To help doctoral students become better instructors, the teaching initiative program supports students as they teach, provides evaluations, and offers a variety of post-teaching opportunities, including mentoring and faculty feedback. The goals of the program include enhancing the quality of undergraduate (and MBA) teaching and better preparing PhD students for their future roles as faculty and instructors.

A. International TA language training

1. All nonnative English speaking students with teaching assistantship appointments must take the SPEAK test (usually during the first year in the program). The test is a version of the Test of Spoken English, developed by the Educational Testing Service and administered on campus by the Center for Teaching and Learning Services (CTLS).


2. All nonnative English speaking TAs or prospective TAs scoring 55 or above on the comprehensibility scale of the SPEAK test are eligible for a teaching assignment. A score of 50 indicates that the student is eligible for teaching with supervision. However, we require enrollment in a practicum through CTLS. Those who score 20-45 are not yet eligible to carry out the responsibilities of a TA and must successfully complete at least one semester of the CTLS course, "Classroom Communication Skills for TAs," before becoming a teacher, tutor, or advisor. While there is flexibility in the workshops a student chooses, please check with the PhD office for recommendations.


3. If a nonnative English speaker has successfully completed one semester of the "Classroom Communication Skills for TAs" course but has received a CTLS recommendation for further instruction in English language skills, the student may be assigned teaching duties while continuing in a second semester of the course.


4. Nonnative English speakers who do not score above 50 on the SPEAK test may repeat the test, but must wait at least six weeks.

B. Teacher development training

1. The University offers campus-wide teacher development training workshops at least twice a year (usually the last week of August during orientation and early in the spring semester). Each two-hour workshop teaches skills or addresses subjects directly applicable to the duties of a TA, professor, and teacher.


2. Doctoral students must participate in at least six workshops. While there is flexibility in the workshops a student chooses, they should check with the PhD Office for recommendations.

C. Preparing Future Faculty program

Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) is a University-sponsored program that prepares doctoral students for teaching in higher education. The four major components of PFF are two courses on teaching, teaching practice, mentoring, and developing a teaching portfolio. Though not required, we strongly recommend that all students enroll in at least one PFF course after the first year but prior to actual teaching assignments. International students must satisfy TA English program requirements before enrolling in PFF. By participating in PFF, students can fulfill the following TIP elements:

1. For-credit teaching course (optional)
   In addition to providing an initial preparation for teaching at the college level, PFF teaching and learning courses focus on the skills, strategies, and issues common to teaching. Students can fulfill this teaching element by taking one or more of the University courses on teaching. PFF offers two courses: "GRAD 8101: Teaching in Higher Education," and "GRAD 8102: Practicum for Future Faculty." In addition, several University departments have developed teacher training courses. Contact PFF staff for course information and syllabi. Receiving a passing grade in any teaching course fulfills this requirement.


2. Mentoring
   As part of PFF, doctoral students select a faculty member from their discipline (not necessarily the advisor) as their mentor, based on such factors as teaching expertise, subject area, and compatibility. As part of this experience, students observe their mentor teaching, and the mentor observes and evaluates the TA in the classroom. Feedback is an important aspect of the experience. Mentors critique teaching performance and make suggestions for improvement. The minimum mentor contact is two classroom observations, each preceded and followed by a meeting (approximately 6 hours total). We encourage additional mentor-protege contact.


3. In-class teaching experience
   With the collaboration of the faculty mentor and teaching consultant, students prepare for and teach a minimum of three 50-minute class sessions of an existing course as a TA or apprentice teacher. The faculty mentor observes a minimum of two classes, and the teaching consultant observes one class. Both the mentor and consultant provide constructive feedback after each session.


4. Teaching portfolio
   Students must create a teaching portfolio to document and reflect upon their experience as a teacher. A portfolio contains both primary material (documents produced in the course of teaching, such as the syllabus) and secondary material (documents produced in reflection on teaching, such as SET scores). Some portfolio suggestions include syllabi, student evaluations, class materials, and teaching workshop certificates. Teaching portfolios are excellent marketing tools for students on the job market.