- Ending the Semester with Purpose
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Mason Core Instructor Certification Program - Available in May!
- Mason Core Assessment - Deadline for submission May 5
- Mason Core Faculty Resources
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Ending the Semester with Purpose |
We all know how it can go: the snowball of work that starts around Spring Break just keeps gaining momentum as finals approach. Despite our best intentions to wrap up the semester with big questions, meaningful connections, or thoughtful reflections, it’s all too easy to find ourselves watching students turn in their final exams and head out the door without a proper conclusion.
This semester, we invite you to end your course with intention. The Scholarly Teacher reminds us that students benefit from structured closure—an opportunity to synthesize learning, reflect on growth, and connect course content to broader contexts. When teaching a Mason Core course, it's especially important to help students see how your course impacts long-term academic, professional, and personal growth, regardless of students' majors. As we near the last day of classes, consider asking students to revisit major themes in small groups, write a letter to future students with advice or takeaways, or share one big idea they'll carry forward into their major studies. These activities don’t require much time but can leave a lasting impression. Read the full article for more ideas.
A purposeful ending can reinforce learning, celebrate progress, and make space for meaningful goodbyes. Let’s give our students—and ourselves—a strong, reflective finish.
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Mason Core Instructor Certification Program |
Next Round of Workshops Available in May!
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The Mason Core Instructor Certification Program (MC-ICP) is a joint effort of Mason Core and the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, recognizing faculty who are investing their time in gaining skills and teaching expertise. This certification particularly focuses on the strategies necessary for teaching non-majors and ensuring student success as part of Mason Core.
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Certified Mason Core Instructor – Workshop Pathway
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Completing all three workshops below will meet the requirements for the Certified Mason Core Instructor level of the MC-ICP! Don't miss out on this opportunity to complete the certification!
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High Impact Practices (HIPs) Part 1
MAY 12, 2025 | 10AM-12PM
The first workshop of the three-part MC-ICP Certified Instructor series begins with the Fundamentals of Effective Teaching, which explains the critical elements of teaching today’s students. The second part of the workshop, HIPs and Applied Learning, focuses on how to use transparent assignment design for courses with internships, undergraduate research and project-based learning.
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High Impact Practices (HIPs) Part 2
MAY 14, 2025 | 10AM-12PM
In this second workshop in the MC-ICP series, learn to implement high impact practices (HIPS), with an eye towards getting students involved in their own learning. This workshop also covers grading HIPs and assessing nonstandard cumulative assignments, like research, projects, or internships.
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Solving the Puzzle: Engaging Non-Majors in Mason Core Courses
MAY 16, 2025 | 10AM-11AM
This final workshop in the MC-ICP series focuses on the differences between teaching a major course and one with the broader learning outcomes associated with a Mason Core course. Whether this is your first time teaching a Mason Core course or you are a seasoned veteran, this workshop will help you develop new strategies for increasing student engagement and success while better managing the additional workload that often comes with teaching a general education course.
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SPRING 2025 SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MAY 5
Spring 2025 is your last chance to submit student artifacts in the Arts, Literature, and Social and Behavioral Science categories. We appreciate your ongoing commitment to Mason Core, and the data we receive from the assessment process helps to further refine Mason Core to better serve our students. If you are teaching a course in any of these categories and have not yet submitted artifacts at any point across the two-year assessment cycle, please plan to participate.
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FALL 2025 SUBMISSION CYCLE: GLOBAL HISTORY, NATURAL SCIENCE, and WRITING INTENSIVE
In Fall 2025, we will begin collecting student artifacts for the following categories: Global History, Natural Science, and Writing Intensive. To support our collection efforts and ensure that submitted materials adequately address the learning outcomes, we will be holding pre-assessment workshops, which are designed to provide practical guidance on assignment alignment, answer questions about the assessment process, and support instructors for the upcoming cycle. Your course coordinator or undergraduate program director will be in touch if you are expected to attend.
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Revising a course or developing something new for Mason Core consideration? In addition to our proposal workshops, we recommend faculty review our course development and proposal resources available on our website.
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