About CIRTL

Are you a graduate student or postdoc interested in an academic career? CIRTL is here for you! UMBC has been a proud member of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) Network since 2016. As an essential part of our Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Development (GSPD) hub, CIRTL offers a nationally recognized certification program designed to enhance your teaching practice and boost your CV.

Through CIRTL, you will gain access to:

  • Exclusive Resources: Participate in specialized workshops and courses.

  • Career Preparation: Learn how to integrate educational innovation and diversity initiatives into your teaching to become a highly qualified future faculty member.

  • A Structured Pathway: Progress through established competencies to become a recognized Practitioner, Associate, and Scholar of teaching and learning.

  • A Connected Community: Join a supportive network of peers dedicated to improving higher education.

Click here to learn more about CIRTL from their national website.

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What does CIRTL Network Offer?

The CIRTL Network connects you to interactive, synchronous, and asynchronous online learning experiences alongside graduate students and postdocs from universities nationwide.

CIRTL Cross-Network Courses and Events In addition to core Cross-Network Courses, you have the opportunity to participate in a variety of networking and professional development events, including:

  • CIRTLCasts: Engaging online webcasts and seminars.

  • Workshops: Focused, interactive sessions on specific teaching and learning topics.

  • Teaching-As-Research (TAR) Capstone Series: Opportunities to present, share, and discuss targeted teaching research.

CIRTL Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

CIRTL currently offers two foundational, highly regarded MOOCs designed specifically to prepare the next generation of STEM faculty:

Course 1: An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching

  • The Focus: An 8-week open, online course introducing effective teaching strategies and the foundational research that supports them.

  • The Goal: To equip future STEM faculty, graduate students, and postdocs with the skills needed to be highly effective educators, vastly improving the learning experience for the thousands of students they will teach.

Course 2: Advancing Learning through Evidence-Based STEM Teaching

  • The Focus: An introduction to “teaching as research”—the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement impactful teaching practices.

  • The Goal: To teach STEM graduate students and postdocs planning academic careers how to actively collect, analyze, and act upon evidence of student learning to advance outcomes for both students and teachers.

Core Ideas

Three ideas are at the foundation of the CIRTL Network: Teaching-as-Research, Learning Community, and Learning-through-Diversity.

  1. Teaching-as-Research (TAR): The deliberate, reflective, and systematic application of research methods to instruction. Educators use TAR to develop and implement teaching practices that actively improve student and teacher learning experiences.

  2. Learning Communities: Cross-disciplinary groups that foster shared discovery and collaborative learning to generate actionable knowledge regarding effective teaching methodologies.

  3. Learning-through-Diversity: A commitment to capitalizing on the diverse experiences, backgrounds, and skills of STEM undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty to enhance the educational process.

More information about CIRTL’s values, ideas, and history can be found at CIRTL.net.

Certifications

CIRTL Certificates are nationally recognized certifications demonstrating a commitment to evidence-informed teaching and centering and supporting learners (exceptionally diverse learners) and learning mechanisms in your education. You can put a CIRTL Certificate on your CV and LinkedIn profile, and we hope to be soon able to add this to your UMBC transcript.

Levels of Certificates

This initial level is the foundation of teaching and learning.

Associate Requirements:

  • Four activities (workshops or courses) across topics on pedagogical practices.
  • One additional activity (workshop or course) focused on Social Responsibility. Can include any of the following:
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • Ethics
  • A teaching philosophy statement and Cover Letter.

These activities can be offered by UMBC (CIRTL, Promise, Faculty Development Center), regional CIRTL partners (such as UMCP, JHU, or Howard University), and the national CIRTL network. These activities can be face-to-face or online.

Prior approval from Dr. Gurganus to check if the workshops count toward the certification is required.

The second level of CIRTL certification demonstrates more profound knowledge and skills in quality teaching and learning methodologies and practices.

Practitioner Requirements:

  • Associate certificate.
  • Five activities (workshops or courses) across topics on pedagogical topics:
    • At least two activities demonstrating teaching experience or learning about educational research:
      • Any workshop on educational research/Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
      • Actual teaching experience
        • May be TA, guest lecturer, or instructor of record.
        • Maybe on the UMBC campus or another college/university.
        • May be face-to-face or online delivery.
      • Planning Your Teaching as Research Project course (offered online at CIRTL.net or UMBC).
    • At least one activity focused on diversity, diverse learners, or culturally responsive teaching and learning.
  • Revised teaching philosophy statement.

This final level of CIRTL certification shows your commitment and experience in teaching and learning.

Scholar Requirements:

  • Practitioner Certificate.
  • Three activities on teaching and learning (more advanced topics are recommended).
  • Teaching experience as an instructor of record.
  • Develop a teaching portfolio.
  • Implement and present a final Teaching as Research Project.
    • The presentation can be a poster at CIRTL for all network TAR presentations or at a conference with a strand focused on teaching and learning.
    • Publication of the TAR project is highly desired.

Workshops offered by CIRTL.net count towards your certification, events hosted by the Grad Student and Postdoc Development group page indicated with the Ͼ symbol counts towards your certificate.

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