The Department of Agronomy at Purdue has a long history of educating graduate students in teaching methods, many of whom have become outstanding teachers at universities and colleges. A number of these graduate students held half-time or full-time instructorships. With the increasing pressure on today's faculty to obtain research grants that require greater commitment by graduate students to finish in a specified time, fewer students have the opportunity to spend a high percentage of their graduate career in teaching. Many do no teaching at all or can only participate for one or two semesters on a quarter-time teaching assistantship. Thus, at Purdue we have blended the traditional teaching experience that we provide in the department with a university-wide program that guides graduate students in a formal Graduate Teaching Certificate Program. This program, sponsored by Purdue's Center for Instructional Excellence and the Teaching Academy, assists students in developing teaching skills by offering TA orientation, a micro-teaching experience, continuous improvement activities, and consultative feedback. In addition, students must provide written reflection about their teaching experience, based on mid-semester student evaluations, end-of–the-semester evaluations, and a video-taped teaching session. Since the inception of the program three years ago, four graduate teaching assistants in soils and three in crops have received either the Graduate Teaching Certificate or the Advanced Graduate Teaching Certificate. As a result of their dedication to teaching, many students in the department have been recognized for their teaching expertise by the Center for Instructional Excellence and the Graduate School at the annual Celebration of Graduate Student Teaching.