Teaching
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Graduate students are educators, and of course, many graduate students choose to pursue careers as educators. MIT supports graduate students as they build their array of teaching skills by emphasizing evidence-based teaching practice and assessment. Visit the Teaching and Learning Lab (TLL) for formal training and a wealth of resources. Explore service and leadership opportunities in various contexts to develop and deepen your skills as an educator.
Faculty Job Search Series (FJSS)
The Faculty Job Search Series (FJSS) supports graduate students and postdocs who are preparing for the faculty job market. The program brings together expertise from around the Institute, including faculty, CAPD, the Writing and Communication Center, the Teaching and Learning Lab, the OGE, and the Engineering Communication Labs.
Build a strong application informed by experts across the Institute via overviews, faculty panels, deep dives, and hands-on-workshops aligned with the timeline of the faculty job search.
MIT Teaching + Learning Lab
MIT’s Teaching + Learning Lab offers many resources for graduate students, including events, workshops, and certificate programs to support professional development in your current and future teaching responsibilities at MIT and beyond.
Attend a Teaching Development Workshop
Earn a Teaching Certificate (2 pathways)
Participate in the TA Days workshop series
Inclusive Teaching Module
This Inclusive Teaching Module is an asynchronous, self-paced, subject-agnostic, online resource for anyone at MIT (Kerberos login required), which was developed initially in the Biology Department.Explore inclusive teaching by articulating the multiple intersecting identities you hold, and reflect upon how identities influence experiences with education. The module critically examines specific teaching practices, which you can then try yourself. The majority of the module includes practice in distinguishing inclusive practices from less inclusive practices through scenario-based assessments with detailed explanations. The online module is capped with an action plan and annotated resources to help participants think through the next steps in their inclusive teaching development.
Teaching through UROPs
Many MIT PhD students choose to mentor an undergraduate student in their UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) project. Serving as a UROP mentor can be an enriching experience and a great way to build skills as an educator. It can even give you a sense of how you might enjoy a career path as an instructor, professor, and/or P.I. Graduate students directly mentor UROP students under the guidance and supervision of their faculty advisors. Talk first with your faculty advisor to make sure the timing is appropriate for UROP mentoring. View curated resources for UROP Mentors here.
PhDs: Suggestions for Every Stage
• Join a TA Workshop with the Teaching and Learning Lab
• Enroll in the MIT Teaching and Learning Lab Kaufman Certificate program.
• Create your own syllabus
• Teach a practice seminar
• Give a lecture
More Teaching Resources and Opportunities
Teaching Development Fellowship Network – leadership opportunity for graduate students interested in improving their teaching while promoting pedagogical development and discussion among their peers
MISTI Global Teaching Labs – teach high school students in other countries over IAPz
Academic wellbeing resources – explore methods that might work for your teaching style through DoingWell’s filterable list of ideas that MIT instructors have used to promote wellbeing and engagement for students.
On November 18-19, 2023 CAPD and the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) successfully organized the 18th annual Path of Professorship program. Path of Professorship is a 2-day workshop for women interested in pursuing academic careers. This revered tradition was created by Blanche …
Applications are now open
We are excited to announce that applications are now open for two new professional development certificate programs for PhDs and postdocs for AY 2023-2024: the Research Mentoring Certificate and the Grant Writing Training Certificate. Applications for …
By Jay Howard
Learn how to structure your course and particular class sessions in ways that will get students actively participating — and will enhance their learning:
Why Discussion Matters
7 Strategies to Change the Norms of Class Discussions
How to Keep …
Sandi Miller | Department of Mathematics | March 30, 2022
Millions have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and for those who are staying, schools are closed. While refugee-supporting programs focus on immediate needs, the Department of Mathematics’ MIT PRIMES program plans to …
Are you a graduate student who considers English to be your second (or third, or fourth…) language? Join the ESL TA Peer Mentoring Program.
The program is open to all ESL grad students, whether you are an experienced teacher who …