Courses and Communities of Practice

The CTE's Short Courses and Communities of Practice provide opportunities for sustained and deeper engagement with teaching related interests and topics in a collegial setting. Our Short Courses are opportunities to learn about a particular area of teaching with the guidance of an expert colleague in that area. Our Communities of Practice allow for informal conversation and idea sharing among colleagues involved in a particular area of teaching.

Faculty Cohort

New Faculty Academy

New Faculty Academy is an initiative of the Office of the Provost designed to launch the careers of new faculty on a positive and productive trajectory by providing a series of professional development, networking, and mentoring activities during their first year at USC. All first-year full-time faculty members on the USC Columbia campus are eligible to participate. NFA is a cohort-based program that begins with a half-day kickoff workshop in conjunction with New Faculty Orientation, followed by a series of monthly workshops and gatherings throughout the academic year.

Short Courses

Teaching Online for Graduate Students

Are you a graduate student who is new to online learning or interested in teaching an online course? Would you like to boost your teaching credentials and learn new instructional skills? This four-week online course will introduce you to online teaching and develop your knowledge and ability to implement and teach online courses at the University of South Carolina and throughout your career as an educator.

Foundations of Online Teaching

Regardless of your online teaching experience, this facilitator-led course provides foundations and guidance for purposeful online course design, development, and delivery. The course is delivered through the Blackboard Learning Management System in a fully asynchronous format. Faculty work in the course as students and complete weekly activities and assignments. We do not recommend enrolling in this course if you have completed Getting Started Teaching Online at UofSC.

Carolina Online Learning and Teaching (COLT)

Are you a faculty member (tenure-track, professional track) interested in updating material or creating something new to enhance your teaching?  If so, please join us at the Center for Teaching Excellence for the Carolina Online Learning & Teaching (COLT) short course program. No matter what format you teach, online, blended, hybrid or face-to-face, COLT contains helpful information designed to help you improve upon your existing course material or assist you with building new instructional material. Intermediate to advanced knowledge of pedagogy, course design, development, distributed delivery, LMS technology, accessibility and online administration will be explored. You will have the opportunity to consult one-one with an instructional designer and come away from COLT with a teaching project (of your own design) that can immediately be implemented.   

Technology for Online Teaching and Learning

For instructors teaching in the online environment, using technology is a given. Even so, utilizing the full potential of technology is an important component of well-designed courses. The focus of this 6-week online course is on integrating technology for online course delivery to transform learning environments. Instructors are introduced to the how’s, when’s and why’s of technology use in the online learning environment. This course is a collaborative learning experience designed to give instructors an in-depth look at how to effectively teach online with technology.  

Communities of Practice (CoP)

Coordinators and Instructors of Large Undergraduate Courses  Community of Practice (CILUC CoP)

In this informal, cross-disciplinary discussion group, participants discuss and share best practices and resources for 1) effective coordination of large undergraduate courses, including logistics, class management, GTA and adjunct supervision, and other issues unique to large course management, and 2) teaching and administration of large introductory courses  The group meets two to three times a semester, discussing concerns, ideas, and other issues, regularly inviting campus offices to contribute to the discussion. Please contact Michelle Hardee at hardeem@mailbox.sc.edu if you are interested in participating in the CILUC CoP. 

Virtual Environments Community of Practice (VE CoP)

The Virtual Environments Interest Group is planning ways to bring 360° video, virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality into teaching and learning environments at USC. Meetings are open to faculty, staff and students. To join this group, please email Aisha Haynes at HAYNESA@mailbox.sc.edu. If you are interested in implementing Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and/or 360o videos into your curriculum, the Center for Teaching Excellence has the technology available that you can checkout to get started. Visit the Teaching Resources/Virtual Reality section of our website to learn more.