WHAT IS NFTE?
The New Faculty Teaching Engagement (NFTE) program is an annual orientation that is focused on teaching. It welcomes all faculty and lecturers new to UCLA, whether they have teaching experience elsewhere, teaching experience as a graduate student only, or very limited teaching experience.
The goal of the program is to situate teaching in the context of UCLA’s educational mission and prepare new faculty and lecturers to apply evidence-based teaching practices that help foster equitable and effective learning for UCLA students. We also hope to provide an opportunity to connect with other faculty, to connect names and faces with resources on campus, and to communicate that teaching matters at UCLA.
We would love for you to join us to discuss teaching at UCLA. This year’s NFTE will take place on Monday August 28 at UCLA’s Faculty Club (with remote contingency plans) and on Tuesday August 29 via Zoom. Please note that it is a two-day event with different programming on the two days. We recommend you attend all sessions, but you are welcome to attend any. We hope that you will find the NFTE as “nifty” as we do.
See Past NFTE Events Pages
NFTE 2022 – Aug. 29-Aug. 30, 2022
NFTE 2021 – Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2021
NFTE 2020 – Part of the Fall Teaching Forum
NFTE 2019 Sept. 20, 2019 8:00am – 5:00pm
NFTE 2018 Nov. 8, 2018 11:30am – 6:00pm
2023 NFTE PROGRAM
Monday August 28, 2023 – UCLA Faculty Club Morrison Room
Check In & Light Refreshments
1:00pm-1:15pm
Welcome
1:15pm-1:30pm
Special Guests:
- Darnell M. Hunt, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
- Erin Sanders O’Leary, Inaugural Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning
Lessons Learned: Reflection and Growth in Your Teaching Practice
1:30pm-3:00pm
This session welcomes new faculty to UCLA and also surfaces lessons learned from your prior experiences in higher education. Through facilitated discussion and activities, participants will explore effective methods for reflecting on instructional practice, and identify efficient strategies for collecting and sharing evidence of teaching innovation and impact within and beyond the UCLA community.
Facilitators:
- Beth Goodhue, Associate Director for Faculty Engagement, Teaching & Learning Center
- Kumiko Haas, Director for Instructional Improvement Programs, Teaching & Learning Center
- Muriel McClendon, Associate Professor of History and Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Social Sciences Division
Faculty Insights on Teaching at UCLA
3:15pm-4:45pm
Join CAT for a panel discussion with some of UCLA’s distinguished instructors centered around teaching at a large public research university. Panelists will discuss ways they have leveraged resources at UCLA and in the wider Los Angeles community to support student learning, and share top tips they wish they had known as new faculty. The session will include ample time for Q&A, and will feed directly into a happy hour that will provide an opportunity for attendees to mingle with representatives from various campus resource centers that support teaching and learning.
Moderator: Melissa Paquette-Smith, Assistant Teaching Professor of Psychology
- Tejas Bouklas, Lecturer in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
- Kristen R. Choi, Assistant Professor of Nursing
- David Kim, Professor of European Languages and Transcultural Studies
- Michael Prelip, Professor of Community Health Sciences
- Laurel Westrup, Continuing Lecturer in Writing Programs and director of the Graduate Certificate in Writing Pedagogy
Happy Hour
4:45pm-6:00pm
Enjoy light refreshments on a patio adjoining our meeting space while mingling with faculty panelists, campus leaders, Teaching & Learning Center staff, and representatives from other campus resource centers that support teaching and learning at UCLA.
Tuesday August 29, 2023 – Convening Remotely via Zoom
From Equity to Belonging: Foundational Practices for Inclusive Teaching
10:00am-11:30am
This interactive workshop situates equitable teaching practices as the foundation for building a classroom culture of belonging and shared ownership that helps students from all backgrounds and skill levels succeed. Together, we will explore UCLA’s specific teaching context and student population, and practice revising sample course materials to create a welcoming and inclusive learning environment from the very first day of class. Participants will leave with actionable steps for revising their own first day practices to enhance equity and belonging. NOTE: While this morning session provides a foundation for our afternoon workshop, you are welcome to attend sessions individually.
Centering Equity and Belonging in Course Design
1:00pm-2:30pm
This workshop offers a deeper dive into strategies for centering equity and belonging in course design. Guided activities support instructors in developing skills to recognize and interrupt bias when articulating learning objectives, selecting and delivering course content, planning and implementing in-class activities, and designing assessments. Participants will leave with a toolkit of self-paced resources for revising their own courses to enhance equity and belonging. NOTE: While this afternoon session builds on our morning workshop, you are welcome to attend sessions individually.
Venue Information & Logistics
NFTE events scheduled for Monday August 28 will take place at UCLA’s Faculty Club.
The closest parking structure is Lot 2. Campus maps and information about parking at UCLA can be found here: https://transportation.ucla.edu/getting-around-campus/campus-maps.
All UCLA and LA County safety protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 will be followed and are available for attendees to review here: https://covid-19.ucla.edu/ucla-covid-protocols/ As of July 1, 2023, indoor masking is strongly recommended at UCLA regardless of vaccination status and is required under certain conditions following isolation and in spaces where it is required by the LA County Department of Public Health. Since the public health situation remains fluid, please review campus protocols at the link above for the most up-to-date information prior to the event.
Refreshments for this event will be served on an outdoor patio adjoining the meeting room. We are prepared to pivot to convening NFTE sessions remotely on Monday August 28 if needed due to changes in the public health situation and will communicate scheduling updates to attendees via email and post updates on this webpage.
NFTE events scheduled for Tuesday August 29 are already planned to take place over Zoom. All meeting links will be sent to registered participants via email in advance of the event.
Contact the event team with questions by emailing consult@teaching.ucla.edu.
About the Host of NFTE
This year’s NFTE event is among the first events to be hosted by UCLA’s Teaching & Learning Center, a new unit created to elevate support for teaching and learning on our campus and coordinate efforts led by various offices–including the Center for the Advancement of Teaching (the original sponsor of the NFTE event). Incoming faculty can learn more about the new TLC and about the appointment of UCLA’s inaugural Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Erin Sanders O’Leary, in these communications from Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt (9/19/22 and 3/24/23. While UCLA works to build out a web presence for our new TLC, faculty and graduate student instructors can continue to find a wealth of resources to support pedagogical development on the Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s website and on the websites of the organizations highlighted under Campus Resources below.
Campus Resources
COVID-19 Information for Instructors
FAQ about UCLA’s Campus Context
How can I learn more about…
…the teaching support landscape at UCLA?
…diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at UCLA?
UCLA Equity Diversity & Inclusion Office & BruinX (EDI’s research arm)
UCLA Report Creating a Positive Classroom Climate for Diversity (Garibay, 2015)
UCLA Report Enhancing Student Success and Building Inclusive Classrooms at UCLA (Hurtado and Sork, 2016)
…designing equitable, inclusive, and accessible courses?
Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) Course Design resource website
Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) Equitable and Inclusive Teaching resource website
Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS) teaching guides
Excellence in Pedagogy and Innovative Classrooms (EPIC) inclusive teaching toolkit
Online Teaching and Learning resources for instructional design
Disabilities and Computing faculty resources
…teaching with technology and UCLA’s learning management system?
UCLA IT Services faculty resources
Bruin Learn Center of Excellence faculty onboarding for UCLA’s learning management system, Bruin Learn (built on Canvas)
…UCLA’s support services for students?
Start with Student Affairs
…navigating UCLA’s physical spaces?
UCLA Campus Maps
…UCLA campus demographics + campus surveys?
If all of UC were 100 students data visualization
Student Affairs Information & Research Office (SAIRO)
Academic Planning & Budget (APB – Campus Statistics): see Student Profile in particular
UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to Honuukvetam (ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom, (elders) and ‘eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.
