Program for the Professionalization of
International Graduate Teaching Assistants (PITA)

The Program for the Professionalization of International Graduate Teaching Assistants is a one-year pilot mentoring program that pairs each novice IGTA with a faculty mentor outside of his/her department. CTE is beginning implementation of PITA during the 2006-2007 year, and proposed requirements include regular meetings between mentor and mentee, group meetings, class observations, and

reflective writing. This one-on-one mentoring addresses IGTAs as individuals with individualized needs in and approaches to teaching and learning. Upon completion of the program, IGTAs will receive CTE documentation. IGTAs of all teaching levels may apply. For more information, please contact the PITA Coordinator or call (301) 405-9356.

University Teaching and
Learning Program

The University Teaching and Learning Program (UTLP) is an elite cohort of graduate teaching assistants who come together informally to discuss aspects of teaching and learning, engage in mentoring relationships, and create their teaching portfolios. UTLPers have a common commitment to improving undergraduate education and an eagerness to make their classes the best that they can be.

Supported by the Office of the Provost, UTLP is administered by the Center for Teaching Excellence and coordinated by Peggy Jerome Stuart, a graduate student from the department of Education Policy and Leadership. For more information about the UTLP, contact her at lehnguth@umd.edu.

WORK WITH A CTE FACULTY TEACHING CONSULTANT!

The Faculty Teaching Consultation Division is designed to help provide support for campus instructors who would like to improve their teaching. Teachers work one-on-one with a Faculty Teaching Consultant, based on their own goals. The requesting teacher determines the issues to be explored, and the consultant provides an outside perspective, peer support for a plan of action, and suggestions for additional resources.

Consultations can address any number of areas, including, among other issues, assessment, active learning, collaborative learning, lecturing, instructional technology, syllabus construction, rubrics for grading, and scholarship in teaching and learning.

Any faculty member who teaches for the University of Maryland at College Park can request a teaching consultation, and they are completely confidential. For more information, contact the Center for Teaching Excellence at 301-405-9356 or via email cte@umd.edu.