Graduate Student Programs

The Center for Teaching offers a variety of programs to meet the needs of graduate students entering the teaching ranks. All instructors will find participation in Center programs an avenue for exploration and discovery in a collegial setting.

Teaching Assistant Orientation (TAO)

TAO prepares graduate students to assume their teaching duties with confidence by engaging them in interactive sessions about teaching methods and resources.

International Teaching Assistant Orientation (ITAO)

ITAO introduces international teaching assistants to the culture of the American classroom and the International Teaching Assistant Program (ITAP), which helps them develop the English language and teaching skills to thrive in this culture.

Teaching Certificate Program

The Teaching Certificate program has been designed to help graduate and professional students and post-docs develop and refine their teaching skills through three cycles of teaching activities, each consisting of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection phases. Participants who complete the program receive a Teaching Certificate from the Graduate School and the Center for Teaching.

Future Faculty Preparation Program (F2P2)

Co-sponsored by the Graduate School and the Center for Teaching, F2P2 is a voluntary, self-directed professional development program open to all Vanderbilt graduate students, professional students, and post-doctoral fellows. Designed to introduce participants to the wide range of faculty roles and responsibilities and to recognize participants who are engaging in activities to prepare for future faculty careers, the program emphasizes three areas of focus: teaching and learning, professional development, and the world of the university.

International Teaching Assistant Program (ITAP)

ITAP assists and supports international graduate students as they prepare for and begin their teaching duties at Vanderbilt. It is specifically designed for those international teaching assistants (ITAs) for whom English is not their first language and who have not completed a baccalaureate degree at an institution where English is the language of instruction.

Graduate Student Teaching Event for Professional Development (GradSTEP)

GradSTEP, held in January each year, is a day-long exploration of teaching, learning and professional development issues across the disciplines. All graduate and professional students, as well as post-doctoral fellows, are invited to attend.

Workshops

Throughout the school year, the Center organizes workshops facilitated by CFT senior staff, Graduate Teaching Fellows, University administrators and faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and invited guests.

• The Teaching Workshop features practical, applied sessions on basic teaching practice in a variety of disciplines. While Vanderbilt instructors of all levels are welcome, most sessions are designed for those with little teaching experience.

• Conversations on Teaching are occasional, informal, and topical. Sessions typically begin with a panel offering brief remarks, followed by open discussion with workshop participants.

Working Groups

Working Groups bring together small cohorts of graduate students who meet regularly to discuss either a specific teaching practice or a more conceptual set of issues. Topics for working groups have included course design, using visuals in instruction, and classroom response systems. CFT staff are also prepared to develop new working groups in response to graduate student interest.

Celebration of Teaching

The Celebration of Teaching is an annual tradition co-hosted by the Center for Teaching and the Graduate School to honor those who have won university- or school-based awards during the previous academic year and to recognize the graduates of the CFT's Teaching Certificate program.

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