Guidelines For Preparing A Seminar

Transcription

1 Guidelines For Preparing A Seminar The following guidelines are to assist qualified graduate students in the preparation and delivery of a successful seminar. The possibility of receiving General Education credit should make the Collegium of University Teaching Fellows seminars more attractive to a wide range of students, who will, in turn, bring a diversity of interests and backgrounds to each seminar. These guidelines include recommendations to achieve GE Governance Committee approval. Additionally, students taking part in the Undergraduate Honors Program will receive credit towards their Honors requirement upon successful completion of the course. Teaching fellows participate in a seminar during Fall quarter that helps them refine their syllabi. The seminar is worth five units. Undergraduate students who enroll are expected to have 12 out-of-class hours per week in addition to the three class hours of student contact, i.e., the seminar. Seminars are intended for undergraduate students only and are specifically targeted to freshmen and sophomores. Seminar content should be related to the graduate student s dissertation research or advanced graduate work. The seminar should require a substantial writing component, i.e., pages for a final paper. In writing assignments it is usually best to provide for a "draft and rewrite" experience so that students can learn how to respond to supportive criticisms and can also experience the distance that usually has to be traveled between a draft and a polished paper. The seminar should provide an active learning format in which students can develop the ability to read critically and conceptually, and therefore to speak and write with discrimination. Assign weekly core readings so that the seminar can focus on topics or documents that all students are prepared to discuss. Pose prompt questions from the readings in order to improve the quality of discussion. Assignment of formal presentations and critical comment may also be a useful strategy for stimulating discussion. The seminar should provide insights into research methodology in the field, as well as an introduction to the meaning and excitement of research. The best results are usually

2 obtained when students are obliged to define a topic for research early in the quarter and report on preliminary results by the fifth or sixth week. Attendance may not be used as a class requirement. The CUTF Program recommends using class participation instead. Limit lectures, guest lectures, field trips, and films so as to insure those weekly discussions are at the heart of the seminar experience. Do not include any prior requirements for the seminar, e.g., knowledge of a second language. Limit the seminar enrollment to about 16 students so as to insure active participation by all members. Consult the General Education Submission Guidelines and Foundation Area GE Credit Guidelines to assist with developing a syllabus:

3 CUTF REQUIREMENTS A teaching fellow is formally advanced to doctoral candidacy, has demonstrated professional maturity and excellence as a scholar and teacher, and has at least two academic years (6 quarters) of UCLA TA experience, or approved teaching experience at a comparable institution. Teaching fellows may provide the entire instruction of a lower division course under the general supervision of the faculty member in charge of the course. In line with these requirements, all CUTF Fellows must have advanced to candidacy by the beginning of Fall quarter in the academic year in which they are planning to teach. For fellows, this means advancement to candidacy must take place by September 21, Graduate student applicants cannot have been awarded a Ph.D. before teaching this seminar. There must be a strong and viable mentoring relationship between the teaching fellow and a faculty member. Each faculty mentor is expected to offer guidance as the fellow designs and teaches the seminar. The department chair should ensure this mentoring relationship takes place. All CUTF fellows are required to attend a seminar during the Fall quarter prior to their seminar offering. There are no exceptions. Experienced academic administrators lead the seminar in Fall. This seminar helps the teaching fellows to refine their syllabi and the conduct of a lower division seminar will be discussed. All CUTF fellows must be enrolled in the quarter that they teach in order to qualify for fee remissions and health insurance. All CUTF seminars are scheduled and offered during the Winter and Spring quarters. CUTF Fellows are appointed as teaching fellows and must therefore satisfy the criteria for that appointment.

4 COLLEGIUM OF UNIVERSITY TEACHING FELLOWS APPLICATION PLEASE TYPE PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS ARE ADVISED TO CONSULT WITH THEIR HOME DEPARTMENT REGARDING THE DEPARTMENTAL DUE DATE ALLOWING FOR SUFFICIENT TIME FOR APPLYING AND RANKING Deadline for submission: Friday, March 13, 2015 NAME OF CANDIDATE: AFFILIATION: EXPECTED DATE OF ADVANCEMENT TO CANDIDACY: Quarter: Winter 16 Spring 16 UCLA College division/department or Professional School (To qualify, applicants must advance by September 21, 2015) PROPOSED SEMINAR TITLE: SEMINAR DESCRIPTION: (40 words or less to be used for course approval forms) SEMINAR OBJECTIVES:

5 Briefly describe how you intend to: (1) introduce students to the area of intellectual endeavor; (2) incorporate an active learning format into the seminar; (3) provide insight into research methodology in the field; and (4) include a substantial writing component in the seminar. For further information, please refer to the Guidelines for Preparing a CUTF Seminar available at Please list and describe any field trips, guest speakers, or other activities which will be incorporated into the seminar. Please describe the relevance of your proposed seminar to your own graduate work. Candidate s name (please print) Signature Faculty Mentor s name (please print) Signature Please submit this form along with a letter of nomination from the department chair, a copy of the candidate s curriculum vitae, a draft syllabus of the proposed course, a sample required reading list and the candidate s brief statement or cover letter to by FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015: Office of Instructional Development CUTF Program Mail Code: