Teaching Development
Series Popular with Grad Students
| “No matter what I try,
I can’t get them to ask me questions.” |
Depending on the field,
many of our graduate students interested in faculty
positions have little opportunity to think, learn, and talk
about the art of teaching. They express their frustrations
with statements like the one on the left and others: “I
am only four years older than my students.
How do I get them to
respect me?” and “I’m surprised that they aren’t as
interested in the subject as I am.” Or
“I soon discovered the students had vastly different levels
of preparation for this class; I’m not sure how to handle
that.”
In order to meet this
need, the offices of Faculty Development and Graduate
Student Life teamed up to offer a year long seminar series
which is financially supported by the Provost’s Office.
Several of Lehigh’s talented teachers are offering seminars
on everything from “Presenting in the Classroom” to
“Engaging Students” to “The Roles of Cognition and
Emotion.”
These seminars not only
give novice teachers the opportunity to think critically
about teaching and to develop some practical skills, but
also allow them to benefit from seeing some of Lehigh
University’s most innovative professors in action.
So far, the response has
been overwhelming. Graduate students are signing up in
numbers far exceeding our expectations, proving that
graduate students were hungry for this opportunity. It also
affirms for us that while our graduate students are striving
to produce excellent research they also are dedicated to
becoming excellent teachers as well.
These seminars are open
to all graduate students, whether they are expecting to get
a teaching assistantship in the future, are novice TAs, or
who have been research assistants with little time in the
classroom. Students who attend 6-11 sessions will receive a
Level 1 Certificate, and a letter to their advisor and
department chair.
Those attending 10 of 11
sessions, will receive a Level II certificate with
additional letters emphasizing the students’ commitment and
a book on college teaching. For more information, visit
this site.
--Kathleen
Hutnik
Director, Graduate Student Life
Article posted November
2007
Return to
Newsletter
