Departments Can Develop Teaching Identities of Graduate Students

Kendall, K. Denise; Niemiller, Matthew L.; Dittrich-Reed, Dylan; Chick, Lacy D.; Wilmoth, Lauren; Milt, Austin; Burt, Melissa; Lopes, Nick; Cantwell, Lisa; Rubio, Laura; Allison, Amanda; Schussler, Elisabeth E.

doi:10.1187/cbe.13-03-0066

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Thus, the experiences of these STEM graduate students seem to align with much of what Brownell and Tanner (2012) hypothesized. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms of how doctoral training influences teaching identity (Kendall et al, 2013).…”

Section: Guiding Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

A model of the factors influencing teaching identity among life sciences doctoral students

et al. 2018

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One barrier to the adoption of evidenced‐based teaching practices may be that faculty do not see teaching as an important part of their identities as professionals. Graduate school is a key time for professional identity development, and currently we know little about how doctoral students develop identities as college teachers. In this qualitative study, we aim to characterize the factors that promote and hinder teaching identity among 33 life sciences doctoral students with diverse career interests at one research university. We collected data using semi‐structured interviews and analyzed it using qualitative analysis closely aligned with grounded theory. Our analysis involved iteratively and collaboratively analyzing interview transcripts while considering existing literature about socialization and professional identity and remaining open to novel ideas in the data. From this analysis, we developed a mechanistic model of the factors that influenced teaching identity in our participants. Independent teaching experiences, teaching professional development, and teaching mentors contributed to salient and stable teaching identities among doctoral students. Being recognized by faculty as a teacher was also important, but rare. The professional culture that doctoral students perceived acted like a blizzard that they had to navigate through to develop a teaching identity. This culture strongly valued research over teaching, resulting in a sometimes cold and isolating environment for students interested in teaching. The culture also made it harder to see existing opportunities for teaching development and made it more challenging to move toward these opportunities, much like the deep snow and driving winds of a blizzard. The mechanistic model described in this work is an important first step in understanding how doctoral training influences teaching identity. This model serves as a hypothesis that should be tested and refined through additional empirical work across contexts.

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Section: Guiding Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

A model of the factors influencing teaching identity among life sciences doctoral students

et al. 2018

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“…This is in contrast to the reality that many GTAs are interested in teaching ( Tanner and Allen, 2006 ) and anticipate that teaching will be part of their future professional careers ( Sauermann and Roach, 2012 ). Departments and institutions could make a positive impact on both the teaching abilities of future faculty members and the development of appropriate teacher/scholar professional identities if they invested more time and resources in GTA PD ( Brownell and Tanner, 2012 ; Kendall et al ., 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparing Biology Graduate Teaching Assistants for Their Roles as Instructors: An Assessment of Institutional Approaches

Schussler

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et al. 2015

LSE

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107

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“…In some cases, there is a trade-off between research and teaching at the individual and university level (but see Hattie and Marsh 1996). At the least, some graduate students want to be defined by their research, others by their teaching, and others by a combination thereof (see Kendall et al 2013). Often, the tone that is set by the university or department affects the tone of individual graduate students.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Graduate student mentoring of undergraduates in the context of multi-level mentoring: Individual, departmental, and university responsibilities

Stoffer

2015

IEE

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Departments Can Develop Teaching Identities of Graduate Students

Cited by 11 publications

References 3 publications

A model of the factors influencing teaching identity among life sciences doctoral students

A model of the factors influencing teaching identity among life sciences doctoral students

Preparing Biology Graduate Teaching Assistants for Their Roles as Instructors: An Assessment of Institutional Approaches

Graduate student mentoring of undergraduates in the context of multi-level mentoring: Individual, departmental, and university responsibilities

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