“No one has ever asked me what I want students to remember 5 years from now. That was SUCH a helpful place to start to really highlight the aspects of content/process/learning that are most important to me. ”

“I already mostly planned using backward design (though I didn’t know that phrase before this week!). But this institute taught me to be deliberate and intentional about doing that.”

“My first experience designing my portion of a course was a bit of a struggle. However, after attending the Summer Institute, I feel that I have a better sense of direction, and have more resources when it’s time to design my own course! I’m actually excited to create my own syllabus!”

About the Institute

This year’s Summer Institute will be co-hosted by UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS) and UCLA’s Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). Please join us for a week of transformation as you practice innovative teaching strategies with a group of your peers! 

The goal of the UCLA Summer Institute on Evidence-based Teaching is to better address institutional challenges by training a critical mass of educators in evidence-based and inclusive teaching strategies. This institute is UCLA’s iteration of the nationally renowned National Academies Summer Institute (NASI) founded at the University of Wisconsin – Madison by Jo Handelsman (Yale) and Bill Wood (UC-Boulder, Emeritus). During this experience, participants will learn about current research that informs evidence-based practices. Working in small groups with a skilled facilitator, you will create a “teachable tidbit” for your course that puts into practice some of these impactful strategies. On the final day of the Institute, you will not only share your teachable tidbit, but experience the impact of the many tidbits developed during the week.

The founders distilled the most effective teaching strategies from education research into a framework called Scientific Teaching, which is defined as “involving active learning strategies to engage students and teaching methods that have been systematically tested and shown to reach diverse students”(Handelsman et al. 2004). In addition to pedagogical training, Summer Institute participants will engage with a learning community of like-minded instructors and receive training in peer-to-peer mentoring, classroom observation, and feedback. 

Who should apply? 

All UCLA instructors of record are invited to apply for the Summer Institute. This will be particularly helpful for instructors who are new to UCLA, teaching a new course or revising an existing course, and anyone else interested in learning about best practices and applying this information to your teaching. Teams of co-instructors teaching the same course or courses in a series are encouraged to attend together and can work together with the same facilitator.

Instructors selected to participate will receive $500, payable to a research or professional development fund. Participants will receive a certificate of completion. Record your participation in your dossier as evidence of your efforts to improve teaching and as an activity that helps promote equal opportunity and diversity in education. Such efforts in both categories, on behalf of all faculty, are now a recognized component of the promotion and tenure process at UCLA (see APM 210-1, and Appendix 41).

Participant Outcomes

By the end of the institute, you will have:

  • practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations and group work
  • worked as a team to create and present a “teachable tidbit” that implements these strategies
  • begun to shift your focus from “content and teaching” to “outcomes and learning”
  • practiced peer feedback to promote reflective teaching practices
  • developed a plan to integrate what you’ve learned from the Summer Institute into your teaching during the year

Format 

The Summer Institute is an in-depth and in-person experience! Through facilitated workshop sessions and project-based group work, participants will learn about innovations and research in undergraduate education. You can view the schedule below for an overview of the week. 

Schedule- Week at a Glance

Participants must be available to attend all days of the institute in person. Light breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided daily. Download full schedule for the week of July 14 – 17th here: Schedule of Week Summer Institute 2025

 

Additional Questions? Additional questions can be directed to CEILS Senior Associate Director Jess Gregg at jessgregg@ceils.ucla.edu.