As graduate students are increasingly utilized as teachers at the University, administrators are taking steps to provide them with further training in the art of instructing and relating to their students.
This recent focus on graduate student teaching has resulted largely from the efforts of the Center for Teaching and Learning, which has established several programs to help graduate students with the difficult task of learning how to teach.
Some said these new efforts represent a significant shift from traditional views held about graduate student teaching. "Historically, you showed up as a graduate student and the school said, 'Here's your class,' and they threw you in and you either sank or swam," said Diane Kelly, a seventh-year graduate student in zoology.
Teaching is not just something to do, but is an important activity that should be learned, said Albert Eldridge, associate professor of political science and CTL director.
This year, the center has emphasized improving its support for teaching assistants in all departments by hiring two TA development coordinators. These coordinators conduct workshops every three to four weeks to help TAs with the dilemmas they face.
"The goal of the series is to facilitate discussion of teaching issues and to provide resources in the areas of teaching strategies and professional development," said Natalie Houston, one of the TA development coordinators. Each coordinator also works closely with TAs for a large class: the introductory biology class and the first-year writing class.
One of the major innovations for the introductory biology course, for example, was an intense, five-day training session for graduate mentors before the start of classes, said Steve Nowicki, associate professor of biology. The mandatory workshop combined information about the specific role mentors play in the course with general training on how to teach.
The extended training affords TAs the opportunity to act more independently in their sections, said Nora Underwood, a seventh-year graduate student in zoology who works with the CTL and is also a TA for the biology class. "We give TAs the flexibility to not do the lab exactly as it's given," she said. "This gives you a chance to say, 'What would I do with this information?'" Underwood said this effort has garnered positive responses from TAs, who feel they are taken more seriously as teachers if they have more control over their section.
The new program for TAs is similar to existing efforts to improve graduate student teaching. For example, for the past two years the CTL has selected several graduate students to act as the center's Graduate Student Fellows for the year. These fellows are involved in creating projects that address teaching problems, such as developing teaching methodologies for specific departments or dealing with classroom gender issues.
The First-Year Writing Program also conducts workshops for its graduate instructors, who discuss issues relevant to the freshman writing course, said Van Hillard, assistant professor of the practice in the University Writing Program.
Some graduate students praised the teaching initiatives, noting that the extra training was useful in the classroom. "[Teaching is] an experience I personally enjoy, to be able to convey concepts to young people," said Anup Wadhawan, a fifth-year graduate student in economics who teaches introductory macroeconomics.
Kelly, a TA in biology, said the University is headed in the right direction in terms of teaching. "[The University is] getting much better at training us as teachers," she said, "and it is a skill that needs to be learned.... I don't think there are any instinctive teachers."
But other graduate students said that while the workshops can be helpful, the most effective lessons on how to teach come from actual classroom experience. "I think that a lot of what you learn from teaching, you just learn from doing it," said Amy D'unger, a fourth-year graduate student in sociology who is teaching a class in juvenile delinquency. "You can't beat experience for learning."
Some graduate students said, however, that the academics pressures of graduate study limit their involvement in such training supplements. "[The help is] there if you want it," said Richard Braun, a first-year student in zoology and a TA in ecology, "but most of us don't have time for it."
Still, other graduate students simply do not make teaching a priority, Underwood said. "Some teachers don't want to be teachers," she said, "just as some students don't want to be students-and that's a pain."
But administrators said that teaching should be a priority among graduate students, especially those who are pursuing a career in academia. "We want to make it clear from the start," Nowicki said, "that if you want to be a college professor, you're going to have to learn how to teach."
To improve TAs' abilities, and their prospects in the job market, administrators are also considering creating a four-year program similar to one at Emory University. Such a program would allow graduate students to teach their own classes and earn a certificate in college and university teaching, Eldridge said.
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