Pedagogical Humanities Certificate

The School of Humanities awards graduate students and Mellon Fellows a Pedagogical Humanities Certificate when they complete a series of workshops centered on active learning, online teaching, mindfulness, wellness, and inclusive teaching principles. Programming is offered so that participants can complete the certificate within an academic year.

This fall, the Pedagogical Humanities Certificate program is pleased to be collaborating with the Humanities Center’s 1619 Project. Graduate students participating in the 1619 project will receive credit for the “Inclusive Teaching Principles” component of the certificate program. This component is one of the four pillars of pedagogical training entailed in the certification process.

These include:

1. Inclusive Teaching Principles
Inclusive teaching principles offer new graduate instructors context about their students’ identities and needs as well as greater awareness of how diversity shapes teaching practices. Students will attend at least four workshops in total. These may include:

a. Three sessions from the 1619 project
b. Three sessions from the Academics for Black Lives (A4BL) training
c. Three trainings for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups on campus:

AND

d. One workshop on Inclusive Teaching Principles (may include short reading)

2. Mindfulness and Wellness
Students will learn holistic approaches to learning that improve problem-solving, communication with students and mentors, and balancing the stressors of teaching and learning. These holistic approaches work in tandem with Inclusive Teaching Principles by accounting for individual students' needs. Students will attend one workshop of the following:

a. “Integrating Well-Being Concepts Into the Classroom” (Offered by Wellness, Health, and Counseling Services)
b. Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program’s “Wellness” seminar (offered by the Office of Inclusive Excellence).
c. Upcoming programming centered on Mindfulness and Wellness

(Note: The Pedagogical Humanities program also offers optional monthly mindfulness
sessions for graduate students and interested faculty.)

3. Online Teaching Approaches
The pandemic-driven shift to online teaching has forced long-time instructors to revise routine pedagogical approaches. Online teaching has, in many cases, changed their relationship to their students. Students often experience online teaching as a medium that exacerbates their sense of disconnect in a world laden with stressors; and they look to instructors as beacons of support and encouragement. Our workshops on best online teaching practices highlight community building, mindfulness and wellness principles, and inclusive teaching principles in an effort to boost students’ sense of agency. For certification credit, instructors will attend the following:

a. “Getting Your Online Teaching Off To a Strong Start” (Sept. 30, 2020. See Humanities Center Calendar)

4. Basic Pedagogical Principles
In collaboration with UCI Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation, the Pedagogical Humanities Certificate program offers a series of basic pedagogy workshops each fall for new instructors. Topics may include: writing a syllabus, engaging in office hours, active learning strategies for classes in different mediums, assessment, etc. In Fall 2020, the program includes six workshops led by former Pedagogical Fellow, Kyle David (History). Other programs in basic pedagogy may be substituted to fulfill the requirement. These may include:

a. TAPDP (with DTEI)
b. Mellon Teaching Institute (School of Humanities)
c. University Studies 390X (DTEI)
d. Humanities Pedagogical Certificate (DTEI and School of Humanities)

Please contact Larisa Castillo with questions, at larisa.castillo@uci.edu.