Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing Doctoral Students to Teach
Janelle Heineke
Director, Center For Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
BU Doctoral Programs: Primary Goal
This varies by program. Could be to prepare students for:
• Pure research roles.
• Advanced practice.
• Careers in academia.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing for Academic Careers
• To be successful in academia, graduates must be prepared to be:
• Excellent researchers.
• Strong teachers.
• Good colleagues
• In their own schools/universities.
• In their professional fields.
• Our programs focus on the content – which focuses on preparation
for the research role.
• We also need to prepare students for the other dimensions –
including teaching.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Around BU
School Department
CAS* Biology
CAS*
CAS*
ENG
SAR
SED
STH
Program
Required learn-to-teach workshop
• Taken concurrently with first semester of teaching.
• Nine meetings over eight weeks, including completion of five short
papers and an evaluation of a classroom teaching.
Required one day workshop for new TFs
English
• Full semester course in pedagogy with Writing Program Director.
History of Art and • TFs register for GRS AH 699 “Teaching Art History.”
• Instructors meet at least once a week with TFs.
Architecture
• Doctoral candidates who are not TFs receive no formal training
One day Graduate Teaching Fellow training.
Required 4-credit course (HP 790: Teaching Skills)
Optional 2-credit practicum with classroom involvement
Training handled by faculty in mentorship model.
CEIT orientation and STH orientation.
Two required 2-credit courses: Junior teaching internship and Senior
teaching internship.
Required colloquia: two 7-hour sessions on pedagogy.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing for Academic Careers: One Model (SMG)
Semester 1
• Interview a strong teacher in your department.
• Ask about:
• What is challenging.
• What is rewarding,
• How the instructor became so strong in the classroom.
• Tips he/she may offer about teaching.
• Write a summary of what you learned.
Semester 2
• Observe a teacher in your department in the classroom.
• Write a summary of what you observed about the process.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing for Academic Careers: One Model (SMG)
Semester 3 or 4
• Take the role of Teaching Assistant.
• Arrange with the instructor of record to have you present some topic
or lead a discussion at least once during the semester.
• Write a summary of:
• How you prepared.
• How the sessions went.
• What you learned.
OR
• Interview a strong instructor outside your department.
• Prepare a summary of what you learned.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing for Academic Careers: One Model (SMG)
Semester 4
• Participate in the doctoral seminar on dissemination of knowledge,
which will include some content on teaching.
Session
1
2
3
4,5
6
7
8, 9
10, 11
12, 13
14
Topic
Professional Societies and Journals
Presenting at professional meetings and conferences
Writing for scholarly publication.
Defining yourself as an academic; writing a journal article
Good writing and … not so good writing
Navigating the journal review process
Strategies for publishing
 Targeting journals
 Meeting submission criteria
Principles of adult learning
Teaching styles: lecture; lecture/discussion; case method; simulation.
Teaching Fundamentals
Presentations
Using technology to enhance learning
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing for Academic Careers: One Model (SMG)
Years 3 and 4
• Teach a course or discussion section as instructor of record.
• Arrange to have at least one session videotaped. Review with
instructor as a follow-up to the doctoral seminar.
• Redo videotaping and feedback until the video is ready to post as part
of the e-Portfolio.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Preparing for Academic Careers: One Model (SMG)
Throughout the Program
Maintain an e-Portfolio tracking your scholarly work and teaching as part
of your package to provide to prospective employers.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Overview of Teaching Content
Finding Balance: First Step
Know thyself. What’s important to you?
• At work?
• Research?
• Teaching?
• Making things happen?
• In other aspects of your life?
If you know yourself, you can find the position that fits
you in a school that emphasizes what you care about.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Finding Balance: Second Step
Research/scholarly activity:
• How this is defined varies.
• Journal publications.
• Books, chapters, other publications.
• Presentations.
• Involvement in professional societies.
• Both quantity and quality matter.
• Seems to be increasingly important in all schools.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Finding Balance: Second Step (continued)
Teaching:
• Student evaluation of teaching.
• Variety of courses taught.
• Contribution to course development/pedagogy.
• Student advising.
May also include:
• Casewriting.
• Materials development.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Finding Balance: Second Step (continued)
Service:
• To the institution.
• Contribution to department’s/school’s/
university’s activities.
• Committee work.
• Program development/management.
• To the Profession.
• Involvement in professional societies.
• Journal reviewing/editorships.
• To the community.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Finding Balance: Second Step (continued)
Teaching
Casewriting,
Textbook
contribution
Course Design,
Program
Leadership
Involvement in,
Leadership of
Professional Societies
Research
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Service
Finding Balance: Be True to Yourself
There will always be more to do than you can get done.
•
•
•
•
More to learn.
More to write.
More students to help.
More events to attend.
Remember what matters to you and keep it in focus!
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
What It Takes to Be a Good Teacher
• Some people are born teachers, most are not.
• Everyone can be better! Even if you’re a terrific
teacher, the needs of students change over time, so
you need to continuously adapt and improve.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Teach in Character
• Be yourself.
• Adapt your style to your audience.
• Adapt teaching “tricks” from others –
don’t “adopt” them wholesale.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Be Respectful
• Of students and their opinions.
• Of student diversity.
• Of the faculty team.
• Of program goals.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Be Organized
• Prepare lecture notes, case plan, game process.
• Prepare for common questions.
• Keep notes in good order.
• Use a class agenda.
• Hand out as many materials/assignments as possible at
the start of the term.
• Prepare for different “paths” through the material.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Teach, Don’t Tell
We learn and remember after one month...
•
14% of what we hear.
•
22% of what we see.
•
30% of what we watch others do – demonstrations.
•
42% of sensory redundancy - classroom rituals that repeat seeing,
hearing, and doing important skills or concepts.
•
72% of “movies of the mind” - learning that is linked to remembered or
imagined life experiences of the learner.
•
83% of performance of a life-challenging activity - first-time or demanding
action that applies the new learning.
•
92% of what we teach others!
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Gary Phillips, Vancouver B.C., Canada
Set the Tone Early
• Set high expectations.
• Be friendly, but be clear about who’s in charge.
• Be clear about your grading criteria.
• Think about your goals and plan/implement tactics in the first
class (particularly for class participation.
• “Cold calling.”
• Depth of analysis behind responses.
• Be tougher with grading early; it’s easier to curve up than down!
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Be Accessible and Responsive
• Offer reasonable office hours.
• Use technology.
• E-mail.
• Course support software.
• Solicit feedback early in the term.
• Use a method that provides actionable information (SSC).
• Be clear about what you are willing – and not willing – to change.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Be Fair
• Plan assignments to make it possible for students with strengths in
different areas to be successful (papers, exams, class participation)
- and to minimize the risk of cheating.
• Grade thoughtfully - and make it a policy not to change grades.
• Remember students are taking other classes, too!
• Don’t burden students with busywork.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Reinforce!
• “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them,
tell them what you told them.”
• Use class agenda.
• Summarize at end of class (you or student).
• Connect to other classes.
• Connect to “real world.”
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Think About Relevance
• Connect to the “real world.”
• Consider the age of materials; if age doesn’t
matter, discuss it in class!
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching
Some Tips:
• Observe other teachers.
• Have other teachers observe you.
• Reflect on what makes a class great – or mediocre.
• Listen to your students.
• Take the time to develop good materials – so you can use
them again and again.
• “Mix it up” in the classroom. Change the pace. Change the
pedagogy.
• Be aware of the rhythms of the semester.
• Give your students your best.
Boston University Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching