are kind of in the same boat! This workshop aims to discuss how laboratory instruction can be tailored to cover student and course expectations effectively, with emphasis on how to use the 10-15 minute initial instruction time to our advantage as teaching assistants.
by Yagna Oza
Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 | 3:00pm - 3:50pm | Life Sciences (LFSC) 1425 (GradQuant)| Workshop 3: Making Effective Rubrics
*Teaching Development Track
This workshop will delve into rubrics and why they are an important teaching tool including when and how to use them. By the end, you will have a better understanding of how to construct your own rubric.
by David Kapukchyan
Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm | HUB 367 | Teaching Philosophy / Statement Workshop
Faculty job postings usually ask for teaching philosophy statements. Discover the general principles and strategies for drafting a teaching philosophy statement, and learn how to tailor them to reflect differing contexts and criteria. Join Dr. Ashley Harlow, Program Manager of the Teaching Assistant Development Program (TADP) for this workshop.
Lunch will be provided at this workshop.
Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 | 2:00pm - 2:50pm | XCITE Commons (Rivera Library)| Workshop 4: Gamification in Education
*Teaching Development Track
By the end of this session, participants will learn what gamification is and how it can be incorporated into the classroom. Participants from both STEM and CHASS will experience a gamified lesson and have the resources for gamifying their own teaching.
by Ally Richards and Andrew Crago
Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 | 3:00pm - 4:00pm | XCITE Patio (Rivera Library) | Career Pathways: Teaching Special Coffee Social
All graduate students and postdocs are invited to join us for a special Career Pathways: Teaching Coffee Social at the XCITE Patio in the Rivera Library. Come meet and speak with UCR Professors of Teaching and guest speakers of the University Teaching Certificate program about a career in teaching at a college or university.
Thursday, May 9th, 2024 | 10:00am - 10:50am | Life Sciences (LFSC) 1425 (GradQuant)| Workshop 5: Inquiry-Based Learning
*Teaching Development Track
In this workshop, we explore the basic principles of inquiry-based learning and how to incorporate inquiry-driven activities into our classrooms with a focus large/gen ed classes in STEM. We will discuss challenges to implementing these practices together and brainstorm potential solutions in a short inquiry-based communal activity.
by Aral Greene and Elizah Stephens
Thursday, May 9th, 2024 | 11:00am - 12:00pm | Teaching Philosophy / Statement Clinic
Work directly with Graduate Writing Center Consultants to have your teaching philosophy statement reviewed, and make yourself a compelling job candidate.
NOTE: If you sign up for and then miss the clinic without canceling it by 9am on Wednesday, May 8th it will count as a missed writing consultation in the Graduate Writing Center.
Thursday, May 9th, 2024| 2:00pm - 2:50pm | Life Sciences (LFSC) 1425 (GradQuant)| Workshop 6: New Technologies in the Classroom for Foster Student Engagement
*Teaching Development Track
This workshop will explore the ways in which technology can be used in the classroom to help foster student engagement, improve accessibility, and effectively integrate AI into the learning process. Participants will gain a new perspective and techniques towards ongoing technological developments that will shape the future of higher education. These include how to apply AI as a learning tool and how to use technology as a form of accessible learning.
by Yoselin Saucedo and Allan Zheng
If you have any questions, email GradSuccess at gradsuccess@ucr.edu