"Whether the teacher is authoritarian, undisciplined, competent, incompetent, serious, irresponsible, involved, a lover of the people and of life, cold, angry with the world, bureaucratic, excessively rational, or whatever else, he/she w ill not pass through the classroom without leaving his or her mark on the students."
-Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom . 1998

Much of our course work and graduate school preparation focuses on producing knowledge through research. Yet most of us will spend much of our professional energies teaching in the classroom. The Department of Sociology at GSU is committed to providing support for graduate student teachers. Our graduate teacher training program is multi-faceted and comprised of three parts:

1. SOCI 9000 (Teaching Sociology)

This class is intended to help students learn ways to share and generate knowledge through effective teaching and to prepare students for their next teaching assignment. In this graduate seminar students read assigned readings that explore a variety of pedagogies and techniques of teaching sociology at the college level; observe the classrooms of experienced faculty; practice teaching; participate actively in seminar sessions; and prepare materials for their own course (e.g., text selection, sample lectures and discussions, sample class exercises, sample exam questions, and syllabus). By the end of the semester, students should be well prepared to teach a course in sociology. While all college teachers face common challenges in their classroo ms, sociology instructors face challenges that are specific to the nature of our discipline. We discuss these challenges as well. This three-hour course counts as elective credit. It is not required for graduation but is required to teach at GSU. SOCI 900 0 is part of a two-course sequence, paired with SOCI 9001 (Teaching Internship--offered each summer).

2. SOCI 9001 (Teaching Internship)

This graduate internship provides students teaching their own undergraduate courses in the Department of Sociology at Georgia State University with individual observations, videotaping and focused group and individual mentoring sessions. Stud ents enrolled in this course meet weekly to discuss ideas, successes, challenges, and solutions related to their teaching experience, as they apply their understanding of pedagogy and mechanics they learned in SOCI 9000 to their own undergraduate course.< /p>

3. Teaching Associate Program

As part of our graduate teacher training program, each year the Department of Sociology, and the Teaching Committee invite graduate students to apply for a supplemental position in the Department.

The Teaching Associate Program enables selected GTA III's to participate in enhancing, developing and coordinating a variety of teaching improvement programs within the Department.

A Teaching Associate is an experienced GTA III, chosen by the Department's Teaching Committee, who serves as a mentor or small group leader for other teaching assistants in the Department. Teaching Associates develop and run programs that enh ance the Department's graduate teaching training program.

Associates serve for one year (May 2 to May 1) with the right to reapply to continue participation at the end of their tenure. They combine teaching one course each Fall and Spring with their Associate duties, earning the maximum stipend the Department offers to GTA III's each semester. In the Summer, the Associate assists with the SOCI 9001 course and earns the maximum summer stipend the Department offers for their Associate duties. In addition, Associates receive a $1000 additional monetary award.

Why do graduate students participate in the program?

•  Being selected as the Department's Teaching Associate is an honor. Advanced graduate students gain valuable experience as mentors to other graduate student teachers. They also become more familiar with a wide range of pedagogical issues and practical applications of teaching methods by working with their peers and the Center for Teaching and Learning.

•  They receive a supplementary stipend.

•  Being chosen as a Teaching Associate makes a valuable supplement to a graduate student's curriculum vitae. The experience of being a "teacher of teachers" is valued on the job market.

•  Associates are recognized during the departmental awards presentation.

• Submitting an initial proposal to address and help fulfill the needs of graduate teaching assistants in the Department. Teaching Associates then spend their tenure trying to address the needs of graduate student teachers.
• Submitting a final report at the end of their tenure, assessing the current state of the Department's graduate training program. This report is written to the Teaching Committee and serves as a guide for both the Teaching Committee and the incoming Teaching Associate.
• Participating in on-going training through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) (and sharing ideas with the Department)
• Developing and/or organizing departmental support activities for GTAs, which include:
• Observing and videotaping classes with follow-up consultations (required for all GTAs enrolled in SOCI 9001)
• Attending the weekly summer meetings of SOCI 9001
• Holding office hours and being available on campus to advise GTAs
• Offering midterm standardized student evaluation forms/analysis
• Arranging workshops and/or brown bags (departmental)
• Making teaching resources available to GTAs within the Department (including sharing information from workshops at the CTL)
• Assessing the needs of GTAs in the Department and making recommendations to improve GTA training in the Department

The Application Process:

The application is completed by the graduate student and includes:

• Their curriculum vita
• Their statement of teaching philosophy
• Printouts of quantitative student evaluation data for all courses taught
• A compilation of materials representing one course (this would include all quantitative and qualitative evaluations, the syllabus, all assignments, etc. for one particular course) including a narrative statement describing their goals for this particular course (noting how the compiled materials meet their course goals)
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member in the Department
• A proposed description of how they intend to contribute to the Department's graduate teaching training program, if chosen as the Teaching Associate. This may include, but is not limited to, assessing the graduate teaching training program' s needs and suggested goals (2-3 pages). Students are advised to do their best to create an action plan that is as concrete as possible , including specific suggestions.