Teaching Skills

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: 

    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.