Graduate Teaching Academy Infuses CIRTL's Principles into Its Work
By Katherine Friedrich
This year, leaders of Texas A&M University's Graduate Teaching Academy - a professional development program run by and for graduate students - are using CIRTL's literature and expertise to enrich the experience of GTA participants.
"We're using CIRTL to infuse the three pillars into GTA," said GTA director Michelle Simms. Simms is drawing on many resources from CIRTL, including the course guidebooks and the diversity resources.
"One of the challenges we have is meeting the needs of diversity,"Simms said. "CIRTL... already has things ready [that] we can pull."
Simms is eager to leverage existing publications when developing activities for GTA participants, since the GTA is an all-volunteer organization. Simms wants to see the GTA "develop something that will be sustainable" rather than creating completely new activities each year.
In addition to using CIRTL's print resources, the GTA has invited CIRTL leaders to present at its events. TAMU faculty Bob Webb and Bruce Herbert have delivered presentations on CIRTL and inquiry-based learning. Bob Mathieu, CIRTL's Principal Investigator, has been invited to speak at TAMU next semester. GTA steering committee members also presented research posters at the CIRTL Forum in June.
The GTA offers in-depth training for graduate students who are interested in gaining "exposure to teaching." This exposure is especially useful for students who are in research-focused graduate programs. The training is one year long and involves attending seminars, writing reflective essays, completing workshops, observing classroom instruction, doing service projects, working with a mentor, and preparing a teaching philosophy and portfolio.
Like the Preparing Future Faculty program, the GTA encourages students to consider career opportunities at a variety of institutions. This year, the GTA is convening a panel of speakers to discuss the differences in climate between undergraduate colleges, community colleges and research universities.
For more information about the program, visit the GTA Web site or contact Michelle Simms (msimms at vprmail.tamu.edu).
This year, leaders of Texas A&M University's Graduate Teaching Academy - a professional development program run by and for graduate students - are using CIRTL's literature and expertise to enrich the experience of GTA participants.
"We're using CIRTL to infuse the three pillars into GTA," said GTA director Michelle Simms. Simms is drawing on many resources from CIRTL, including the course guidebooks and the diversity resources.
"One of the challenges we have is meeting the needs of diversity,"Simms said. "CIRTL... already has things ready [that] we can pull."
Simms is eager to leverage existing publications when developing activities for GTA participants, since the GTA is an all-volunteer organization. Simms wants to see the GTA "develop something that will be sustainable" rather than creating completely new activities each year.
In addition to using CIRTL's print resources, the GTA has invited CIRTL leaders to present at its events. TAMU faculty Bob Webb and Bruce Herbert have delivered presentations on CIRTL and inquiry-based learning. Bob Mathieu, CIRTL's Principal Investigator, has been invited to speak at TAMU next semester. GTA steering committee members also presented research posters at the CIRTL Forum in June.
The GTA offers in-depth training for graduate students who are interested in gaining "exposure to teaching." This exposure is especially useful for students who are in research-focused graduate programs. The training is one year long and involves attending seminars, writing reflective essays, completing workshops, observing classroom instruction, doing service projects, working with a mentor, and preparing a teaching philosophy and portfolio.
Like the Preparing Future Faculty program, the GTA encourages students to consider career opportunities at a variety of institutions. This year, the GTA is convening a panel of speakers to discuss the differences in climate between undergraduate colleges, community colleges and research universities.
For more information about the program, visit the GTA Web site or contact Michelle Simms (msimms at vprmail.tamu.edu).
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