Certificate in College Teaching & Learning in HSIs
Our signature 35-hour course is back!
Deepen your cultural competence and transform your course into a model of culturally responsive teaching for Latinx students.
About the CTL-HSI Course
We run the only teaching course in the country that focuses on increasing Latinx student success in Hispanic Serving Institutions. After a year hiatus, CTL-HSI is back and better than ever, with a new focus in 2023 in culturally responsive teaching online!
This innovative course follows best practices in professional development by creating a cohort-based experience that includes coaching. During the summer retreat faculty engage in self-assessments of their own practice, practical demonstrations of culturally responsive teaching, as well as plenty of discussions of how to implement changes in their own courses. After retreat faculty are coached in small groups as they are guided to study their teaching in real time, and how to collect data to analyze Latinx student engagement and success. The course culminates in a 15- min presentation of course changes that brings in the whole campus to watch!
CTL-HSI Course Learning Outcomes
As a result of this course, participants will be able to:
Understand the historical context of your HSI and use several measure to critically evaluate with disaggregated data how well your HSI serves its Latino/a/x students, families, and surrounding community.
Get to know your Latino/a/x students' goals, identities, and needs in order to leverage their assets and interests in the same learning environment.
Identify how your own cultural background impacts your attitudes and values and behaviors as an instructor, and what cultural disconnects you have with your Latinx students.
Intentionally use validating, collaborative language to increase students' emotional engagement and motivation to learn from you and each other.
Develop a metacognitive understanding of your key content in order to help your novice learners develop expert understandings.
Set and communicate academically challenging learning goals and communicate these clearly to students. Provide them with a high level of positive support for them to reach these expectations.
Examine your patterns of interaction with students and how much practice they have with content to ensure that Latinx students are fully present at the learning table.
Use class time wisely to maximize students' engagement in deliberate cognitive practices that also model assessments.
Prevent early failure by using assessments that are low-stakes and policies that are intrusive and proactive.
Continuously calculate the equity index for assessment scores and other course success data, both for Latinx and other underserved students in order to identify and close course outcome gaps.
2023/24 ctl-hsi course timeline
Launch with a 4 day live zoom retreat
JUNE-AUGUST 2023
Summer retreat days run from 9:00 am - 3:15 pm, PST (with breaks)
In the summer, attend a 4-day virtual retreat on Zoom where you will:
Study research and techniques to develop an understanding of ESCALA's framework for studying a teaching change.
Meet your coach and small group to get ready to launch your inquiry project
Select which of your courses you will implement a change and study for your inquiry project
work with an escala coach
SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 2023
In the fall, work with a small group of participants (3-4) and a coach to:
Dig deeper into summer content by attending 2 more virtual workshops
Use the workshop time to also get additional support from your small team in how to best collect engagement data and measure equity for Latinx students in your course while teaching;
Deepen and revisit your summer learning by logging into the CTL course Canvas space for more readings and refresher videos.

Check out the sample project above!
Present Your findings
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
Finally, you'll finish the course by:
Presenting your systemic inquiry project findings and learning in a 20-minute 'teach back' presentation on Zoom (or potentially on your campus)
Filling out a reflection and assessment of your learning in the course.
Receive your certificate and be qualified to become a facilitator next year!
Registration: $3,000 per person
Registration for the 2023-2024 CTL-HSI course is closed.
We will open registration for the 2024-2025 CTL-HSI course in the Fall of 2023.
Video Credit: Humboldt State University Center for Teaching and Learning
Since 2013, more than 500 faculty in 2 and 4-year HSIs have completed the Certification. More than 60 of these alumni now serve as peer coaches for new cohorts.
Hear from ESCALA alumni Chris Harmon (Cal Poly Humboldt) talk about his experiences in the Certificate course and how transformative it has been to his practices as a STEM professor.
CTL-HSI participant, 2018
CTL Coach, 2019-2021
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