The non-credit reflective practicum is individually designed by each student. The student secures a Teaching Assistantship or Adjunct appointment (e.g. as TA lecturer/recitation leader, instructor of record, Writing Center tutor, or lab leader), identifies a practicum mentor withh whom they will meet regularly throughout their teaching experience, and engages in reflection on that experience with the support of their mentor. Practicum mentors are usually not the same person the student TA's for, or who assigned the teaching appointment.
Goals
The primary goals of the Reflective Practicum are
- for students to reflect on their teaching experience, including its relationship to the seminar, with an experienced mentor and
- for students to examine selected aspects of their teaching through reflective writing.
Registration
Click here to access the registration form for the Teaching in Higher Education Certificate practicum. You must be registered and participating in the Reflective Practicum by the end of the first week of classes.
Requirements
While there is some flexibility, the practicum must include three key components: (1) Teaching, (2) Mentor Meetings, (3) a Reflective Journal.
- Teaching with a TA or adjunct appointment
You could be instructor of record, or a discussion section or lab leader. We also accept TA appointments through the Student Success Center. Although grading is an important aspect of teaching, direct student interaction is essential to the reflective practicum. If you cannot secure a TA appointment, or if your appointment is limited to grading, but you still want to complete the certificate, contact the CAT (thec@temple.edu) about potential options. Students must secure their own teaching appointment.
- Mentor Meetings
Reflect on your teaching experience through ongoing dialogue in bi-weekly meetings with disciplinary mentor. It is the student's responsibility to contact possible Reflective Practicum mentors and make arrangements to meet with them once every two weeks for discussion.
Recommended Mentors
We recommend that you invite someone from the list of recommended mentors to serve as your mentor for the Reflective Practicum. The faculty members on this list are all knowledgeable about the Teaching in Higher Education Curriculum and are open to serving as practicum mentors. If there is not a suitable mentor on the list, you would like to have a particular individual not on the list serve as your mentor, or the individual you wish to work with is not available, please contact thec@temple.edu for support.
Guidelines and Log
Please read the Reflective Practicum: Guidelines for Mentorship and share it with your mentor. We ask you and your mentor to fill out the Mentor Meeting Log (click here to access a Word doc version of the mentor log) providing the dates met and signatures. Again, you must meet once every two weeks (at least 7 times during the semester).
- Reflective Journal
As part of the reflective practicum you will be required to keep a reflective journal where you write about a recent event in your teaching experience, for example, an event that made you feel satisfied or frustrated, proud or angry, successful or unsuccessful. In the entry, we ask that you reflect on the experience and what it means to you as a teacher. You should also draw upon what you learned at the Teaching in Higher Education Seminar. You are encouraged to use these journal entries as a springboard for discussion when you meet with your mentor. You should discuss with your mentor specific requirements for the reflective journal such as word count, frequency of entries, and how your mentor would like them submitted (email, Canvas etc.)
