Self-Paced Professional Development
Center for Teaching and Learning
Self-Paced Courses for Faculty
These short Canvas courses are designed for busy faculty members who want practical professional development without having to attend a scheduled workshop. Enroll at any time, work when it fits your schedule, and return whenever you are ready to continue.
Each course is divided into short, independent parts. You may begin with the topic that is most useful to you, move through the parts in any order, or complete only the parts that address your immediate teaching needs. To earn a certificate of completion, simply return when you are ready and complete all parts of the course.
The courses are self-guided and self-graded, with no formal quizzes. Instead, brief practice questions and realistic teaching scenarios are built into the instruction so that you can pause, apply what you are learning, and check your understanding along the way.
Ready to begin? Select the self-enrollment link for a course below. If prompted, log in to Canvas with your Mercer credentials to complete enrollment.
Student Engagement by Design
Discover practical ways to increase participation, intellectual effort, and connection in your courses. The strategies are designed to help faculty improve discussion, active learning, peer learning, group work, questioning, and student help-seeking.
What you will explore
- Understanding engagement as intellectual work
- Matching participation strategies to learning goals
- Using generation and active learning effectively
- Improving group work and peer learning
- Asking better questions and supporting help-seeking
Available Now
Accessibility in Teaching and Learning
Learn how to create more accessible and inclusive learning experiences across Canvas, documents, media, assessments, and everyday teaching practices. The course focuses on practical decisions that support students with disabilities while making learning clearer and easier to navigate for everyone.
What you will explore
- Accessibility foundations and faculty responsibilities
- Inclusive course and learning-experience design
- Accessible Canvas pages and instructional content
- Accessible documents, data, media, and assessments
- Teaching practices that support learner variability
Available Now
Online Synchronous Teaching and Learning
Learn how to plan and facilitate live online classes that make good use of everyone’s time. The course offers practical ways to reduce cognitive overload, support learner variability, and keep students actively involved during synchronous sessions.
What you will explore
- Choosing when synchronous instruction is appropriate
- Planning focused and manageable live sessions
- Supporting attention and learner variability
- Using interaction, visuals, and technology effectively
- Preparing backup plans for technology problems
Available Now
Online Asynchronous Teaching and Learning
Build an asynchronous course that feels organized, purposeful, and connected. This course shows how structure, instructor presence, interaction, assessment, and feedback can work together to create a stronger online learning experience.
What you will explore
- Designing a clear asynchronous learning experience
- Establishing instructor presence and course rhythm
- Creating meaningful discussions and interaction
- Providing feedback students can use
- Aligning authentic assessment with course outcomes
Available Now
Academic Integrity by Design
Explore practical ways to reduce academic outsourcing by making student thinking more visible. The course focuses on assignment design, productive difficulty, group work, peer learning, and clearer guidance about when and how students may use outside help.
What you will explore
- Recognizing evidence of authentic student thinking
- Designing for desirable difficulty
- Clarifying appropriate and inappropriate assistance
- Improving group work and peer learning
- Making it easier for students to seek help
Available Now