Teaching Practice Programme for assistant professors and postdocs

LIFE is committed to providing supervision and the opportunity for attaining teaching skills for assistant professors and researchers, including postdocs. This is done through the Department of Science Education (IND) at the Faculty of Science (NAT).
 
The teaching process consists of a theoretical part:

• Introduction to University Pedagogy (IUP)
• Course in Natural Science University Pedagogy and Didactics (KNUD)

and a practical part:

• Supervision and observation

Technical Counselor
Supervision consists of the observation of, and discussion about, the assistant professor's own teaching and is carried out in part by a technical counselor and in part by an educational supervisor. The technical counselor is an associate professor or professor from the Department, with technical insight in the field the assistant professor teaches within. The technical counselor participates in four teaching situations, and it is recommended that the assistant professor also follows the technical counselor's teaching one or more times.
 
The technical counselor must be willing to attend a counselor training course, unless they have previously attended a similar course.
 
Language
Assistant professor teaching programs may be held in English. Depending on the number of English-speaking participants, they will be collected or treated as a separate group in the Danish language courses.
 
Conditions for participation
During their period of participation, assistant professors have teaching duties, which effectively allows supervision and theoretical evaluation of factors related to the assistant professor's teaching (usually at least 100 hours and preferably several types of teaching).
 
It must be ensured that postdocs who wish to participate in assistant professor teaching programs have teaching duties, in order to facilitate participation.
 
Department commitments

• Following the assistant professor's appointment the Department must ensure, in consultation with an assistant professor, that a mentor for the assistant professor is appointed who among other things must be eligible for the practical part of the assistant professor teaching program. Counseling and supervision is carried out by a counselor (associate professor / professor) within the same discipline as the assistant professor.
• The Department is committed to ensuring that the assistant professor has the opportunity to attend the theoretical part of the assistant professor teaching program.
• The Department is committed to providing the assistant professor with the opportunity to gain experience with different teaching methods relevant to the post.
• The Department is committed to ensuring that assistant professors, postdocs and researchers have sufficient teaching assignments so that these may form part of the assistant professor teaching program, for example at least 100 hours in the year the teaching program is followed.
• The Department is to ensure that the technical counselor has the opportunity to carry out his part of the process, including observing the assistant professor teaching four times, as well as the assistant professor observing the technical counselor teaching.

Financing
Assistant professor teaching programs are 100% centrally funded and therefore represent no cost to the Department.
 
Registration
Registration is made directly to the IND. Assistant professor teaching programs start twice a year in January and August. Registration does not guarantee admission. Participants, who are not admitted to the next course, are entered on the waiting list for the subsequent course.