ISW for Faculty and Postdocs
The Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) is an internationally certified program designed to increase teaching effectiveness and encourage reflection on teaching practice. In a supportive atmosphere, new and experienced educators try new teaching approaches and sharpen existing skills.
As part of the workshop format and requirements, participants design and conduct three 10-minute lessons and receive verbal and written feedback from their peers, and a video recording of their teaching. In addition, there are opportunities for individual and facilitated reflection on one’s teaching practices. More information and context are available on the ISW Network website.
This program’s success relies on active participation and collaboration of all participants who, as a team, work together to support each other in enhancing their teaching effectiveness. A certificate of completion will be awarded to each participant.
Intended Audience
- Faculty members at UBC Okanagan (including lecturers and sessional lecturers)
- Postdoctoral Fellows (even if currently not teaching a course)
- Other educators who design or facilitate teaching and learning experiences that support undergraduate or graduate students at UBCO
- If you are a student, please check out our page ISW for Graduate Students.
- Also, check out UBCV’s faculty ISW and post-doctoral ISW offerings.
- Non-UBC faculty members/postdocs are eligible; however, they will be charged a non-refundable participation fee as per ISW Network rates. Please contact the ISW coordinator, Barbara Komlos, at barbara.komlos@ubc.ca, for more information.
Modality and Format
The majority of our workshops are offered in-person on the UBC Okanagan campus.
We also offer a specialized ISW for Online Teaching delivered in a fully online modality with asynchronous activities and synchronous online sessions throughout the days of the workshop. Priority is given to applicants with teaching appointments that include online and/or multi-access modalities.
The workshops are scheduled in one of two formats:
- Compact: 4-day sessions during one week (typically during the fall and spring reading periods);
- Distributed: 4 days distributed over two weeks
Upcoming Offerings
Please see our list of upcoming sessions below and apply for the offering and corresponding format that suits your schedule. Sessions cannot be interchanged across offerings. Dates are subject to change. If an offering fills up, you will be added to the waitlist. If a spot does not open up, you will be added to the registration for the next offering. Feel free to apply to more than one offering.
November 2026 – Condensed
- Monday, November 9
- Tuesday, November 10
- Thursday, November 12
- Friday, November 13
February 2027 – Condensed
- Tuesday, February 16
- Wednesday, February 17
- Thursday, February 18
- Friday, February 19
July 2027 – Distributed ISW for Online Teaching
- Tuesday, July 20
- Thursday, July 22
- Tuesday, July 27
- Thursday, July 29
August 2027 – Distributed
- Tuesday, August 3
- Thursday, August 5
- Tuesday, August 10
- Thursday, August 12
The workshop is 24 hours long and conducted over 4 days. Participants are expected to be available from 09:00 am to 4:30 pm each day of the workshop. Schedule will vary slightly each day. The final schedule will be announced 2 weeks prior to the workshop to confirmed participants.
Participants should expect to spend about 2 hours on preparatory work before the workshop starts and 1 hour on assignments after each day.
By the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:
- Use learning objectives to organize teaching and to help students consider what they are expected to learn
- Write a useful, practical and aligned lesson plan
- Incorporate active learning strategies
- Consider students’ differing learning needs
- Use simple techniques during lessons to test learning
- Use common instructional aids effectively
- Use effective questioning techniques during a classroom session
- Give and receive constructive feedback
- Increase confidence and competence in the classroom
Please fill out the registration form for the ISW offering that fits your availability.
Given the structure of the Instructional Skills Workshop, enrolment is limited. Registration does not guarantee enrolment in the workshop. Priority is given to Teaching Development Program (TDP) participants; afterwards, enrolment is on a first-come-first-served basis.
Once an offering reaches capacity, registrants will be added to a waitlist. If a spot does not become available or the registrant is no longer available to participate, they will automatically be added to the registration list for the next offering.
Registrants will be advised at least 3 weeks prior to the offering as to the status of their registration. Confirmed registrants will be invited to a 15-minute online meet and greet with one of the facilitators.
“[The ISW is] a safe space to try out new techniques, learn from others, and experience diverse viewpoints. Definitely a great development opportunity.”
“I really loved how well-designed the ISW was! The theme sessions were especially helpful and I appreciated the variety of engagement activities throughout the workshop. The session on managing class conflicts/dynamics was very well thought out as well!”
“I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest appreciation for you and all your incredible efforts at CTL. I must emphasize the magic of the one-week ISW workshop, which provided me with the opportunity to practice how to blend my authentic self when I present with the effective communicator I aspire to be. This workshop was truly transformative, and its impact on my professional development cannot be overstated.
During that practice week, not only did I gain invaluable teaching skills by watching how my peers communicate their knowledge and receive informative feedback on mine, but it also helped me build the confidence I needed to present my abilities effectively in both teaching and research. I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend ISW and learn from you.”
For more information about Instructional Skills Workshops for Faculty and Postdocs, please contact Barbara Komlos.