Program Description

Preparing the Professoriate gives faculty and doctoral students the opportunity to engage in a significant mentoring activity over the course of an academic year. It is a central component of NC State's professional development programs for graduate students through providing students with a hands-on teaching opportunity under a distinguished faculty mentor who is recognized for his or her teaching skills. The program is open to doctoral students who plan careers as faculty members at colleges and universities; participation in PTP is a requirement for all NC State GAANN Fellows. PTP runs throughout an academic year and consists of two major components: regular seminar meetings and the mentoring relationship with a faculty member. At the conclusion of the program, each participant completes a Professional Portfolio detailing his or her work and reflections from the PTP year.

Seminars

The program sponsors nine workshops for participants and their mentors throughout the academic year; the seminars focus on topics in college and university teaching as well as other aspects of a career as a faculty member. Many of the seminars require participants to complete reading or writing assignments in preparation, and all participants are required to attend at least seven seminars. Most take place on Tuesdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., with an occasional Wednesday meeting.

Mentoring Relationship

In conjunction with a Faculty Mentor, participants develop a detailed plan for the PTP year. This plan covers two semesters: an observation semester and a teaching (or co-teaching) semester. During the observation semester, the participant observes an undergraduate course taught by the faculty mentor. (Note: the participant cannot be enrolled in this course.) Over the course of this semester, the participant will participate in activities that will prepare him or her for teaching the following semester, such as meeting regularly with the faculty mentor, completing structured reflections on the observations, developing course materials (homework assignments or exams), grading, or holding office hours. The details of these arrangements are up to the participant and faculty mentor.

In the second semester, the participant teaches or co-teaches an undergraduate course, taking on the majority of instructional responsibility for the class. (Note: the participant may not teach or co-teach a graduate course.) In addition to the teaching responsibilities, the participant should continue the mentoring relationship, including activities such as seeking regular feedback, scheduling an observation of teaching, etc. Again, the details are up to the participant and the mentor.

Professional Portfolio

Each participant develops a Professional Portfolio documenting the academic experience gained through research and teaching during the PTP year. This Portfolio may include such items as student evaluations of instruction, letters of recommendation which specifically address teaching, evidence of course planning and preparation, videotapes of teaching, statements of teaching philosophy, reflections on seminars and workshops taken during the PTP year, course materials developed, and samples of student work.

Responsibilities and Rewards for Faculty Mentors

Preparing the Professoriate offers full-time, tenure-track faculty the opportunity to help prepare doctoral students for the entire range of activities that comprise an academic life, with a focus on the teaching component of professorial responsibilities. Participating faculty work with their graduate student Teaching Associates to develop individualized plans for a substantive teaching experience. The scope of this experience ranges from course preparation and planning to final course evaluation. Participants will seek regular feedback from their faculty mentors as they progress from the observation semester to the teaching or co-teaching semester.

Participant Eligibility and Funding Details

In order to participate in the program, students must be enrolled as doctoral candidates, have completed 18 graduate credit hours in their major prior to the teaching semester, be in good academic standing in their department, and be at a point in their doctoral program when they have sufficient time to work with a Faculty Teaching Mentor. The selection committee will give preference to those students with at least 30 graduate credit hours and those with a competitive GPA.

Up to 20 doctoral students are selected for the program through a University-wide competition. Each of the selected students will receive a $1,000 stipend ($500 at the end of each semester). Participants who finish the program late due to a delay in their observation or teaching semesters will be paid the second portion of the award after all requirements have been fulfilled. Note that students who hold an SPA appointment during their PTP participation may not be eligible for the stipend.

International students may be accepted into the program, but, due to INS regulations, will not receive the $1,000 stipend directly. Instead, the stipend may be deposited into a departmental account for the student's utilization for program related expenses.

The PTP program is only open to PhD students. If you are a master's student looking for a program to enhance your teaching experience, consider the Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching (CoAT) program offered through the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning.

Course Credit Option

With the agreement of the faculty teaching mentor and the student's graduate advisor, a student may receive up to 3 hours course credit for the teaching semester of his or her participation in the Preparing the Professoriate program, under the course number designated for doctoral supervised teaching experience (885).The course prefix should be that of the faculty mentor's department, and the course will be S-U graded. Before granting course credit, the faculty mentor and student should agree on what additional assignments, if any, will be required in addition to the teaching portfolio. These might include an annotated bibliography of scholarship on teaching in the discipline, a research article on teaching, and/or other projects.

 

Accommodations

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services, or other accommodations to participate in this program, please contact Dr. Melissa Bostrom in the Graduate School at 515-2293 during business hours to discuss accommodations.