Graduate Student Instructor Training Workshop

COMM 993 -- Winter 2020
4244 ISR Thompson; Tuesdays 12:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Prof. Sandvig, University of Michigan
http://umich.edu/~csandvig/993F19

 

Announcements

• Welcome! Future announcements will appear here.

 

 

Instructor

Prof. Christian Sandvig
csandvig@umich.edu
734/763-0861
http://umich.edu/~csandvig
Office: 4244 ISR Thompson
My mailbox is in the Communication Studies 5th floor mailbox room (5334 North Quad)
Office Hours: 1:20-2:20 p.m. Tuesdays and by appointment

Course Description

Teaching is key to your development as a scholar, and your contribution as a teacher is central to the development of the next generation of thinkers.

This workshop provides guidance, advice, and instruction to support Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) teaching in Communication and Media for the first time at the University of Michigan. The goal is to aid GSIs in becoming effective teachers by attending to practical questions and the broader theoretical issues (pedagogy) pertaining to undergraduate instruction. Toward this end, this seminar will introduce some of the strategies and techniques of expert undergraduate student teaching and assessment.

This course should not be understood as simply offering "teaching tips." As Robert Terrill at the University of Indiana reminds, teaching never draws upon a context-free formula. It is an embodied activity where there are often many "correct" approaches to any particular teaching task. A pedagogical move that works for you in a particular situation may not work for someone else -- even with the same material. Indeed, when you try the same tactic again in a different situation or with a different group of students, it might not even work again for you. That is why we will together think of this class as a workshop and not as a seminar.

Learning Objectives

• identify/recognize more than one approach to undergraduate teaching
• understand the methods and resources available for developing your own pedagogy
• select and/or compose a compelling rationale for your pedagogy
• deploy the written conventions of academic hiring to accurately convey your expertise as a teacher

Course Credit

• This is a required course for beginning GSIs in Communication and Media.

Class Requirements

You are expected to attend all class meetings. You must come prepared to be an enthusiastic, active, and respectful participant in class discussions. You must have completed any assigned readings and activities in advance.

Students will be responsible for developing their teaching philosophy by the end of this term. This includes sharing short draft writing about teaching and participating in discussion about the evolution of your teaching philosophy throughout the term. At the conclusion of the semester, students will submit a written statement of their teaching philosophy of between 3-5 pages. The statement will be turned in electronically, as explained in class. No late work! No incompletes!

Foundational Readings

These readings will be used as resources for you to develop your statement of teaching philosophy.

1. Cathy Davidson (2017). The New Education. Basic Books: New York.
2. John Dewey (1916/1997). Democracy and Education. Free Press: Glencoe, IL.
3. Paulo Freire (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
4. bell hooks (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge: London.
5. Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner (1971). Teaching as a Subversive Activity. Delta: New York.

Essential Resources

• On-Campus Offices:
  • CRLT -- especially Seminars for GSIs
  • CAPS
  • Ombuds
  • Dean of Students -- can be used by students for the confidential report of illness/emergency requiring missed class
• Professional E-Mail Lists:
  • Tomorrow's Professor
• UM Web Forms/Links:
  • LSA Student report of illness to all instructors
  • LSA Undergraduate academic progress report (can be submitted at any time, positive or negative -- copy goes to advisor and student)
• Others? (suggestions welcome!)

Schedule

"How should I teach this?" is a question where there is no single answer that will apply to everyone and every situation. The foundational readings above and the readings on the schedule below sometimes advocate a particular position or relate a personal experience. Some are polemical, sarcastic, and intentionally provocative. As is true in many seminars, the list is offered in the hope of producing a useful discussion, not because I necessarily agree with the particular claims.

(By Week #)

1. (Jan 14:) NO CLASS -- By mutual arrangement
2. (Jan 21:) What are We Doing Here? (Undergraduate Teaching)
   • There are no assigned readings for this week, except the syllabus. The following are optional.
   • MEME: When a Former Student Tells You How Much Your Class Meant To Her
   • OPTIONAL: Mindset List for Incoming Freshmen 2019
3. (Jan 28:) Facilitating Discussion
   • MEME: When You Look Around For a Student To Call On
   • READING: Designing Effective Discussion Section Activities
   • READING: Getting Students to Talk
   • OPTIONAL: What Is Active Learning?
   • OPTIONAL: ERIC Active Learning Summary
   • OPTIONAL: Approaches to Improving Discussions
4. (Feb 4:) The Troubled Student
   • MEME: When You Ask Your Students If They Understand
   • READING: Supporting Students in Distress
   • READING: Quick Tips for Reaching Out To A Student
5. (Feb 11 12, 3pm:) Inclusive Teaching
   (Note day/time change by mutual agreement.)
   • MEME: You Keep Saying "Accessibility."
   • READING: How To Make Your Classroom More Inclusive
   • OPTIONAL: Facilitating Equitable Class Discussions Within the Multicultural Classroom
   • OPTIONAL: Who's Classier? (Ms. Mentor)
6. (Feb 18:) Providing Effective Feedback
   • MEME: When You First Begin Grading
   • READING: Example Grading Rubric
   • READING: Example Writing Requirements and Expectations
   • READING: Responding to Student Writing -- Principles and Practices
   • OPTIONAL: Writing -- Example Comments
7. (Feb 25:) Professional Teaching Norms
   • MEME: When an 18-Year-Old Asks You...
   • READING: Sexual, Romantic, Amorous, and/or Dating Relationships Between Teachers and Learners.
8. (Mar 3:) NO CLASS -- Spring Break
9. (Mar 10:) Motivating Student Learning
   • MEME: When You Tell Students They Are Requied To...
   • READING: Getting Students To Do The Readings
10. (Mar 17:) NO CLASS -- Conference Travel
11. (Mar 24:) Assessment & Evaluation
    • MEME: When A Student Keeps Asking You...
    • READING: Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
    • DUE: Schedule Your CRLT Mid-Semester Consultation By This Date
12. (Mar 31:) Pedagogical Philosophies Week I.
    • MEME: Anyone Have Any Questions?
    • READING: The Dreaded Teaching Statement
    • SKIM/BROWSE: Example Statements of Teaching Philosophy Written by UM Grad Students.
13. (Apr 7:) Pedagogical Philosophies Week II.
    • MEME: The Student/Professor View
    • READINGS: Select readings from the foundational list as discussed in class.
    • OPTIONAL READING: Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy for the Academic Job Search
    • DUE: Identify Specific Sources and Ideas from the foundational list (and optionally from elsewhere) and e-mail them to the entire class.
14. (Apr 14:) Teaching in Communication
    • MEME: You're a Communication Major?
    • DUE: Draft Statement of Teaching Philosophy
15. (Apr 21:) Demonstrating "Teaching Effectiveness"
    • MEME: Teaching Evaluations, Explained
    • DUE: Peer Comments on Draft Statements of Teaching Philosophy
16. (Apr 28:) NO CLASS -- Finals Week
     
17. (Apr 30: -- Thursday:) FINAL STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY DUE

    IMPORTANT: The statement of teaching philosophy is due at 12:30 p.m. on this date. This is the final examination period for this class scheduled by the registrar. Submission of the statement constitutes the final exam for this course -- there is no other exam. Submit your paper as discussed in class.