Promising Practices
Teaching at the University of Texas at Austin is an honor and a challenge. It is an honor to work with impressive faculty mentors and it can be a challenge as a new graduate instructor to convey the ideas that are generated in a tier 1 University. However, there are a number of tips, prior to going into the classroom and throughout the semester, which can be useful for having a successful first day and a rewarding teaching experience.
First, being enthusiastic and stimulated by the fundamentals of the discipline will carry a graduate student the distance for teaching it and for studying it. Amidst graduate seminars and personal research goals, there is the tendency to stare intently at the proverbial tree, rather than seeing the breadth and span of the forest. Our role as instructors or teaching assistants, especially in introductory courses, is to be able to clearly explain the broad and relevant aspects of our discipline, while showing glimpses of our individual areas of specialization. For that reason, the excitement and enthusiasm about the bigger ideas that initially stimulated a graduate student to ask the finer-scale, detailed questions should be incorporated into the teaching process and carried into the classroom.
A second tip is to assess the dynamics of each class meeting and modify one’s teaching style accordingly to motivate, focus and re-energize students to the material at hand. Different courses require different teaching techniques. And different people have different learning styles. However, there are certainly periods throughout a semester when students are visibly more receptive and attentive. Assessing the dynamics and the energy at the outset of each class can help an instructor to be flexible and draw on different teaching styles for each session. The variety and spontaneity of incorporating different teaching styles can invigorate the students and refocus their attention to the material. If classroom energy is low, an activity such as, group participation or open dialogue, will quickly bring students’ minds back into the classroom. Engaging the students through active inquiry and having a variety of teaching styles are techniques that can help to focus and enliven a classroom for each class session.