Through its core courses – Teaching in Higher Education followed by a Practicum course – the Preparing Future Faculty program provides a teaching and learning forum in which participants engage with a multidisciplinary, cross-cultural mix of masters students, doctoral candidates, and post-doctoral fellows. Participants discuss learning theory and strategies, develop teaching skills, create classroom and job search materials, and work with faculty from a range of institutional types.
The Preparing Future Faculty Retreat gives graduate students and post-docs an overview of Preparing Future Faculty classes. While a session on interactive teaching touches on the issues raised in GRAD 8101, participants get a preview of GRAD 8102 with a workshop on preparing for the academic job search and a panel of faculty members from neighboring colleges and universities. The retreat is held in mid-January and mid-May.
The International Teaching Assistant Program provides nonnative English speaking students with an opportunity to sharpen their use of discipline-specific English, master a variety of teaching and presentation strategies, and engage in meaningful analyses of the culture of teaching and learning at the University of Minnesota.
The Virtual Commons meshes three critical aspects to help you succeed in your graduate studies:
- newly created electronic documents focused on academic and professional development for University of Minnesota graduate and professional students as well as postdoctoral fellows;
- a concise, listing of campus resources offering programs, workshops, and other support for postgraduate students; and
- a "live" component - face-to-face meetings with an advisor to help assess and track your academic progress.
Additional Resources
Virtual Commons
The Virtual Commons brings together: (1) University of Minnesota specific documents focused on academic and professional development for graduate and professional students as well as postdoctoral fellows; and (2) a concise listing of related campus resources.
z.umn.edu/virtualcommons TA Teaching Resources
Teaching Resources for all types of teaching situations from giving a
lecture, designing a
grading system and teaching
inclusively, as well as resources specifically for
TAs can be found
here.
What Every TA Should Know
As a TA, are you aware of how FERPA directly affects your work? What should you do if you catch students who are cheating? How should you handle grade disputes? To learn more about these issues, you can take a 45 minute online course that will provide an overview of the policies and procedures the TAs should know before they start teaching. Please send an email to
teachlrn@umn.edu for more information.