The SDSU Graduate School is pleased to announce the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, in recognition of graduate students who exemplify excellence in the teaching/learning mission of SDSU. The purpose of this award is to raise the attention given to excellence in teaching and mentoring as a component of graduate education and the preparation of graduate students for future service as college and university faculty.
The SDSU Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award competition is open to all graduate students who have graduate teaching assistantships and are actively enrolled students. Nominations must include a letter of support from the department head, a current curriculum vitae, the nominee’s teaching portfolio, which includes: statement of teaching philosophy, evidence of instructional design for improved student learning, video clip of “teaching in action", evidence of effective student/colleague mentoring and evidence of professional development. Nominations are limited to six pages double spaced excluding the nomination form, letter of nomination and curriculum vitae.
Primary consideration will be given to nominees with an excellent teaching portfolio and student evaluations. Nominations must be submitted electronically before 11:59 p.m., Dec. 6, 2024.
Evaluation Criteria
- Letter of support from the nominee’s department head (includes description of any departmental honors awarded to this masters/doctoral student for excellence in teaching).
- Current Curriculum Vitae.
- Nominee’s Teaching Portfolio (maximum of six pages double spaced):
- Statement of Teaching Philosophy and Practice[25 points] Share your teaching philosophy by describing your understanding of how people learn, and how that understanding, in turn, informs what you value most as an instructor and the way you approach teaching. This explanation could include your fundamental understanding of the purpose of education, the nature of learning, and/or your role as a teacher in facilitating that learning. Please describe the instructional strategies and evidence-based practices that you utilize to support your teaching philosophy.
- Course Design [25 points] Connecting course design to your teaching philosophy and practices, describe how you have approached instructional design in one of your courses. Focus on the main elements of instructional design (e.g. objectives, course organization, content and format, learning activities, interaction, assessments) and provide examples from your course along with your rationale for adopting them.
- Video clip of “Teaching in Action” and Description (10 minute maximum/electronic link provided)[25 points] Provide a link to a 10-minute video clip from a collegiate-level course that demonstrates your teaching in action along with a one-paragraph description explaining how this video is representative of your teaching philosophy and practices. A variety of teaching settings may be used for the video including but not limited to lecture, facilitated discussion, lab, etc. as appropriate to the course. The focus should be on activities that demonstrate exceptional or innovative instruction or student learning, such as student engagement, personalized learning, project-based learning, etc. For asynchronous online courses, a video presentation by the instructor of key engaged learning activities, or learning environments, would be an example of good evidence.
- Evidence of Effective Student/Colleague Mentoring[10 points] Describe your experience with mentoring students outside of the classroom, whether that be related to the courses you teach or in other settings. Additionally, discuss any experience you have with mentoring your peers or colleagues in the context of teaching.
- Evidence of Professional Development [15 points] Explain how you have used professional development opportunities to improve your teaching skills. If appropriate, how have you aligned professional development with the feedback you have received on your teaching?
Please Note:
Excluding nomination form, letters of nomination and vitae, the nomination (teaching portfolio) is limited to six pages double spaced. Applications which do not adhere to submission requirements; including deadlines, page limits and video length, will not be considered.
The SDSU Excellence in Teaching Award criteria is based on the MAGS Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching Award criteria.