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Ten for Teaching

Students change, content changes, and new strategies and ideas for how to best support student learning are constantly emerging.  The Ten for Teaching (T4T) is designed to provide any and all Boise State faculty with opportunities to continually develop their knowledge of what kinds of teaching practices best support student learning, while also interacting and sharing ideas with colleagues.

Faculty who are pre-tenure are encouraged to complete T4T before coming up for tenure so that a certificate of completion can be included in one’s tenure review binder.

What are the requirements of the program?

Required Components

Four of the experiences, intended to provide a variety of opportunities for teaching development, are “required”.

Experience 1:  Course Design Institute or workshop

This engages participants in using a “backwards” course design process to plan a new course or redesign an old one.  The focus is on engaging students in significant learning experiences.  [offered in November as a workshop and in May as a weeklong institute].

Experience 2: Digital Fluency for Instructors

At Boise State we define digital fluency as “an evolving aptitude that empowers the individual to effectively and ethically interpret information, discover meaning, design content, construct knowledge, and communicate ideas in a digitally-connected world.” Such an event might be focused on the integration of technology in teaching, use of mobile learning strategies, maximizing the use of Canvas, or other topics. Programs offered by the Boise State eCampus that relate to online teaching and learning, also contribute towards completing the digital fluency requirement. Find the latest professional development opportunities offered on the eCampus website.

Experience 3:  Introduction to Service Learning

Boise State is nationally recognized for its Service-Learning Program.  Service-Learning involves the design of courses to include a student service experience connected in an explicit way to the course content and learning outcomes.  This workshop describes course models, sample syllabi, mini-grants, logistical support, best practices, and consultation services. (Offered each September and January)

Experience 4:  Classroom Observation or Mid-semester Assessment Process (MAP)

The route to excellent teaching is highly individualized.  For this reason, TIP recommends that you take advantage of one of the following customized and confidential opportunities to reflect on your teaching.

  • Classroom Observation:  A CTL consultant can observe instructional practices in any instructional environment. After the visit, the consultant will discuss with the instructor what was observed.  Together, they develop strategies for further experimentation and refinement, and identify areas for ongoing reflection.
  • Mid-semester Assessment Process (MAP):  Conducted at mid-semester (weeks 5-9) a MAP provides student feedback on a course in process.  A CTL consultant meets with students in a class to collect their thoughts about the class, and then meets with the instructor to discuss student responses. Request a MAP here.

Experiences 5-10:

The remaining experiences are left to your discretion so that you can choose events and opportunities which are most relevant to your teaching.  They are generally chosen from the following, but could also involve reading a book or creating a literature bibliography on a particular aspect of teaching and learning.

  • CTL Workshops: It is recommended that you choose topics spread across a wide range of areas.  See a list of the workshop opportunities for the current semester.
  • Off-campus conference or workshop: There are often opportunities to attend off-campus workshops or conferences focused on teaching.  The experience may be general or disciplinary-based, and could be a conference session that is a larger part of a scholarly meeting.
  • Faculty Learning Community: Faculty Learning Communities provide an opportunity to deeply engage with a particular question or teaching issue.  The CTL hosts a variety of FLCs, all designed to stimulate dialogue, reflection and innovation in teaching and foster a sense of community.
  • Teaching Presentation: The CTL offers a variety of ways for instructors to share their innovative teaching strategies with the Boise State community and beyond. Opportunities include presenting/co-presenting a CTL workshop or Teaching and Learning Spotlight, creating a poster for the Great Ideas Symposium poster sessions, or writing a scholarly article.

Teaching Reflection

The second component of T4T is a 1-2 page written reflection on your development as a teacher (or teaching philosophy) and a statement of plans for your ongoing development as a teacher.

Enrollment and Program Completion

Enrollment serves to register your interest in completing the program and allows the CTL to provide you with ongoing support as you complete the program.  You may enroll at any point in time during your teaching at Boise State, and experiences completed before enrollment can serve toward completion of the program. To enroll, please complete this enrollment form.

Completion forms for T4T are found here.  The form will prompt you to provide a list of your ten experiences as well as your teaching reflection statement.  A certificate of completion is signed by the Provost for inclusion in your annual review file.

In the spirit of maximizing your commitment to learning through such programs as BUILD or Ten for Teaching, we ask that you only “double dip” a maximum of 4 experiences between two certificate programs.

Ten for Teaching Forms and Resources

Questions?

Contact Sarah Lausch at sarahlausch@boisestate.edu