Teaching Grad Students Ankur Desai UW-Madison

What’s the issue?  Teaching peers, closer in (mental) age, may know most students well = authority issue  Teaching at the edge of your expertise, have to always update material = imposter issue  May be difficult to hit enrollment target in electives  Usually much more freedom in designing structure, material, assessment = more work  Fewer options for textbooks  Generally good students, but may prioritize research, conference travel, etc…  May hide gaps in knowledge  Assessment is different  Greater proportion of international students

Types of grad classes  Lectures, “core” or survey classes  Methods courses, maybe with lab  Advanced elective course, lecture based  Research seminars, maybe student-led, usually 1-2 week  Paper based  Guest speaker based  Student presentation based  Professional seminars  Field or participatory courses  Mixed grad-undergrad  Advising is a form of teaching  Graduate committee service is a form of teaching  Informal courses, how-to videos, one off symposia  Intensive summer schools  Others?

Bloom’s Taxonomy

What works?  Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do  Know subject extremely well, interest in broad trends in discipline, techniques to grasp key principles  Treat developing course as serious intellectual pursuit  High expectations of students, tie to higher order objectives  Natural critical learning environment, learners feel a sense of control of environment  High level of trust in students, openness about your own intellectual journey, enthusiasm and curiosity  Systematic self-assessment, tie student assessment to learning objectives

What works?  Establish authority early  Project based courses that connect to research  Journal paper reviews – joint learning  Student-led discussions  Data based assignments, learning of “concrete” tools (e.g., a programming language)  Frequent assessment, but less “busywork”  Survey the students, design course around needs of students, modify syllabus to audience, mid-term evaluation  Be aware of language barriers  Seminars – use these to advance your own work and demonstrate how you produce work

Assignment  Imagine a search committee asks you: if you were to design a course in your field, what would it be?  Design a mini-syllabus for a graduate elective in your sub-discipline  Title and one sentence description  Type of course, frequency of meeting  Audience – who should take course  Learning outcomes  Types of assessment  A rough agenda