Teaching education and training will occur over a three-year period for the Scholar with gradually increasing responsibilities culminating in year three. Below is a brief description of things that will occur during the three years.

YEAR 1 - Selection of Teaching Mentor and Class to Teach

Early in the Fall semester of Year 1, a ‘Meet and Greet' workshop between the Scholars and potential Teaching Mentors will be held at San José State University (SJSU) with the Program Director at SJSU. The purpose of this workshop is three-fold:

1. to introduce the Scholars and potential teaching mentors and discuss available classes for teaching
2. to review the structure of the Program for potential teaching mentors
3. to create a sense of community between the Scholars and the teaching faculty at SJSU.

After this workshop, each Scholar will select a Teaching Mentor, the semester they would like to teach, and the class they would like to teach during the third year. The Program Director for teaching instruction will meet on a separate occasion with each Scholar to discuss his/her selection and to assist in the decision-making process as needed. The Scholar will be completely responsible for a module within the class of their choosing. The module will typically be 3-4 weeks depending on the content of the class and will culminate with the Scholar assessing student knowledge through a written exam.

YEAR 2: Pedagogy and Development of Materials for Class

During Year 2, the Scholars will take a semester long class which will meet one day a week at night for approximately 2 hours over the course of approximately 12 weeks. Scholars will receive training in the basics of teaching science at the university level (writing instructional objectives, student assessment, problem based learning), the use of various tools for the creation of digital assets for use in courses, the techniques needed to produce classroom documents that are accessible to students with disabilities, and an introduction to online courses and how to manage them. Content created during this class in Year 2 should be centered on the course that the Scholar has selected to teach in Year 3.  The Scholar should speak with their teaching mentor throughout the year to begin developing teaching components necessary for the class that the Scholar has selected. 
The courses given at SJSU are part of the curriculum developed by the faculty. Revisions to courses need to be approved at the departmental and school level through the activity of the teaching mentor at the school prior to courses being taught. Scholars should work directly with their teaching mentors if they would like to adjust any aspect of the class and curriculum.

The Scholars will also be trained in academic advising by the SJSU Biology Department’s lead academic advisor and will provide support/advising for two probationary students during Year 3. The Scholar will need to attend a single advising session during the summer between Years 2 and 3 with the lead academic advisor in the department.

YEAR 3: Teaching and Advising

By the third year, fellows will be familiar with teaching pedagogies and their SJSU mentors, and will have begun to develop a teaching style through their class experience from Year 2. The Scholar will enter the classroom and teach the designated module for their class. The teaching mentor will observe the Scholar throughout the module and make comments and suggestions. However, the teaching mentor will not interfere with any classroom activities and will let the Scholar handle all aspects of the classroom environment.

The Scholar will also begin advising duties for the two students they were assigned during Year 2. The Scholar should develop a mentoring relationship with the students offering advice on classes and schedules. The lead academic advisor will observe advising sessions and make comments and suggestions as needed. However, the lead academic advisor will not interfere with advising sessions and will let the Scholar handle all aspects of advising to the students.