Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) participate in observations to enhance teaching skills.
Description:
Instructors actively participate in classroom observation of peers and teaching mentors and are observed in the classroom themselves; observations are used to reflect on teaching strategies for self-improvement.
Value of the Badge:
Classroom observation is important at every stage of an instructor’s career, but is particularly valuable at the beginning of one’s teaching career. Earning the Observation badge indicates that a GTA has actively participated in classroom observation, both by being observed as well as by observing others, to gain experience and perspective on teaching. Instructors who earn this badge recognize the value of classroom observation in professional development and demonstrate a commitment to improving their own teaching practice.
Badge Criteria:
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Observe one experienced faculty member and two peer instructors in the classroom, and reflect on these observations to inform one’s own teaching.
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Be observed by an experienced teaching mentor at least twice in the classroom, and meet with the observer in a post-observation conference.
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Submit evidence of observation reflection, including a brief (1-page) reflection on each observation, noting teaching strategies that positively impacted student learning during each observation and ideas and strategies to employ in your future teaching.
Related:
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Competency 1: Graduate teaching associates will use evidence-based pedagogical approaches specific to the discipline and which facilitate student learning of disciplinary content.
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Competency 2: Graduate teaching associates will assess and improve their own teaching performance through inquiry-based practice informed by a community of scholarly teachers.
