My experience surpassed my expectations. I loved every minute of teaching, from lesson planning, to responding to assignments, to being with the class. I formed such meaningful relationships with my first years.
Peer Teaching
Fall Semester: Teach a First-Year Seminar in Explorations
Applications to teach in the Fall 2023 semester are open. Apply now.
Have you ever thought about teaching your own course?
Do you want to have a positive impact on the experience of first-year students?
The ExCollege is seeking applications from teams of two upper-level undergraduates to design and teach next fall in its signature program, Explorations. Selected students will receive 4 credits with Pass/Fail grading for co-teaching a weekly seminar, advising a group of first-year students, and taking a teaching methods practicum.
About the program
The Explorations program was initiated to meet the overwhelming demand from entering students for advising through an ongoing, small-group experience. Explorations has successfully met this need since 1972. Any topic can be the basis for an Explorations seminar. All ExCollege first-year seminars offer new students at Tufts a special kind of participatory learning, a team approach to advising, and a sense of support and community within the context of the academic seminars.
Eligibility for teaching a First-Year Seminar
- Student leaders must be a junior or senior next fall and have a strong academic record, as indicated by a G.P.A. above 3.20 (exceptions will be considered only under very special circumstances).
- All leaders must be available for training and orientation responsibilities during the last week of August.
Examples of recent Explorations seminars include:
- Reflections on Your Schooling
- Art and Conflict of the World Wars
- Immigrant Food and the Integration Process
- Sports and Social Justice
- The Economics and Politics of Bad Habits in America
- Exploring Science Fiction and Fantasy in Literature
- Human Rights in the Digital Age
- Surrounded by Social Media
Spring Semester: Peer Teaching
Each spring, the ExCollege runs peer-taught courses that, unlike Explorations, can have either a single instructor or a pair, and are open to all Tufts undergraduates.
Peer Teachers are required to take EXP-0101-ZS Peer Teaching and EXP-0103-ZS Theory and Practice of Participatory Education during the semester their class is taught. The Theory and Practice of Participatory Education seminar meets once a week, during the Monday Open Block. Teachers share experiences, and may be asked to make brief reports on alternative teaching methods, educational philosophies, or other topics.
In total, Peer Teachers will receive 4 credits, graded on a pass/fail basis.
*Please note: Peer Teaching applications are due early in the fall semester so that accepted courses will be ready for November registration.
Not sure what to teach or how to formulate a proposal? The Director of the Experimental College will meet individually with prospective Peer Teachers to discuss ideas and answer questions.
For more information, stop by the ExCollege Office at 95 Talbot Avenue, call us at 617-627-3384 or email ExCollege.