Graduate Student Instructor Colloquium Models Professional Peer Presentations
Graduate students who are currently, or expect to become Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs), or who wanted to learn more about teaching, had an opportunity to further their professional development at the 2007 Graduate Student Instructor Colloquium, held Saturday, September 15. The colloquium features peer presentations, the model most often encountered at a professional conference.
New this year was a panel made up of seasoned GSIs who shared their experiences with the participants, and included a Q&A session. The decision to use a peer-presented model comes from research dating from the inception of the program that suggested graduate students are more apt to listen to peers about their role as a teacher. The colloquium provides a venue for GSIs to practice their presentation skills in a professional, yet supportive conference setting. The process begins with a request for proposals (RFP).
A distinguishing feature is the inclusion of an interim step designed to enrich students’ presentation skills. DIIA staff experts meet with prospective presenters to offer constructive feedback, allowing the student an opportunity to refine their presentation prior to the colloquium. This feedback most often consists of encouraging the presenter to look beyond the traditional lecture model and take a more interactive, engaging approach to classroom teaching.
Mark Decker, GSI Program Coordinator, emphasizes two integral benefits for presenters and participants. “The colloquium affords a safe, yet challenging environment for learning. DIIA staff encourage and support presenters with sound, pedagogical practices, and the challenge comes through peer expectations that they will learn something significant that they can use at some point in their teaching careers.”
Dr. Lynn Jones Eaton, who leads DIIA’s Teaching and Learning team, says “presenters and participants find the colloquium to be a useful experience because it is a program for GSIs by GSIs. It is very powerful to hear the real story from someone who has been there.”
From his perspective as a GSI Program RA, Josh Iorio says, “the new student panel feature, which included GSIs recognized by their diverse academic disciplines as exemplary, demonstrates particularly well how the colloquium has evolved over the years to become more student-centered and student-driven.” He believes this to be one of the most useful aspects of the program.
Comments from this year’s anonymous evaluations include:
An excellent presentation. I can’t wait to start using team-based learning in my classes. The presentation and demonstration were great.
Wonderful experience. Thanks so much for putting it together. I feel this will help relieve some of the first-year anxiety of being a TA.