Looking into the Teaching Crystal: Graduate Teaching and the Future of Political Science

Buehler, Melissa J.; Marcum, Anthony

doi:10.1080/15512160601115372

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…To be sure, several recent works have examined graduate student experiences as "trainees" (see Hesli, Fink, and Duffy 2003;Buehler and Marcum 2007) and have offered recommendations to improve the content of graduate student training. Others have examined programs that have produced "award winning teachers" (Cole and Ishiyama 2008), but nothing has been published that broadly reviews the extent to which Ph.D.-granting departments explicitly train graduate students on how to teach.…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Training the Next Generation of Teaching Professors: A Comparative Study of Ph.D. Programs in Political Science

Ishiyama

Miles

Balarezo

2010

APSC

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In this article, we investigate the graduate curricula of political science programs and 122 Ph.D.-granting political science programs in the United States and how they seek to prepare political science teachers.We first investigate whether the department offers a dedicated political science course at the graduate level on college teaching, and whether the presence of this class correlates with the size of the department, the size of the university, the ranking of the department, and so on. We find that whether a program offers a graduate course on teaching is inversely related to the research productivity of a department, and that departments at public institutions are more likely to offer such courses than are departments at private institutions. Second, we conduct content analysis of a sample of syllabi from departments that offer such courses to ascertain the kinds of topics that are covered. Finally, we briefly describe some model programs that seek to prepare graduate students for teaching careers that integrate graduate student teacher training throughout the Ph.D. program.I n this article, we investigate the graduate curriculum of political science programs across 122 Ph.D.-granting political science programs in the United States and examine whether the programs offer a graduate course on teaching political science. Little or no systematic work has been conducted that investigates the proportion of Ph.D. programs that overtly prepare their graduates for teaching in the profession. In conducting such an examination, we first investigate whether the department offers a dedicated course at the graduate level on college teaching, and whether this offering correlates with the size of the department, the size of the university, and the ranking of the department, among other factors. Second, we conduct a content analysis of a sample of syllabi from departments that offer such courses to ascertain the kinds of topics that are covered. Finally, we briefly describe some model programs that seek to prepare graduate students for teaching careers that integrate graduate student teacher training throughout the Ph.D. program. This project purports to fill an important gap in our understanding of how our discipline as a whole trains future political science teachers. LITERATUREOver the years, there has been an increasing call to improve the quality of graduate education in the social sciences. In particular, many studies have indicated that in the social sciences, graduate programs have failed to adequately prepare doctoral students for the changing character of higher education, particularly in terms of teacher training for careers at institutions that emphasize undergraduate teaching. Indeed, there is considerable evidence that most available faculty positions are located at institutions that primarily focus on teaching. T h e P r o f e s s i o n .. ......................................................................................................................................................................

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Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Training the Next Generation of Teaching Professors: A Comparative Study of Ph.D. Programs in Political Science

Ishiyama

Miles

Balarezo

2010

APSC

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“…In contrast, other research shows that most graduate programs are not sufficiently preparing their doctoral students for a faculty career and for a career as teachers, in particular (Gaff et al 2003;Buehler and Marcum, 2007). A study by Gaff et al (2003 p.3) found that while some graduate programs offer teacher training and teaching experience these experiences aren't always well structured and do not adequately tackle issues such as 'assessment, different types of student learning, the pedagogy of the discipline, curricular innovations, the impact of technology on education, or the variety of teaching styles that might be helpful with students from different racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds'.…”

Section: B: Teacher Trainingmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A study by Gaff et al (2003 p.3) found that while some graduate programs offer teacher training and teaching experience these experiences aren't always well structured and do not adequately tackle issues such as 'assessment, different types of student learning, the pedagogy of the discipline, curricular innovations, the impact of technology on education, or the variety of teaching styles that might be helpful with students from different racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds'. In their comparative analysis of graduate's teaching philosophies and behaviour, Buehler and Marcum (2007) Mentoring and apprentice style approaches to teacher training have been employed innovatively and successfully in Miami University (Ohio) and Baylor University (Texas) 9 respectively in a manner that has not placed a 'strain on resources or faculty time' (Ishiyama et al 2010 p.521) Adopting shadowing and mentoring techniques the Baylor program developed an active teacher training that gives graduate instructors a structured, supported and meaningful teaching experience. As a small University it decided against developing a specific course on teaching in political science and 'apprenticed' graduate students to senior faculty instead.…”

Section: B: Teacher Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Best practices in professional development in graduate education

Harris¹

2015

Handbook on Teaching and Learning in Political Science and International Relations

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“…An online community of GTAs could dialogue to share experiences and problems from their different sites. This could provide a way of bolstering the peer support that GTAs provide each other and even facilitate a virtual GTA peer mentor system with more experienced GTAs or early career academics linked to newer teachers (Buehler and Marcum, 2007).…”

Section: The Role Of Associations and Learned Societiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Training graduate teaching assistants: What can the discipline offer?

Barr

Wright

2018

Eur Polit Sci

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Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) provide an invaluable contribution to higher education yet their role is often overlooked and understudied. We report on a UK based study to describe the experience and views of GTAs with particular focus on training and professional development. Our findings draw from a survey of 32 GTAs along with informal group discussions with a small number of undergraduates and academic staff. Given the importance of subject specific training, we conclude that the development and support of GTAs, as well as early career academics, may be better provided for by learned societies and academic associations within the discipline.

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Looking into the Teaching Crystal: Graduate Teaching and the Future of Political Science

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

Training the Next Generation of Teaching Professors: A Comparative Study of Ph.D. Programs in Political Science

Training the Next Generation of Teaching Professors: A Comparative Study of Ph.D. Programs in Political Science

Best practices in professional development in graduate education

Training graduate teaching assistants: What can the discipline offer?

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