Teaching Matters: Celebrating Teaching and Learning in Community
At our 2nd annual Bok Graduate Community Celebration on April 26, we were excited to honor this year’s Teaching Certificate recipients, our new Teacher-Scholar Spotlights, and all of the graduate students who engaged in our programming over the past year. Students from Bok Seminars, the Professional Communication Program for International Teachers and Scholars, and Bok Fellows programs joined us to share their experiences and connect with fellow graduate students.
Our Teaching Certificates give PhD students a tangible marker of their ongoing commitment to developing as teachers in higher education. Guided by three principles—Learn, Practice, Reflect—those who pursue the Certificate explore different topics in teaching and learning through departmental pedagogy courses and Bok Seminars, reflect on their own teaching practice, and compile a portfolio of written materials documenting their experience.
So far this year, 35 students have received the Bok Teaching Certificate and 9 students have completed the Bok Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture.
This year’s cohort of Teaching Certificate recipients really showcase the Bok Center’s values and highlight that teaching is a continuous process of learning and a highly collaborative endeavor. Teaching Certificate recipients reflected on their experience in the program:
“The Bok Teaching Certificate offered me various tools and opportunities to develop my skills as a teacher as well as a learner. It helped me set a robust foundation which I look forward to building on to expand my knowledge about learning and teaching and further grow as an educator.”
“I have come to recognize that effective teaching is inherently intertwined with scholarly inquiry, as it entails not only disseminating existing knowledge but also fostering a culture of intellectual curiosity and inquiry. While teaching sections, I frequently encountered students curious about my research interests…Addressing these inquiries allowed me to engage students more deeply and prompted me to refine my focus as a PhD student.”
“As I look back on my journey through the Bok Teaching Certificate, it is gratifying to see the trajectory of growth that has carried me from my early days as a first-time teacher leading class on Zoom in a spare bedroom to where I am today—an experienced and capable instructor with confidence in what I bring to the classroom and a real excitement for all that lies ahead.”
Visit the Teaching Matters Gallery, explore our Teaching Certificates, or meet with us to learn more.