Engineering Education

Other Aspects of the GTF Program

It is expected that there would be 1-2 programmatic activities provided during each academic semester that would be designed to enrich the overall GTF experience for the Fellows. Examples of such experiences would include luncheon meetings that included informational programs on teaching and learning, development of research and scholarly dissemination skills, exposure to outreach programs, how-to sessions for pursuing faculty positions and ultimately having a successful interview, etc.

Other examples of enrichment programs might include having a special two-day “active learning” experience by a national figure such as Dr. Richard Felder, a retreat experience provided for GTF program participants and their mentors, etc. One goal of such activities would be to build better relationship across the Fellows and enhance the concept of a true “learning community”. Program evaluations indicate that the centrally coordinated nature of the freshman courses taught by first-year GTFs facilitate community, but that additional activities are needed for second and third year GTFs. These activities are currently being planned.