Authentic Teaching Tasks
Teaching task requirements
Participants in the AT program must submit six authentic teaching tasks to complete the program. Each task is associated with a respective workshop.
| Workshop | Teaching Task | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Teaching Resources | Campus Resource Visit & Reflection | Yes |
| Course Design | Annotated Bibliography of SoTL Journal Articles | Yes |
| Syllabus Design | Syllabus Draft | Yes |
| Reflective Teaching in Practice | Teaching Philosophy Statement | Yes |
| Assessment and Grading | Grading Rubric Design | Optional |
| Effective Classroom Interaction | Classroom Observation and Annotated Bibliography of Teaching Techniques | Optional |
| Inclusive Pedagogy Elective | Inclusive Pedagogy Project | Optional |
| Technology Elective | Technology Project | Optional |
| Other Elective (or Book Club) | Reflection Paper or Recorded Teaching Consultation | Optional |
For each task, you must submit the proper documentation via email to atprogram@georgetown.edu. Click on the hyperlinked instructions for each teaching task listed below.
- Campus Resource Visit & Reflection (Introduction to Teaching Resources)
- Syllabus Draft (Syllabus Design)
- Teaching Philosophy Statement (Reflective Teaching in Practice)
- Annotated Bibliography of SoTL Journal Articles (Course Design)
In addition, you must complete 2 assignments from the list below. Please note that you may only submit one General Reflection on an Elective Workshop for credit. Even though two elective workshops are required for program completion, we will only accept one General Reflection elective task. Your two elective tasks must be different.
- Classroom Observation and Annotated Bibliography of Teaching Techniques (Effective Classroom Interaction)
- Assessment and Rubric Design (Assessment and Grading)
- Technology Project (Technology Elective)
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement (Inclusive Pedagogy Elective)
- Recorded Teaching Session
- General Reflection on any Elective Workshop
Completing the six authentic teaching tasks takes time and organization. We have found that participants who wait until their final semester to begin these tasks find it difficult to complete them. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to develop a teaching task completion plan at least a full year before your anticipated graduation date. If you joined the AT Program before Fall 2019, please contact us about your teaching task requirements.
Deadlines for graduating participants
If you are graduating, please be sure you’ve informed us of your graduation date and make every effort to submit materials well in advance of your graduation date and no later than the CNDLS review deadline below.
- The Fall Semester deadline is the Friday before the week of Thanksgiving
- The Spring Semester deadline is the Friday after Spring Break
These deadlines are only for participants who are graduating in December or May respectively; they ensure that we have time to review and solicit revisions when necessary prior to a participant’s graduation. If you do not plan to graduate during the current semester, then the semester submission deadlines do not apply to you.
Frequently asked questions
How do I accomplish all of the teaching tasks?
Please refer to the teaching tasks portion of our website for details on the requirements we ask you to meet. We strongly recommend that you begin work on your teaching tasks before your final semester. For graduating participants, the deadline for teaching task completion is before Thanksgiving Break in the fall and just after Spring Break in the spring semester. You will need to complete your teaching tasks before the deadline of the semester you will be graduating.
How should I go about asking a faculty member to review my authentic teaching tasks or let me observe their teaching?
Many people ask faculty members with whom they have close working relationships to review their teaching tasks. If at all possible, we recommend that you ask a faculty member who knows you and your goals. But if you feel you don't have anyone to ask, we can try to help set you up with a faculty member in your department who is open to reviewing teaching tasks for the AT Program.
Can I observe a graduate student teaching for my classroom observation?
Unfortunately, no—we'd ask you instead to observe a regular faculty member. If you would like to observe a professor from a Consortium school, please let us know ahead of time to approve your choice.
If the course I want to observe is a three-hour-long course, do I still need to observe three sessions?
We find it important that you observe the professor and class dynamic on several different days. Therefore, if the class you're observing is a once-a-week class that meets for several hours at a time, we would encourage you to attend at least 2 of the class periods. You need not observe the entire session if you have an opportunity to leave early discreetly and have discussed your plans with the professor you are observing. In all, you should aim to have three hours or more of observations that take place over at least two class periods.
Any further guidelines on completing the videotaped teaching task?
The most important thing is that you try to create a teaching situation that comes as close to a traditional classroom as you can. It's important that there be some interactivity during the session, which should be at least 30 minutes long. Participants are encouraged to check out a camera from Gelardin or work with SCS's videographer. There is a space available for reservation in the Car Barn equipped with cameras and other technology available for use by you to record you videotaped teaching task. Please notify the AT Program at least one week in advance to schedule the use of the room.
