Certificate Program Components

At least one of the design courses will be available each year, with limited enrolment. The "Learning Focused Course Design" or "Post-Digital Course Design" courses provide participants with the opportunity to design, or re-design, a course. We focus on creating alignment between course learning outcomes, teaching methods and activities, and student assessments. Certificate participants only need to complete one of the design courses.

For more information, please contact betsy.keating@dal.ca.

Certificate participants will engage in three teaching observations by peers/colleagues from within or across disciplines. Peer observation is confidential and strictly non-evaluative. Formative feedback from peer observations will allow participants to critically assess and reflect on their own teaching practice, and participants may benefit by including peer observations as evidence in their teaching dossiers. The observations may take place in a classroom setting or during another approved teaching session, including within online course offerings, depending on the participant’s context. Participants may pair up to observe, offer, and receive feedback. Or, they may seek observers from outside the Certificate program. If necessary, arrangements may be made for observations to take place at a different institution or by video conferencing. Observers will be provided with guidance and a template for observation. Participants will write reflections on their observation and feedback experiences. 

For more information on the observations, contact Betsy Keating, Program Coordinator, (902) 494-4126 or betsy.keating@dal.ca.

Certificate participants will be required to successfully complete a minimum of two Studio Courses. A variety of Studio Courses will be offered throughout the year by CLT staff, faculty members, CLT Faculty Associates, and/or invited visiting instructors. Occasionally, a Studio Course may be held in a blended or online format, offering Certificate participants additional scheduling flexibility. Ideally, there will be two Studio Course offerings each term, but occasionally only one.

Certificate participants must attend Creating a Teaching Dossier, offered each May, and create (or revise) a dossier following guidelines offered in the workshop. The Teaching Dossier will be adaptable and useful for the renewal, promotion, and tenure processes or the participants' future employment opportunities. Completed dossiers include a statement of teaching philosophy and artifacts and evidence to support the claims made in the dossier. Participants' completed Teaching Dossiers must meet explicit outcomes within the Certificate's (1-3 year) timeframe to qualify.