Professional Development

TeLS offers opportunities to grow in your teaching practice.

Canvas Readiness Course

The Canvas Readiness Course course is meant to serve as a primer that will help you teach with and build courses in the YC Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). You can work through this course at your own pace.

REQUIRED for all adjunct instructors - available at all times.

This course is designed give you a basic knowledge of the Canvas LMS and the pedagogical fundamentals to teach online. If you are already an experienced teacher, it is meant to assure fundamental Canvas competence. For new and aspiring online teachers, it is the beginning - from which your opportunity to grow in mastery is truly limitless. 

You will pass the course by achieving a score of 100% on each knowledge check. 

Enroll in the Course

Monday Morning Mentor

Monday Morning Mentor videos put practical information into a fast, focused format that covers traditional & online teaching. In only 20 minutes, a critical topic that affects the higher education landscape is effectively and efficiently covered, leaving you with actionable insights and information to take back to your campus.

One program becomes available online every Monday for 16 weeks in fall and 16 weeks in spring, and are available in the TeLS Professional Development (PD) Pathways course, along with a companion discussion to share responses and ideas with your colleagues.

Visit the PD Pathways course

Spring 2025 Monday Morning Mentor programs

TEACH Online Course

Our TEACH online course is a 2-week facilitated online experience that provides faculty with knowledge and practical methods to be a confident and effective online teacher. This course is for faculty new to teaching in an online environment, as well as faculty looking to improve their practice.

• Instructor presence makes all the difference
• Create active learning opportunities
• Meet YC design and teaching standards
• Learn along with your peers

Teachers have said about the course:

"There wasn't just one topic I found most useful. There were many. What I like most is the TeLs team provided simple yet comprehensive content AND additional resource links for topics. I can go to those resources on topics I need/want more info, but don't have to waste time going through resources on topics I already have mastery. "

"I enjoyed the discussion area and all of it - I reviewed and learned tons!"

"I'm thinking more about creating active learning activities in an online environment."

The next cohort dates are TBD, probably late summer 2025.

• All full and part-time faculty eligible
• $200 stipend available at the completion of the course
• Approximately 10 hours of coursework over two weeks

Register for the TEACH Online course

Contact thatcher.bohrman@yc.edu with questions about TEACH Online course enrollment.

Open Educational Resources (OER) Training Courses

OER Training for Course Builders

This is a facilitated asynchronous training that consists of approximately 10 hours of coursework and can be completed in 6 weeks or less. Faculty who are interested in building their own OER course shell must complete this training prior to submitting an OER build proposal. It must be completed by YC instructors who wish to teach or build OER courses at YC. It's also open to any faculty member interested in the subject. Completers receive a $200 stipend.

OER Training for Teachers

This is a completely asynchronous training that can be completed in approximately 3-4 hours. Faculty who are teaching a course with an approved OER course shell must complete this training.

Register at the OER course registration site.

Contact megan.crossfield@yc.edu with questions about OER course enrollment.

The Summer Institute

The 20th Summer Institute will take place May 15th, 2025.

All faculty and staff are invited to submit training, workshop, special meetings, and round-table discussion session proposals for the 20th annual Summer Institute on Thursday, May 15th in-person on the Prescott Campus. Your ideas and experiences make this event awesome, and you all have amazing things to share. Presentations of all kinds are welcome! Teaching strategies, hybrid and online course design, Elev8 with 8, AI, and student engagement tips are just some topic ideas that will spark inspiration - what have you been doing that is producing student success?

Please submit your session proposals by Tuesday, April 22nd through the Call for Proposals form.

This is a teaching and learning event for all faculty and staff, offering learning, food, fun and camaraderie. Please save the date and plan to attend.  A full schedule of events and registration will be available later this month.

Dr. David Borofsky, Director of the ACCCC, has been selected as our keynote speaker.  Borofsky will speak about the State of the State in Arizona's Higher Education Landscape.  He will touch on the community colleges' Economic Impact, Funding, Student Success, and more.  While his focus will be on student success, he believes that higher education must change with, and adapt to, the current needs of students, business and industry and the communities they serve.  There promises to be much more on all of the subjects.

Please contact Thatcher.Bohrman@yc.edu with ideas and questions.

Keynote speakers from inside and outside the college present each year. 

Keynotes from the Summer Institute

The keynote from 2024 was given by YC Provost Dr. Doug Berry. You can watch this recorded keynote here on the topic of Finding your Purpose Using Artificial Intelligence.