Teaching Experience: Why All Graduate Students Need It and Innovative Ways to Get It COES Grad Seminar Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter Director, OWISE
Benefits of Acquiring Teaching Experience u Determining if (or confirming that) you really do like to teach u Preparing you to teach when you do get an academic position u Making you more competitive for both an academic position or an industrial career u Enhancing your own understanding u Improving your communication and interpersonal skills
Benefits of Acquiring Teaching Experience u Following 95 graduate students for a year, those who taught were able to write far better research proposals (having testable hypotheses, methodology, experimental design and data analysis). u The report suggests that teaching experience is a value-added component of graduate research training, rather than a diversion from valuable research time. u Researchers said that academics in the hard sciences often lack teaching skills, so including teaching as part of graduate studies may better prepare future researchers for teaching.
Types of Teaching Experience u Teaching Assistantships u Talks & Guest Lectures u Team Teaching u Teaching a Full Course
Teaching Assistantships u Gain experience in essential non-lecturing responsibilities associated with teaching: Grade homework or labs Prepare lab experiments Write up handouts Answer student questions Proctor make-up exams Write and give quizzes or homework problems
Talks & Guest Lectures u Updates on your work for students in your advisor s lab u Give a talk at an on-campus seminar u Give a talk at a local, regional, or national conference u Give a guest lecture for a professor in a class u Substitute in a class for a professor who is absent
Team Teaching u Share responsibilities for teaching a class with a professor u Work together to teach the course u Take turns lecturing u Work together to develop homework, make out and grade exams, etc.
Teaching a Full Course u This is the best preparation! u You are responsible for all aspects of the course u It is very time-consuming u This is often best to do near the end of your graduate experience u It is good to find a mentor with whom you can discuss issues, ask questions, get tips on how to explain material or handle issues
How to Find Good Teaching Opportunities u Let your advisor know! Often faculty are willing to support and encourage you if they know you are interested in guest lectures, substitute teaching, teaching a full course. u Find other graduate students who are engaged in these teaching opportunities and talk with them to see how they secured them. u Find out what courses are offered in which you would be interested and qualified to guest lecture, substitute for or teach.
Preparing for a Successful Experience u In preparing a lecture, think about the objectives of the course, your objective for the lecture, the background and interest of the students. u Reflect on what your teachers have done that you liked or didn t like; what have your best teachers done and how? u Talk to a professor who has taught the course (to avoid mistakes and save lots of time). u Get feedback on your teaching mid-quarter so you can make changes before the end-of-course evaluations. u Remember no one gets it completely right the first time; even the best teachers are always improving.
Watch Your Time u Teaching requires a lot of time. u Don t overcommit yourself. u You want to do a quality job. u You may want to TA, give talks/guest lectures, substitute instead of teaching a full course. u Every experience you get can be used to strengthen your resume.
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Reference Reis, R.M. (2000). How to Get All-Important Teaching Experience. The Chronicle of Higher Education.