Preparing Future Faculty: Directing a Course as a Graduate Student Develops Autonomous, Flexible, Student‐Centered Educators

Abstract

New doctoral programs have recently emerged that seek to meet the rising demand for high quality anatomy educators. These programs often include both a research and teaching component, and students have the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for various courses. Graduate students typically do not have the opportunity to gain experience as a course director prior to graduation, although they may find themselves in the role of course director as they start their first faculty position. However, at Indiana University Bloomington, there is an optional 1-credit hour study skills course, MSCI M100: Improving Learning Skills in Anatomy (M100) that is directed solely by graduate students enrolled in the Anatomy Education track PhD program. M100 was designed to help undergraduate students develop study skills while concurrently completing an anatomy course. M100 has been taught every semester for the past 8 years, with various doctoral students directing the course for anywhere from 1-6 semesters. To understand how the experience of directing M100 may have influenced these individuals and their future careers, the authors conducted a phenomenological study (IRB Protocol 2018-0214). Seven individuals who taught M100 at least once participated in semi-structured interviews, describing their first-person experience as the course director. The interviews were transcribed, and thematic analysis was completed in which each transcript was read and coded by both authors. Upon assessing these codes, four main themes emerged from the interviews. Individuals who taught M100 learned to be flexible, autonomous, student-centered, and the impact of this experience went beyond the scope of this course. Teaching M100 helped shape these individuals as educators by allowing them to determine how to best structure a course through trial and error. Interviewees also commented that they learned how to better interact with students, and they gained a better understanding of which learning activities are best to implement, as well as how to effectively implement them. In addition, teaching M100 allowed them to experiment with their own teaching and educational research interests, better honing their skills as developing scholars and shaping the way they now instruct courses as faculty members. The experience of directing a course as a graduate student seems to promote development of skills and knowledge needed as an educator beyond the experience of typical teaching assistant positions. It is an opportunity worth offering graduate students, when possible, to facilitate the transition to a teaching-focused faculty member.