Development Series
Development Series are non-credit course-style workshop series that provide sustained support, practice, and feedback on key aspects of teaching, communication, writing, and career management. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at any stage of their careers and in any discipline should enroll in these Development Series to improve their teaching, writing, speaking, and presentation skills, and preparation for industry. Development Series are non-credit bearing and free of charge (although some may require materials or refundable deposits).
Development Series that count toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate are indicated by an asterisk (*). Development series that count toward the Writing Certificate are indicated by a plus sign (+). Development series require compliance with the attendance policy. Email questions about Development Series to the instructor listed.
Summer 2020
Tuesdays 1-3 p.m., June 16 – July 7 | Zoom Webinar
Facilitators: Katie Homar and Courtney Hughes
In this four-part workshop development series, we address best practices for finding and applying for key research funding opportunities: grants and fellowships. Specifically, participants will discuss and practice strategies for:
- Locating grant and fellowship opportunities
- Aligning your proposed research project with the needs and values of the funding organization
- Articulating the broader impact of your work in relation to the funding organization
- Describing your project to non-specialist audiences
Participants will leave the workshop with strategies for starting and/or strengthening their applications drafts and will have the opportunity to follow up with individual feedback/advising on their application with Fellowships Coordinator Courtney Hughes.
This workshop series might especially interest graduate trainees looking to get a head start on grants/fellowships with early fall deadlines.
Participants may apply up to 8 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Workshops
Workshops that count toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate are indicated by an asterisk (*). Workshops that count toward the Writing Certificate are indicated by a plus sign (+). Workshops can only be counted for credit once unless otherwise indicated. Please be aware of the workshop attendance policy (below).
May 2020
Thursday, May 14 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this workshop, we tackle the challenge of composing two key components of a research article: Abstracts and introductions.
Participants will specifically practice strategies for adapting common engineering abstract types to their own research projects, organizing introductions using the famous “Create A Research Space” (CARS) model, and using appropriate verb tenses in introductions and abstracts, to start or revise their own abstracts and intros.
This Engineering Cafe is developed in partnership with the ASSIST Center, but engineering graduate and postdoc trainees of all disciplines are welcomed to attend.
Students may apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Tuesday, May 19 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this workshop, we’ll focus on strategies for planning and managing a writing project, as well as tips to make engineering writing more “user-friendly”. Participants will clarify their writing goals for the summer and leave with strategies to implement on current and future writing projects. We will also use the critique paper genre as a case study, so participants will also gain tips for summarizing, critiquing, and synthesizing research articles.
Students may apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Wednesday, May 20 | 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Wednesday, May 27 | 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore strategies for making your first day in the classroom a success. In the first session, we will discuss and practice lesson planning. In the second, you will “microteach” a brief lesson and receive feedback. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Thursday, May 21 | 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Thursday, May 28 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore how universal design for learning can be used to engage diverse learners. In the first session, we will conduct an assessment of a task that has multiple solutions and discuss concrete strategies to motivate students that approach tasks in different ways. In the second session, you will receive feedback on an activity that you designed based on what you learned in the first session. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, May 26 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Do people say that your writing is wordy? In this interactive workshop, we’ll address the challenge of building clear, concise sentences that represent your science to diverse stakeholders. Using Richard Lanham’s famous “Paramedic Method” and other approaches, participants will leave the session with strategies for “user-friendly” sentences in reports and other workplace documents.
Students may apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Thursday, May 28 | 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this workshop, we tackle the challenge of planning and drafting preliminary dissertation proposals. More than just a PhD program requirement, proposals play vital roles in the growth of a research project from formulating an initial question to refining the aims and scope of your work. This is a partnered workshop with the MAE department and it is opened to all NC State graduate and postdoc trainees.
Students may apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
June 2020
Monday, June 1 | 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Monday, June 8 | 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will go beyond formulating learning outcomes to consider their use for both course planning and assessment. In the first session, we will use backward course design concepts to practice using outcomes as planning and assessment tools. In the second session, participants will share an activity and assessment sequence that they’ve developed from a specific learning outcome. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, June 2 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this workshop, we address the challenges of creating persuasive reports for technical and nontechnical stakeholders. Specifically, participants will practice and discuss strategies for:
- Comparing the structures of reports versus academic articles
- Organizing information in reports for a variety of audiences
- Using headings and signposting phrases effectively to help readers navigate their documents
- Making report documents visually navigable and appealing
- Articulating the “downstream” impact for their work
Students may apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Thursday, June 4 | 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Would you like to discover a way to host existing videos and share videos in Moodle? In this workshop, you will learn to use My Mediasite to host your existing videos as well as share Mediasite videos all from within a Moodle course. With the Moodle and Mediasite integration, instructors have the option to use My Mediasite to host and share videos directly through Moodle. Join us to uncover the main features of the integration. It is recommended that participants have existing video or Mediasite videos to attend this seminar. If you are new to My Mediasite and want to learn how to use MDR to create a video, please check out our Getting Started with My Mediasite workshop.
Students may petition to apply 1 hour of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Friday, June 5 | 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Elizabeth Ault
Get tips on submitting and publishing your book manuscript! Join Elizabeth Ault (Duke University Press) for an information session on the academic book publishing process from submitting proposals to working with editors to final publication. Open to all masters, doctoral, and postdoc trainees, and to faculty.
Tuesday, June 9 | 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Make videos interactive and engaging by asking questions in PlayPosit. In this workshop, we will explore how to use PlayPosit in conjunction with YouTube to increase student engagement in your instructional videos.
Students may petition to apply 1.5 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, June 9 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Contact colleagues at NCState and beyond with tact and ease! In this workshop, you will gain strategies for crafting effective professional emails. Specifically, participants will practice and discuss strategies for:
- Organizing a professional email message
- Making inquiries and requests
- Creating a professional tone or voice in email
Students may apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Thursday, June 11 | 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Thinking of blending an upcoming course? Need to put a couple classes online due to conferences or “snow days?” In this workshop we will explore the different strategies for a hybrid course and the technologies that can help support it.
Students may petition to apply 1.5 up to hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, June 16 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Are you new to Moodle or looking to refresh your Moodle skills? Join us for some hands-on guidance in using Moodle as an instructor in your face-to-face, blended, or online classes! Learn how to create, navigate and customize a Moodle course. Explore Moodle tools and apply organizational strategies to help you manage your class online.
Students may petition to apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Thursday, June 18 | 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
How do you use Moodle to best organize and present your course content? How can Moodle tools help you achieve your instructional goals? Join us as we explore some best practices for teaching in Moodle for online, blended and face-to-face courses. We will review example courses, and discuss tips and strategies for structuring content using various Moodle tools.
Students may petition to apply up to 1.5 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, June 23 | 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Are you ready to give your students a richer, more engaging learning experience in Moodle? Upgrade your Moodle course with dynamic, interactive media using the H5P “Interactive Content” activity type. This session will showcase examples of different H5P content types and demonstrate how to add H5P interactive content in Moodle.
Students may petition to apply 1 hour of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Thursday, June 25 | 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Join us for a special interactive and informative workshop where three accomplished and award-winning teachers share their experiences, tips, and strategies for teaching online in a synchronous (i.e. Zoom) environment. We’ll hear tips from a faculty member who transitioned just this Spring and teaches large (>200) classes as well as two faculty who teach smaller classes but have been teaching online for years. Hear…and experience!…what they have found to work in this environment.
Students may petition to apply up to 1.5 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, June 30 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
In this more advanced Zoom course, we will focus on how to leverage some of Zoom’s most powerful tools (breakout rooms, polling, annotation, and screen sharing) to teach effectively and encourage the most student engagement and interaction with content, with each other, and with you. We will briefly review some basics of Zoom, but the majority of the workshop will be on using the tools it provides for interaction. If you are new to teaching in Zoom, it is recommended that you also attend the “Getting Started with Zoom” workshop we offer to gain mastery over the nuts and bolts of scheduling, settings, and navigating Zoom.
Students may petition to apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
July 2020
Monday, July 6 | 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Monday, July 13 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore strategies to make PowerPoint slides more visually engaging and interactive. In the first session, we will analyze effective and ineffective forms of visual communication. In the second session, you will present your own slide(s) for peer review. Slides can be course- or research-based. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience.
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, July 7 | 11 a.m. to 12 noon | Zoom Webinar
AND
Tuesday, July 14 | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore strategies for delivering a compelling, accessible academic job talk. In the first session, participants will reflect on the purpose of their talk as well as its audience, and will engage in a number of exercises to help them pitch their research to an interdisciplinary audience. In the second session, 1-3 speakers will present their job talk for peer review. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience.
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, July 7 | 1 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Are you new to Moodle or looking to refresh your Moodle skills? Join us for some hands-on guidance in using Moodle as an instructor in your face-to-face, blended, or online classes! Learn how to create, navigate and customize a Moodle course. Explore Moodle tools and apply organizational strategies to help you manage your class online.
Students may petition to apply 2 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Wednesday, July 8 | 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Wednesday, July 15 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore strategies for writing a teaching statement that is professional yet personalized. In the first session, we will look at models of effective and ineffective teaching statements and hone our ability to critique and revise them. In the second session, participants will present their own draft teaching statements for peer review. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience.
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Thursday, July 9 | 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Thursday, July 16 | 10 a.m. to 12 noon | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will explore strategies for managing conflict in the classroom. In the first session, we will examine various approaches to preventative and reactive conflict management, using real-life examples. In the second session, participants will role-play a variety of scenarios to practice assertive conflict management. Open to ALL graduate students and postdocs regardless of your teaching experience.
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Thursday, July 9 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Rubrics are a great way to communicate effectively with students about assignment requirements, while also creating a guide for you to grade them more easily. In this session, we will explore the qualities of good rubrics, and talk about how to create rubrics inside of Moodle.
Students may petition to apply 2 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Monday, July 13 to Friday, August 21
Facilitator: Crystal Lee Tenan and Maria Fister
This program will provide the audience with an introduction to accessibility and will offer practical methods for incorporating multiple accessibility techniques into face-to-face, blended, and online classrooms.
The course is formatted as a self-paced, asynchronous, online class delivered via Moodle and is scheduled to run for 6 weeks.
Students may apply up to 12 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, July 14 | 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
How do you use Moodle to best organize and present your course content? How can Moodle tools help you achieve your instructional goals? Join us as we explore some best practices for teaching in Moodle for online, blended and face-to-face courses. We will review example courses, and discuss tips and strategies for structuring content using various Moodle tools.
Students may petition to apply up to 1.5 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
August 2020
Monday, August 3 | 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
AND
Monday, August 10 | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Vanessa Doriott Anderson
In this two-part workshop, we will consider best practices for reading, analyzing, and using the data from your course evaluations. How can you make your evaluations work for you, so that they become part of a cycle of reflective teaching practice? How can you use them as evidence of effective teaching in your job materials? How can you separate constructive criticism from ad hominem attacks and excessive praise? And how can you supplement your standard course evaluations to get the information you really need to improve your teaching?
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory.
Students may apply up to 3 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
Tuesday, August 4 | 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
In this more advanced Zoom course, we will focus on how to leverage some of Zoom’s most powerful tools (breakout rooms, polling, annotation, and screen sharing) to teach effectively and encourage the most student engagement and interaction with content, with each other, and with you. We will briefly review some basics of Zoom, but the majority of the workshop will be on using the tools it provides for interaction. If you are new to teaching in Zoom, it is recommended that you also attend the “Getting Started with Zoom” workshop we offer to gain mastery over the nuts and bolts of scheduling, settings, and navigating Zoom.
Students may petition to apply up to 2 hours of credit toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event. Direct accommodation requests for professional development programs to professional-development@ncsu.edu.
Attendance Policy
Participants who cancel their registration for any Professional Development event (e.g., workshops, seminars, symposia) more than 24 hours before the first session of an event will not be penalized. Registrants who fail to attend an event or who cancel their registration less than 24 hours before the first session of an event will be marked as a “No Show” for the event. Those with two recorded “No Shows” will automatically be dropped from all future Professional Development events for the remainder of the semester in which the two “No Shows” occur.
This policy is in place to encourage students to practice time management and professionalism. The instructors create materials and activities based on attendance so this information needs to be as accurate as possible in order for participants to get the most out of the session.
For development series, please review the syllabus for the attendance policy specific to your course.
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