Outstanding University Graduate Student Teacher Award
(revised June 2021)
Overview
These awards are for graduate students who make outstanding contributions to teaching as part of their program and educational experience at Illinois State University. These awards are designed to recognize persistent, focused, and purposeful dedication to striving for excellence. This includes: learning about and applying effective instructional practices across a wide range of teaching activities; evaluating the effectiveness of those practices; and reflecting on personal values and professional experiences to shape future teaching practices. This award has three categories:
- Level I: Doctoral degree graduate assistants with sole responsibility for instruction in a course.
- Level I: Master’s degree graduate assistants with sole responsibility for instruction in a course.
- Level II: Master’s or doctoral graduate assistants directing labs or discussion groups associated with a course taught by a faculty member, or who have significant responsibilities team-teaching or co-teaching a course.
Eligibility Criteria
Graduate teaching assistants currently holding at least a .25 FTE appointment (6-10 hours per week) related to one of the above award categories, or who have held such an appointment for at least one full term (fall, spring, or summer) of the current academic year at the time of their nomination, are eligible.
Nomination Procedures
- At the Department/School Level
- At the College Level
- University Teaching Council Process
Nominators
Any current or former ISU department chairperson, school director, division head, or dean; any current or former ISU full- or part-time faculty member; or any current or former full- or part-time ISU student may nominate someone meeting the eligibility requirements for this award. Nomination letters or emails should be sent directly to the candidate’s department chair/school director. Nomination letters/emails should:
- Provide the nominee’s name and academic department/school
- Explain the nominator’s basis of knowledge of nominee’s teaching
- Explain why the nominee should be considered for this award
Selection
The chair/director should use a selection process developed and implemented in consultation with the DFSC/SFSC to identify no more than two nominees each year and forward those names to the Chair, University Teaching Council, via email no later than 4:30 p.m. on the last Tuesday of April. Nominees should then prepare their teaching portfolios and submit them to their chairs by the first Tuesday of September (or a date arranged with the chair/director). Chairs/directors then forward completed portfolios to their college dean’s office no later than the third Tuesday of September.
Each dean, dean’s appointee, and/or selection committee, in conjunction with the College Council, shall do the following:
- Each college may nominate up to three candidates for each award category. (An exception is the College of Arts and Sciences, which may forward up to three in each category for each division: social sciences, sciences, humanities.)
- Each nomination should include the candidate’s application materials, including the nomination form signed by the candidate’s chair/director and dean.
- Nominations should be sent to the special email address included in the letter sent to deans from the chair of the University Teaching Council. If you need assistance, please contact Outstanding@ilstu.edu.
- All materials must be received electronically no later than 4:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of October. No late nominations or materials will be accepted.
- The college should notify each nominee’s department chair/school director of the college-level outcome.
- Chairs/School directors should notify their department’s nominees of college outcomes.
The UTC shall evaluate nominees’ materials to select recipients and notify each finalist of the outcome. In the case of portfolios of equal merit, preference shall go to those who have not previously won the award.
Please Note: Teaching in Action Videos
Nominees for Graduate Student Teaching Awards should note that the portfolio preparation guidelines for this award are designed to prepare qualified award winners to be nominated for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools’ Excellence in Teaching Award. Thus, eligible winners of a university-level award at Illinois State should be able to apply for this regional award without substantive revisions to their portfolios. More information about the MAGS award and how entries are evaluated is available from the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools.
Note that in the rare instance that your teaching record might not include elements for every section of the portfolio identified here, as a last resort you should insert a single page with the title of the section and the phrase “Nothing to report” in place of the essay. The list of contents that should be included in a portfolio is followed by explanations of each item to guide portfolio preparation.
Teaching Portfolio Contents
See Portfolio Preparation Guidelines for general tips and step-by-step instructions on creating a compelling teaching portfolio.