Online Orientation for International Graduate Students and Teaching & Language Evaluations

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• Online Orientation for International Graduate Students
• ITA Teaching & Language Evaluations
  • Format of Teaching & Language Evaluations
  • Schedule of Teaching & Language Evaluations

Online Orientation for International Graduate Students

The Center for Teaching has developed an online orientation for international graduate students. This online orientation covers two topics: 1) teaching in the U.S. classroom and 2) the process of the teaching & language evaluations.

All incoming international graduate students who will serve as teaching assistants at some point during their Vanderbilt career must complete the online orientation by Monday, August 9th, 2010 .

ITA Teaching & Language Evaluations

Most first-year international graduate students will participate in teaching & language evaluations that will determine whether or not they will have to take an English language course or the teaching practicum course while at Vanderbilt.

International graduate students whose first language is English or who have completed a baccalaureate degree at a North American institution need not participate in the teaching & language evaluations, but must complete the online orientation. 

All other international graduate students must participate in the teaching & language evaluations on Tuesday, August 17, 2010. Please make appropriate visa and travel arrangements to arrive on campus in time to attend the language evaluations on August 17.

Format of Teaching & Language Evaluations

Teaching & language evaluations are conducted by a Center for Teaching (CFT) staff member, an English Language Center (ELC) staff member and a departmental representative, and have three parts:

1) Teaching demonstration – Students prepare a five-minute lesson on an introductory topic in their field of study. Evaluators may interrupt to ask questions about the lesson. Evaluators will end the lesson after five minutes.

2) Discussion of an assigned topic – Ten minutes before the evaluation starts, students receive a topic and prompt questions. They then prepare for a discussion on the topic by making brief notes about it and organizing their comments. During the discussion with evaluators ITAs may be asked for clarification or elaboration of their comments.

3) Informal conversation – Evaluators engage students in informal conversation in order to assess their interaction skills. Topics may include home country, educational experience, arriving at Vanderbilt, impressions of Nashville, etc.

For more information about these teaching & language evaluations, contact CFT Program Coordinator Melissa Krasnove at 615-322-7292 or via email.

Schedule of Teaching & Language Evaluations

Tuesday, August 17th	8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.	English Language Center (1208 18th Avenue South) Staff will be available to answer questions about teaching & language evaluations.
	9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.	English Language Center (1208 18th Avenue South) Teaching & Language Evaluations – 30 minutes per student.
Wednesday, August 18th	11:00 a.m.	Teaching & Language Evaluation Placement Results Results of teaching & language evaluation placements will be sent by e-mail to all evaluated ITAs by 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 18th.