University of Pittsburgh - CIDDE - Center for Instructional Development&Distance Education

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<< CIDDE Functions

Faculty Development

Faculty development at the University is a shared activity. For example, individual schools and departments provide peer review and mentoring opportunities. CIDDE focuses on providing learning opportunities for faculty related specifically to their teaching role. Similar opportunities are made available to graduate students who serve as teaching assistants or teaching fellows.

Faculty development within CIDDE has a central focus, the development of instruction, and a central goal, to increase active learning. Organizing faculty development activity around these strategic themes has led to significant outcomes:

The University's New Faculty Orientation provides information about instructional support resources. Participation has increased from a few dozen to over 100 new faculty from all schools within the University and feedback from those attending has been positive.
Pitt faculty now have opportunities for more intensive professional development through the Summer Instructional Development Institute. The SIDI provides opportunities for faculty to work on specific course development activities and to upgrade their pedagogical knowledge.
School- and department-based programs enable faculty with similar needs and interests to learn about new teaching methods and materials that are particularly applicable to their own disciplines. These programs are scheduled to be easily accessible to the target faculty group.
TA and TF support has expanded through the creation of a new handbook on teaching that is designed for graduate teaching assistants, the expansion of the University's New TA Orientation, creation of workshops designed to meet teaching needs identified by schools and their TAs, and the development of a graduate student seminar in teaching.
A new Teaching Excellence Showcase gives faculty an opportunity to learn about instructional innovations funded through the Provost's Innovation in Education grants program. Roundtable discussions of effective teaching methods and demonstrations of new instructional technologies are other favorite components of the Showcase.

Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education