Graduate Student Instructor Training Workshop

COMM 993 -- Fall 2019
5386 NQ; Mondays 8:30 a.m. (Thursdays 6:00 p.m. after 9 Sep)
Prof. Sandvig, University of Michigan
http://umich.edu/~csandvig/993F19

 

Announcements

 

 

Instructor

Prof. Christian Sandvig
csandvig@umich.edu
734/763-0861
http://umich.edu/~csandvig
Office: 5385 North Quad
My mailbox is in the Communication Studies 5th floor mailbox room (5334 North Quad)
Office Hours: 1:00-2:00 p.m. Mondays 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

Course Credit

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

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. (Sep 2:) NO CLASS -- Labor Day Holiday
  2. (Sep 9:) What are We Doing Here? (Undergraduate Teaching)
  3. (Sep 19:) Facilitating Discussion
  4. (Sep 26:) The Troubled Student
  5. (Oct 3:) Inclusive Teaching
    CLASS CANCELLED for 1st Year Project Presentations (readings still due)
  6. (Oct 10:) Providing Effective Feedback
  7. (Oct 17:) Professional Teaching Norms
  8. (Oct 24:) Motivating Student Learning
  9. (Oct 31:) Assessment & Evaluation
  10. (Thu Nov 7:) Pedagogical Philosophies Reading Week I -- NO CLASS MEETING
  11. (Thu Nov 14:) Pedagogical Philosophies Reading Week II -- NO CLASS MEETING.
  12. (Thu Nov 21:) Teaching in Communication
  13. (Thu Nov 28:) NO CLASS -- Thanksgiving Break
  14. (Thu Dec 5:) Demonstrating "Teaching Effectiveness"
    IMPORTANT: This class meeting will be rescheduled to an alternative time and location. This information will be distributed in class.
  15. (Thu Dec 12:) NO CLASS -- Finals Week
     
  16. (Thu Dec 13: -- Friday:) FINAL STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY DUE
    IMPORTANT: The statement of teaching philosophy is due at 1:30 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.

(tl;dr)