The Teaching Development Program for new faculty (the “TDP”) supports instructors, at the UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, in their professional growth.
The TDP is designed for new UBC instructors who teach credit courses. It is ideal for individuals who are excited to grow and connect with other educators at UBC in a supportive space. This flexible program, which can be completed in 1 or 2 semester(s), includes online and in-person elements. It provides multiple pathways to completion, in order to accommodate early career instructors.
Eligibility
You are eligible for the TDP if you are early in your teaching career, such as a:
- Newly hired faculty member (within your first 2-3 years at UBC) and new to teaching.
- Faculty member who has recently switched to a different teaching role.
- Sessional faculty member, teaching at least one section between May 2024 and April 2025.
- Post-doctoral fellow, teaching at least one section between May 2024 and April 2025.
Contact us if you have questions about your TDP eligibility or other CTLT teaching programs. We can help you find the right fit in our range of programs for faculty, instructors, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students and TAs. Contact: Isabeau Iqbal (she/her) at isabeau.iqbal@ubc.ca.
Program outcomes
By the end of the TDP, you should be able to:
- Engage in a reflective teaching practice.
- Reflect on the history of the land you teach on and the implications for your teaching.
- Apply principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility to your own teaching.
- Experiment with learner-centered teaching approaches, activities, and assessments.
- Integrate technology responsibly and purposefully.
- Explore existing UBC teaching communities, resources and supports.
Program requirements
During the program, TDP participants will engage in three in-person events:
- TDP Launch event (September 18, 2024).
- January Welcome Back (January 2025).
- Closing Ceremony (May 2025).
Additionally, learners will participate in:
- The internationally recognized Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW).
- UBC’s Land Acknowledgement Module.
- Pedagogical workshops in areas of their choosing.
- Collaborative learning, including:
- Reflective discussions
- Artifact transformation activity; and
- Sharing approaches to teaching
The program can be finished within a single term, although you have the flexibility to extend up to eight months to fulfill all requirements.
Learners enrolled in the TDP will receive:
- One-on-one support for the duration of the program.
- Private online discussion space with other early career faculty members and pedagogical specialists from the CTLT.
- Canvas space with resources available after the program is done.
- Priority registration to the Instructional Skills Workshop.
Instructors who successfully complete the program will be presented with a letter of completion.
Program Format
The TPD is offered to instructors from both UBCO and UBCV. Various instructional strategies are used in the program to increase flexibility as well as provide opportunities to reflect on available teaching spaces. These include in-person and online workshops, online learning modules, assignments, discussions, and reflections. The TDP Course is hosted on Canvas, UBC’s online learning management platform.
We have endeavoured to design a flexible program to help learners to balance their work and personal commitments while still being able to engage fully in the program.
Prerequisites
2024 TDP Application is now closed.
The 2025 TDP for New Faculty will open June 2025.
Questions
If you have questions about the 2024-2025 Teaching Development Program for New Faculty, please contact Dr. Isabeau Iqbal (UBC-Vancouver) or Dr. Barbara Komlos (UBC-Okanagan).
