Call for Applications: Graduate Student Teaching Consultants
We are no longer accepting applications.
Are you interested in:
sharing your expertise as a graduate student and teacher to help other instructors better engage and motivate their students?
helping other instructors create more effective learning environments based on evidence-based principles of teaching and learning?
joining a team of trained consultants—undergraduate, graduate, and faculty—committed to improving teaching and learning at UVA?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, then this opportunity may be for you!
The Center for Teaching Excellence is hiring advanced graduate students to serve as teaching consultants. Graduate Student Teaching Consultants (GSTCs) will draw on their unique perspective as student-teachers and learn to communicate this expertise effectively to faculty and other graduate instructors. GSTCs will be trained to consult with UVA instructors in Summer 2024 and serve as consultants throughout the 2024-2025 academic year.
Specific responsibilities include:
Design your own course using evidence-based principles, at the CTE’s Course Design Institute (CDI) (session dates: May 20-24).
Attend a day-long training on Friday, August 23, 9 AM-3 PM. Note that the exact time of the training may shift slightly depending on facilitator and consultant availability.
Conduct classroom observations, Engaging Students’ Perspectives focus groups, and consult individually with instructors, both in person and remotely, during the 2024-2025 academic year (between 2-6 consultations per semester based on your availability and instructor demand; ca. 2.5 hours per consultation).
Attend additional training sessions once per semester with other consultants and program facilitators.
Compensation
Training hours, regular meetings, and consultations will be compensated at $22/hour. (After one year, compensation for experienced consultants increases to $25/hour.)
Required Qualifications
Evidence of teaching effectiveness
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including listening skills
Excellent interpersonal skills, including empathy and compassion
Mature, professional demeanor
Interest in college education
Availability to attend course design and training sessions in Summer 2024
Eligibilty
All full-time UVA graduate students are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to applicants who anticipate being able to remain in the role for more than one year. Since we seek to create a diverse team, applications from students with diverse experiences and backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply.
Applications
We will begin reviewing applications on Wednesday, March 20. The positions will remain open until filled. To apply, please email the following materials (as a single PDF file) to Dorothe Bach (bach@virginia.edu):
A cover letter explaining your interest in the consulting position and highlighting your experiences as a teacher;
A reflective teaching statement of no more than 2 pages;
A curriculum vitae of no more than 2 pages that emphasizes your teaching experiences and any professional development in teaching you’ve completed;
A brief statement describing the total number of hours/week you anticipate working at UVA during the 2024-2025 year, including GTA assignments, RA work, etc. (Barring rare exceptions, UVA stipulates that graduate student hourly wage work must not exceed 20 hours/week).
The purpose of these materials is to provide a holistic accumulation of evidence of your teaching skills, goals, and philosophies, in whatever way you think best presents those. You may tailor these materials to your particular experiences and needs. For instance, if you have course evaluation data or student comments you would like to showcase or reflect on, you may include them in your cover letter or teaching statement. There is no advantage or disadvantage to taking a specific approach; rather we wish to receive a vivid picture of who you are as a teacher and why the positions interests you in whatever way showcases that most clearly.
