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Description of the Program

At the University of Minnesota, science and mathematics departments are actively involved in programs to prepare graduate students for the teaching component of faculty responsibility. These programs make use of the Teaching Assistant experience as the first step. The oldest of these programs, Physics, was developed with a FIPSE grant in 1993 and has run for a decade. In Physics all graduate students participate in a two week TA orientation before fall semester classes begin. The orientation emphasizes the research basis for the teaching used in the department as well as the practical procedures necessary for that teaching. These sessions typically fill the entire day. The orientation process is made as concrete as possible by using actual student work and case studies as a basis for discussion. In physics, new TAs operate coordinated discussion and laboratory sections that emphasize cooperative group work. This teaching is primarily coaching students actively working on a task. While they are teaching, the graduate students participate in a weekly seminar to address concerns that surface as the TAs gain more experience with students. All of the TAs for each course also meet weekly with the professor in charge of that course and share the responsibilities of the entire course. The program also uses advanced graduate students as mentors for the beginning TAs. These mentor TAs conduct the seminars and also visit TAs when they are teaching to observe and offer friendly advice. Similar orientation processes and TA support are now implemented by Mathematics and Chemistry. Biology still has TA support orientated to specific classes but is planning a more integrated approach.

After gaining experience with real students and an appreciation for the practical issues of undergraduate education, a multi-year teaching apprenticeship program is available for graduate students. The University Preparing Future Faculty Program conducts graduate level classes on undergraduate education. These classes are multi-disciplinary and emphasize active learning including the observation and analysis of classroom teaching. While the graduate student is involved in research, they can participate in limited commitment teaching with a faculty mentor. For example, in Physics these experiences usually take place during the summer session when classes are smaller. A graduate student works with the faculty member teaching a course and begins by observing the faculty member teach and discussing their observations with that faculty member. At some time during the term, the graduate student teaches a short but coherent portion of the course observed by the faculty member. The graduate student and the faculty member then discuss the process and result. As much as possible, the graduate student is involved in all aspects of organizing the course. In the next step, a graduate student will teach an entire course with the support of a faculty member. In Mathematics, these are typically smaller upper level courses or lower level general interest courses. In Physics, they typically small classes that take place at one of the many smaller undergraduate institutions in the Twin Cities area under the supervision of a cooperating faculty member at that institution.