Projects

Blue buttons that have messages of support for first generation students at UCLA
Buttons from EPIC’s Ready, Set, Teach!: Supporting First Generation Students

Through out work with numerous organizations across campus, we at EPIC have been able to work on various projects, initiatives, and programming such as:

UCLA Cross-campus
Teaching Innovations Group (CTIG)

EPIC is involved with the Cross-campus Teaching Innovations Group (CTIG), which conceives and implements transformative education projects and disseminates evidence-based practices with the goal of improving student learning and achieving inclusivity and transparency in teaching at UCLA. CTIG is a multidisciplinary, action-oriented community comprised of UCLA practitioners and education leaders who bring diverse perspectives, pedagogical experience in the disciplines, and extensive classroom instructional technology experience.

The Educational Development Academy for Teaching Assistant Consultants

Logo for the Educational Development Academy

The Educational Development Academy for Teaching Assistant Consultants is a program designed in partnership between UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS), Excellence in Pedagogy and Innovative Classrooms (EPIC) and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s TA Training Program. It is designed for graduate students who will serve as the Teaching Assistant Consultant (TAC) for their respective departments. This 2.5 day experience offered twice over the summer provides TACs with the pedagogical knowledge, instructional methodologies, observational and feedback strategies, and awareness of campus resources needed to effectively train new TAs — since the TACs will teach their department’s TAs in the 495 courses.

Pre-Election Panel

EPIC partnered with UCLA EDI, CAT, CEILS, and Social Science IDP to present “Pre-election Anxiety?: A Faculty Panel Shares Teaching Insights from 2016.” Panels who taught during the 2016 election offered valuable insight to prepare faculty for teaching challenges that may arise in relation to the 2020 election. The aim of the panel was to provide faculty with guidance on equitably reducing student anxiety and stress and flexibly responding to students’ needs for accommodation. In addressing these issues, we hoped to also diminish faculty’s concerns.

Ready, Set, Teach!: Supporting First-Generation Students

This event was made possible thanks to Letty Trevino and the First to Go team. We organized a roundtable luncheon on teaching practices and resources relevant to first-generation college students.

Small Changes, Big Impact: Transparent Teaching for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

This Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) Workshop, in collaboration with Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Jenny Sharpe, as well as UCLA EDI allowed faculty to make small but impactful changes to their assignment design for achieving transparent teaching, a proven approach to instilling self-confidence in and ensuring the success of historically underserved and underrepresented students.

Interrupting Bias Workshop

This workshop, facilitated by CAT and EPIC, explores how various forms of bias impact course design and class dynamics, and helps instructors develop knowledge and skills for interrupting bias and managing hot moments in the classroom. Participants will practice recognizing intent versus impact, as well as a variety of concrete tools for troubleshooting friction in the classroom–and will walk away with a deeper understanding of how bias affects students and instructors.

University Studies 10F

Designed for Humanities students and conducted in collaborated with Advising Communities of Excellence, University Studies 10F will be offered during the 2021 winter quarter. University Studies 10F will cultivate community and connection, uncover UCLA’s hidden curriculum, guide you as you explore majors and careers in the Humanities, and demonstrate how you can meaningfully maximize your undergraduate experience. This course has been designed intentionally with an online platform in mind and takes advantage of community-building and educational strategies in innovative ways.