Graduate Student Teaching Certificate of Completion
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
The Graduate Student Teaching Certificate of Completion (GSTCC) Program offers CSU graduate students an opportunity to learn about, reflect on, and enact best practices in teaching at the post-secondary level. Participants will develop greater competence and confidence as current or future teachers by participating in research-based professional-development activities. Program participants who successfully complete the requirements before they graduate earn a Certificate of Completion that demonstrates their commitment to college teaching and can enhance their professional credentials on the job market. The program can be completed in 18-24 months and at no cost.
Please note that the Graduate Student Teaching Certificate of Completion Program was redesigned and implemented in August of 2023. If you registered for the Certificate Program prior to June 1, 2023 and wish to complete the certificate under the older requirements, you must do so by December 31, 2024.
CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS:
To earn the Graduate Student Teaching Certificate of Completion, participants must (before they graduate ) satisfy the five program-specific learning outcomes highlighted below. The minimum requirements for completion are to enroll in and successfully complete 3 Best Practices in Teaching (BPiT) courses (course options for each learning outcome listed below) and 4 designated workshops (listed below).
Combined, these 7 professional development experiences constitute the threshold for the Certificate of Completion. If you are interested in learning more or expanding your experience, you can supplement the foundational required experiences with others by creating supplemental documents such as sample syllabi, assignments, or assessment tools.
GSTCC Learning Outcomes and How to Fufill Them
Take at least one of the following BPiT Courses:
- Inclusive Pedagogy
- Classroom Climate
- Student Motivation
Take at least one of the following BPiT Courses:
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Identify and use classroom strategies that cultivate an effective, engaging, and productive learning environment
Take at least one of the following BPiT courses:
- Planning an Effective Class Session
- First Four Weeks
Take the following workshop:
- Classroom Strategies – Optimize Your Time and Increase Student Engagement
Create a teaching philosophy and diversity statement informed by research-based practices from the Teaching Effectiveness Framework
Take all of the following workshops:
- Create a Teaching Philosophy workshop
- Create a Diversity Statement workshop
- Create a Teaching Persona workshop
This outcome is accomplished through successful completion of BPiT course Practice and Reflect assignments, participation in Teaching Squares, or a similar experience offered by your department.
*BPiT courses and TILT-sponsored workshops are offered throughout the year. TILT recommends that you check the TILT professional development calendar and create a learning plan for yourself.
Please note: The Graduate Student Teaching Certificate of Completion Program is not a teacher certification or licensure program. The Certificate is available to all CSU graduate students who successfully fulfill the program requirements. Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Completion and can add the Certificate to their cv/resume.
GSTCC Resources
BPiT courses, offered on Canvas through TILT, are facilitated, asynchronous three-week experiences that foster collaborative learning and provide opportunities to apply your learning to current or future teaching. To successfully complete a BPiT course you must actively participate with others in your course, complete the weekly assignments, and successfully submit the final Practice and Reflect assignment. Courses require approximately 5 hours of time per week.
The GSTCC’s curriculum aligns with the seven essential domains for effective teaching practices articulated in TILT’s Teaching Effectiveness Framework (TEF). Domains for effective teaching practices (including curriculum/curricular alignment, pedagogical content knowledge, student motivation, inclusive pedagogy, classroom climate, instructional strategies, and feedback and assessment) are grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Each BPiT Course focuses on two of the seven domains of the TEF.
- Create a Teaching Philosophy
- Create a Diversity Statement
- Create a Teaching Persona
- Classroom Strategies – Optimize Your Time and Increase Student Engagement
Credit-bearing, teaching-focused courses across the curriculum can satisfy some Certificate requirements. Below is a list of courses that may count toward Certificate completion. For questions regarding application of credit-bearing courses toward the Certificate, contact the GSTCC Director, Dr. Kelly Bradbury.
- BZ 560 Teaching and Communicating Science
- E501 Writing and Composition
- E502 Language, Literacy and Learning
- E503 Investigating Classroom Literacies
- E504 Situating Composition
- E526 Foreign/Second Language
- E603 Computers in Writing
- E633 Seminar in Writing Across the Curriculum
- E607 Teaching Writing
- E608 Integrating Writing in the Academic Core
- EDUC 619 Curriculum Development
- EDUC 628 Models of Teaching
- EDUC 629 Classroom and Communication
- EDUC 713 Teaching, Learning and Professional Growth
- GRAD 792 Seminar in College Teaching
- MIP 580A3 Teaching & Mentoring Undergraduate Research
- SPCM 570 Instructional Communication Theory & Practice
- SPCM 675 Speech Communication Pedagogy
- Departmental 684 and 784 Supervised College Teaching courses
Contact Info
Dr. Kelly Bradbury
Director, Graduate Student Teaching Certificate of Completion Program
Contact
Email: Kelly.Bradbury@colostate.edu