The Reinert Center offers a variety of resources and offerings for graduate students at SLU, whether or not they have an opportunity to teach during their time at the University. Whether graduate students are new to teaching or have many years of experience, we can provide support in key areas of instruction, assessment, course design, technology integration, and more. Services to individuals are provided only at an instructor’s request and in accordance with our confidentiality policy. There are no costs to graduate students for participation in Reinert Center services and programs.
Here is a presentation of Reinert Center services available for graduate students
Graduate students who are interested in future careers as educators will find these offerings most valuable. Professional students who plan to engage in community outreach and/or informal educational work also may find these offerings beneficial, though they may need to do a bit more translating in order to identify ways to transfer lessons learned to contexts beyond classroom or online instruction.
Services
Graduate students have access to the full range of the Reinert Center’s core services, which include one-on-one teaching consultations, mid-semester focus groups with students, formative classroom observations, and formative feedback on course materials (e.g., syllabi, assignments, rubrics). Such services are most valuable for graduate students who are teaching in some capacity (i.e., teaching their own courses as instructor of record and/or serving as a Teaching Assistant). To learn more about Reinert Center services, click here.
Programs
In terms of the Reinert Center’s standing programs, graduate students are most likely to participate in the Certificate Program, which cultivates understanding of foundational aspects of effective teaching and helps graduate students document their professional growth and development in teaching. This program was designed specifically with graduate students in mind, though a number of SLU faculty members also participate in this program each year. Graduate students also may be nominated by department chairs or program directors for participation in the Culturally Responsive Teaching Academy, which can be helpful for those who teach courses with large concentrations of international students. Graduate and professional students also are encouraged to attend other programming throughout the year, such as the Winter Institute and the Ignatian Pedagogy Institute. Even graduate students who do not have opportunities to teach while at SLU will find such programs beneficial if they plan to go on the academic job market in the future.
Resources
Finally, the Reinert Center also provides a variety of web-based resources that can support all instructors at SLU. These include our weekly blog, The Notebook; our brief Resource Guides; and other online resources for key topics such as inclusive teaching, Ignatian pedagogy, course design, and key information for those new to teaching at SLU. We also provide free access for all SLU graduate students to the nationally-acclaimed Teaching Professor Newsletter. To see additional resources, click here.
Reasons to Engage the Reinert Center
Graduate students from all disciplines and teaching experience levels are welcome to seek support from the Reinert Center. Here are some common reasons graduate students contact the Center:
- Develop and receive feedback on teaching philosophy statements and/or course materials
- Discuss student ratings of instruction (or other feedback on teaching)
- Receive feedback on academic job materials that focus on teaching
- Understand evidence-based practices for university-level teaching
- Consider the complexities and challenges of instructor/student interactions
- Explore methods for documenting teaching development and effectiveness
- Collect formative student feedback in time to make adjustments in the current semester
- Integrate technology into teaching with purpose and intention
To learn more about how the Reinert Center engages its work, including our views on voluntary participation and evaluation of teaching, please consult our Practices and Policies.
If you have questions about services and programs, or to learn more about how the Reinert Center may support you, please contact us by email at cttl@slu.edu.