Overview:

The purpose of the CLS Seminar Student Fellow Program (CLS 460: Teaching Internship) is to give students the opportunity to co-facilitate a section of the College Seminar and to mentor first-year students. This role involves working closely with the assigned instructor to help CLS 101US / 201US students grasp and connect to readings, understand campus and community resources, and discuss, analyze, present on, and write about the course texts.  Using the course themes of knowledge, identity, and community to analyze the texts, they cover a wide range of topics such as philosophy, morality, and humanity, and incorporate a plethora of genres from helping to interpret and read art as a text, to scholarly articles and research.

Fellows help cofacilitate the seminar and thus, alongside the instructor, will help challenge students to think and communicate in a small group setting while developing critical listening skills and honing their critical writing abilities.  Books and course materials will be provided to CLS 460 mentors free of charge for the semester.  Please know as well that CLS 460 is one of the electives that counts towards an MSU Leadership Fellows Certificate. 

Requirements to be a Student Fellow:

  • an MSU student in their 2nd year or higher (returning first-year students can be considered on a case-by-case basis)
  • Successful completion of any University Seminar (US) Core, with a B- or higher
  • Good academic standing
  • Completion of application 

 *Note: Because Fellows have already completed a US-core seminar, they will not be enrolled in the CLS 101 course they are assigned to, but they do attend every class meeting for their designated section of the seminar. 

Time Commitment:

  On average, Fellows can expect to commit about 5 - 8 hours per week during the academic year.  

  • Attendance at every class meeting of designated University Seminar core course
    • Facilitation of icebreaker and introduction activities
    • General student support for academic systems such as navigating Brightspace by D2L, and procedures such as review of syllabi and how to attend/ schedule office hours with both instructor and Student Fellow as needed
    • Working closely alongside the instructor to cofacilite the course by helping lead activities, offer guidance and support though US course curriculum discussion and interaction, and assist in organizing.  Fellows may be asked to help keep attendance or even give some feedback on an assignment or paper, though will never be asked to assign or record grades.  
    • Leading one class discussion around or after midterms, as determined by you and your instructor
    • Referrals to key MSU services as needed (library, counseling, academic advising, tutoring, career development, learning strategies, etc.)
    • Outreach to students who are struggling
    • Support critical thinking, learning, and understanding in a supportive and collegiate environment
  • Attendance at CLS 460 course meetings
    • There will be a few checkins throughout the semester, scheduled with the Fellows' schedules in mind. 
    • In addition, Student Fellows may be encouraged to attend a once-per-semester Advisory Committee meeting, if it fits within their schedule. 
  • Out of class activities
    • Meeting somewhat regularly with the assigned instructor to help plan course prompts and activities; these meetings are not set by CLS 460, but rather scheduled between instructor and Fellow around both schedules.  This will likely be once a week initially, and may be more spread out throughout the semester.
    • Staying on top of course readings to help guide conversation.
    • One-on-one or group check-in with student mentees- likely about 2 per semester - one before midterms, and one after; one or both may be tag-teamed with your assigned instructor.  Fellows will discuss students' progress and orientation to college, student problems, resources available to them, and course activities.  Fellows may also spend some time consulting with students outside of class, such as offering feedback on papers and presentations. 
    • Fellows can either hold office hours, or work with students to schedule meetings as needed.  There may be instances where it makes sense after talking with a student, to walk them over to a campus resource promptly, such as Counselling and Psychological Services.  
    • Completion of a final reflective piece at the end of the semester

CLS 460/ Fellow Course Goals:

  • Under the guidance of your assigned seminar instructor, you will learn and practice leadership strategies within and out of the classroom.  You will:
    • Help develop discussion questions and/or prompts that are thoughtful and related to the text
    • Initiate conversation that is exciting, intellectual, and textual
    • Guide conversation toward scholarly, diverse, and constructive questions and topics
    • Enforce standards of critical thinking and presentation of textual and other evidence in the classroom
    • Be available to listen to and direct students having difficulty in the classroom, in college, and/or in their personal life, and direct students to resources as appropriate
    • Guide students toward the improvement of their written and oral expression
    • Lead one class period on a date predetermined by you and your instructor

Benefits to being a Student Fellow:

  • An amazing leadership opportunity that can help make a difference by positively shaping the collegial experience of your students
  • Course materials provided free of charge
  • Upper-division credits that count towards your 42 upper-division course requirements, and that can be applied toward a Leadership Fellows Certificate
  • A powerful resume/ CV builder
  • An opportunity to hone teaching and mentoring skills under the guidance of a faculty member

Nominate or apply today!