The Delta Program in Research, Teaching, and Learning engages graduate students and postdocs in professional development in teaching, mentoring, outreach, and advising.
Through Delta’s certificate, courses, seminars, internship program, and workshops, participants gain evidence-based teaching practices necessary to become effective and inclusive researchers, educators, and mentors across the nation and the world.
The skills Delta participants develop are transferable to nearly every profession. Delta alumni have strengthened their abilities to plan, organize, communicate, facilitate, and collaborate with a diverse set of colleagues – all necessary skills in academic and non-academic careers.
What We Offer
Programming is offered each semester, including the summer term. Sign up for Delta’s mailing list to learn about opportunities as soon as they are announced.
Workshops and panels
Want to begin exploring effective teaching practices or get ready for the job market? Our workshops cover inclusive and effective teaching practices, as well as how to write successful grant applications and tie it all together for your CV and cover letter.
Workshops have explored topics including the following examples:
- Inclusive teaching practices and structures
- Remote office hours
- Asynchronous and synchronous discussion facilitation
- Trauma-informed pedagogy
- Universal Design for Learning
Courses and learning communities
Engage in a deeper, more impactful learning experience and work towards a certificate in a semester-long course. Courses focus on a variety of topics and can be integrated into graduate programs.
Examples of Delta’s course offerings include:
- Teaching in Science and Engineering: The College Classroom
- Effective Teaching in an Internationally Diverse Classroom
- Leveraging Tech to Teach
- Improv to Improve Science Communication & Teaching
Delta Internship
Each fall semester, the Delta Program supports a cohort of graduate students and postdocs who complete innovative projects to improve student learning, working in partnership with faculty and instructional staff.
Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning
The certificate represents your commitment to excellence as an educator. Completing the Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning prepares you to become a leader who promotes inclusive and effective educational experiences at the college level.
Research Mentor Learning Communities
The Delta Program offers Research Mentor Learning Communities, based on a nationally recognized curriculum, to give graduate students and postdocs concrete tools to support a successful mentor-mentee relationship. These communities are designed for graduate students and postdocs who are mentoring undergraduate researchers or for whom mentoring may be an important part of their future careers.
Delta Teaching & Learning Practitioner Badge
The Delta T&L Practitioner badge earners have taken a data-driven approach to assessing student learning outcomes and reflecting on their teaching practice. The content and activities of the badge emphasize developing teaching and learning skills within real-world contexts and support success in a future faculty career. A digital badge is a visual representation of accomplishments, can enhance your CV, and showcase your achievements to prospective employers.
Why Participate in Delta Programs?
By participating in Delta, you’ll gain the teaching and mentoring skills and knowledge you need for your future career.
Effective and inclusive teaching and mentoring
Support the learning of all students – in the classroom and beyond – through evidence-based practices. You’ll jump into troubleshooting some of the most challenging aspects of teaching and come away with greater satisfaction and confidence as a teacher.
Career preparation
Demonstrate your experience with and commitment to teaching and learning, gain transferable skills, and develop strong job application materials. Delta’s rich array of offerings will help you target your career goals, reflect on the skills you’re developing, and document evidence of your abilities and progress.
Community of educators
Join a cross-disciplinary community of dedicated educators who are committed to advancing effective teaching. You’ll connect with a diverse group of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and staff across campus who share a common goal.
"Delta introduced me to evidence-based teaching, and then there was no looking back."
Tanvee
Get Involved with Delta
To get involved with Delta, attend one of our upcoming workshops, register for one of our current courses, or learn more about opportunities with our Internship Program and the Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning.
Have a question? Reach out to us at info@delta.wisc.edu.
Upcoming Delta Events
No events returned.
The Delta Community
Delta welcomes all. Delta programming is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. We welcome you to participate in our programs to whatever extent best meets your needs. We believe our broad community is a strength, as it provides multiple perspectives on teaching, mentoring, and outreach, as well as opportunities to connect with people outside your discipline.
Course Product Spotlight: 175 Active Learning Techniques for 175 Years
Delta Program participants celebrated UW–Madison’s 175th anniversary by developing a resource list on 175 active learning strategies for course instructors to try with students.
Meet Delta alumni
Samantha
Samantha, Visiting Professor at Roanoke College: "My internship gave me the confidence required to walk into the classroom and be a new professor. Beyond all the literature background I gained, I think I value the confidence boost even more!"
Tess
Assistant Professor of Biology at Salem State University: "Inclusive teaching is a main area of my scholarly activity as a professor on the tenuretrack, and my Delta internship project definitely set me on that path."
Eduardo
PhD Candidate, Agricultural and Applied Economics: "The Delta program really hammers on the importance of active learning. The cool thing is that the courses and workshops provide a good deal of examples of how to do it."
- More alumni snapshots
Are you a Delta alum?
We love hearing from our Delta alumni! Please consider sharing your story with the Delta community using the links below.
Our Mission
The Delta Program promotes excellence in undergraduate education through the development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse learners as part of successful and varied professional careers. We achieve this mission guided by our three pillars of practice.
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Teaching-as-Research
The improvement of teaching and learning is a dynamic and ongoing process. Delta helps participants use research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of both students and teachers.
To learn more, check out videos on the definition and cycle of teaching-as-research and alumni and mentors talking about their teaching-as-research experiences.
Learning Communities
We grow better together. Delta’s Learning Communities bring people together for shared learning, discovery, and knowledge-generation. Delta is committed to promoting teaching practices that engage participants toward collaboratively achieving learning goals.
Successful learning communities depend on these central ideas:
- Shared discovery and learning
- Functional connections among learners
- Connections to other, related learning and life experiences
- Inclusive learning environments that draw on the diverse backgrounds and experiences of learners
Learning-through-Diversity
Excellence and diversity are intertwined. Delta is committed to developing a national faculty who model and promote the equitable and respectful teaching and learning environments necessary for learning-through-diversity. Delta provides developmental experiences, programs, and resource that promote the abilities of future faculty to:
- Recognize the diverse backgrounds of learners and the implications for teaching and mentoring
- Identify curricular, teaching, and assessment practices that promote learning for all
- Draw upon the diversity of learners to enhance and enrich the education of all
- Recognize existing inequities and promote equitable, inclusive, and respectful environments
These ideas are also the foundation of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), a network of research universities across the United States and Canada. Delta is a founding member of CIRTL, which is administered at UW–Madison.
Questions?
Contact info@delta.wisc.edu