The University Center for Teaching and Learning (The Teaching Center), with support from the Office of the Provost, strives to inspire excellence and innovation in teaching, learning, and scholarly activities at the University of Pittsburgh.
Utilize the Teaching Center for educational resources, assistance with classroom technology and tools, workshops and training, teaching support, and other learning initiatives.
Just a few of the many programs and resources available for faculty development are highlighted below. Visit the Teaching Center website to see all of their programming, services, and opportunities for support.
Provost's Diversity Institute for Faculty Development
The Provost’s Diversity Institute for Faculty Development was created in 2015 and offers programming to build faculty capacity to teach in a diverse and multicultural environment. Programming includes panel discussions, open forums, workshops, and more. The Provost's Diversity Institute is offered annually in the summer.
Workshops and Seminars on Teaching
The University Center for Teaching and Learning also provides a variety of workshops, seminars, and resources for faculty. Workshops and programming include book and film discussions, training on instructional technologies, workshops that provide guidance on best teaching practices, and more.
Large Enrollment Courses
The Teaching Center has compiled a variety of resources, guides, and support for instructors who teach large enrollment classes.
Learning Communities
Faculty learning communities allow faculty to discuss and examine issues related to a broad, overarching topic. FLCs meet several times per semester on an ongoing basis. While FLCs are coordinated by the Teaching Center, sessions, topics and activities are primarily determined and facilitated by faculty.
Center for Mentoring
The faculty of the University of Pittsburgh is one of the University’s greatest assets. The Center for Mentoring serves as a central resource to support professional excellence by encouraging growth and development of faculty as teachers and scholars. By learning how to be effective mentors and mentees, faculty can strengthen their professional interactions and connections with students, helping to prepare them for success at Pitt and for lives of impact beyond campus.
Center for Communication
The Center for Communication is housed in the University Center for Teaching and Learning. It exists specifically for faculty and graduate students and offers a range of resources and services related to effective communications. These include workshops on improving presentations, poster sessions, and videos; feedback on writing (for grants and teaching portfolios); coaching on presentation skills for different audiences; and guidance on speaking with the press about research.