A TAR project is an opportunity to use your disciplinary research skills to develop a research question relating to teaching and propose a project that would allow you to investigate this question with a class you are teaching or a TA for, or a data set available through your department or other university offices or departments. These projects can be small or large scale and can help you develop your reflective teaching skills. A project also is a great talking point on a resume or CV and in a job interview. If you are close to graduating and will not be able to implement a project, the work of designing and proposing a project is by itself a worthwhile endeavor.

Examples of Recent Projects:

  • Assessing Workshop Models in the Undergraduate Creative Writing Classroom
  • Which Group Work Methods Lead to Better Participation in the Classroom?
  • The Efficacy of Open-Ended Questions for the College Classroom

The workshop schedule is listed below. Participants need to attend all sessions.  Everyone who attends all sessions and submits a proposal that is accepted will receive a $250 stipend. Those that implement the project in a future semester will receive an additional $250 and the CIRTL Practitioner certificate. If you are interested in joining the cohort, please submit an application as soon as possible.

Prerequisites:  Graduate students and post-docs from any academic discipline who have taken a graduate-level teaching-related course (at UI or elsewhere) or 5 teaching-related workshops (from the Center for Teaching, your department, the Graduate College, another academic department, etc.) are eligible to participate. Previous experience as a TA or instructor is also helpful.  If you have questions about whether a course or workshops you have taken fit, please email Lisa Kelly (lisa-kelly@uiowa.edu) with information about the course or workshops.    

Spring Teaching as Research Project Cohort:
Tuesday 1/31 3:00-4:30 pm  Introduction to Teaching as Research and CIRTL
Tuesday 2/7 3:00-4:30 pm -  Evidence-Based Teaching
Tuesday 2/14 3:00-4:30 pm - Methods and Assessment
Tuesday 2/21 3:00-4:30 pm - Library Resources and Databases
Tuesday 2/28 3:00-4:30 pm - IRB Overview
Tuesday 3/7 3:00-4:30 pm - Proposal Workshop