The Graduate School-New Brunswick, in conjunction with the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, has been selected to participate in the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL). The program facilitates collaboration among scholarly organizations and institutions of higher learning to improve undergraduate and graduate education.
Rutgers is one of seven international institutions and academic organizations that will focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning in master’s and doctoral programs, one of a dozen themes in the program. All institutions selected have developed and implemented innovative strategies to strengthen teaching and improve student learning on their campuses.
In addition to the Graduate School–New Brunswick and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching (formerly the Teaching Excellence Center), collaborators on the CASTL project include the Office of Career Services, the Teaching Assistant Program (TAP), and the School of Arts and Sciences. Four faculty fellows who have dedicated time to preparing graduate students for college teaching have been named to assist with the project: Michael Shafer and Lisa Miller of the political science department; Jenny Mandelbaum of the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies; and Angela O’Donnell of the Graduate School of Education. Four graduate student fellows also will be named.
The Carnegie project, an initiative of Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, will enable the graduate school to expand on its work with the Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) to enhance the quality of teaching through the Teaching Assistant Program, which provides professional development opportunities to graduate students through mentoring, classroom-based instruction, and multimedia resources. CAT provides programs on pedagogy and faculty development, assessment programs, instructional and classroom technologies, and faculty and staff information technologies.
The Carnegie project also will offer the university opportunities to explore new initiatives aimed at postdoctoral participants and assistant professors, as well as at experienced faculty.
“We hope to increase the opportunities for graduate students and new assistant professors to explore issues related to teaching, thus enhancing the educational experience for undergraduates as well,” said Barbara Bender, associate dean for academic support and graduate student services at the graduate school.