How do we know what influences student learning and experience in the classroom? How might research skills be applied in a classroom context? Join this community to ignite your curiosity, utilize and develop research skills, and discover pedagogical literature that will guide your design of a project centered on understanding and ultimately improving student outcomes. Designing this scholarly teaching project will help you become a more reflective instructor that is confident using classroom evidence to improve and inform your teaching. 

Stanford is a member of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) Network, whose overall mission is to improve the quality of undergraduate education. One of the core principles of CIRTL’s approach is “Teaching as Research”, a deliberate and systematic approach towards investigating, reflecting on, and improving one’s own teaching. 

This process follows an inquiry cycle consisting of the following stages: 

• Identifying a challenge within the context of teaching and learning
• Exploring the relevant scholarly literature 
• Designing and implementing (a) a project to elucidate why the challenge occurs, and/or (b) a teaching intervention to address the challenge
• Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting classroom data
• Reflecting on the experience from the perspective of scholar/researcher

By the end of the course, participants will present a project plan that could be implemented in future teaching or other academic contexts. You will also build a community that will support you in the implementation of your project in the coming year. Completing the project designed in this course will provide evidence of reflective, professional practice and fulfill a significant portion of the requirements for the Practitioner level CIRTL@Stanford Teaching Certificate, which may also help you in future job application and interviews.

Course Schedule

Monday, Sept. 8 - Friday, Sept. 12 from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

• Full attendance is expected.
• Some additional reflection and work may be required outside of our time together. Students should expect no more than 1-2 hours of work per day outside of class.