Mentored Teaching Project

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CCT Mentored Teaching Project

One of the major components of the Certification Program is the Mentored Teaching Project. For this project, you identify a teaching problem you would like to examine and address. 

You will work with a teaching mentor (e.g. your course instructor) to create a classroom intervention, implement, and evaluate the project’s results. Follow these six steps to complete your project:

  1. Teaching and Learning Goal
  2. Teaching Question
  3. Classroom Practice
  4. Assessment Technique
  5. Summary
  6. Conclusion 

Project Approval Document

Download here

Rubric

A downloadable PDF of this information can be found here.

Comprehensive

  1. The goal clearly articulates the skill, behavior, knowledge, or assumptions to be tested or challenged.
  2. The goal is related to the specific course, and it is clear why the goal matters for course content, classroom environment, course objectives. 
  3. The goal is related to the teaching question.
  1. Question frames a testable hypothesis and targets a specific teaching and learning challenge in a course that can be measured.
  2. Question is based on observations in the classroom and/or previous experience in the course that reveals student misconceptions, a specific teaching and learning challenge, or a barrier to student persistence and success.
  1. The assignment or activity is clearly described, and it is directly related to the teaching question.
  2. The plan for carrying out the assignment or activity (when, how, by whom, length of time, relation to rest of course) is clearly explained.
  3. The connection between this assignment and the objectives of the course is explained. 
  1. The instrument used to collect data is clearly described.
  2. The type of data collected is appropriate and effectively addresses the teaching question.
  1. The summary clearly presents the results of the data collection and relates them back to the teaching question.
  1. Summary is the result of the project, and Conclusion is the reflection from doing the project.

Developing

  1. The goal only broadly describes the skill, behavior, knowledge, or assumptions to be tested or challenged, or the statement of the goal involves multiple goals. 
  2. The goal is not clearly relevant to the specific course, and it isn’t apparent why it matters for course content, classroom environment, course objectives.
  1. Question does not clearly frame a testable hypothesis within the frame of the course, but does begin to address the teaching and learning challenge. 
  2. Question is not grounded in observation or previous experience. Requires some refocus, perhaps some narrowing.
  1. The assignment or activity is too general, and its relationship to the teaching question is unclear.
  2. The plan for carrying out the assignment or activity (when, how, by whom, length of time, relation to rest of course) has not been worked out fully.
  3. The connection between this assignment and the overall course is unclear. 
  1. The instrument used will not provide sufficient data for assessment.
  2. The type of data collected does not effectively address the teaching question.
  1. The summary only broadly describes the data collected and/or does not show how they relate to the teaching question.

Cursory/Unacceptable

  1. The goal is inadequate.
  2. It is too vague, ambiguous, broad, or unfocused.
  3. There is no connection made to a specific course.
  1. Question is unanswerable, too broad, cannot be used to frame a testable hypothesis, or cannot be investigated in a meaningful way.
  1. The practice is not defined.
  2. There is no plan for administering the activity or assignment.
  3. No attempt is made to relate the practice to the teaching question.
  1. There is no instrument to assessments.
  2. Proposed assessments do not address teaching question.
  1. The summary does not synthesize the data.
  2. It is unconnected to the teaching question.