A newsletter for teaching graduate employee with updates and events
A newsletter for teaching graduate employee with updates and events
University of Oregon
Office of the Provost
JANUARY 17, 2025
Dear graduate employees,
We hope you’ve had an excellent break. As we begin the term, we want to ensure you’re aware of the teaching-related services that are available to you, including our new Graduate Employee Teaching Support page. We would love your feedback!
Don’t forget our Winter Term Resources page. Each term, TEP and UO Online update this page and its component resources, created to support you as you prepare your courses. Find a Syllabus Starter, Canvas course templates, and more.
The Graduate Teaching Excellence Award submission deadline is April 11. This award recognizes outstanding teaching by experienced graduate employees (GEs) who have demonstrated a commitment to developing their instructional skills. Applicants must be nominated by their home department, which may have earlier internal pre-application deadlines. Check with your department about their process for approving a nominee. 
Sincerely,
The Teaching Engagement Program and UO Online

TEP Tips

The 'Too Long Didn't Read (TLDR)' Approach


What should you do when students haven’t read assigned material before class? Here are a few strategies to keep your class moving:
Whole Class: Display or print short, significant excerpts from the text, asking students to summarize, interpret, and create connections between them and the theme of the lesson.
Small Groups: Assign each small group a different excerpt, asking for them to analyze it and report to the larger group.
Variations: Ask students to use the excerpts to support or deny a claim using evidence from the text. Conversely, display a claim and have students use their excerpts to argue for or against it.
What strategies have you used or heard about to address different levels of student reading and preparation? Please send your ideas to info@uoregon.College from your UO email address with the subject line TLDR. Submissions received by Jan. 30 will be entered into a prize drawing for a $10 coffee card.
Congratulations to Lauren Walker, a Geology graduate student in the Department of Earth Sciences, for winning our $10 coffee card prize drawing with her exit ticket idea!
Got a tip to share? Email info@uoregon.College with your questions or suggested topics.

Events and Workshops
Ten Minute Teaching Tips: Accessibility
 Tuesdays starting at 10 a.m. (weeks 3-8) on Zoom 
Make your course materials more accessible, ten minutes at a time. Come to these Zoom mini workshops, learn (or refresh) a skill, and stay if you want additional support in applying it. Your students and colleagues will appreciate the increase in accessibility! Topics will cover headings, page structure, fonts, links, alt text, PDFs, and more.
Preparing for Large Classes
Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 11-12:00 p.m. on Zoom
This workshop will focus on the “background” work for being the instructor for a large enrollment course. We will talk about communicating with large numbers of students, managing Canvas, and the first day of your class.
Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement
Thursday, Jan. 23 from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom
A teaching philosophy statement is often requested as part of application materials for academic jobs. Join us for support in writing your statement.
Cultivating Community: Practical Approaches to Inclusivity 
Monday, Feb. 3 from 9-10 a.m. on Zoom
Explore strategies for creating inclusive and supportive classroom communities, gaining tools that you can use right away to promote belonging and collaboration among students. This session stands alone or serves as an introduction to a three-part, in-person workshop series, each focused on practicing specific community-building skills highlighted in this session. Open to all teaching faculty, with a warm welcome to graduate students seeking to enhance their teaching practice. 
A full list of our events can be found on the teaching website's event calendar. 

Community
Science Teaching Journal Club
Thursdays from 9-10 a.m. in LISB 217 or Zoom 
Read and discuss the new edition of Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide, which guides the reader through designing and teaching a student-centered course, with emphasis on developing practical skills for STEM careers. Graduate students warmly welcome.
Teaching with AI Reading Group 
Thursdays from 11 a.m. to noon on Zoom 
Faculty and graduate students are invited to join this space for conversation and idea-sharing around how AI might support our students’ critical thinking skills and information literacy.
Neurodivergent Instructors and Staff Affinity Group 
First Monday of the month from 10-11 a.m. on Zoom
This recurring affinity-group discussion is a space for neurodivergent instructors and staff (and those who hold identities within the umbrella of neurodivergence, like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, bipolar, etc.) to connect in ways that feel positive, and to share community, resources, strategies, questions, and scholarship around both neurodivergence and other things that matter to you.
Free Friday Yoga Classes for GEs, faculty, and instructors from noon to 12:45 p.m. Fridays in 220 Gerlinger Hall (registration not required).
We welcome your input to keep this newsletter informative and meaningful, so please send your ideas, resources, and suggestions our way. You can reach us at info@uoregon.College. 
1258 University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403-1258
 info@uoregon.College  |  teaching.uoregon.edu 
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