Master Teacher Program @ GGC

Program Overview The Master Teacher Program at Georgia Gwinnett College is a two-year faculty development program designed to provide a structure within which teachers can meet and examine current instructional practices that can impact their classroom. In that sense, this program typifies the aim of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL): scholarship undertaken in the name of change, with one measure of its success being its impact on thought and practice. The goals of this program are to: cultivate a teaching community in which teaching practices are examined; identify a range of strategies for teaching for the success of all students in the classroom; conduct a self-examination of teachers learning and teaching styles; and promote a practice of reflection on teaching through required readings and discussions.

Textbook and Readings The required textbook, Teaching At Its Best (3rd ed.) by Linda Nilson is provided to every participant. Other required and suggested readings will be available through the MTPs Moodle website for all participants. Program Requirements MTP has the following activities to fulfill participation requirements: Attendance at 8 monthly meetings (Level 1, one academic year) Attendance at 8 monthly meetings (Level 2, one academic year) Reflection Papers based upon monthly meetings (1 2 paragraphs due at each meeting) Classroom Research Project or Literature Review (due near end of second year) Additional activities such as completing a teaching and learning survey and applying a classroom assessment technique

Attendance Participants are expected to attend the monthly discussion sessions, which will be scheduled at multiple times to accommodate various schedules. If participants are unable to attend a discussion, they will be required to submit the required reflection paper and any assignments due to the CTE Director.

Readings and Reflection Papers The monthly meetings in the Master Teacher Program are designed to provide an opportunity for participants to discuss the assigned readings, connecting them to their experience of instructional practice. Thus, one critical question that participants should ask themselves about each reading is: What is its meaning for my practice? To arrive at that question, participants may first ask some or all of the following: What in this reading matches or reinforces what I already know or believe? What challenges my ideas or surprises me? What new information interests me? What questions do the readings prompt? What other reactions do I experience to this reading?1 During the monthly meetings, discussions should lead participants to appreciate the value of various instructional strategies in enlivening their classroom and promoting student engagement. The reflection papers should be 1 -2 paragraphs in length and submitted as an assignment through the online course. Participants may elect to bring a copy to class for reference purposes. Classroom Research Project/Literature Review Participants may select either a classroom research paper or a literature review paper. While it is acceptable to use the paper for publication or for a conference, a previously published, or conference, paper should not be submitted to fulfill the requirements of the program. Topics should be reviewed and approved by the CTE Director. Classroom research papers should focus on some aspect of teaching or student engagement that will impact student learning. Classroom research is learner-centered, teacher-directed, and context-specific. Participation in the Master Teacher Program provides participants the opportunity to assess an issue that matters to student learning, based on course requirements and classroom activities. As described by Pat Hutchings (2000):
In contrast to research done by a third party, examining the practice of others, this is work in the first person, undertaken by faculty looking at their own practice (and sometimes the
1

Appreciation to Dr. Mark Evans, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, U.S. Military Academy at West Point for sharing these key questions and other materials from that institutions Master Teacher Program.

practice of colleagues with whom they teach or share curricular responsibility). Its not just about ones teaching; it is an element within teaching, hard to separate out.2

Participants also have the option of conducting and writing a literature review addressing a teaching and learning topic, in lieu of the research project. Literature reviews should focus on a specific topic area within teaching and learning, and may potentially be submitted for inclusion in the POD/NTLF Teaching and Learning online resource center and/or other learning repositories. To that extent, literature reviews should follow a specific format (see requirements in the online course) and topics should be approved by the CTE Director. Additional Activities
Due dates for the following activities are found on the program schedule in this document and in the online course. 1. Activity #1 Learning & Teaching Style Surveys. In the online course, a link is provided

to the survey tools. Participants are required to take both surveys and submit the results. 2. Activity #2 Results of CAT. During Level 1 of the MTP, participants are required to try at least one new Classroom Assessment Technique. They are to write up a brief description of what CAT was used, an overview of the results, and an interpretation of the results. 3. Activity #3 Possible Project Titles. Participants are required to write a list of possible MTP Projects that they are considering. 4. Activity #4 Final Project Topic. Participants are required to submit an MTP Project topic.

Hutchings, P. (2000) Opening Lines: Approaches to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Program Schedule: MTP Year One

Links to articles available on Moodle online course site *TAIB = Teaching At Its Best

Level 1
Fall 1

Topic
Understanding Your Students & How They Learn Motivation

Readings
TAIB, 3-15 Ch. 1 How People Learn: From Speculation to Science TAIB, 51-59 Beyond Lecturing The Secret to Raising Smart Kids Encouraging Student Motivation To Learn General Principles of Motivation Tools for Teaching: Motivating Students

Activities

Fall 2

Fall 3

Learning Preferences

TAIB, 229-237 Teaching to All Types Learning Styles & Strategies Learning Style Survey TAIB 113-136 Enhancing Your Teaching Effectiveness Evaluating Your Own Teaching Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education TAIB, 273 280 What is Classroom Assessment? Angelo and Cross on Classroom Assessment Malcolm Gladwell: Most Likely to Succeed

Complete two online surveys: Teaching Styles and Learning Styles

Fall 4

Teaching Pedagogy

Spring 1

Classroom Research & Assessment

Spring 2

Grading Practices & Academic Ethics

TAIB, 301-314 TAIB, 83-88 Tools for Teaching: Preventing Academic Dishonesty Tools for Teaching: Grading Practices TAIB, 295-300 Tools for Teaching: Allaying Student Anxieties Tools for Teaching: Quizzes, Tests, and Exams Parker Palmer on Good Teaching Improving Teaching through Conversation & Community

Spring 3

Testing

Report on Classroom Assessment used in class

Spring 4

Reflections on Teaching

Program Schedule: MTP Year Two

Links to articles available on Moodle online course site *TAIB = Teaching At Its Best

Level 2
Fall 1 Teaching Tools & Questioning Active Learning & Group Activities
TAIB, 103 - 112 TAIB, 137 - 114 TAIB, 145-154 ERIC Digest--Creating Excitement in the Classroom TAIB 253-269 TAIB, 211-222 TAIB, 239-252

Possible Project Topics

Fall 2

Fall 3 Fall 4

Teaching with Technology Getting Students to Do the Reading and Using Visuals to Teach Thinking & Writing in Your Discipline Course Design

Final Project Topics

Spring 1 Spring 2

TAIB, 167-172 TAIB, 223-228 TAIB, 17-42 Dick and Carey Model Planning Your Course TAIB, 193 - 198 The Critical Importance of Retrieval for Learning Cognitive Psychology & College Level Pedagogy: Two Siblings That Rarely Talk

Spring 3

Cognitive Psychology & The Science of Learning

Spring 4

Intelligence in the Classroom

Malcolm Gladwell: How Do We Hire When We

Cant Tell Whos Right for the Job? Whats wrong with Vocational School? Aztecs vs. Greeks

MTP Project Due