Online University Teaching Skills

The requirements for the Online University Teaching Skills Certificate are designed to create the occasion for participants to meet the following objectives over the course of at least two semesters. 

• Identify and analyze different learning and teaching styles associated with online courses.
• Discuss and apply various methods to assess student learning outcomes and teaching.
• Consider productive faculty-student relationships.
• Acquire knowledge about fundamental classroom teaching skills, including lecturing, managing discussions, and other active, experiential, and collaborative learning techniques for a variety of teaching contexts and environments.
• Design a discipline-specific asynchronous online course and syllabus with appropriate instructional methodology and measurable learning objectives.
• Reflect on the pedagogical practices of university instruction and how the lessons taken from participating in certificate activities have changed one's relationship with teaching.

A minimum of two (2) semesters is required to complete this certificate.

• Introduction to Distance Teaching Seminar (two credits) 
• Three Online Courses in Distance Teaching (one credit each); an additional online course counts toward elective credit.
• Culminating experience: 
  • Principles: Capstone Guided Self-Assessment and Reflection on Online Teaching Development (three credits)
  • Foundations: Reflection on Online Teaching Development (one credit)

NB: At this time, only Reinert Center offerings will count for credit toward this certificate. Credits from other Reinert Center certificates cannot be used for or transferred to this certificate. 

Choose one (1) of the following electives to fulfill the remaining Effective Teaching Credits:

• Distance Learning Workshops (one-half (1/2) credit for each workshop) 

• Additional Online Course in Distance Teaching (one credit)

• Asynchronous Small Group Instructional Feedback (ASGIF) Session + Consultation (one credit)

Saint Louis University has developed a Distance Course Design Rubric, drawn from research-based effective practices in online teaching. While the Reinert Center is not part of the peer review process courses must undergo before they can be offered online, we do believe the rubric is a valuable tool for self-assessment and reflection.  

For the Principles Capstone, participants will complete the following steps:

1. The certificate participant will complete the Capstone Readiness Form and notify the Reinert Center that they are ready to begin the Capstone. If needed, the Reinert Center will create a Canvas course shell for the participant to use.
2. The certificate participant will complete the development and construction of an online course. Ideally, this would be an upcoming course that the participant is scheduled to teach and is already preparing. Unless granted an exception to use another LMS, the course will be constructed in Canvas.
3. When the course is completed (or nearly complete), the certificate participant will conduct a self-assessment of the course using SLU’s Distance Course Design Rubric. 
4. The certificate participant will schedule a meeting to discuss their course and self-assessment with staff from the Reinert Center, highlighting key attributes of the course, as well as any features that were revised or created as a result of Certificate programming.
5. The certificate participant will use this experience to inform the Reflection on Online Teaching Development Requirement.

The Reflection on Online Teaching Development is a narrative-type essay (at least one page long) in which you reflect critically on what you have learned about online teaching, yourself as an online teacher, and your approach to designing and facilitating an online course. In this reflection, you have the opportunity to examine how the specific experiences you have had during the Certificate Program have changed (or not) your thinking about online teaching and learning, and how you hope to continue your development as an online teacher in the future.

Additional details can be found in the Reflection on Online Teaching Development Requirement.