Teaching and Learning at GPSA
As a professional association that represents Political Science faculty members from public and private institutions dedicated to the teaching and research, the Georgia Political Science Association provides a variety of professional development opportunities to enhance course design and promote student engagement.
History
The Georgia Political Science Association has a long history of support of teaching and learning. Dedicated panels of scholarly papers on best practices, higher education administration and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) are featured on the program each year. Beginning in 2010, the GPSA Executive Board voted to formally expand the mission of the association to include robust teaching and learning initiatives by adding the position of Teaching and Learning Coordinator to the Executive Board. The Teaching and Learning Coordinator is responsible for programming at the annual conference to serve this mission. The Coordinator maintains the Teaching and Learning portion of the GPSA website and provides resources for faculty on teaching conferences, fellowships, SoTL and civic engagement.
Programs
The GPSA provides a number of professional opportunities for faculty members who are devoted to teaching excellence and scholarship. The opportunities include:
GPSA Teaching and Learning Consortium
Best practice papers that are presented at the GPSA Teaching and Learning Consortium Workshop, are eligible to be published on the GPSA Website. The consortium is a peer-reviewed repository of teaching activities that is published as a service to members. College faculty and high school teachers are welcome to employ the activities in their classrooms. The association asks that use of the activity includes a formal citation to the author of the activity when duplicated, published or presented at academic gatherings.
Teaching Paper Panels and Roundtable Discussions
A call for proposals for the annual conference is made each year. Proposals for scholarly papers and roundtable discussions on teaching best practices, higher education administration and the scholarship of teaching and learning are welcome. Education papers are grouped together in one or more panels and roundtables are scheduled on related topics. Examples of recent roundtable topics include panels on Disruptions in Higher Education and Experiential Learning.
Teaching Awards
In an effort to add emphasis to the importance of professional development in teaching and learning, the GPSA Executive Board voted in 2012 to add recognition of teaching excellence and scholarship in teaching and learning to its award program. Today the association announces two awards and certificates of merit at the annual business meeting. Awards are given for teaching innovation at the Teaching Consortium Workshop and for the excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning based on an application process. Additional details about the program and a list of past winners can be found on the awards page. For more information, contact Matthew Hipps.
Teaching Publications
Questions in Politics (QiP)
Teaching Best Practices, Education Administration and SoTL papers presented at the annual conference are eligible for submission to the GPSA peer-reviewed journal – Questions in Politics. More information is available from the Questions in Politics page.