M07 - Roundtable: Teaching While Learning -- Graduate Student Experiences as Educators
Date: Jun 2 | Time: 03:15pm to 04:45pm | Location:
Chair/Président/Présidente : David Black (Dalhousie Univesity)
Co-Chair/Président/Présidente : Nafisa Abdulhamid (Dalhousie University)
Teaching While Learning: Graduate Student Experiences as Educators:
Heather Carroll (Harvard University)
Miranda Leibel (Carleton University)
Adam MacDonald (Dalhousie University)
Susan Manning (Dalhousie University)
Julia Rodgers (Dalhousie University)
Doug Yearwood (Queens University)
Abstract: Amidst the many requirements and activities graduate students have to manage is determining whether to accept teaching opportunities if they are offered. While not a degree requirement, teaching provides important opportunities and experiences for graduate students to learn and grow as educators and professionals. They are particularly valuable for those wishing to pursue careers in the academy. This roundtable brings together graduate students to discuss their experiences as teachers. Topics addressed in the roundtable will include: factors to consider in making a decision to teach (especially in balancing other degree requirement demands), course construction, integrating active learning, dealing with politics and power within the classroom, the mechanics of co-teaching, and the benefits and challenges of being given such responsibilities and duties with minimal formal training. The roundtable will stress the need to prioritize ‘teaching the profession’ – beyond the content of the discipline and towards the conduct and practice of it – to graduate students in a systematic way, instead of the far too common ‘learn as you go’ approach that exists in many departments. Integrating the practice of teaching into graduate education will create formal and informal channels to share teaching experiences, challenges, lessons learned, and in general, position a culture of professional development as an integral component of graduate training. This work need not begin with or be led by faculty. The roundtable will discuss ways that graduate students can create these spaces and values to engage among themselves.