Importance of teaching experience

[bck203]

I applied to funded MA programs and have mostly received offers that would have me teaching a 2-1 load. One school, however, has offered me funding just to tutor in the writing center and assist with research, rather than lead my own class. They also have a TA-ship program for second-years only in which you help with a class, but don't actually teach it all yourself. I'm not sure what to think about this: on one hand, though the stipend is slightly less than what other schools are offering, it's still livable, and I imagine it's a little less money for a LOT less work (and more energy to focus on my own work). So I guess my question is: If I decide to continue on to the PhD after my MA, will it hurt me to have gone to the school where I won't get the full-on teaching experience? Or doesn't it matter?

[ryanweb]

I'm certainly no expert on this subject, but it does seem that a lot of the (better, or at least higher-ranked) programs out there don't even have you do a lot of heavy teaching until after a year or two of coursework, rhet/comp training, tutoring and grading and writing center experience, etc. Then maybe they start you off with a section or two of Freshman Comp or English 101, Eventually, you work up to some literature or upper-level classes and maybe even design some courses of your own. I imagine that sort of training would get you ready for teaching at the post-MA/PhD level, and the more gradual pace certainly seems ideal to me. But I'm sure others are ready to dig in right away and get a head start on teaching. And perhaps PhD programs would have less of a hang-up trusting a transfer student with teaching responsibilities if they had some course evaluations to look at.

Anyone else have better or different insights?

[Chris83]

I'm certainly no expert on this subject, but it does seem that a lot of the (better, or at least higher-ranked) programs out there don't even have you do a lot of heavy teaching until after a year or two of coursework, rhet/comp training, tutoring and grading and writing center experience, etc. Then maybe they start you off with a section or two of Freshman Comp or English 101, Eventually, you work up to some literature or upper-level classes and maybe even design some courses of your own. I imagine that sort of training would get you ready for teaching at the post-MA/PhD level, and the more gradual pace certainly seems ideal to me. But I'm sure others are ready to dig in right away and get a head start on teaching. And perhaps PhD programs would have less of a hang-up trusting a transfer student with teaching responsibilities if they had some course evaluations to look at.

Anyone else have better or different insights?

Since many MA programs are unfunded, and many PhD programs admit students with a BA only, I'm not certain teaching experience is going to matter a lot-- but it depends. I would say that the writing center gig sounds like a pretty nice way to get your feet wet.

On the other hand, taking an offer with a TA-ship could be valuable for you in other ways. You'd get to find out sooner rather than later if you like teaching-- which could directly affect your decision to move onto a PhD.

This was a long way to say....I dunno. If all things are equal, then you should definitely take the best funded offer for the least amount of work. But if all things are NOT equal, then you need to evaluate what else is different among your offers.

[crimsonsneakers]

Unless you think you might apply to Rhet/Comp PhD programs, take the offer that best allows you to focus on your own research (provided other factors-- funding, program, etc-- are equal). I'm finishing up an MA where I've been teaching two classes of freshman comp a semester on my own (not TAing), and I don't think my teaching has enhanced my application-- except insofar as it has solidified my career aspirations.

[Chris83]

Unless you think you might apply to Rhet/Comp PhD programs, take the offer that best allows you to focus on your own research (provided other factors-- funding, program, etc-- are equal). I'm finishing up an MA where I've been teaching two classes of freshman comp a semester on my own (not TAing), and I don't think my teaching has enhanced my application-- except insofar as it has solidified my career aspirations.

I'd echo this. As a rhet/comp person the teaching has directly affected my research and I can't imagine being able to articulate my research goals for this statement of purpose without having had that experience, but that might not be the case for you. I think most PhD programs view the TA offer as recruitment tool and not a recognition of your teacher training. You might look around at some programs to verify this. I'd say that out of the 7 applications I did this year only 1 or 2 of them even required a separate teaching statement. (Requiring a teaching statement with the application can sometimes, but not always, indicate whether they award ta-ships on the basis of experience/desire to teach or not.)

[bck203]

Hmm, thanks. I am somewhat interested in comp/rhet, but I have no idea how major of an interest it will turn out to be. I'm still pretty open at this point. I'll probably take the tutoring/research offer.

[papernpengal]

I chose my MA school because I was so excited at the opportunity to not be a TA or a tutor but an ADJUNCT LECTURER, to design and teach my own course. I wanted first to make sure that teaching college kids is what I really wanted to spend the rest of my life doing--check, I do. But I also thought that line under "Teaching Experience" of my CV/resume would look great when it came to PhD applications--set me apart even (goes to show how little I knew, since I'm learning via these forums that many MA students get to teach). My MA school was not bad, but it also was not in the top 20 or even 50. And it was unfunded (ouch). I thought the teaching opportunity was just too great to pass up. And the Director of Freshman Composition, also a professor of mine, wrote me a LoR, using my glowing observation report to comment on my ability to teach. Perhaps at 22 I was ill-equipped to know what would be best for PhD applications 3 years down the road, but I was 100% certain that the teaching experience would help get me in SOMEWHERE.

That's all what I thought then.

Now I would say this (repeating a little what others have already said): If the PhD programs you are looking into place heavy emphasis on their students teaching their own courses, then I would strongly consider attending an MA program where you get that teaching experience. When weighing your application against another of equal standing, they might notice you have teaching experience and the other does not and think, "Not only is she an excellent fit in her research goals, but we know she can fulfill the GA-/TA-/fellow-ship offer with flying colors." If the program doesn't require its students to teach at all or not even every semester/year, then the tutoring at a "better" MA school is a more than fine safe bet. Tutoring is a kind of instruction after all. If a program will require you to be a TA to a professor first and then later teach your own course, they might view the tutoring experience as the first step before TAing.

Best of luck!

I'd echo this. As a rhet/comp person the teaching has directly affected my research and I can't imagine being able to articulate my research goals for this statement of purpose without having had that experience, but that might not be the case for you. I think most PhD programs view the TA offer as recruitment tool and not a recognition of your teacher training. You might look around at some programs to verify this. I'd say that out of the 7 applications I did this year only 1 or 2 of them even required a separate teaching statement. (Requiring a teaching statement with the application can sometimes, but not always, indicate whether they award ta-ships on the basis of experience/desire to teach or not.)

[runonsentence]

I won a competitive TA-ship at one of my admits, and I'm confident it's because I had strong letters of recommendation and a strong teaching philosophy statement for the TA portion. But this was also at a program that highly values developing students into teacher-scholars.

So I think this echoes the above point: it depends on where you want to go and what you want to do.

[Pamphilia]

All of the professors who looked over my application materials last year before I applied suggested I play down my interest in and experience teaching, at least in my SOP (not necessarily on the CV). They didn't suggest that I cut out any discussion of teaching entirely, but cautioned me that adcoms would be looking for evidence of interest and competence in research rather than teaching, and that an over-emphasis on teaching in the SOP can actually be detrimental to one's application because it makes one look less research-focused. Obviously, this really depends on the program, but it's something to keep in mind.