CIRTL@UCLA Newsletter

October 2023 | cirtl.ceils.ucla.edu

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CIRTL National Network Events

CIRTL Fall programming is underway!


The CIRTL National Network is offering courses, event series and workshops for graduate students and postdocs interested in pursing teaching careers in STEM disciplines.

The Fall programming covers a range of teaching and learning topics including: accessibility, evidence-based teaching fundamentals, academic professional development, teaching development for postdocs, science communication, and teaching-as-research projects apart of the CIRTL certification. Offerings with availability follow:


November 8 - 27 | Supporting Neurodivergent Students

Learn about common forms of neurodiversity, the obstacles that neurodiverse students might encounter in academia, and teaching strategies to overcome those obstacles in this two-part workshop. All participants will attend a first session on Wednesday, November 8; then, participants can choose from attending one of two follow-up sessions on either Monday, November 20 or 27. No cap. Register by Wednesday, November 8. Read more.


Nov. 17 & Dec. 1 | Creating Accessible STEM Teaching & Research Documents

Understand why document accessibility matters and explore the LaTeX software for mathematical equations in this two-part workshop that combines accessibility fundamentals with technical training. No cap. Register by Friday, November 17. Read more.


Thursdays, Dec. 7 & 14 | Getting Started with Universal Design for Learning

Explore the basic principles of Universal Design for Learning and apply them to resources or practices you use in your own teaching in this two-part workshop. No cap.

Register by Thursday, December 7. Read more.

SUBSCRIBE to the CIRTL Network Newsletter & Click HERE for a list of all upcoming CIRTL Network Events you can join!

Featured Resources

Mid-Quarter Feedback

It is hard to believe we are already in Week 5 of Fall Quarter! But, this is the perfect time to check in with your students about your teaching and their learning. Mid-quarter feedback is a quick way for instructors to gain important insights into how students are feeling about their progress and to learn what is and isn’t working in a class so that you can make adjustments.

Featured resources from across campus about all things feedback follow:


CEILS Teaching Guide: Based on Student Feedback

This guide reviews why feedback is important, discusses how you can implement mid-quarter feedback surveys in your courses with examples, and suggests methods for replying to student feedback once it has been received.


EPIC Guide of Online Tools for Mid-Quarter Student Feedback

This resource discusses the benefits of mid-quarter evaluations, includes a sample mid-quarter feedback form, and three ways to solicit feedback: Google Docs/Forms, BruinLearn, Annotation software like Hypothesis.


EPIC Guide to Acting on Mid-Quarter Evaluations

This guide explains categories of student feedback and how to effectively act on received feedback during the second half of your course.

Supporting Students Throughout the Quarter


Utilizing strategies to sustain community in your classrooms beyond Week 1 can help students continue to feel welcomed and included. By explicitly building community among our students with care, communication, consideration, and consistency, we can create learning communities where all students can excel.


Strategies to Create and Sustain Community in your Classroom

Even if you used this guide to create community on the first day of class, revisiting it for included strategies to sustain community can support you in remaining equitable and inclusive in your pedagogy practices.


Student Campus Resources Guide

This comprehensive tool combines many of the supportive programs available to our students, which may be helpful for them as the quarter continues to progress. Thank you to Britney Robinson, DEI Coordinator for Physical Sciences and Lauren Buzzanco, Lead mentor for the Summer BRIDGE Program for developing such a valuable tool for our students!


Graduate Student and Postdoc Drop-In Hours

Want feedback on your teaching? Meet 1:1 with CAT’s Educational Development Fellows during their office hours. Fellows specialize in Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, Inclusive Teaching, Professional Development, STEM, Writing Pedagogy and are eager to connect with you.

Support for Evidence-Based Teaching

TA Training Program


The Center for Advancement of Teaching program provides teaching support to graduate students across campus.

Check out the CAT Website here


EPIC Program


The EPIC Program is dedicated to innovating and strengthening humanities pedagogy for both faculty and graduate students.

Check out the EPIC Website here


Check out the CEILS & CIRTL@UCLA Calendar of Events



Check out the CEILS calendar of events for a curated list of local and national workshops, webinars, and conferences! The Calendars are updated regularly so check back often.

CEILS Calendar & CIRTL@UCLA Calendar

Professional Development

UCLA Graduate Career Services

Career Conversations: Academic Jobs

Academic Cover Letter via Zoom

Thursday, November 2nd from 12 pm - 1 pm

Register Here


Do you have questions about the academic job market? Bring your questions

and join the UCLA Graduate Career Center for a weekly Career Conversation. They tackle the most common academic job documents and prepare you for academic interviews

with tips, resources, and lots of answers!

Check out the Career Center and Academic Job Market Resources here.


Upcoming Events in this Series:



First Round Interviews via Zoom

Thursday, November 9th from 12 pm - 1 pm

Register Here


Campus Interviewing via Zoom

Thursday, November 16th from 12 pm - 1 pm

Register Here

UCLA Graduate Writing Center


Mindful Writing Retreat Sessions

November 3rd, 8th, and 17th

Half-Day, Online

Register Here


The mindful writing retreat will integrate simple techniques from mindfulness to support the writing process and cultivate an approach to writing that fosters balance, self-care, and well-being. Please bring a current writing project because much of the retreat time will be allocated for writing. All sessions will be conducted remotely via zoom.

Learn more about the Graduate Writing Center here.


Friday, November 3rd from 10am - 12:30pm PT

Register Here


Wednesday, November 8th from 1:30pm - 4:00pm PT

Register Here


Friday, November 17th from 10am - 12:30pm PT

Register Here

Conference Opportunity at PsychTERMS:

Teaching to Enhance Research Methods & Statistics


2023 Virtual Conference

Wednesday, December 13th & Thursday, December, 14th

10am - 12pm PT / 1pm - 5pm ET

Register Here


The PsychTERMS conference is a FREE, 2-day virtual event designed for psychology instructors and graduate student instructors at all levels who are new or veteran instructors of research methods and/or statistics. The conference will have two Keynote Speakers, peer-reviewed presentations, and interactive teaching poster sessions.

Learn more about the conference here.


Several of the Teaching Professors in Psychology across the UC system who organize this conference are currently seeking submissions for the peer-reviewed presentations

and interactive poster sessions. New for this year, they invite presentations

on supporting research methods and statistics thinking in content courses.

Please visit the Call for Submissions page for more information.

All proposals are due by Friday, November 3rd, 2023.


Click here to register by December 11, 2023!

Registration for this conference is free thanks to a generous donation from APA PsycLearn.


If you have any questions, please contact the conference organizers at psychtermsconference@gmail.com

Postdoc Opportunities

Applications Now Open!

Stony Brook University NIH IRACDA Program

 Additional information about the program can be found on the Website and students are welcome to contact Lisa.Ospitale@stonybrook.edu directly with any questions.

Job Opportunities

For a list of current job openings, please visit our Job Boards page here.

Make your CIRTL certification official!

There are three levels of certification for the CIRTL program, and each level has unique learning outcomes:


  1. CIRTL Associate: recognizes the role of the CIRTL core ideas in effective teaching and learning
  2. CIRTL Practitioneraddresses scholarly teaching using the CIRTL core ideas to demonstrably improve learning of students by completing a teaching-as-research (TAR) project
  3. CIRTL Scholaradvances teaching and learning, and makes the results from TAR project public. 


Register to become an official CIRTL@UCLA AssociatePractitioner, or Scholar!

Learn more here.

Stay Connected with CIRTL@UCLA

Subscribe to our Newsletter

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is a national network providing graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with online training on evidence based teaching and professional development. UCLA is a member of CIRTL giving you access to all CIRTL online programing across the network. 


SUBSCRIBE to the CIRTL Network Newsletter and click HERE for a list of all upcoming CIRTL Network Events you can join!


Curious about CIRTL happenings at UCLA? Visit the CIRTL@UCLA website for updates on course offerings, campus-wide workshops, and programming.


If you have any questions, please contact our program coordinator at cirtl@ceils.ucla.edu.