Teaching Tips

[mikeman591]

How has everyone dealt with teaching undergraduates while you were young? I will be starting a PhD program in the fall (where yet, I don't know) at the ripe age of 24. I taught a few speech classes as a master's student and it was a constant struggle to command respect in small (~30 student) classes when I was only 4-5 years older than my students. Do you have any thoughts/strategies to maximize credibility and respect as an instructor when you are this young? I know it certainly helps that I'm male but my age is a very tough barrier to overcome.

Edited January 29, 2015 by mikeman591

[ashes_are_burning]

I am not sure if this will help, but I gained a lot of my teaching philosophy from Carl Roger's Freedom to Learn.  (It's out of print but I got a copy used on Amazon -- it's also in a lot of libraries.)  In it, he applies his person-centered approach to psychotherapy to the classroom.

 

Generally, I have found genuinely respecting students, resisting micromanagement, and teaching with empathy are the most effective practices for the college classroom.

[rising_star]

It's definitely a challenge and is something I went through when I started my Ph.D. What doesn't work, in my experience, is trying to act like many of the full profs you may have known as an undergraduate. Be authentic and be yourself. Be willing to open up a bit (every student I have could probably tell you something about my dog, for example, though they know nothing about the rest of my life). Take advantage of the teaching seminars/trainings available through the university's teaching center. Oh, and don't reinvent the wheel. When you need an idea for an assignment or in-class activity, google first.

[agrizz]

Be yourself and have fun with it.  If you enjoy the subject you teach, your students will recognize that.  The quickest way undergrads check out is by realizing in the first few classes that they've got another monotonic/boring prof.  But if you are enjoying yourself, the students will become energized themselves.  Seek to engage the students early and often.  Doing so further energizes them and guarantees they will look forward to your class (fingers crossed).  

 

The other side of the coin is to expect failure/disappointment.  You will indeed have students that simply don't care, think they are smarter than you, and/or think that by attending your class and by paying their tuition they are entitled to an "A".  The first few times I had students like this, I immediately blamed myself.  I'm sure I could've done more to engage and excite them, but some kids just don't even want to care.  

[agrizz]

Do you have any thoughts/strategies to maximize credibility and respect as an instructor when you are this young? I know it certainly helps that I'm male but my age is a very tough barrier to overcome.

To this, I would simply say to own it.  Know that you are the expert in the room... which is true, because none of them have come as far as you.  

 

But at the same time, don't be afraid to not know an answer to a question.  I've been advised to keep responses to questions you don't know handy, like, "interesting question, but that's a bit outside the scope of today's lecture", or "I'd rather not get into that right now".  These are handy, but I've found I've earned more respect with, "you know what, I'm not even sure the answer to that question, but let's brainstorm how to answer it" or "I tell you what, I'll come back to you with an answer next time".  

 

I've only taught for a few years, so I'm no expert, but I'd say these few pieces of advice got me a long way, and I've generally had good experiences with my students. 

[The Pedanticist]

It is also worth pointing out to your students that they have chosen or are required to be there for 3 hours (or how ever long) per week and it's a lot more enjoyable if they try to get something out of it.  This has always helped, especially with the returning students I teach.  

[Adelboy]

I was wondering the same some months ago. I taught a group as large as yours and two of my students were a year older than me. From my experience, these strategies works very well.

 

a) Ask the students their names when they participate and try to use them.

Ask them to share examples related with the class topics from their experiences and try to remember them. You can use those later to review the topic or to explain a new one. Students usually like that because it shows that you are listening and that you value what they have to say.

c) Try to catch what they are interested in (TV shows, sports, etc.) and use them to catch their attention when things are going down.

d) Try to give time to everyone. Don't listen only to the typical guy that knows everything. Ask questions and opinions from the rest too and help them to produce the answers. Don't stop after the "I don't know´s". Dig a little more.

e) Offer time to answer doubts. Give the chance to other students to answer them first and if they can't, proceed to explain.

f) As Agrizz said, tell them when you don't know the answer. You can try to solve it with them but if its necessary to do more research on it, ask the students to do it for the next class and search for it you too. In my case, this worked perfectly because I had already explained them that I wanted a class where the students construct their own knowledge with my help, in contrast to do it in a more traditional or hierarchical way. They loved it and put a lot of effort in the "extra research" even when it wasn't scored.

g) Giving some details about myself (nothing too personal) also helped me. People engage with others when they recognized them as persons too. The little age difference can be a good thing!
h) Set rules since day one and follow them. If you had said that you would not accept tardiness, don't do it. The rules must be only a few and very clear. It is not a personal thing. Try to not get mad if they broke them (they will). Just make sure to proceed as you said and take the opportunity to repeat the rules again.

i) Offer extra material. There are times when you explain topics that catch the attention of some students. Make them know that, if they are interested, they can ask for extra material or suggestions about how to compliment their education.

 

I hope you find these suggestions useful.

 

Good luck! 

[lyrehc]

Where you choose to go will have an impact, because the university culture affects undergraduate attitude. You can look up the university and department on Rate My Professor and see how instructors are talked about.

 

In my department a couple of younger grad students have chosen to be called "Professor ____" by their students which has helped create distance from those who look very young.

 

Read books on pedagogy and think about how you'll incorporate skills in your classroom. I teach a flipped class which works very well for me - my class tends to be active and it makes it harder for students to check out. But there are many different ways to do things.

[rising_star]

lyrehc, asking to be called "Professor __" is an interesting one. In some departments, doing so is not the norm and thus using that would potentially put you in an awkward position, in part because that's not what students are used to. I have heard of grad students going by Ms./Mr. in the classroom, which is more common in the Southern USA and/or when the instructor is young. 

 

For books on pedagogy, classics are McKeachie's. Another great reference is Student Engagement Techniques by Elizabeth Barkley. Both can really help you figure out not only what you should be doing but how to design useful classroom activities. There's another great book on teaching your first course in a college setting but I can't remember the title now. That book walks you through what to do week by week in a super helpful way.

[lyrehc]

Being called "Professor" isn't the norm in my department either, but there are TAs who choose to use that. My students call me "Ms. ___"

 

I found this to be the most helpful pedagogy book. http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Communication-Pedagogy-Deanna-Fassett/dp/1412916267I also really like Paulo Freire's work. Using the dialogic model instead of the banking model of education as a core element in my teaching helps a lot.

[jujubea]

This is such a helpful thread! I want to bookmark it for when my time comes...!

[The Pedanticist]

lyrehc, asking to be called "Professor __" is an interesting one. In some departments, doing so is not the norm and thus using that would potentially put you in an awkward position, in part because that's not what students are used to. I have heard of grad students going by Ms./Mr. in the classroom, which is more common in the Southern USA and/or when the instructor is young. 

 

For books on pedagogy, classics are McKeachie's. Another great reference is Student Engagement Techniques by Elizabeth Barkley. Both can really help you figure out not only what you should be doing but how to design useful classroom activities. There's another great book on teaching your first course in a college setting but I can't remember the title now. That book walks you through what to do week by week in a super helpful way.

 

 

Being called "Professor" isn't the norm in my department either, but there are TAs who choose to use that. My students call me "Ms. ___"

 

I found this to be the most helpful pedagogy book. http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Communication-Pedagogy-Deanna-Fassett/dp/1412916267I also really like Paulo Freire's work. Using the dialogic model instead of the banking model of education as a core element in my teaching helps a lot.

 

I honestly don't think 95% of the students we get really know the differences between professors, lecturers and GTAs.  I think I've had one student ask me whether I was a lecturer or a GTA.  Thankfully, it was during the summer when I was officially a "lecturer."     

[autumn]

I honestly don't think 95% of the students we get really know the differences between professors, lecturers and GTAs.  I think I've had one student ask me whether I was a lecturer or a GTA.  Thankfully, it was during the summer when I was officially a "lecturer."     

 

Cosigned. I'm adjuncting currently and I mentioned to a student that I was applying to PhD programs with the hope of becoming a professor. He responded with "aren't you already?"

Edited February 5, 2015 by autumn

[rising_star]

Interesting, autumn. I taught as a grad student at two different institutions and at one the students asked and at the other they didn't. I've also had students ask whether I was a master's or a PhD student before. There are obviously some differences between schools here but I still thought it worth mentioning since it helps to have multiple data points for this kind of things.

 

OP: You may also want to look into the literature on the scholarship of teaching and learning. Most disciplines have a teaching focused journal, which can help you figure out activities or strategies to use in the classroom.

[-hermes-]

I think it'd be weird to ask students to call you Professor X if you're not a professor. Being called Mr or Ms X would help, but I think it would stick out at a lot of departments (the ones I'm familiar with are pretty casual). I haven't taught so far but I'm sure that I'd face this challenge as well. And it's probably worse when it's freezing and you have to wear clunky and equalizing winter boots...

[Roflbot3000]

I think you just need to make a conscious choice about your presentational self in the classroom (and stick with it). Whether it's the super professional prototype or more laid back ("I'm more like you") vibe, I think either can work. Personally, I opt for the latter because its just a part of my personality.

[autumn]

In addition to what Roflbot3000 and a few others touched on, it also greatly depends on the department's culture. In my MA department, it was standard practice to call all professors by their first name. I knew one faculty member who allowed this to fit in with the culture but was not at all happy to be addressed as "Kim" instead of "Dr. Someone." She thought it really damaged the teacher-student dynamic, but it did put students at ease.

Edited February 5, 2015 by autumn