CIRTL at Vanderbilt

CURRENT EVENTS

Vanderbilt CIRTL Group Offers Supplemental Awards to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering , Mathematics) Teaching Assistants, Post Doctoral Fellows and Graduate Students for “Teaching as Research” ProjectsFall 2009

I. General

CIRTL is the Center for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning.  It is a network of institutions, led by the University of Wisconsin, with the aim of increasing the preparation of future faculty in teaching (see www.cirtlcafe.net for a full description of the CIRTL program).  Vanderbilt is one of the CIRTL partners.

II. Awards

The VU CIRTL group wishes to offer topping-up awards of $3,000 each for semester-long commitments of teaching assistants, post doctoral fellows or graduate students to engage in a “Teaching as Research”(TAR) project for Fall 2008.  A maximum of 8 awards is available. This can be received as additional stipend for US citizens and permanent residents.  It must replace other support for international students.

III. Teaching as Research

CIRTL defines TAR as follows: "Teaching-as-Research involves the deliberate, systematic, and reflective use of research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of students and teachers." Center for Teaching’s teaching certificate program requires such projects. Examples may be found at http://tinyurl.com/vucftcycle3gallery. Other examples are provided on the VaNTH website: http://129.59.92.138/white_papers.html, and the CIRTL website: http://www.cirtl.net/pillars_TAR.html.

The goals of our program are as follows

• to provide faculty with resources for designing and assessing curricular innovations,
• to provide graduate students and other future faculty members with training and development in the design and assessment of teaching and learning activities, and
• to benefit the learning of undergraduate students through the development and assessment of curricular innovations.

IV. Proposal Format

Directors of graduate study and faculty instructors in STEM disciplines are invited to propose support for Fall 2009.  Please send a proposal to Thomas R. Harris at Thomas.r.harris@vanderbilt.edu or Box 1724 Station B, Vanderbilt University by June 1, 2009.

1. Name of teaching assistant of other graduate student for whom support is sought.

2.  Department Name

3. Faculty mentor (with signature)

4. Director of Graduate Studies (with signature)

5. Course that project will benefit.

6. Brief description of project (no more than one page).  This should emphasize the instructional innovations that will be developed and the assessment of effectiveness.

Students pursuing Teaching Certificates in STEM disciplines are encouraged to apply for this support.

All selected applicants must make every effort to do the following:

1. Must attend a teaching workshop at the beginning of the fall semester.

2. Should sign up for the following 1 hour course:

BME 395:  Preparation for Teaching

Fall 2009,Tuesday 2:10-4, Dr. Stacy S. Klein

BME 395.  Preparation for Teaching.  Basics of curriculum design, assessment, accreditation.  Diversity in the classroom and classroom management.  Technology for teaching, assessment, and communication.  Basics of K-12 outreach.  Open to graduate students in all STEM disciplines wishing to pursue college/university teaching.  FALL.  [1].
3. Meet periodically with CIRTL staff to discuss their individual projects.  

4.Submit to Thomas R. Harris a 2 page report by January 15, 2010 of the results of this project and present an  poster of their results (see example at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/programs/graduate_student/tc/osterhage.htm .)
Successful applicants will be provided a two-part workshop to prepare them for the project.  This will be followed up by periodic meetings throughout thee semester to provide review and critique.  

About CIRTL-Vanderbilt

CIRTL-Vanderbilt is part of a six-university network centered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The network was created to find ways to improve the education training of graduate students and post-docs who are going into academia. CIRTL is also interested in improving the teaching training of faculty in place. At Vanderbilt, we seek to carry out the initiatives of the network in our own unique setting.

We want to take the strengths in education training already available on this campus and unite them into a more cohesive framework. The hope is that CIRTL-Vanderbilt will provide a centralized framework which will allow these resources to be readily available for any graduate student, post-doc or faculty member to utilize.

Click to learn more about the CIRTL Network and explore our library of our resources.