Teaching & Learning Academy

Sure, feel free to check out this video.

The program is divided into four courses, which are designed to take 15 hours each to complete (12 hours in instruction and three hours in a cohort meeting). We offer a yearlong program that covers each 15-hour course in five weeks or a summer program that condenses each 15-hour course into five days.

TLA is a perfect way to incorporate research-based practices as you learn from colleagues from many areas of study throughout the College.

The TLA is a great way to refresh and reinvigorate your courses with the latest research in the neuroscience of learning, and new techniques for inclusive and engaging teaching and assessment. Plus, you can offer your wisdom to your colleagues with less history teaching, who just might refresh your perspective and reignite your passion for teaching!

An important point is that your colleagues who are administering the TLA are not here to “grade your work.” Points are used to measure how much of each course you have completed and are assigned for weekly interactions with fellow participants, as well as a reflection at the end of each course, designed to help you bring what you have learned to your students. At the end of the final course, you will work on creating (or further refining) your professional development plan, with the goal that TLA will be a springboard for future collaborations with colleagues and students.

Besides the satisfaction of improved student learning and engagement, upon completion of the four courses, you will also be recognized by the Provost and TLED as an ACC Champion of Teaching. You will receive a stipend of $1,200, and during the Spring semester, participants are awarded a scholarship to attend the NISOD, Lily, or SXSW Edu Conferences (these are optional). If you complete all courses in the TLA, you will earn 15 hours of professional development credit, five Professional Development badges (one for each course and one for completion of the Academy), and optional continuing education credit.

Attend the Kickoff Retreat, as well as all four synchronous course wrap up meetings.
Complete at least 80% of the required coursework for each course.
These are the minimum requirements. We hope you also find it rewarding, fun, challenging, and inspirational! But those are all optional, of course.

TLA has been lovingly “homegrown” right here at ACC. 25 members of the ACC faculty from across many areas of study wrote its original curriculum. TLA is supported by the resources of TLED with assistance from the Office of Distance and Alternative Education, as well as the Office of Faculty Development. Essential to the Teaching and Learning Academy is the creation of a cohort of faculty who will learn from each other by exploring the scholarship, art, and passion of teaching.

(Hold onto your seats, this is a long answer!)
The Teaching and Learning Academy is divided into four courses. Courses 1 and 2 are offered in the Fall, and Courses 3 and 4 are in the Spring.
Course 1: Teaching to the Brain: delves into how students learn and how to help learners remember new material, as well as how to understand how learning takes place in themselves. Metacognition, active learning, and study modes that do (and don’t!) work are considered, as well as the introduction of how a growth mindset makes a huge difference in student resilience and persistence.
Course 2: Building a Community of Learners: looks at ways to build a welcoming and safe learning environment for all students by helping them feel valued as individuals with unique attributes that can support their own success and that of their classmates. Concepts such as Universal Design for Learning, culturally responsive teaching, and understanding bias as a barrier to learning are explored.
Course 3: Engaging Students for Learning: Builds on prior coursework in thinking about active learning within an inclusive learning setting, and how we as ACC faculty can help students find relevance in their studies. The attributes of adult learners are considered, as well as methods of interacting and collaborating with students that are genuine and give them voice and choice as they make their way to becoming empowered learners.
Course 4: Assessing Students’ Learning: We begin with how to ensure students learn stated course objectives and how to make assessments that align with course objectives. We look at the value of formative and summative assessment, and how to make assessment more fair. Grading practices that can unintentionally harm students are considered within the context of the grade and percentage systems. There is a final module that allows participants to reflect on teaching as a whole after participating in the TLA.

Contact the Faculty Lead, Susan Diamond at sdiamond@austincc.edu.