Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows have several approaches for navigating and participating in the professional development available to them at URI.
The Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning offers a wide range of both one-off and multi-session (badge-based) opportunities, and we are excited to share additional resources, workshops and badges hosted by campus partners. URI’s Graduate School offers professional development workshops and two different badges for continued learning. URI is also unique for the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching, hosted by the Feinstein College of Education.
Grad students and postdocs can follow the DIY pathway, picking and choosing the workshops, programs, and courses that fit their interests and schedule. For a more guided path for development, grad students and postdocs can take part in one of several badge programs offered by the University. And for a deeper-dive into college teaching that appears on one’s transcript, graduate students and postdocs are encouraged to enroll in the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching.
DIY Professional Development
DIY opportunities are made up of one-off or short series workshops, book groups, individual programs, and resource pages on a wide array of topics. If you have limited time to dedicate to teaching and career development on top of your other responsibilities, exploring these opportunities might be the best fit for you. These sessions, programs, and webpages are all freely available to you: register for whatever interests you!
CIRTL & Other Badges
Badges are multi-session or multi-program opportunities for teaching and career development that come with a microcredential recognition that you can list on your CV, in your job applications, and on social media spaces such as LinkedIn. CIRTL is a nationally recognized program that offers badges at three levels (CIRTL Associate, CIRTL Practitioner, and CIRTL Scholar). The Diversity & Inclusion Badge and the Equitable & Inclusive Pedagogy Badge are local to URI and provide recognition for dedicated work on those topics. All badges provide a public way for you to share the work you’ve done as well as share the learning outcomes and skills you’ve achieved through badge completion.