The Graduate Research and Teaching Fellowship Program (GRTF) at Cornell University provides graduate students considering academic positions in higher education with opportunities to capitalize on their expertise as academic scholars and researchers to design and develop innovative high impact teaching practices to disseminate knowledge in their respective fields.
Graduate students apply to the GRTF program and once accepted learn the art and science of teaching through a series of workshops, courses and seminars and receive a Certificate of Completion after requirements are met. Students accepted in the program are required to take two teaching courses, ALS 6015 “The Practice of Teaching in Higher Education”, and ALS 6016 “Teaching as Research in Higher Education” offered at Cornell.
Coursework includes development of a teaching and research philosophy statement, course syllabus, teaching plans and an electronic portfolio. Graduate students attend biweekly seminars and facilitate workshops to provide forums for fellow graduate students, teaching assistants and postdoctoral scholars not enrolled in the program, to engage in conversations on teaching to enhance learning in higher education.
As part of the program, students work individually or in pairs to complete research projects focusing on specialized teaching approaches and learn how to effectively teach topics within their fields of specialization. They then present posters of their research during a symposium open to the entire Cornell community. Many GRTFs also present posters to their departments.
This initiative is supported by the Center for Teaching Excellence, The Center for Integrating Research, Teaching and Learning and the Graduate School at Cornell University.