Charlotte Ure

Graduate Certificate in College Teaching (CCT)

The University Graduate Certification in College Teaching Program (CCT) is an initiative by the Michigan State University Graduate Schools, in partnership with MSU colleges, including the College of Natural Science. It is designed to help graduate and postdoctoral students with a passion for teaching to develop and document their teaching experience.

Requirements for the CCT

To successfully complete the Certifiation in College Teaching, the graduate student or postdoc has to demonstrate achievements in five core competencies. Those are:

• Developing Disciplinare-Related Teaching Strategies.
  This competency can be fulfilled by completing a course on teaching and learning in postsecundary education.
• Creating Effective Learning Environments.
  This competency can be fulfilled through a workshop or seminar.
• Incorporating Technology.
  This competency can be fulfilled through a workshop or seminar.
• Understanding the University Context.
  This competency can be fulfilled through a workshop or seminar.
• Assessing Student Learning.
  This competency includes attendance at a workshop or seminar and the design and assessmentof a mentored teaching experience.

The courses and workshops on teaching and learning that I attended to master these competencies can be found here.

In addition to mastering the competencies themselves, the student or postdoc needs to write a teaching philosophy statement and develop a teaching portfolio to demonstrate achievement of the five competencies.