Instructional Technology Conference 2008

Title: Changing the Graduate Student Paradigm: Immersed in Learning about Teaching

Name: Dr. Maria A. Clayton, Seokhee Cho, Leah S. Jobe, Dominic M. Ofori, O'Neal, Wilfred G. Robles.

Audience Level: All

Audience: Faculty [primarily] but all other audiences would benefit

Length:

Abstract:
Should we combat the paradigm that the goal of graduate studies is the preparation of content-area experts, preparation devoid of training in pedagogy? Will these aspiring experts somehow know how to teach once they complete their degrees? Or, will they teach as they were taught, however outdated the methods they were exposed to might be? An MTSU faculty member shares strategies for combating the paradigm in a graduate course. The session focuses on assignments that integrate technology, on how students participate in them [producing sharable learning objects], and on access to the evolving annotated bibliography compiled by these prospective educators.

Description:
It is generally understood, a long-standing tradition, that in most graduate programs the goal of graduate studies is the preparation of content-area experts, preparation devoid of any training in pedagogical concerns. The assumption is that these aspiring experts will somehow know how to teach once they complete their degrees; however, the reality is that without any formal training, particularly in current pedagogical theory and practice, they teach as they were taught, however outdated the methods they were exposed to might be. This is the status quo, a paradigm. In recent academic history, the Doctor of Arts degree (DA), the brainchild of the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching in Higher Education and Carnegie Mellon University in the 1960's, evidenced awareness by individuals in higher education about the lack of pedagogical training and presented a solution. Labeled as "the college teaching doctorate,"; it was intended to bridge the gap between the research-based Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the education-based Doctor of Education (EdD); it aimed at preparing content-area experts who would also have pedagogical background, "scholar teachers"; (White, and McBeth). However, intended to be the equal of its research-based sibling, the PhD, the DA was not widely accepted or respected and has been phased out of many higher education terminal degree programs. While there is some acknowledgement in higher education that teaching is important—it is, after all, one of the major areas involved in the faculty tenure and promotion process: teaching, research/publication, service—little to no formal instruction to insure success is made available to graduate students setting their hopes on college teaching careers. If they are fortunate enough to garner positions in higher education, these young faculty are expected to be competent, if not to excel, in this area in order to achieve their goals of climbing the academic ladder.

I think we do our graduate students a disservice if we fail to build in pedagogical training into their programs. At Middle Tennessee State University's English Department, this role has fallen on most courses in the Rhetoric and Composition area, where, along with the courses' content, students are exposed to current theory and practice so they can begin to develop teaching styles grounded on the best the discipline has to offer. In the graduate course I teach, English 6580/7580, Computers in Writing, my students move towards this objective through three key assignments: 1) collaborating on an annotated bibliography focused on current theory and practice and on integrating computer technology into composition and into the teaching of composition; 2) writing a paper based on the scholarship of teaching and learning; 3) and producing a shareable learning object focusing on pedagogically sound technology integration [and aimed at submission to MERLOT's repository]. It is my objective to move my students towards merging pedagogical theory and practical application to gain a "real world"; feel for the efficacy of using computer technology in the writing process, thus, preparing them to excel in the teaching of their content area.

The session focuses on detailing the assignments that integrate technology, showing how students participate in them [producing sharable learning objects], and sharing access to the evolving annotated bibliography compiled by these prospective educators.

White, Stephen R., and Mark K. Mcbeth. "A History of the Doctor of Arts
Tradition in American Higher Education."; Education 123 (Summer 2003) Questia. 1 October 2007

Session Type: Lecture/Presentation

Contact information/affiliation:
Dr. Maria A. Clayton
Associate Professor, English Department
Middle Tennessee State University
mclayton@mtsu.edu

Equipment: Projection hardware, computer, internet connection

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