The General Education English Program (GEEP) functions best with an engaged, thoughtful group of instructors. Actively engaging in the program can contribute significantly to your experience as a graduate student, to the health of the department as a whole, and also allows you to improve connections to faculty members, enabling potential mentors to know you and your work better. We hope these resources serve to enrich your time here at MTSU.

Requirements for All GTAs

1. Orientation & Curriculum Meetings

Participate in the General Education Orientation in August, as well as the Fall and Spring Curriculum Meetings. GTAs who may teach at any point during the year (fall or spring semesters) must attend this multi-day training event.

2. Reflection Groups

Participate in Reflection Group meetings. These bi-weekly meetings offer a forum for pursuing pedagogical and professional issues of interest to General Education English instructors. These meetings can vary widely, based on the needs and interests of the leaders and members. Individual groups might be more structured (e.g. identify semester topics, divvy meeting leadership up among members, incorporate relevant reading selections, etc), or be entirely unstructured and use the time to decompress and ask advice—or anywhere in between!

Reflection Group Leaders are responsible for finding an hour every other week when all group members can meet (we recommend using when2meet.com), and they will establish the general structure of the meetings. Depending on the needs of the group, the Leader can set an agenda for each meeting. Meetings include individual check-ins, and can additionally feature conversations on. . .

• Assignment sharing/design (Major Assignments/Invention Work)
• Syllabus Review
• Sharing professional documents such as CVs
• Classroom management discussions
• Approaches to grading/ungrading
• Reflecting on, processing, and troubleshooting various teaching hurdles

3. Participate in the Celebration of Student Writing

Each spring, the General Education English Program (GEEP) hosts the Celebration of Student Writing (CSW). The CSW is an opportunity for students—from the first year to the graduate level, across the university—to present their research projects to a live audience and receive real-time, interactive feedback! We strongly encourage instructors to incorporate the CSW as a part of spring courses each year.

Additional Suggestions (helpful, not required)

The following is a list of suggestions and procedures that we encourage (but don’t require) you to pursue in order to eke the most from your MTSU experience.

1. Observe a Colleague’s Classroom

We all benefit from observing each other! Watching other teaching styles often provides creative fodder for improving the observer’s skills, and being observed by colleagues provides opportunity for feedback and suggestions, as well as reviews that can be shared as a part of future job applications, and the McDaniel Teaching Award dossier.

2. Observe a Faculty Member’s Classroom

Observing faculty classrooms is another great opportunity to learn teaching techniques and ideas from our wonderful instructors! At MTSU, we encourage a general culture of collaboration and community-building, and many faculty members are delighted to have GTAs observe and learn from their classes. To do this, individually contact the professor you would like to shadow to get permission and find a good time to visit. This is another great way to develop relationships with faculty mentors.

3. Go to 1-3 Professional Development Opportunities

Professional development is essential for every growing professional, and there are numerous opportunities throughout each semester. Workshops are sponsored by General Education English, the LT&ITC, and the Writing Center, but there are also events such as the Honors Lecture Series and the Peck Research on Writing Symposium. (For those unable to attend, workshops are typically available through digital archives.) We encourage GTAs to attend as many of these growth opportunities as possible! Attending events can expand your scholarly knowledge as well as your understanding of pedagogical practices, which will benefit both you and your students. The job market is growing increasingly competitive, and gaining exposure to varied professional and pedagogical practices will help you become more conversant in the conversations relevant to a productive career in higher education as well as network with colleagues. Plus, this is often a great way to support colleagues as they present their own work!

4. Present Pedagogical Work at a Conference

Another great way to draw from the work of others, develop articulate ideas about your own pedagogy, and practice interacting with and getting feedback from a thoughtful audience is by presenting at pedagogical conferences.

5. Meet with General Education Leadership

Meet with Dr. Christopher Weedman, or Alyson Lynn to discuss your pedagogical and professional challenges, goals, and future plans. This can help facilitate your continued growth and to help them better understand how best to support you.

6. Spend Time in Reflection

Each semester, consider spending some time reflecting on your teaching experiences and articulating to yourself what you think went well and what you would like to adjust in the future. Consider asking yourself:

• What did you learn?
• What was a challenge for you?
• How did you handle the challenges?
• Could any specific professional development further develop your understanding of the curriculum or your teacher identity?
• What do you want to learn more about, and how might you answer those questions?

This would be great information to share with colleagues and the administration, and has potential to foster growth both individually and as a program!

For further information or if you have any questions, please email any of the Gen Ed English Team Staff!