Teaching Preparation Series
The Center for Teaching and Learning and campus partners offer a professional development opportunity for graduate student instructors to learn about, observe, practice, receive feedback on, and reflect upon classroom teaching techniques. Some of these campus partners include: the Office of Career and Life Design, Disability and Access, and the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC). Join us in our online and in-person sessions to learn about teaching!
Self-enrollment in the Canvas site for Spring 2026 is now open! Join the site to learn more about the series and to receive updates about the Spring 2026 schedule, workshop registration openings, and more teaching and professional development opportunities for graduate students and postdocs.
What are the benefits?
The Teaching Preparation Series gives graduate students and post-docs an opportunity to grow their teaching practice, whether you attend one workshop or all of them. However, participants who complete multiple sessions will receive a Certificate of Completion that acts as a credential demonstrating your investment in professional development to future employers. Participants who attend three unique workshops and upload a reflection will earn the Teaching Preparation Certificate. Participants who complete seven unique sessions and submit a qualifying Teaching Statement for an Advanced Teaching Preparation Certificate.
What will I learn?
You can expect to learn about a variety of skills and concepts regarding teaching and learning, improve your pedagogy, and connect with peers from across campus to improve upon your teaching. Below, you can find typical session descriptions in the series.
Preparing for Your First Day of Teaching: How do I work effectively with students & faculty?
As a graduate student, you assume many roles: teacher, instructor, as well as student. In this workshop, you will discover new ways to create connection in your classroom, and learn strategies for setting expectations and working effectively with students and faculty.
How We Learn: How can I use pedagogical theory to make learning last?
Join us for an introductory, asynchronous crash course in the cognitive theories underlying learning and memory. Discover how you can leverage these theories to encourage deep, meaningful, long-lasting learning for your students.
Lesson Planning: How do I structure my time in the classroom?
In this hands-on, collaborative workshop, participants will learn about how to use the principles of alignment and backwards design to efficiently and effectively plan student-centered lessons. Participants will practice breaking down their lesson plans into objectives, assessments, and activities; assessing and generating learning outcomes; and planning aligned learning activities. We’ll discuss connections between our own classroom experiences and how they relate to current teaching appointments and students. Participants will leave the session with a concrete set of tools and practices to generate engaging lesson plans throughout the semester.
Facilitating Effective Discussions: How can I foster student participation to enhance learning?
Discussion can be an effective classroom tool to reach a variety of course goals. "Facilitating Effective Discussions" aims to equip instructors with tools to encourage and maintain classroom engagement for all students while meeting course goals. Join us for an exploration of different techniques and technologies for establishing and maintaining interest and interaction with course content.
Facilitating Effective Labs: How can I foster student engagement to enhance learning?
Lab sessions are where students apply their theoretical knowledge from the classroom during hands-on activities and deepen their understanding through exploration, but they are also a time-pressured setting where instructors are responsible for their students’ safety as well as their learning. “Facilitating Effective Labs” aims to equip lab instructors with tools to lead an engaging and collaborative lab session that still gives students time to complete the required activities. We will explore strategies for setting lab expectations, giving helpful pre- and post-lab talks, and asking questions that promote discovery and observation.
Student-Centered Teaching Strategies: How can I actively engage students in their learning?
This hands-on workshop will help you build a toolkit of strategies for creating engaging student-centered learning experiences that align with your learning outcomes, regardless of class size.
Teaching with AI: How can I use LLMs to help create classroom activities?
This hands-on workshop introduces instructors to practical strategies for integrating generative AI into lesson planning and day-to-day teaching. Participants will learn the RTRI method for prompt design (Role, Task, Requirements, Instruction), and explore how it can support clearer, more intentional interactions with AI tools. Participants will learn to prompt AI to surface likely points of confusion, hidden curricular assumptions, and logistical challenges students may encounter, as well as learn how to use Co-pilot to help develop materials. Participants will also reflect on how and when to incorporate AI into their own teaching.
Giving Good Feedback: How can I promote student learning and growth through feedback?
In this hands-on workshop, you will develop strategies and methods for generating meaningful, appropriate, and actionable feedback on student work.
Assessment & Grading: How do I quickly and fairly assess student work?
Through hands-on activities and discussion, this workshop will introduce you to student-centered grading practices and some time-saving tips for managing your workload.
Drafting Your Teaching Statement: How do I articulate my beliefs about teaching?
Learn the characteristics of an effective teaching statement —including what search committees look for —and begin drafting/refining your statement to vibrantly convey your teaching values and the instructional choices you make to help students achieve learning goals.
Workshop Your Teaching Statement: What is working? What can I improve?
In this asynchronous peer-review workshop, participants will receive feedback on their teaching statement draft. In addition, they will share suggestions to strengthen others' statements with vivid examples of teaching strategies and learner-centered goals. Finally, participants will have an opportunity to reflect and strategize ways to improve their teaching statement.
Teaching Practice (microteaching): Try out a mini lesson and get some feedback!
Teaching Practice is a teaching improvement technique that involves an instructor delivering a mini-lesson (10-12 minutes) to a small group of peers in order to receive detailed feedback on their teaching effectiveness. It is a great opportunity for instructors to try new teaching strategies in a safe environment.
Disability & Access: How do I address barriers that impact a student’s ability to learn through academic accommodations?
Instructors are responsible for providing access to information and reducing barriers to learning for all students. For students with disabilities, this might be accomplished through the provision of academic accommodations. Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Assistant Instructors (AIs) are often assigned to facilitate accommodations that can foster meaningful participation in the classroom. During this session, you will learn about how to work with students with disabilities in your role as a TA or AI.
Student Well-Being: How do I promote students' mental health in my teaching?
This session will describe the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center's Well-being in Learning Environments project that collaborates with faculty to support student mental health. During the session, we will learn about and practice various wellness strategies, including expressing gratitude, developing a growth mindset, and being self-compassionate.
How can I register?
You can self-enroll in our Canvas course to stay on top of announcements and sign up for individual workshops.
What have others said?
“I really enjoyed the series and learned a lot of information that I feel will be applicable in my future teaching career.”
“[H]aving the certification impresses a lot of search committees. It's been a great talking point when they ask about my teaching experience and training.”
“I've had several tenure track job interviews [...] and I think a lot of it is because I am able to talk really clearly about teaching and pedagogy in my statements, which I learned in the classes.”
2026 Spring Teaching Preparation Series schedule
The CTL and campus partners offer a professional development opportunity for graduate students and post-docs to learn about, observe, practice, receive feedback on, and reflect upon teaching techniques.
Click here to download a PDF and here for a text only version of the 2026 Spring Schedule.