The Teaching Experiences, Readiness, and Training of Sociology Graduate Student Instructors

• In Event: 315 - Open Refereed Roundtables Session. B. Table 01 Shared and Contested Spaces
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 07. Education and Educators

Abstract

Despite the fact that the vast majority of sociology graduate programs employ their graduate students as teachers and programs increasingly train them to teach (Blouin and Moss 2015), few recent studies have explored the impact of teacher training on graduate student teaching experiences and readiness. At a time when the high cost and the general utility of a college degree are under increasing scrutiny the impact of teacher training for future faculty seems particularly important (Arum & Roksa 2011; Hacker & Dreifus 2010). Put simply, we need to know more about how we are training future professors, and how well this training works. This paper is part of an ongoing study of the quantity, quality, and effectiveness of teacher training offered in sociology graduate programs. To learn more about the teaching experiences of graduate student instructors and the efficacy of the various types of training, a colleague* and I interviewed 32 sociology graduate student instructors. Eleven of those interviews are analyzed here. Among other things I find that the amount and quality of teacher training experiences varies widely between graduate students and departments. Furthermore, I find that in the absence of faculty involvement in teacher training, graduate students lean heavily on other graduate students for both teaching expertise and support.

Author

• David D. Blouin, Indiana University South Bend