Teaching@OhioState

Teaching@OhioState comprises a Teaching Practices Inventory (TPI) and a set of five learning modules in Carmen. All instructors new to Ohio State are expected to complete Teaching@OhioState. Over 3,600 instructors have completed this self-directed online experience. Participants are presented with opportunities to become familiar with multiple perspectives on teaching, be exposed to evidence-based teaching practices, reflect on their own teaching practice and connect with resources that support their teaching.

Teaching@OhioState was launched as part of a Teaching Support Program in October 2018. Instructors taking the course today first reflect on their use of implementation by taking the TPI, proceed through five modules designed to equip them with tools to explore new approaches and refine or enhance current teaching practices. Modules include a Welcome to the Course introduction, as well as:

  • Designing Our Courses covers learning about learning, strategies for course design, and designing an online course.
  • Making Course Decisions emphasizes on choosing course content and teaching methods and assessing student learning.
  • Reaching Our Students focuses on shaping positive learning environments and why diversity matters.
  • Reflecting on Our Teaching addresses gathering and interpreting feedback on teaching.

Following module completion, instructors are introduced to books and journal articles on evidence-based teaching practices for further exploration and use in scholarly teaching. These selections are included in the Institute for Teaching and Learning Reading List.

All members of the University community interested in accessing Teaching@Ohio State are welcome and encouraged to enroll. To do so, complete this form to request access. 

Teaching@OhioState is required for all instructors pursuing Instructional Redesign and as a pre- or co-requisite for some teaching endorsements and research and implementation grants.

To access the course, log in using your name.# and password at carmen.osu.edu, then select "Teaching@Ohio State" on the front page. View this instructional video if you need further assistance getting to the course. 

GO TO CARMEN


About the TPI

The TPI was originally designed to characterize teaching practices used in math and science undergraduate courses. It has been adapted for use in social science courses as well, and it will be further refined with input from Ohio State faculty to accommodate all disciplines. 

A number of inventories of instructional approaches were reviewed before the TPI was selected for use at Ohio State. The TPI has been iteratively developed and tested with input from hundreds of faculty and lecturers from several institutions over 6 years. The TPI will not only help Ohio State instructors reflect on and take stock of their own teaching practices, but it will also help the institution to gain a unique, university-wide perspective on teaching practices at Ohio State.

The TPI will ask you about your course learning goals and outcomes, supporting materials provided, in-class activities, assignments, feedback and testing, training and guidance of graduate teaching assistants, and collaboration or sharing in teaching. It takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

The inventory is scored using a rubric that awards points (of varying quantity) for practices documented by research to improve student learning. According to its developers, “although the ETP score is useful for making general comparisons, the detailed information contained in the individual inventory responses by course is more useful for guiding improvements of teaching. The inventory can be valuable for instructors to use on their own for evaluating and improving their teaching; they can identify practices that they are not using and that have been shown to improve learning.” (Weiman & Gilbert, 2014, p. 560).

Additional Resources

The following resources provide further information about the research and findings associated with the TPI: