A syllabus can be a creative and integrative expression of graduate students’ academic and pedagogical interests. Whether graduate students are applying to teach for their department, Collins, or Global Village, or preparing for academic job interviews, they can use the syllabus to showcase how they would teach their dissertation topic. It can be tempting, however,… Read more »
Entries by Leslie Drane
Associate Instructor Orientation: Starting the First Week of Classes Prepared
The first week of class sets the tone for the rest of the semester, so make sure your students feel comfortable talking and sharing thoughts. Here’s an interactive way to start a conversation: Have each student write down their thoughts about a discussion question on a piece of paper. A good first day question might… Read more »
Create Application Materials with a Graduate Student Learning Community
Are you a graduate student getting ready to apply for academic jobs in the fall? While you’re prepping your research statements and writing samples, don’t forget there are many teaching-related materials that you will likely need. A growing number of universities ask for a candidate’s statement of teaching philosophy, diversity statement, teaching portfolio, and course… Read more »
Need Teaching Experience? Plan a Microteaching Event!
Want teaching experience, but haven’t yet had the chance? About to interview for a job that includes a mock-teaching portion? Preparing to teach a new lesson and you’re a bit unsure about your format? Consider planning a microteaching event for the graduate students and professors in your department. Microteaching events are practice teaching sessions in… Read more »
Creating Community through Stories: An Introduction to the Storytelling Series for Graduate Students
We’ve all been there… That moment when graduate school is too much stress. I had been feeling this way on-and-off for a few semesters when I joined a learning community (LC) of graduate students. During this LC, we gathered to share our thoughts and advice on teaching. For example, sharing our teaching evaluations and telling… Read more »