Description | Requirements | Contact | Application Info | Comments |
Program Description
The Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching (CoAT) program offers graduate students a chance to demonstrate their commitment to teaching excellence through training, evaluation, and recognition. Through critical reflection and application, participants learn the fundamental components of pedagogy, enriching their personal growth and professional development in teaching and learning.
The program is designed to provide support and recognition for all graduate students who teach courses at North Carolina State University. Participants may choose to complete the program in one year (2 semesters), a year and a half (3 semesters), or two years (4 semesters). Certificates are awarded at the end of each semester. An awards ceremony is usually held every April.
The CoAT program enables graduate students to:
- Receive a transcript notation for successful completion of the Accomplishment in Teaching program
- Receive an official letter of recommendation
- Earn a Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching
- Receive individualized assistance in teaching
- Prepare a teaching portfolio with guidance and support from the CoAT program director
- Complete the observation process to receive formal feedback on teaching skills
Overview of Program Requirements
- Attend an orientation session during your first semester in the CoAT program. For Fall 2011, new CoAT participants will complete an tonline orientation session. More information will be sent to you after you register for the program.
- Attend and complete reflection assignments for six CoAT approved workshops. Any of the FIT workshops count towards the teaching certificate unless otherwise noted. CoAT participants are required to complete the "Introduction to Teaching" workshop before receiving the certificate. Workshops are offered in person, online, and in hybrid formats. If you have taken FIT workshops prior to enrolling in CoAT, up to 3 of them may transfer into the program. Some courses such as EAC 786: Teaching in College can transfer as workshops into the CoAT program if they were completed successfully within the previous 12 months before you apply for CoAT. Contact the program director for more information.
- Complete two semesters of teaching experience. The teaching requirement in CoAT is the most flexible part of the program because TA appointments and responsibilities vary so widely from department to department. For this reason, the qualification for what counts as "teaching" are varied as long as you meet the minimum number of "contact" hours for CoAT. Contact hours are the actual hours of instruction, and CoAT requires that your first teaching experience total a minimum of 15 contact hours. This is the equivalent of teaching for 1 hour, 1 day a week, for 15 weeks in a semester. Your second teaching experience should be twice that amount (30 contact hours).
Teaching responsibilities may be: leading a lecture, leading a lab, leading a recitation session, leading a review or study session for a group of students, filling in for a professor who is away at a conference that day, co-teaching a class with an instructor, leading online discussions as part of a course, leading more lectures towards the end of the semester rather than at the beginning, etc.
You and your faculty supervisor decide how to best structure those hours based on the design of the course(s) you are assisting with. We can count a variety of teaching activities as part of those contact hours, but the only two tasks we cannot count are office hours or grading. You and your faculty supervisor can design any type of teaching experience that works for you, the professor, and the course(s). Grading does not have to be part of the experience, although for many TAs, it is part of their responsibility.
Note: Sometimes, one prior teaching experience can count towards the certificate, providing the course was taught at NC State and you had instructional responsibility in the course. Contact the program director for more information. - Complete one classroom observation for each teaching experience. Classroom observations should be completed by your advisor, a faculty member in your discipline, or the CoAT program director.
- Create a teaching portfolio, web site, or final project according to guidelines provided by the CoAT program.
If you are a graduate student in the Life Sciences Department, Economics Department, or the Professional Writing Program, we have created specialized CoAT programs designed for your specific needs. To learn more:
CoAT in the Life Sciences Program
CoAT in the Economics Program - contact
CoAT in the Professional Writing Program
Contact Information
For more information, contact: Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Director of Graduate Teaching Programs, Email: barbi_honeycutt@ncsu.edu
Trying to decide whether FIT, CoAT, or PTP is right for you? Compare
You may also want to refer to the Frequently Asked Questions web site for additional information.
Application Information - Applications are accepted each fall semester. Fall 2011 applications are now closed. Applications will open again in August 2012.
Comments & Testimonials
"Not only did the CoAT program help me improve as a TA during my time at NC State, it also helped me get a job as an assistant professor at Cal Poly when I graduated. During my interviews I was able to answer questions about my teaching style with ease. I would not have been able to do so without having spent time developing my teaching philosophy and reflecting on my teaching experiences with the help of CoAT instructors. In addition to the CoAT workshops, Dr. Barbi Honeycutt spent time with me one-on-one to work on my teaching portfolio and even wrote a letter of recommendation for me before I completed the program. I believe having Dr. Honeycutt as a reference and an online teaching portfolio helped my job application stand out from the rest. I would recommend the CoAT program to any graduate student with aspirations of becoming a college professor when they graduate.” –Dr. Scott Sink, Forestry, 2009
I was impressed with the fact that NC State's Graduate School has a teaching enhancement program for graduate students. I love to teach and I learned from the Masters here at Cal Poly in a "learn-by-doing" context which is Cal Poly's motto. However, it would have been nice if I had had some training as a graduate student in how to: 1.) prepare a course; 2.) develop learning outcomes; 3.) assess learning outcomes; 4.) think about ways to liven the class up; 5.) include problems in the lecture to get students fully engaged; and 6.) think about the "right way" to engage visual aids and Powerpoint as part of the "learning process" rather than just "covering" the material. Gosh I could on and list many other lessons I have learned on teaching. To know that graduate students can hear about all this as part of their graduate programs at NC State is truly a commendable feat. I was/am impressed that Dr. Scott Sink completed NC State's university teacher preparation program. I am particularly impressed that it is a [1-2] year program. Having that length of time to focus, experience and ponder on teaching is important...Nicely done!!! -Dr. Doug Piirto, Department Head, Natural Resources Management, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA, 2009
"My participation in the CoAT Program was instrumental in forming the core of my teaching philosophy and approach. The workshops I attended as part of CoAT provided exposure to new and innovative teaching techniques (e.g., effective questioning, assessment techniques, active learning exercises, etc.) many of which were geared to developing an interactive classroom environment. These workshops also provided access to online resources that were helpful for implementing these techniques in my classes. Moreover, these workshops were excellent opportunities to interact with other teachers who were either struggling with similar issues or had found unique solutions to problems I was encountering in my classes. Therefore, the CoAT Program showed me how productive attending workshops can be for my teaching. The most important component of the CoAT Program; however was the use of critical reflective summaries after each workshop and teaching observation. I have found that reflection helps to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different teaching techniques and promotes an adaptive and dynamic teaching style." -- Dr. Geoffrey Bell, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 2009
"Thanks again for everything. This program was very, very helpful in my growth in teaching and in helping to present myself on the job market as an experienced, competent teacher. Last week I got my first offer (from Auburn University), and I know that what I did in the CoAT program was much more than a negligible factor in that." -- Christian Casper, Ph.D., Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media, 2008
"I have to admit that when I first signed up for the CoAT program (and prior to attending any of the workshops) I was very skeptical. To my surprise, I have found the workshops to be very useful and believe that my teaching skills have improved greatly due to this program. In fact, I have found almost all of the workshops to be much more entertaining and useful than I ever imagined. Being a first time teacher last semester this program was incredibly valuable to me. I try to suggest this program to other graduate students with a passion for teaching whenever possible. Thank you very much!" -- Anonymous, 2009
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served more effectively if notice is provided at least 14 days before the event. Direct accommodation requests
to pfl-assistant@ncsu.edu.