Teaching Skills

Graduate Teaching

You want to share knowledge, to give back, to change lives. We can help you do that.

SkillCraft: Educating for Impact Community of Practice (SCEICoP)

Graduate Teaching Academy launches SkillCraft: Educating for Impact Community of Practice (SCEICoP) series. This SkillCraft series encourages masters, doctoral and post-doctoral scholars from all disciplines to develop skills that are crucial to the creation of stimulating learning environments in and beyond the classroom. SkillCraft also provides opportunities for graduate students to document their growth and achievements through certifications at several levels. Workshops are repeated every semester, providing graduate students the flexibility to achieve these certifications at their own pace. 

Spring 2024 Workshops (All workshops will be held on Zoom): Each workshop is offered twice a month at different times. When you submit your registration, you will receive a confirmation that includes the Zoom link for the workshop.

Level 1 Essentials: Student Engagement (Fall and Spring Semesters)

These one-hour online workshops introduce the foundations for effective student engagement that can be applied in a variety of educational settings ranging from small-group recitations for teaching assistants to classroom management for graduate instructors of record. Participation in each workshop grants participants access to a collection of curated resources.  To earn the Level 1 Essentials Student Engagement Credential, participants complete the Fundamentals of Student Engagement workshop plus three 1-hour workshops and submit the SkillCraft Level 1 Credential Form using the SkillCraft Credential Submission Portal.

January 19 | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Fundamentals of Student Engagement | Zoom 

This workshop focuses on the characteristics of students that populate today’s classrooms. Participants will learn relevant learning theories and how to apply them to enhance student engagement. This workshop is required for the SkillCraft Level 1 Essentials Credential. Register here.  

January 23 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Fundamentals of Student Engagement | Zoom

This workshop focuses on the characteristics of students that populate today’s classrooms. Participants will learn relevant learning theories and how to apply them to enhance student engagement. This workshop is required for the SkillCraft Level 1 Essentials Credential. Register here

February 2 | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | In-Class Activities | Zoom

This workshop focuses on how to manage small and large student discussions and other hands-on learning activities during class. Register here

February 6 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | In-Class Activities | Zoom

This workshop focuses on how to manage small and large student discussions and other hands-on learning activities during class. Register here

March 15 | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Grading and Feedback| Zoom

This workshop focuses on the application of grading rubrics and how to handle grading questions from students. Register here

March 19 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Grading and Feeback | Zoom

This workshop focuses on the application of grading rubrics and how to handle grading questions from students.  Register here

April 12 | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Classroom Climate| Zoom

This workshop focuses on creating an engaging classroom environment and best practices around managing attendance, late work and AI policies. Register here. 

April 16 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Classroom Climate | Zoom

This workshop focuses on creating an engaging classroom environment and best practices around managing attendance, late work and AI policies.  Register here.

Level 2 Competencies: Teaching Materials (TBA)

These 10-hour hybrid bootcamps help graduate students design teaching materials for courses they teach or hope to teach. The bootcamps combine in-person sessions with asynchronous modules over two weeks and result in a teaching artifact that can be immediately used in a course. To earn the Level 2 Competencies Teaching Materials Credential, participants complete the 10-hour bootcamp and submit a teaching artifact and SkillCraft Level 2 Credential Form using the SkillCraft Credential Submission Portal

Bootcamps

  • Syllabus Design (TBA)
  • Assignment Design (TBA)

Previous Sessions:

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 

 

 

    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.

    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