Program in College Teaching

The Program in College Teaching (PCT) consists of two parts:  common requirements for all participants and a self-designed component.  This page addresses the common requirements.

The purpose of these guidelines is to explain the requirements and suggest what might be included in an effective application to the program.  Because the program is intended to provide you with an effective set of self-designed experiences, you are welcome to propose alternatives to the required components.  Part A explains the common components required in all three options.  Part B explains the three options for self-designed activities.
 

Part A:  Requirements for All Three Options

1. Teaching Seminar

You are required to complete an extensive teaching seminar. In your application, indicate which of the following options you are using to fulfill this component.  Write a brief description, including dates and instructors.  Some PCT participants choose to participate in more than one of these options. 

• GRAD 5910, a three-credit hour course offered in the fall and spring semesters. Information about the course is available on the ECTL website. Typically, the instructors are experienced, emeriti faculty members who are widely known for excellent teaching.

• A seminar in teaching offered in your department or program. Several departments offer credit-bearing courses or a sequence of workshops designed for teaching their specific disciplines.

• A sequence of workshops offered through the ECTL. Every year, the ECTL offers fifteen seminars designed for new TAs on campus, and it also offers a variety of other programs. In your plan (and in consultation with your mentor or with the ECTL director), you should outline the number and kinds of workshops or seminars that you propose to attend to fulfill this requirement.
   

2. Mentored Teaching Agreement

During your participation in the Program in College Teaching, you should be involved in a substantial teaching experience supervised by a mentor.  The nature of the activities you do with your mentor will depend on the kind of teaching assignment you have and on the PCT option you choose. For example, if you are the teacher of record for a course or for a lab section, your mentor
might want to visit your class once or twice, review your syllabus, help you read and interpret course evaluations, review the comments that you write on student work, or revise assignments.

If you do not have teaching responsibilities of this kind, your mentor should create ways for you to experience several facets of teaching, such as guest lecturing, teaching a unit in his or her course, and participating in the grading of papers. If you have selected the distance teaching and learning option, you and your mentor should be sure to involve distance delivery in your plans.  You are welcome to identify more than one mentor.

In your application, outline the responsibilities you and your mentor have agreed upon, and include the mentored teaching agreement form with the mentor’s signature.

• Briefly describe the course (or courses) that you will teach (or assist with) for the PCT. Provide the number, name, and a concise course description. Include some discussion of the course content, its role in the curriculum, the teaching format (lecture, lab, studio, etc.), and the number and characteristics of the students.

•  Identify your teaching role in the course.  Are you the teacher of record with full responsibility?  Are you responsible for a lab or discussion section?  Are you a course assistant?  If you do not have full responsibility, provide a list of the activities in which you will actively participate, indicating your role in each activity. 

• Describe the role and responsibilities of the mentor.

• Identify the methods of providing you some guidance, feedback, and evaluation during your PCT participation.
   

3. Public Presentation

Going public with your work is an important component of this program. In your application, identify areas of learning that you would like to share with other audiences as a consequence of your participation.  Describe an occasion (workshop or meeting, for instance), a format, and other dimensions of your plan to share information. Alternative technologies may be employed for this component, including, for instance, the development of Web pages or other electronically shared materials.  

Possible occasions for sharing materials include meetings of fellow graduate students and/or faculty in your department, class sessions of GRAD 5910 (with the approval of the instructors), or workshops sponsored by the ECTL. Consider, also, poster sessions or paper presentations at local, regional, or national conferences.

This part of your planned program typically happens near the end, and you might have changed your plans after completing the activities. Check with the ECTL director on how to file a change of plans: an e-mail to that effect will probably be all that you need to do.

4. Portfolio

At the end of your participation in the Program for College Teaching, one of the valuable artifacts you will have for evidence is the portfolio. In your application, indicate the materials you anticipate including in your portfolio. You will probably want to include evidence for most (if not all) of the activities you choose in Part B below, and you should also include evidence of the mentored teaching activities. Some participants use the portfolio as an organized filing system for all of their activities. Others create a much more compact portfolio that could be given to employers. In your application, propose a table of contents for your portfolio. To help you decide what to include, consider the following questions: What do you want the portfolio to represent at the end of this project? Who will be reading it? How can you make the portfolio a useful document?

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