About the Undergraduate Fellows
Value Statement:
As one of the three main bodies of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, the Undergraduate Fellows strive to enhance the learner-centered environment of the classroom.
Mission Statement:
For Students:To provide and promote opportunities for interaction with Teaching Assistants and Faculty both in and out of the classroom.
For Teaching Assistants:
To offer an undergraduate perspective and to help stimulate active teaching and learning.
For Faculty:
To provide a representative undergraduate voice and to cultivate synergic dialogue among students and faculty.
For the University:
To reaffirm the academic values of the University’s mission and contribute to the enrichment of the teaching and learning experience.
Completed Tasks:
During the 2011-2012 school year, the CET UFs led several exciting and innovative events. Soon after the beginning of the semester, the UFs hosted Freshman Survival Guide: Now You Know to provide helpful information and resources for new students. Following this event was a discussion on Regulating Laptops in the Classroom, analyzing the benefits of laptop usage as well as their potential for distraction. The G.E. Faculty-Student Meet and Greet provided a relaxed atmosphere for students to speak with G.E. professors and identify positive choices for G.E. classes with faculty they admired and interacted well with.
In the spring of 2012, CET received official recognition as a USC student organization, accompanied by funding and event planning benefits which significantly improved the reach and quality of events. With Now You Know: How to Get Research, the “Now You Know” series was launched as a flagship of UF events. It was followed by Now You Know: How to Get into Grad School, which provided clear, concise information on a topic relevant to many students. Later, the UFs held an Open Forum on Discussion Sections, which provided an opportunity for students, Supplemental Instruction leaders, and T.A.s to gather and discuss methods of improving discussion sections.
Undergraduate Fellows’ Future Plans:
To kick off the fall of 2013, we held the event Opening the Door to Office Hours in an effort to bring together students and faculty to share concerns and frustrations about office hours. Faculty were able to tell their perspective, while students found a forum to explain how they benefit from office hours and what could be done to attract better attendance. Later in the semester, we brought back the successful Now You Know: How to Get Research event, again with a very positive response from students. We closed the school year with an open forum for undergraduates to share questions, concerns, and suggestions for events next year, receiving valuable feedback that we hope to incorporate in coming semesters.