Teaching at ETH 1: Committed and skilled
Over 200 professors now certified!
The Unit for Teaching and Learning (UTL) offers a compact continuing education programme in university teaching which is tailored specifically to the situation and needs of professors here at ETH.
The programme is structured in two consecutive parts:
- Course 1: Teaching at ETH: Committed and skilled (see below)
- Course 2: Teaching at ETH: Research-oriented teaching and learning
Course content
You will become familiar with evidence-based best practice in university teaching and learn to design a modern, demanding and varied lecture course. You will hone your skills with practical teaching tips and tools – all tested at ETH – which encourage and deepen active student learning. The emphases are competence orientation, interactivity with students, and the good alignment of learning objectives, examinations and teaching & learning activities.
Who is this course for?
The programme is intended for ETH professors (all levels). PRIMA researchers at ETH are also warmly welcomed as course participants.
All participants must be teaching a lecture course during which they can implement what they have learned.
No previous teacher training is required.
Current courses / registration
Number of participants: 12. Participants are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register even if the course is full, a waiting list will automatically be created.
If you have any questions, please contact .
- Apply evidence-based good practices to plan your own teaching
- Develop engaging interactive teaching sequences for students at an appropriate level of challenge
- Gather evidence on what works in teaching at ETH during collegial peer visits
- Reflect on your own teaching practice and actively engage in conversations about teaching and learning with others
Language: English
Cost: Free of charge
Format & workload:
- three-day course during the semester break (24 hours)
- classroom observations with peer feedback in small groups over the following two semesters (15 hours)
- a 2.5 hour consolidation workshop at the end of each of the next two semesters (5 hours)
In total, 44 hours of course time (including the transfer phase). We estimate up to 10 additional hours for individual preparation.
Download Overview of course format (JPEG, 64 KB)
You will need:
Attendance in the course requires both active participation and a willingness to implement what you have learned in your own teaching. You will receive intensive support from educational developers and be invited to give critical feedback to your colleagues throughout.
Course certificate:
The course must be attended as a whole. Upon completion, you will receive an official certificate (may serve as documentation in the teaching portfolio required for the ETH tenure process).
"I have just finished preparing and organizing all the material for my first lecture of this new semester. I have very good memories from the didactic course that we had last year, and I feel really well prepared, comfortable and self-confident with both the material and the structure of the course."
"Certainly one of the most helpful courses of this kind I’ve ever participated in."
"I expected to get an overview but got much more than that!"
"The course is very useful in providing the framework for successful course development."
"Excellent structure and implementation - I probably learned most in the course by observing the course leader teach."
Video comments from previous participants on how the course "Teaching at ETH" has influenced their teaching: