These self-paced and massive open online courses (MOOCs) from the CIRTL Network and related efforts are designed to prepare aspiring faculty to be effective teachers and more confident and prepared early-career academics and professionals. The courses listed below are offered through various platforms including EdX’s free audit track and the CIRTL Network Moodle platform.

Jump to:

• Evidence-Based STEM Teaching
• The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project
• The Postdoc Academy

Local Learning Communities

If you’re a Cornellian and interested in organizing or participating in a learning community to discuss the ideas in these courses further while they are running, please contact futurefaculty@cornell.edu. We are pleased to provide learning communities with access to instructor guides with discussion prompts and questions, technical support and communications assistance, and a modest budget for photocopying or refreshments.

Evidence-Based STEM Teaching Courses

These courses can be taken in either order, depending on if you would like an overview of how people learn (in course 1), or to jump right to in-depth strategies for advancing teaching and learning (in course 2).

Course 1: An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching

An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching is a self-paced asynchronous online course designed to prepare aspiring faculty in STEM disciplines (natural and social sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to be more effective teachers through an introduction to evidence-based STEM teaching practices. Originally created with funding from the National Sciences Foundation and iteratively updated to reflect contemporary teaching and learning topics, this course brings together faculty, staff, and other teaching and learning experts from across the United States to teach about core aspects of teaching: understanding how people learn, developing and assessing learning objectives, using active and inclusive teaching strategies to support all learners, and how to turn all these pieces into a coherent lesson plan. Each module guides learners through lesson content, discussion prompts for deeper reflection, quizzes to reinforce key concepts, and assignments to translate what you’re learning into your personal teaching context.

Topics include: Principles of Learning: Prior Knowledge and Knowledge Organization; Practice, Feedback, and Motivation; Learning Objectives; Assessment of Learning; Active Learning.

Offered: Fall 2024; A fully updated version of this self-paced online course is opening for enrollment on September 1 (See registration details)

Course 2: Advancing Learning through Evidence-Based STEM Teaching

Course 2, Advancing Learning through Evidence-Based STEM Teaching, prepares science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of both students and teachers. Participants will learn about effective teaching strategies and the research that supports them, including active learning and flipped classroom approaches. While this course builds on Course 1, it is recommended but not required as a prerequisite.

Topics include: Practice and Feedback – Peer Instruction, Problem-Based Learning; Thinking Like a Scientist – Inquiry-Based Labs; Learning Communities – Cooperative Learning, Learning through Diversity; Course Design – The Flipped Classroom;  Principles and Practices – Final Project and Peer Feedback.

Offered: Spring 2024 – Enroll with EdX

These courses draw on the expertise of STEM faculty, educational researchers, and staff from university teaching centers, many of them affiliated with the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), a network of 45 research universities collaborating in the preparation of graduate students and postdocs as future faculty members. There are opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, both online and locally.