College Teaching Course

Lesson 1 • The College Instructor's Role

Defines the responsibilities of a college instructor across teaching, advising, and scholarship. Grounds subsequent chapters in a clear professional framework.

Lesson 2 • Developing a Teaching Philosophy

Guides instructors in articulating core beliefs about learning and their pedagogical approach. Produces a written philosophy statement used in job applications.

Lesson 3 • Higher Education Landscape Overview

Maps the diversity of institution types, student populations, and governance structures. Helps instructors contextualise their specific teaching environment.

Lesson 1 • Motivation and Self-Regulation

Covers expectancy-value theory, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning strategies. Enables instructors to design tasks that sustain student engagement.

Lesson 2 • How Memory and Learning Work

Explains working memory limits, long-term memory encoding, and retrieval. Directly informs pacing, repetition, and practice decisions in course design.

Lesson 3 • Major Learning Theories

Surveys behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, and connectivism. Equips instructors to justify strategy choices with theoretical grounding.

Lesson 1 • Writing Measurable Learning Outcomes

Teaches outcome writing using Bloom's Taxonomy and action verbs. Outcomes drive all subsequent alignment decisions in the course design process.

Lesson 2 • Universal Design for Learning

Integrates UDL principles to proactively address diverse learner needs in course design. Reduces the need for individual accommodations by building in flexibility.

Lesson 3 • Designing the Course Syllabus

Constructs a syllabus that communicates policies, expectations, and course structure clearly. A well-crafted syllabus reduces student confusion and sets a professional tone.

Lesson 4 • Structuring Course Content

Organises topics into logical modules with appropriate pacing and prerequisite sequencing. Prevents cognitive overload and supports cumulative skill building.

Lesson 1 • Lecture Design and Delivery

Transforms passive lectures into structured, engaging presentations using chunking and questioning. Builds the foundational delivery skill used across all instructional formats.

Lesson 2 • Collaborative and Team-Based Learning

Designs structured group work that builds accountability and interdependence. Addresses common pitfalls such as social loafing and unequal contribution.

Lesson 3 • Discussion Facilitation

Develops skills for leading productive whole-class and small-group discussions. Connects to active learning by shifting cognitive work to students.

Lesson 4 • Active Learning Techniques

Introduces think-pair-share, jigsaws, case studies, and problem-based learning. Provides a toolkit of strategies applicable to any discipline or class size.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Assessment

Distinguishes formative from summative assessment and explains validity and reliability. Establishes the conceptual foundation for all assessment design decisions.

Lesson 2 • Grading Practices and Equity

Examines grading systems, grade inflation, and bias to promote equitable evaluation. Helps instructors align grading policies with institutional standards and fairness principles.

Lesson 3 • Providing Effective Feedback

Applies research on feedback timing, specificity, and framing to improve student revision. Connects assessment to learning by making feedback actionable and forward-looking.

Lesson 4 • Rubric Development

Builds analytic and holistic rubrics that communicate expectations and standardise grading. Rubrics increase grading consistency and provide actionable student feedback.

Lesson 1 • Supporting Students with Disabilities

Explains accommodation processes, proactive accessibility, and instructor responsibilities. Ensures legal and ethical compliance while supporting full student participation.

Lesson 2 • Culturally Responsive Teaching

Integrates students' cultural backgrounds and identities into instructional content and methods. Increases engagement and achievement for students from underrepresented groups.

Lesson 3 • Navigating Difficult Classroom Moments

Prepares instructors to handle controversial topics, microaggressions, and emotional disclosures. Builds the confidence to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.

Lesson 4 • Establishing a Positive Classroom Climate

Sets norms, builds rapport, and creates psychological safety from the first class session. A positive climate is the prerequisite for effective active learning and discussion.

Lesson 1 • Online Assessment and Academic Integrity

Adapts assessment strategies for online contexts while deterring and detecting dishonesty. Balances security measures with student trust and authentic task design.

Lesson 2 • Facilitating Online Interaction

Designs discussion boards, collaborative tools, and live sessions that build community. Addresses the social presence deficit common in asynchronous online courses.

Lesson 3 • Online Course Design Principles

Applies quality standards frameworks to structure online courses for clarity and engagement. Translates backward design from Chapter 3 into the online environment.

Lesson 4 • Accessibility in Digital Environments

Applies web accessibility standards to course materials, videos, and digital tools. Ensures all students, including those using assistive technology, can fully participate.

Lesson 1 • The Teaching Portfolio

Assembles a professional teaching portfolio documenting philosophy, evidence, and growth. Used for tenure, promotion, and job applications in academic settings.

Lesson 2 • Gathering Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness

Collects and interprets student feedback, peer observations, and learning data. Provides the evidence base for informed instructional improvement decisions.

Lesson 3 • Reflective Teaching Frameworks

Applies Schön's reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action to teaching practice. Structures reflection so it produces actionable insights rather than vague impressions.

Lesson 4 • Professional Development Planning

Creates a personalised professional development plan aligned with career goals and teaching context. Connects individual growth to departmental and institutional priorities.