Teaching Experience

Teaching was a journey of mutual learning with my students. It allowed me to reflect on my lived experiences and impart that wisdom to shape the trajectory of the field for the future.

Karla Armendariz, Ph.D. Student

We encourage all Ph.D. students to gain teaching experience during their time in the program.

This experience can be obtained in a number of ways, including, but not limited to:

Being a teaching assistant for a course with a faculty member in CSD,
Being a teaching assistant for a course with a faculty member in another department,
Teaching a section of an undergraduate course, and
Guest lecturing in a course.

Resources for teaching

FERPA Training: All teaching assistants and instructors of record must complete training on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). An online tutorial is maintained by the University Registrar.

Red Folder Initiative: The Red Folder initiative is a guide to help faculty, staff, student leaders, and others who interact with students to recognize, respond effectively to, and refer Penn State students in distress.

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence: A valuable resource is the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, which frequently provides workshops, programs, and resources in support of good course design, implementation, and assessment, as well as programs tailored to graduate students who help undergraduates learn.

Penn State CIRTL Teaching Certificate: Hone your teaching skills and get connected with learning communities through the Penn State CIRTL teaching certificate.

Graduate Student Online Teaching Certificate Program: The Graduate Student Online Teaching Certificate program is intended to support graduate students who currently have or plan to have online teaching assignments (including teaching assistant assignments) within the next few calendar years.

CSD 602: Supervised Experience in College Teaching: Students can enroll in CSD 602: Supervised Experience in College Teaching while acting as a Teaching Assistant (TA) and/or as the Instructor of Record for a course.

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