Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning

Certified Mason Core Instructor

Certified Mason Core Instructor: 5 hours

Choose ONE Pathway

Option A: Workshop Pathway

Appropriate for all faculty.

Take the full Certification Cluster in our one- or two-day format, or use our survey to indicate the dates that you completed the five workshops:

  • Teaching Foundations
  • Relevant Assignment Design (or equivalent Stearns Center Design workshop)
  • Good Stuff (or equivalent Stearns Center Engage workshop)
  • Grade Efficiently (or equivalent Stearns Center Assess workshop)
  • Solving the Puzzle: Engaging Non-Majors in Mason Core Courses

Option B: Portfolio Pathway

Appropriate for faculty with (a) at least 2-3 years’ experience teaching general education courses, and (b) experience learning about college-level teaching.

To succeed with the Portfolio Pathway, you should already be able to define and explain how you apply approaches such as backwards design, alignment to outcomes, regular and substantive interaction, active/collaborative learning, low-stakes or formative assessment, authentic assessment, inclusive teaching, scaffolded practice, and/or growth-centered feedback.

To complete the portfolio pathway, please submit each of the following documents via our MS Forms Survey. Our review team will respond before the end of the current term.

  1. Course syllabus for one Mason Core course: Include policies, brief description of major assignments/exams, and a semester schedule of key topics and tasks
  2. MC teaching statement: Describe 2-3 of your foundational teaching approaches and explain how they support inclusive learning for all students, and especially for non-majors (300-400 words)
  3. MC course map: Complete a course map or guide identifying and explaining which of your assignments align with the required Mason Core Outcomes (see links for a DOC / PDF course map guide) (200-400 words)
  4. MC student engagement statement: Provide examples of how you regularly include interactive, applied, and/or hands-on learning in your course (300-400 words)
  5. MC assessment statement: Describe 2-3 ways that you provide productive, timely feedback to students to support their learning (300-400 words)
  6. MC transparent assignment: A draft of one assignment for your course that uses a TILT framework (see more information here) to make purpose, tasks, and criteria visible to students