Announcement!
New Graduate Teaching Training now available in MasonLEAPS!
This introductory training presents appropriate and relevant instructional support and resources to include pragmatic considerations and tools for graduate teaching assistants, graduate lecturers, and post-doc scholars across Mason's campuses. The Graduate Teaching Training, fitting within a bigger picture of graduate preparation at Mason serves to elevate the overall student experience in the classroom.
Become a Teacher of Students
You want to share knowledge, to give back, to change lives. We can help you do that.
Many students seeking advanced degrees become graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) as a part of their studies. Below, we have provide a few resources to support faculty and graduate teaching assistants.
GRADUATE TEACHING ACADEMY: Register here!
As a framework for university-wide interdisciplinary graduate education, the Graduate Teaching Academy encourages participants to connect their scholarly activities with career and professional training centered on skill development. Participants will work to create challenging and stimulating learning environments, while attending growth-based trainings providing personal enhancement.
Schedule Summary
Each face-to-face (F2F) session is two hours. Asynchronous online modules should take approximately 3 hours to complete.
Month | Face-to-Face Session | Online Modules | |
Sep | Sept 8: Introduction to teaching and communication styles | Online modules on learning science, metacognition, how students learn and the impact of course modalities | |
Oct | Oct 6 (ITL Session): Students in a post-pandemic landscape and active listening | Online modules on student learning outcomes and Blooms taxonomy | |
Nov | Nov 6: Alignment, the relationship between outcomes and assignments and case study | Online modules on assignment design and authentic assessment | |
Dec | Dec 1: Active and experiential learning, transparent assignment design and case study | Online modules on student engagement, lecture and student perceptions of instruction | |
Jan | Jan 12: In-class activities, lecture and use of multiple modalities | Online modules on assessment, alternative grading, ungrading | |
Feb | Feb 2: Rubrics | Online modules on flipped learning, lesson planning and learning patterns | |
Mar | Mar 1: Scaffolding, scheduling and contingency plans | Online modules on classroom climate | |
Apr | Apr 5: Types of engagement, inclusive teaching strategies and online regular and substantive interaction | Online modules on classroom policies | |
May | May 3: Best practices around attendance, late work and AI | Online modules on philosophies of teaching | |
Jun | June 7: Teaching Statement | Online modules on visual syllabi | |
Jul | July 12: Alternative Syllabi | Online modules on project-based learning | |
Aug | Aug 2: Revised Assignment Sheet and Rubric | Online modules on teaching portfolios | |
Submit complete teaching portfolio |
Students will be able to register for these events through Mason360. To register for the next event, please see here.
Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning
The Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning supports you as an instructor of graduate students and Mason GTAs in honing their skills as instructors, including:
- Establishing your identity as a teacher.
- Designing online, hybrid or face-to-face courses.
- Strengthening and refining your approaches to working with and giving feedback to students.
- Serving as a graduate research assistant on a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning research project.
The center will also help you connect with other faculty and GTAs across the university. Other resources from the Center include:
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Innovations in Teaching and Learning conference: Teaching-related sessions held annually at the end of September; free to graduate students
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Webinars by Stearns Center: Monthly faculty presentations on a variety of teaching topics
Find out more about the Stearns Center’s support for faculty and GTAs, and stay up to date by joining the Stearns Center mailing list and following it on Twitter.