Mentoring and Teaching Practicum

The Mentoring and Teaching Practicum (MATP), program allows advanced graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with teaching experience to engage in mentoring, observation, and teaching in an undergraduate classroom at this university or neighboring universities. Through critical reflection and application, participants are able to enrich their personal growth and professional development in teaching and learning, applying the skills they learn in professional development workshops to the classroom. Participants are given the opportunity to work with professors demonstrating exemplary teaching skills and active, engaged classrooms View the Fall 2012 Program Syllabus.

The MATP program provides a challenging opportunity to further participants' growth in teaching and pedagogy. The program includes interviewing a professor, observation of that professor’s teaching, and guest lecturing in that classroom. The call for applicants and the application form are located in the green box to right of this web page under "Helpful Links." The application deadline for Fall 2012 is September 14 by 5:00PM.

This is a competitive program, and participation is limited. Participants will be selected based on the quality of responses in the application, future career goals, and prior teaching experience.


Goals and Objectives:

• Shadow an experienced professor in their field of study, at neighboring universities or institutions
  
  Discover the ‘inside scoop’ on being a tenured/experienced professor
  
  Earn three workshop credits that can be applied to the CoAT program
  
  Receive individualized assistance in teaching
  
  Enhance their teaching portfolios
  
  Complete the observation process to receive formal feedback on teaching skills

Prerequisites:

• MATP is open to advanced graduate students, CoAT graduates, and Postdoctoral scholars.  Since MATP is designed to help future faculty members, applicants should be within 1-2 years of the job search.  
  
  Applicants must have completed at least one semester of teaching experience leading lectures for at least half of the semester.  Leading labs or facilitating discussion sessions does NOT count as teaching experience for MATP.
• 
  Selected participants must have at least one semester of teaching experience, including developing lesson plans and lecturing. This does not include leading a lab or discussion section. This does include leading lecture sessions and co-teaching with other faculty. If there are any questions about eligibility of teaching experience, please contact Beth Overman.

Program Requirements:

Complete all required components of the program, including:

1. Participants must be able to attend all 5 seminars:

• Seminar 1 —October 19, 3-5pm
• Seminar 2 – November 30, 3-5pm
  
• Seminar 3 – January 18, 3-5pm
  
• Seminar 4 – February 22, 3-5pm
• Seminar 5 – April 5, 3-5pm

2. Complete the Interview, Observation, and Teaching Experience at the college/university approved by the MATP coordinators.

3. Submit 3 well written, thoughtful, and comprehensive reflections on the following topics.
-Observation and professor interview
-Classroom teaching experience
-The overall MATP experience

4. Exhibit professionalism, responsibility, and preparedness when interacting with professors and students. Not only are you representing your department and the Graduate School, but also North Carolina State University.

Student Testimonials:

• Karen Bliss, Department of Mathematics: “Participating in MATP has really helped me think about what it means to be a faculty member.“
• Zach Abernathy, Department of Mathematics: "Not only did my mentor offer some great teaching tips, but he also had a wealth of advice for preparing job applications, deciding between a faculty and post-doc position….I have learned a great deal about my future career as a professor as a result of this program."
• Steven Toaddy, Department of Psychology: “Participation in the MATP program has afforded me an eye-opening experience that I could not have hoped to have found in my everyday professional experience. The lessons that I have learned in this program, be they from my mentor, my co-participants, the program facilitators or the invited speakers, will meaningfully impact my professional strategy.”

Mentoring and Teaching Practicum Leader:  Beth Overman, eloverma@ncsu.edu

Beth Overman is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Physiology through The College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on the impact of psychological stress on gastrointestinal function, and she is a graduate of the CoAT program and the PTP program. She hopes to graduate and pursue a career in academia.

Faculty Leader:  Dr. Barbi Honeycutt, Director of Graduate Teaching Programs, The Graduate School, barbi_honeycutt@ncsu.edu