The Teaching Towards Inclusive Excellence (TTIE) certificate of completion is an initiative of The Center for Teaching Excellence and the Division of Access, Title IX, and Community Engagement. The TTIE program is designed to provide an opportunity for faculty, instructors and teaching graduate students to support USC’s commitment to inclusive excellence both within and outside their classroom.
Program Description
Teaching Towards Inclusive Excellence addresses teaching philosophies and practices by integrating pedagogical principles aligned with inclusive excellence into the classroom environment, course design and assignments that increase awareness of the importance of cultural competence, civic engagement and civil discourse. Key outcomes for participants include obtaining a deeper understanding of the people, practices and initiatives that support and foster a sense of community at USC, as well as obtaining ideas, strategies and resources that instructors can use to both build their cultural competencies and identify community partnerships across the institution.
Requirements
Faculty, instructors and teaching graduate assistants who participate in eight or more Teaching Towards Inclusive Excellence approved Center for Teaching Excellence workshops will receive a certificate of completion and a letter of commendation. Participants will be required to attend the Inclusive Excellence at USC workshop and seven (7) electives. Participants will have 3 academic semesters (not including summer semesters) to complete the certificate.
SPRING 2024
Click on the "+" sign next to each event to see description.
Required Workshops
Come develop a deeper understanding of inclusive excellence and why it is central not only to how we prepare students to lead, but also to how we engage all members of our USC community. Learn about the ways in which the Division of Access, Title IX, and Community Engagement seeks to operationalize inclusive excellence, as well as how we intend to use our equity and inclusion strategy to track the University’s effectiveness in four primary areas: compositional diversity, achievement, engagement and inclusion. Register
Come develop a deeper understanding of inclusive excellence and why it is central not only to how we prepare students to lead, but also to how we engage all members of our USC community. Learn about the ways in which the Division of Access, Title IX, and Community Engagement seeks to operationalize inclusive excellence, as well as how we intend to use our equity and inclusion strategy to track the University’s effectiveness in four primary areas: compositional diversity, achievement, engagement and inclusion. Register
Elective Workshops
Are you equipped to provide accessible content that meets the needs of all your students? Come prepared to gain hands-on experience of applying digital accessibility best practices during this session.
This workshop will provide guidance for applying accessibility practices to your documents appropriately and how to prevent potential barriers people experience due to disabilities. An overview of disabilities and the challenges they cause will be provided including types of assistive technologies (AT) that help alleviate those challenges.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will be touched on related to its part in developing accessible content. You will also learn about integrated automated accessibility tools in Microsoft and Blackboard platforms that can identify accessibility issues and provide guidance to resolve them.
Attend with curiosity to help lead towards innovative and inclusive content design strategies. Leave with a strong sense of applying accessibility best practices that opens the path of better experiences for all your students within our shared digital world. Register
While many universities are carving out safe spaces on campus for LGBTQ+ students, the classroom remains a vulnerable place for many students. This workshop will discuss ways faculty can support in promoting LGBTQ+ student success. Register
The presentation will provide tips and suggestions for weaving inclusive teaching practices throughout the curriculum, focusing on medical, healthcare, and clinical teaching. A focus will be placed on diversifying pictures, models, and scenarios used for class learning and creating inclusive assessment strategies focused on the social determinants of health, health literacy, and patient advocacy. Register
In an increasingly diverse and interconnected world, the importance of allyship in
education cannot be overstated. This presentation seeks to address the critical issue
of fragility in allyship when working with or teaching students from marginalized
communities. Fragility can manifest as discomfort, defensiveness, or avoidance when
confronting issues related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, or other forms of
marginalization. Such fragility not only hinders meaningful progress but also perpetuates
systemic inequalities.
This presentation will explore strategies and insights aimed at dismantling fragility
and fostering robust allyship within educational contexts. Register
We often hear the term 'politically correct' or 'PC' to describe when individuals feel they have to change their terminology to not offend another person. However, this presentation will challenge us to move away 'politically correct' terms and focus more on inclusive, validating terms, phrases, and descriptors for different groups. The focus will be on exploring how inclusive language in the classroom when teaching, discussing students/faculty, and when creating materials can transform how students absorb information, and feel welcomed and safe. This introductory presentation will focus on defining marginalized population, person-first language, and addressing some of our implicit bias & stereotypes. Register
Smartphones are ubiquitous tools nowadays as 85% of people now own a smartphone. Smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices are undoubtedly something most of us rely on every day, but did you know that a lot of their tools and features can be great for accessibility as well? This session will highlight some common features and apps on our mobile devices that you can customize and optimize to assist with an individual's digital accessibility needs. We'll also dive into how virtual assistants and mobile apps can assist people with disabilities in their daily lives. Register