The Department of Biological Sciences offers graduate students an optional Minor in Teaching that provides a more complete teaching experience beyond the one semester TA requirement. The Teaching Minor Program includes exposure to various methodologies and teaching philosophies, more independent experience in the classroom, and development of material suitable for a teaching portfolio. Students planning for a career with an education component are especially encouraged to join this Program.
How to Enroll
Students who would like to enroll in the Teaching Minor Program should submit a petition to the Director of Graduate Studies via the Graduate Secretary. Petition for entry into the Teaching Minor Program can be made at any time. However, students are strongly encouraged to have successfully completed their Comprehensive Exam and must have two years left until completion of their M.S. or Ph.D. degree. The following items should be included in the Petition:
- A letter from the student requesting entry into the Teaching Minor Program
- A letter from the student's faculty advisor giving permission to participate in the Teaching Minor Program.
Requirements
The requirements for the Minor are as follows:
- Two or more semesters of teaching as a Teaching Assistant with satisfactory performance.
- Enrollment for four semesters and receipt of Satisfactory grades in BIOSC 2972 ("Teaching Minor in Biological Sciences"). This course is based around the completion of one independent teaching project each year (two total projects), as well as the production of the Teaching Dossier. Each project is expected to take approximately 10-15 hours. Of the two projects, at least one must be a guest lecture in a class, along with any material used in class, and exam questions. The projects cannot be ones used to complete FACDEV 2200 but can be projects in a class for which the student is serving as a TA if the project is in addition to the normal TA requirements. BIOSC 2972 meets formally approximately two times a semester at times arranged at the beginning of the semester.
- Enrollment and receipt of a 'B' or better in FACDEV 2200 ("University Teaching Practicum"). Students should take FACDEV 2200 during a fall or spring semester (preferably not summer) while serving as a teaching assistant, ideally when teaching a course where there is some freedom to develop material. If this is not possible for whatever reason, then the student will need to identify a suitable course and to arrange to do guest lectures with the faculty member who teaches that course to complete assignments in FACDEV 2200 (two guest lectures are the minimum).
- Yearly meetings with two Teaching Mentors by the third Monday in May each year. The student must ask two faculty to serve as Teaching Mentors. The two Teaching Mentors must be chosen during the first year in the program and declared when the Teaching Dossier is submitted for the first time. The student's research advisor may serve as a Teaching Mentor. At a minimum the Mentors should observe at least one class led by the student, observe independent projects as appropriate, meet with the student once a year to provide feedback on the Teaching Dossier and discuss other issues, and provide a teaching evaluation letter for the Dossier. The yearly meetings must be documented by filling out a report (under Forms) that includes a section for self-evaluation by the student and sections documenting the meetings with both Teaching Mentors. The meetings must occur each year until the final Teaching Dossier has been submitted to GPOC.
- Maintenance of a Teaching Dossier, which is submitted by the third Monday in May each year. The Teaching Dossier (template under Forms) must be organized using a set template provided in BIOSC 2972 and will serve both to document the completion of the Teaching Minor requirements and to be an organized collection of all teaching and Teaching Minor material from which students can draw material for a teaching portfolio when on the job market. The Dossier should include a Teaching Philosophy statement, letters pertaining to enrollment in the Teaching Minor Program, a transcript, documentation of yearly meetings with Teaching Mentors, teaching evaluations, FACDEV 2200 material, BIOSC 2972 material, and samples of teaching materials. Maintenance of the Teaching Dossier is the responsibility of the student, although feedback on presentation will be given by the Teaching Mentors and in BIOSC 2972. The role of GPOC is to assess the Dossier to determine which Teaching Minor requirements have been fulfilled and which remain to be fulfilled.
- Completion of 10 course credits. These credits are derived from BIOSC 2972 (4 credits for the four semesters of participation and 3 credits for completion of the Dossier = 7 total) and FACDEV 2200 (3 credits).
Timeline
- At least two terms as a Teaching Assistant: typically one semester in the second year or third year of graduate school and one semester in the third or fourth year of graduate school.
- Petitioning for enrollment: typically at the end of spring term of the second year or the end of the fall term of the third year, after completion of the Comprehensive Exam.
- Selection of two Teaching Mentors: during the first year in the Teaching Minor Program prior to submitting the Teaching Dossier for the first time.
- Enrollment in BIOSC 2972: typically the first fall or spring semester after acceptance into the Teaching Minor Program and the three following academic year (fall and spring) semesters.
- Enrollment in FACDEV 2200: ideally during a fall or spring semester when serving as a TA. Although FACDEV 2200 is offered during the summer, the course instructor does not recommend it because time is too tight. Typically students enroll while doing the second TA assignment.
- Yearly submission of a Teaching Dossier to GPOC: third Monday of May of each year after acceptance into the Teaching Minor Program.
- Final submission of the Teaching Dossier to GPOC: ideally the first semester after completing the Teaching Minor requirements but at the latest, by the time that the thesis is submitted to the student's Thesis Committee.
- Receipt of the Teaching Minor: upon graduation.
Forms
Use this form for annual meetings with your teaching mentors.
Use this form for your teaching dossier.
Use this form for proposing a project.