What is the Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching?


The Office of the Provost confers a university-wide Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching at the annual spring Celebration of Teaching Excellence. Up to four $500 awards will be presented each year: two in the category of Instructor of Record and two in the category of Teaching Assistant.

The purpose of the award is to promote and reward teaching effectiveness by current graduate students and to provide award nominees with training on how to present evidence of teaching excellence. As such, nominees are evaluated based on a dossier that assists students in preparing for the academic job market. The dossier is composed of elements that provide evidence of effective teaching.

Selection Criteria

Specific details about the criteria for each award category (Instructor of Record and Teaching Assistant) will be provided to all nominees during their initial consultation with CTE. In general, award dossiers will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Preparation and organization, clear communication of course content, engagement of students in learning, approachability and availability to students, feedback on learning, and fairness in grading.
Participation in programming centered on learning and developing teaching excellence. This can range from participating in workshops, attending professional development/teaching conferences, and leadership roles related to teaching and learning in your field.
Reflect and demonstrate growth by applying faculty, supervisor, peer, and student feedback and by incorporating knowledge gained from department, school, and University professional development opportunities.
  

Eligibility

An eligible nominee must 

  • be a current graduate student at Duquesne University 
  • not hold a full-time teaching appointment at Duquesne University
  • have served as a teaching assistant (TA) or instructor of record for at least two semesters at Duquesne University (this can include summer semester).
  • have served as a TA or instructor of record within a year of the nomination 
    •  an instructor of record will be defined as the official instructor of the course, listed in the registrar and named on SES/SPOT evaluation forms
    • a teaching assistant will be defined as a graduate student participating in significant teaching responsibilities including, but not limited to, lab instruction, recitation leader, conducting office hours, guest lecturing on multiple occasions, tutoring, etc.
  • participate in a Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) training program on presenting evidence of excellence in teaching and submit the resulting teaching portfolio by January 27,  2025.

Note: A graduate student who is nominated, but does not win, is eligible to be nominated again in subsequent years. Graduate students who apply for and win either award are not eligible for re-nomination for either award.

 

Award Process

The award process was established through careful deliberation of the Provost, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and representative deans, faculty, and TAs. Our goals are to establish an award that has value and recognizes quality teaching, to provide training to TAs on how to submit a teaching award dossier, and to be equitable and open in our award process. 

Each department chair is responsible for seeing that appropriate nominations are submitted as a single PDF by to Dr. Erin Rentschler. Nominations are due by Wednesday, October 9, 2024. 

Graduate students' nominations will be based on their roles within their departments or programs. They will be nominated either as a Teaching Assistant  or as an Instructor of Record (see definitions above). Nominations must be made by a faculty member within the graduate student's academic department.

The Nomination Form (Box Document) is to be completed by the chair or a faculty mentor from the graduate student's own academic department, and must be signed by both the chair and dean. No other form will be considered.

The number of official nominations for each category (Teaching Assistant or Instructor of Record) is to be determined by each school. The university-wide award guidelines do not limit these, but nominees must meet the eligibility and selection criteria outlined above. All official nominees who complete the training process and submit an award dossier will receive recognition. Up to four people will receive awards, with two potential winners in each category.

A graduate student who is nominated, but does not win, is eligible to be nominated again in subsequent years. Graduate students who apply for and win either award are not eligible for re-nomination for either award.

Upon receipt of the nomination letter from the department, CTE will invite the nominee to a consultation in order to learn how to prepare a teaching portfolio that documents the nominee's teaching successes and demonstrates how they meet the selection criteria. 

Each award portfolio will contain materials demonstrating excellence in teaching that align with the nominee's role and the award criteria. Details about the criteria for each category of the award will be made available to all nominees during their initial consultation with CTE.

The Award Committee will evaluate all submitted dossiers and choose the winners. Winners will be announced in Spring 2025.
All graduate students who are officially nominated and who complete and submit a dossier by 4pm on January 27, 2025 will receive an award certificate, a book on college teaching, and a letter describing the process in which they participated.
The winners will receive $500, a certificate and a book on college teaching. The awards will be conferred by the Office of the Provost at the annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence. 
  • Nomination letters are due to CTE on October 9, 2024
  • CTE consultations with nominees, October 2024 - January 2025
  • Dossiers due to CTE by 4pm on January 27, 2025
  • Awards will be conferred at the Annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence

Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching Committee

Committee Chair
Erin Rentschler, Associate Director for Faculty Development, CTE (non-voting)

Advisors
Bethany Kaser, Instructional Consultant for TAs, CTE (non-voting)

Committee Members
The committee will be comprised of graduate students and faculty from across the University. Details forthcoming.