Every year, graduate students in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences (EOS) contribute to the delivery of more than 50 undergraduate courses, interacting with more than 1000 students. The department employs approximately 60 Teaching Assistants (TAs) per year, at an average rate of 6.1 hours per week per TA. EOS TAs contribute to the education of our undergraduates in many ways: they run laboratory sessions, lead in-class tutorials and mini-lectures, support students one-on-one at our help centre, lead field trips, and mark assignments and exams. Until 2007, our department had no formal system to train and support TAs; experience was gained on the ground with the support of the course instructor and of fellow TAs. The obvious limitations of "training by practice" was compounded by a relatively high turnover rate; every year, approximately 30 new TAs start teaching in the department. Recognizing the important role TAs play in the education of our undergraduates and the opportunity in professional development for our graduate students, the Earth and Ocean Sciences department began a graduate course, entitled Teaching and Learning in the Earth and Ocean Sciences, in 2007.
In this course graduate students practice teaching and presentation skills, reflect on teaching experiences, learn tips and tricks for the classrooms and develop the knowledge of learner-centered pedagogy.
Course Goals By the end of this course the participants will be able to:
This course is offered to all graduate students in EOS each Fall.
EOSC 516 is closely based on the Instructional Skills Workshop model (www.iswnetwork.ca). Course meetings occur every 2 weeks, alternating between large group (all enrolled students) and small group (4-5 enrolled students) sessions. A total of 7 meetings occur throughout the semester. In addition to course meetings, students work independently on a large group project and course readings.
People: (See also contacts) Brett Gilley, and TAs who help run the course, including
The course has been running since Fall 2007 and every student surveyed has said they would recommend it to other graduate students in EOS.
Providing an opportunity for graduate students to practice proven pedagogic principles is a crucial component of ensuring that future generations of academics and post secondary instructors are well-versed in instructional practices as well as being experts in their fields of study. This will benefit all undergraduate students taught by these graduate students.