A Semester Long Teaching Practicum For Graduate Students In Biomedical Sciences

Abstract

IntroductionTeaching assistants are often given little or no guidance before receiving their first teaching assignment. As a result they feel underprepared and overwhelmed by the experience, which undoubtedly reduces their effectiveness in the classroom. Therefore we developed a one‐semester teaching practicum to better prepare new graduate students for the rigors of college teaching.PurposeTo provide students with a mentored experience in college teaching while simultaneously exploring topics in the pedagogy of college teaching.MethodsWe developed a 15‐week course for first year graduate students in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University. Student teaching assistants were assigned to shadow a faculty‐mentor teaching an introductory laboratory course in Anatomy and Physiology, or Microbiology. Students performed basic teaching duties including grading and assisting students during the lab. In addition they completed a curriculum, which included weekly readings and writing assignments on topics in college teaching pedagogy. Selected readings, links to external content, and writing reflections were managed through a course website on Blackboard.Learning ObjectivesAfter completing the course the student should be able to: critically read and apply current concepts in the pedagogy of college teaching, facilitate student‐centered learning activities, make effective use of visual aids in classroom instruction, plan, execute, and evaluate classroom instruction.Evaluation and AssessmentWeekly assignments included readings on topics in college teaching pedagogy ranging from – setting the right tone in the classroom on day one, managing the classroom, to developing a teaching philosophy. Each assignment required a brief writing reflection and a discussion with the faculty‐teaching mentor. As part of the course students completed two teaching demonstrations. The first teaching demonstration was video taped and later reviewed and evaluated by the student and faculty mentor. Both teaching demonstrations were graded and the grading rubric was provided to the student prior to the demonstration. The course culminated with the student drafting a statement of teaching philosophy.SummaryWe developed a 15‐week teaching practicum designed to provide students with a mentored experience in college teaching. The course was initially piloted with two graduate students in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University but could easily be scaled up to a larger cohort of students and different academic disciplines.