2003 Forum Breakout Notes

 

Notes from CIRTL Forum breakout sessions as of November 7, 2003
(additional notes will be added as participant responses are synthesized)
Breakout Summary 1
What are the 2-3 most important outcomes for STEM graduate student participants in a program designed to enhance teaching skills?
Professional Opportunities & Career Knowledge
  • Knowledge of institutional differences
  • Awareness of options
Interest in, and Knowledge of, Students
  • Diversity of student backgrounds and learning styles

  • Personal connection with students
Knowledge of various or innovative teaching approaches
  • Enthusiasm, motivation, confidence, collaboration

  • Effective communication
Fostering Student Learning
  • Ability to assess and evaluate

  • Cultivate learning environments
Authentic Teaching Experiences before Graduation
Developing a Broad Intellectual Perspective
  • Creativity

  • Adaptability and Flexibility

  • Depth & Breadth across disciplines, faculty roles


What are the 2-3 most important measures of success for programs designed to enhance teaching skills of STEM graduate students?
Job placement
  • Match job with career goals

  • Graduates are valued and get tenure

  • Increased placement

  • Different tracks
Graduate student impacts
  • Skills development (adaptability, integrated knowledge, awareness of diversity issues)

  • Attitudes

  • Overall satisfaction of experience

  • Increased involvement in teaching and learning activities
Outcomes
  • Number of awards won

  • Product development (portfolio development and use, syllabus development and student feedback mechanisms)

  • Holistic evaluation techniques

  • Impacts on undergraduates (increased learning, diversity, and retention)
Institutional involvement and cultural change
  • Removing obstacles

  • Rewards and recognition for participation and achievement

  • Increased recruitment to institution because of the programs

  • Sustainability

  • Increased departmental involvement

  • No negative effects/impacts

  • Increased diversity of graduates

  • Increased learning community development
National changes
  • Removal of obstacles and

  • Support for programs
Breakout Summary 2
What are the 2-3 most significant factors AND challenges for success in developing and/or adapting programs designed to enhance the teaching skills of STEM graduate students?
Buy-in/Support
  • Administration/faculty/graduate students

  • Recognition/non-monetary rewards

  • Community support
Funding
  • National/local/private
  • Grad student initiative funding
  • Faculty initiative funding
  • Rewards, recognition
Cultural and Cultural Values
  • Balance between teaching and research
  • Aligned programmatic values with department/college/institutional values
  • Paradigm shift (recognizing teaching is important)
Institutional Infrastructure
  • Centralized and decentralized
  • Where is the program administratively housed?
  • Who is responsible for it? Who maintains it? Who sustains it?
Sustainability
  • Funding

  • Cultural values

  • Infrastructure
Inefficiency of change
  • Too much inertia
Dissemination
  • Transferability

  • Adaptation

  • Scaling up

  • Generalizability
Breakout Summary 3 - Graduate Student Outcomes
What are the 2-3 most important actions that your university can take to develop and/or adapt programs that enhance the teaching skills of STEM graduate students?
To this question, graduate student participants said they wanted the following:
  • to be heard;

  • support from faculty and administrators for their teaching;

  • support from faculty for various career choices;

  • a venue for graduate students to share ideas in teaching and share resources;

  • rewards for excellence in teaching;

  • expanded dissertation committees to include teaching advisors and service advisors (could post-docs serve in this role?)

  • peer mentoring;

  • access to faculty development workshops (typically for faculty only);

  • to see evidence of success/impacts that can convince other students and faculty;

  • internships/opportunities for authentic teaching experiences

What are the 2-3 most important actions at the national level to promote the ongoing development and adaptation of programs that enhance teaching skills of STEM graduate students?
To this question, graduate student participants offered the following suggestions:
  • Educate deans/faculty/students on issues, professional development programs and their effects.
  • Provide information & resources
    • web sites
    • accessible data & finding
    • chat rooms for student sharing
  • National & ongoing conversation
    • practical conferences
    • Fund research (including that by STEM faculty) on doctoral education that produces compelling evidence of impact/success
    • Change doctoral student funding (provide more options, such as funding that travels)
    • Work with national organizations and disciplinary societies
    • Culture change; national priority given to teaching (federal, granting orgs; tenure track for teaching profs)