Mentored Teaching Experiences
A Mentored Teaching Experience (MTE) is a collaborative engagement between graduate students and faculty mentors to reflect on and interpret disciplinary knowledge; identify multiple ways to represent disciplinary content; adapt content to students’ abilities and prior knowledge, and develop methods to assess and improve the teaching and learning process in a discipline.
Students enrolled in an MTE will have a faculty mentor supporting their development to become an educator able to communicate and/or evaluate disciplinary knowledge. This intellectual development is especially important for those seeking careers as academics or citizen scholars.
MTE-related activities can be broadly categorized as one of three activities, and each activity is weighted independently to recognize the different levels of effort involved:
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Preparatory Engagement (PE): Activities that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication.
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Assistant in Instruction (AI): An AI is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. AIs are formally listed as instructional support in the course listings. AI experiences can be 5, 10, or 15 MER units depending on the nature of the work associated with the course.
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Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT): The MIT is a semester-long experience in which the student engages as the primary instructor or co-instructor of a course under the mentorship of a faculty member. Each MIT is 20 MER units.
To complete each MTE and ensure that it counts toward degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement (ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 for AI experiences or ASGS 8020 for MIT experiences). Until a student completes their Mentored Experience Requirement, the student cannot be compensated for teaching. Enrollment in MTE (ASGS 80XX) has two possible outcomes—Pass or No Pass.
Mentored Professional Experiences
Mentored Professional Experiences (MPE) are an innovative programmatic feature that allow students to enhance their professional portfolios in contexts that can bridge academy and society, provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skillsets to industry or organizational needs, and to develop networks and literacies that complement their coursework and research. MPEs bring experiential learning into a PhD program’s curriculum, opening exciting pathways for students.
Students may identify an on-campus office/unit where they could pursue an MPE; they could look within the STL region for partners for these professional experiences; or they may look beyond for organizations, industry partners, start-ups, agencies, or offices with which to explore the MPE opportunity. The Office of Graduate Studies encourages students to reach out with questions about MPE networks and to learn more. MPEs should be substantive and meaningful in nature, akin to an internship.
The MPE option may be offered at the discretion of a department and in accordance with their MEIP as an option for completing one or more components of the MER. The MEIP should reflect the requirements of the MPE as defined by the department. Students engaging in an MPE must follow the minimum requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies as well as any additional requirements defined by the department.
To complete each MPE and ensure that it counts toward degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement (ASGS 8120). Enrollment in MPE (ASGS 8120) has two possible outcomes—Pass or No Pass. Students cannot receive compensation for an MPE.
Students engaging in an MPE must:
Departments may define additional requirements to approve an MPE.
Not all departments will permit Mentored Professional Experiences as an option to satisfy a portion of their Mentored Experience Requirement.
Network of MPE Locations
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