It is the intent of this subcommittee to provide proposals and initiatives regarding the teaching component of our Neuroscience Doctorate, and suggest guidelines and policies where needed. The domain of our focus intersects with those of other CID Working groups, as shown in the schematic below.

The initial projects of this committee focus on the following areas:

Teaching Assistant Training: This committee modified the present Program requirement that all our students serve as Teaching Assistants in the Medical School courses our Department teaches (Gross Anatomy, Histology, Neurosciences). We have designed a workshop/orientation for all our TAs that will be held for the first time this summer for students teaching during the 2004-05 academic year. This workshop includes discussions of learning styles and ways to recognize and teach to a student's preferred learning styles, presentations of detailed guidelines and expectations of faculty and course directors, and a panel discussion of practical advice from experienced TAs. For the first time since we have had a requirement for Teaching, our TAs will be evaluated midway through the course, and coached on their Teaching activities. The end-of-course evaluations will be included in each student's portfolio. The success of this Workshop and its outcome will be evaluated and modified accordingly.

Teaching Practicum Course: This committee designed, proposed, and received approval for a Teaching Practicum course that becomes part of the Department's Vesalius Module of courses we offer our students who seek experience and understanding of the educational issues and knowledge involved in teaching in the basic sciences. Following our existing course on Teaching Theory, the graduate students puts theory into practice and work in collaboration with a faculty member in one of the following formats: large lecture, small lecture or seminar, proposing a new course, or applying a diverse set of approaches, techniques, and technology on a single-topic seminar series. A description of the student's specific activity and evaluation that arises from the various mentored experiences each student undertakes becomes part of his or her portfolio.

Opportunities Outside the Department: Several of these areas reflect the stewardship aspect of our student's neuroscience training with respect to teaching activities. We plan to initiate faculty and student involvement in "Brain Week"; we have successfully helped one of our students to apply for and receive a NSF K-12 Teaching Fellowship; and we seek involvement in the national Preparing Future Faculty Program.