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Career Development & Exploration

Minor in College Teaching Program

Approximately 93% of all colleges and universities in the United States are institutions in which teaching and professional service are emphasized as much as or more than research. The Minor in College Teaching (MICT), available to all MU graduate degree-seeking students, helps prepare students to be effective educators.

MICT requires 9 credit hours, including a 3-hour core course, 3-6 elective hours, and a teaching practicum.

What the minor can do for you:

  • Gain meaningful experience through a mentored teaching practicum
  • Increase your knowledge about learning and pedagogy
  • Engage in careful reflection about your own teaching philosophy and strategies
  • Extend your understanding of current issues in higher education

Eligibility

The minor in college teaching is available to all master’s and doctoral students at the University of Missouri.

Application

Before taking courses, submit an application (pdf) that includes a list of courses you plan to take and your advisor’s signature.

Plan of study

  • The minor in college teaching (MICT) requires 9 credit hours. This includes a 3-hour core course,  3-6 elective hours, and a teaching practicum. Please review core course options, practicum guidelines, and elective course options.
  • Learn about the application procedure before in your coursework.
  • Students must submit a program completion form (pdf), along with the teaching portfolio, to the MICT program in the Graduate School, 210 Jesse Hall.  Following a review of the portfolio, students will be asked to schedule a brief meeting with the minor coordinator.

Learn more about completion requirements for graduate minors.

Core courses (required minimum of 3 credit hours)

Students must complete one of the following core courses:

  • College Teaching (Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, ED LPA 9448)
  • College Teaching of Agriculture (Agricultural Education, AG ED 8350)
  • College Science Teaching (Biological Sciences, BIO SCI 8724; cross-referenced as Curriculum & Instruction, CI 8724)

Elective courses (total of 3-6 elective hours)

  • Students must complete a teaching practicum. The practicum may be arranged through a graduate course if offered by the department. Enrollment in practicum credit hours is reflected on each student’s official MU transcript.
  • Examples of 6 elective credit hours include enrollment and successful completion of:
    • 3-credit-hour practicum plus 3 hours of approved elective coursework or
    • 6 credit hours of approved elective coursework.
  • The 6-hour requirement is a minimum; students may complete additional elective hours if desired.
  • It is highly recommended that students enroll in The Professoriate (Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis 9456), but it not a requirement.

Teaching with technology elective courses offered

  1. College Teaching with Technology I (IS LT 7822)
  2. College Teaching with Technology II (IS LT 7823) Prerequisite: IS LT 7822

Disciplinary teaching elective courses offered

  • Agricultural Education
    • AG ED 8330 Advanced Methods of Teaching Agriculture
    • AG ED 8350 College Teaching of Agriculture
  • Animal Science
    • AN SCI 8725 Science outreach: Public Understanding of Science
  • Biological Sciences
    • BIO SC 8725 Science outreach: Public Understanding of Science
  • Learning, Teaching & Curriculum
    • LTC V 7810 Technology and Industry Education Methods
    • LTC V 7830 Curriculum Content in Marketing Education
    • LTC V 7840 Methods of Teaching Marketing Education
    • LTC 8712: Inquiry and the Science Curriculum
    • LTC 8900 Seminar in Curriculum and Instruction (same as Bio Sc 8725)
  • Classics
    • CLASS 7700 Advanced Study in the Teaching of the Classic
  • Educational Counseling Psychology
    • ESC PS 7100 Foundations of Educational Psychology
    • ESC PS 7115 Human Learning
    • ESC PS 8320 Advanced Human Learning
    • ESC PS 8350 Applications of Human Learning Principles
  • Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis
    • ED LPA 9440 Race, Gender, and Ethnicity in Higher Education
    • ED LPA 9441 The Adult Learner
    • ED LPA 9442 Curriculum Philosophy and Development in Higher Education
    • ED LPA 9447 College Student Culture and Environment
    • ED LPA 9449 History of Higher and Continuing Education in the United States
    • ED LPA 9455 The Community College
    • ED LPA 9456 The Professoriate
    • ED LPA 9459 Comparative and International Education
  • English
    • ENGLISH 7650 Principles of Teaching English as a Second Language
  • Information Science & Learning Technologies
    • IS LT 9471 Instructional Systems Design
  • Nursing
    • NURSE 8850 Teaching Nursing
    • NURSE 8852 Curriculum Development and Teaching Strategies
  • Philosophy
    • PHIL 8210 Teaching of Philosophy
    • PHIL 8220 Teaching of Philosophy II
  • Physics & Astronomy
    • PHYSCS 8040 Study of Techniques of Teaching College Physics
    • PHYSCS 8350 Science outreach: Public Understanding of Science
  • Psychological Sciences
    • PSYCH 9150 Human Learning and Memory
  • Romance Languages
    • RM LAN 7120 Foreign Language Teaching Methodology
  • Special Education
    • SPC ED 7375 Cross-Categorical Special Education

Teaching Practicum

The minor in college teaching requires the completion of a teaching practicum. Effective teaching, like any other skill, demands practice and the guidance of skilled faculty members. The teaching practicum allows inexperienced, as well as experienced, teachers to benefit from instructional expertise and faculty mentoring within their own disciplines. The practicum also gives future faculty the opportunity to experiment with new teaching techniques and styles.

The Practicum Can Be Completed:

  • In a faculty member’s course in which the faculty member remains the primary instructor for the course, or
  • In a course for which the graduate student is the primary instructor.

In each case, evidence of in-class instruction and a range of supervisory and reflective experiences must be documented. While flexibility is allowed in meeting this requirement, it must be demonstrated that the practicum experience meets MU’s academic standards for the graduate credits provided.

Students must complete the teaching practicum and teaching portfolio but are not required to officially register for the graduate courses below. Enrollment in practicum credit hours is reflected on one’s official MU transcript.

Practicum Options:

  • Agricultural Education Teaching Practicum (AG ED 8995)
  • Seminar in Communication Education (COMMUN 8220)
  • Internship in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis (EL 9481)
  • Human Development & Family Studies Teaching Practicum (H D FS 9100)
  • Nursing Teaching Practicum (NURSE 8950)
  • Teaching of Philosophy (PHIL8210)
  • Internship: College Teaching in Special Education (SPC ED 9940)
  • Teaching of Psychology Practicum (PSYCH 9910)

Gaining Meaningful Experience

The teaching practicum should be designed to give the student actual teaching experience and developmental feedback. Practicum students should be involved in course planning and implementation as well as the assessment of students and of the course throughout the semester.

Students should perform a variety of instructional roles, including, at a minimum, the independent teaching of a subject unit in the course and regular classroom attendance for a semester. The supervising instructor should approve all assessment instruments developed by the practicum student.

Specific Requirements

Hours of Instruction

  • The teaching practicum should include a minimum of 15 hours of face-to-face instruction. These teaching hours can be divided in many different ways, such as weekly hour-long sessions or several intense weekend workshops.
  • While shorter teaching experiences can be useful, this minimum requirement insures that our students will be in a teaching setting long enough to have a variety of experiences and deal with a range of challenges during the practicum.
  • The 15 hours of instruction time does not include preparation hours.

Supervision by a Faculty Member

  • The teaching practicum must be undertaken with the supervision of a faculty member at MU. The MU faculty member must be the instructor of record in the practicum course in which the practicum student is enrolled. However, an instructor at another institution of higher education can provide additional classroom observation and supervision.
  • Students work with supervisors to design the practicum and receive feedback on all aspects of course design, delivery and assessment.

Number of students

The course being taught by the teaching practicum student must include at least five students.

Number of observations by supervisor

The practicum student must be observed teaching at least two class sessions. The faculty supervisor should conduct these observations. If unable to be present at both, the faculty supervisor can arrange for another faculty member to conduct some number of the observations.

Reflection/self appraisal

The practicum student should complete self-appraisal and course appraisal before the class visit. The appraisal should be the basis for a conference discussion between the student and the supervisor/observer before the class observation.

This appraisal should address:

  • An overview of the class to date.
  • The practicum student’s overall course objectives and teaching philosophy.
  • How well the students in class are prepared and motivated.
  • The physical or environmental factors that may be influencing the class.
  • The teaching approaches being used and reasons for using them.
  • The direct purpose of the observation and particular needs or things to look for.
  • The practicum student’s goals for the class being observed.
  • Class assignments/activities and those that preceded the class.

The supervisor/observer should review the course syllabus carefully before visiting the class.

Observation process

  • The practicum student should inform his/her class before the class visit, explaining the purpose and value of the observation and encourage students to act as natural as possible.
  • The class observation should last the entire class, or at least 50 minutes for a multi-hour class.
  • The supervisor/observer should use the same procedures and observation guidelines for each observation to ensure consistency.
  • The supervisor/observer should comment on student behavior as well as practicum student behavior.

Written and verbal feedback

Based on the observation and pre-observation consultation, and examination of course materials, the supervisor/observer should provide written feedback (download form) and verbal feedback to the practicum student regarding:

  • Communication skills
  • Enthusiasm
  • Clarity of instruction
  • Organization
  • Selection of course and lesson content
  • Appropriateness of course objectives
  • Appropriateness of instructional materials (e.g., readings, use of media)
  • Application of most appropriate methodology for teaching specific content areas
  • Commitment to teaching and concern for student learning
  • Student achievement based on performance on exams and projects

The supervisor/observer should prepare a detailed follow-up report and meet with the practicum student to discuss results of the observation within one week of the classroom visit.

Format of feedback

It is recommended that the supervisor/observer provide feedback following this format:

  • Ask the practicum student to share his/her reactions and thoughts of the class.
  • Review written comments made during and after the observation.
  • Start feedback with positive comments and strengths, then discuss weaknesses and suggestions for improvement.
  • Avoid judgmental statements.
  • Discuss follow-up improvement activities.
  • Schedule additional observations as needed.

Response by Practicum Student

The practicum student should write a reflective analysis of the observation. This should be included in the practicum portfolio.

Capstone Practicum Portfolio

A practicum portfolio, approved by the practicum student’s supervisor and submitted to 210 Jesse Hall, should be used to document successful completion of a teaching practicum. The program completion form (pdf) should also be submitted at that time.  Following a review of the portfolio, students will be asked to schedule a brief meeting to discuss their experience, upcoming opportunities, and future plans with the minor coordinator.

The portfolio should contain:

  • An overall description of the teaching practicum.
  • A philosophy of teaching statement.
  • A copy of the syllabus.
  • A sample lesson plan.
  • Examples of student work.
  • Evaluations by students of the practicum student’s teaching.
  • Pre-observation appraisal reports.
  • Supervisor/observer’s classroom observation reports.
  • Practicum student’s reflective journal.

Contact the advisor

Ashley Siebenaler

Coordinator of Student Services and Records
210 Jesse Hall
573-884-8006

Contact the coordinator

Laura Page

Director of Professional Development and Leadership
205 Jesse Hall
573-882-8629