Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1887807

CharacteristicsofExemplaryProgramsinPreparing

GraduateAssistantstoTeachEconomics

MartinMilkman,ProfessorofEconomics

DepartmentofEconomicsandFinance

MurrayStateUniversity

Murray,KY42071

martin.milkman@murraystate.edu

phone:270‐809‐4282

fax:270‐809‐5478

and

JamesP.McCoy,DistinguishedProfessorofEconomics

DepartmentofEconomicsandFinance

MurrayStateUniversity

Murray,KY42071

jim.mccoy@murraystate.edu

phone:270‐809‐4274

fax:270‐809‐5478

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1887807

CharacteristicsofExemplaryProgramsinPreparing

GraduateAssistantstoTeachEconomics

Abstract

Previousresearchhasconcludedthatasawhole,AmericanEconomicsdoctoralprogramsdonotdoanadequatejoboftrainingPh.D.studentstoteacheconomics.Thispaperreportsinformationgleanedfromeighteconomicsdoctoralgrantingschoolsthathavebeenidentifiedashavingexemplaryprogramsinpreparinggraduatestudentstoteach.Wefirstreporttheirresponsestogeneralquestionsconcerningtheirformsofteachertraining/preparation.Wethenreportresponsestoquestionswhichaskedaboutparticularcharacteristicsoftheirteachertrainingprograms.Weconcludethateventhoughourrespondentsappeartobedoingwellintermsparticipationoftheirgraduatestudents,aswellascontentcoveragewithintheirprograms,twoareasmaydeservefurtherattention:coverageofalternativelearningstyles,andpossiblymoreimportant,systematicevaluationofteachertrainingprogramsindoctoraleconomicsprograms.

CharacteristicsofExemplaryProgramsinPreparing

GraduateAssistantstoTeachEconomics

Introduction

Manyeconomicsdepartmentsrelyontheirgraduatestudentstoeitherteach

independentclassesand/ortoleadrecitationclasses.However,WalstadandBecker(2010)in

arecentsurveyofPh.D.economicsprogramsfindsthatmanyschoolsdonotrequirethat

graduatestudentstakeafor‐creditclassbeforeteachingeitheranindependentclassorleading

recitationclasses.Theyalsonotetherehasbeen“littlechangeinperceptionsabout

economicsdepartmentpracticesrelatedtoteachingpreparationofeconomicsgraduate

studentsovertheinterveningsixyears”(WalstadandBecker,2010p.207).Inasurveyof

recentgraduatesofU.S.economicsPH.D.programs,whoarenowteachingatU.S.and

Canadiancollegesanduniversities,McCoyandMilkman(2010)findthat“onlyhalfofour

respondentswhotaughtastand‐alonecourseduringtheirdoctoralprogramsandonly41

percentofthosewhoconductedrecitationsectionshadanysuchtraining”(p.214)inteaching

economics.

Thispaperusessurveydatafromasmallsampleofschoolsthathavebeenidentifiedas

havingexemplaryprogramsinpreparinggraduatestudentstoteacheconomics.When

studentsarehiredtoteacheconomicseitheringraduateschoolorwhentheyenterthejob

marketitisimportanttheyarepreparedtoteach.Hopefullythispaperwillstimulatefurther

discussionofthisimportanttopicandpossiblyitcanbeusedasaresourceforgraduate

economicsprogramsastheycontinuetodevelopandimproveteachertrainingprogramsfor

theirPH.D.students.ManyofthequestionsinoursurveyarederivedfromSalemi(2003)who

outlinesamodelteachereducationprogramforeconomists.

Oftheelevenschoolsthatweresentsurveys,nineoftheschoolsreturnedcompleted

surveys.However,oneoftheschoolsindicatedthatteachertrainingofPhD.studentswasof

“secondaryconcern,”sowedecidedtoreportontheresponsesoftheothereightschools:

IndianaUniversity,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity,UniversityofMinnesota,Universityof

NebraskaLincoln,UniversityofNorthCarolinaChapelHill,UniversityofKentucky,Universityof

NewHampshire,andtheUniversityofPittsburg.

Thefirstpartofthesurveyaskedgeneralquestionsconcerningtheformsofteacher

training/preparationfordoctoraleconomicsstudents,specifically,whataretheydoingandhow

aretheydoingit?Respondentswerepromptedaboutwhethertheirtrainingtooktheformof

informalorformalclasses,whetherstudentsreceivecreditornoncredittraining,andwhether

thetrainingincludesamentoringsystem.Theresponsestothispartofthesurveyare

addressedinthefirstsectionofthepaperbysummarizingeachoftheeightschools’answers.

Thesecondsetofquestionsaskedwhethercertaintopicsareaddressedduringthetraining,

whetherthereisdirectsupervisionand/orevaluationofdoctoralstudentteaching,and

whetherthereisanevaluationoftheeffectivenessoftheirteachertrainingprograms.Section

IIsummarizestheresponsestothesequeries.Wethenofferabriefconclusion.

I.SummaryofRespondents’ApproachestoTeacherTraining

Webeginwithadescriptionofthegeneralformsofteachertraininginwhichoureight

respondentsareengaged.AtIndianaUniversity,allgraduatestudentswhointendtoholdan

associateinstructorpositionarerequiredtoattendacourseonteachinginthespringsemester

oftheirfirstyear.Thecontentofthecoursehasvariedastheinstructoroftheclasshas

changed.Itisathreehourgraduateclasswhichrequiresregularattendanceandout‐of‐class

assignments.Theclassincludesadiscussionofpedagogy,policyissues,andinclasstrainingon

teachingtechniques.

IndianaUniversity,Bloomington(IU)teachesaclassduringthespringsemesterofthe

firstyearforallgraduatestudentswhointendtoholdanassociateinstructorposition.Students

receivethreecreditsandtheclassrequiresattendance,out‐of‐classassignments,discussionof

bothpedagogyandpolicyissuesandin‐classtrainingonteachingtechniques.Studentsreceive

informationregardinguniversitypoliciesandregulationsregardingteaching.TheIUstudents

havemicroteachingandlearnvariouslecturingstrategiesandotherstrategies,instructionson

testingandotherassessments,andtheuseoflearningobjectivesincoursedesign.

AtPennState,onlysummerclassesareassignedtobetaughtbygraduatestudents.

Duringthefallandspringtheyserveonlyasteachingassistants.Graduatestudentswhointend

toteachtheirownsummerclassmustattendatrainingsessiontaughtbyseniorlecturers.

Studentsinthetrainingsessionmustpreparetheirsyllabusandfirstlecture.

Firstyearteachingassistantsdonotteachtheirownclasses,butallteachingassistants

arerequiredtoparticipateinaone‐weekcourseattheUniversityofKentuckypriortotheir

secondyearintheprogram.Studentsreceiveonecredithourforthisclass.Theinstructorsof

theweeklongclassteachthebasicsofputtingtheirclasstogetherandusinggoodtechnique.

Studentsintheclassalsoreceiveemailsthatcontainsyllabusstructureandgradingpolicy.

Teachingassistantsareprovidedmaterialsandinstructiononskeletonnotes,writing

assignments,discussiontechniques,teamlearning,demonstrations;participatoryexamples,

grouppresentations,clickers,incorporationofthearts,andexperiments.Duringthesemester

eachteachingassistantisauditedonceortwiceduringthesemesterfollowedbyaone‐on‐one

conference.

TheUniversityofMinnesota‐TwinCitieshasafour‐dayorientationworkshopfornew

teachingassistantsbeforethestartofthefallsemester.Theworkshopintroducesdepartmental

teachingpoliciesandtechniques.ResourcespeakersincludetheChair,theDirectorof

GraduateStudies,theDirectorofUndergraduateStudies,theAssociateAdministrator,faculty

andadvancedgraduateteachingassistants.Inaddition,eachsemesterateachingworkshopis

offeredfocusinguponteachingeffectivenessandimprovement.Allteachingassistantsmust

attendtheseworkshops.Ahandbookthatcontainsinformationaboutundergraduateteaching

anddepartmentpoliciesisalsogiventoallgraduateteachingassistants.Allinternational

studentsmustalsofirstpassa“SPEAKTest”inordertoteach.

ThegraduateschooloftheUniversityofNewHampshireoffersa12creditprogram

throughthegraduateschool.Itiscompletelyvoluntaryandsomestudentsonlyparticipateina

partoftheprogram.Theclassisdividedinto3classescomprising12creditstotal.Thereisa

coreclassofferedbytheUniversity’sCollegeTeachingfacultyfor4credits.Thereisanother4

creditclassonfieldanddisciplinarystudiesofferedbythedoctoralcandidate’sspecific

disciplinaryfaculty(e.g.economics),andanadditionalfourcreditsforacollegeteachingpraxis

consistingoftwoseparateteachingexperiences.

TheUniversityofNebraska(Lincoln)requiresallteachingassistantstoattendathree

credithourclassdevotedtoteachingeconomics.Theclassistaughtbyeconomicsfaculty.

Someofthisclassislive,whilesomeison‐line.Inadditionallinternationalstudentsforwhom

Englishisnotthenativelanguagearerequiredtoattendatwoweektrainingcoursesponsored

bytheGraduateCollege.

TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHillrequiresparticipationofallgraduate

teachingassistantswhoserveaseitherteachingassistantsorteachanindependentcoursein

theirTeacherTrainingProgram(TTP).Therearetwomodulesintheteacherpreparation

programwhichisdesignedandteamtaughtbythreefacultymemberswithinthedepartment.

Thefirstmoduleistaughtinthefallandisdesignedforgraduatestudentswhowillserveas

assistants,whilethesecondmoduleistaughtinthespringandisdesignedforgraduate

studentswhowillteachindependentclasses.Studentswhocompletebothmodulesreceive

threehoursofgraduatecredit.Participantsareexpectedtoattendeverysession.Eachsession

(fiveinthefallmodule,fourinthespring)requiresaboutthreehoursofhomework.

TheUniversityofPittsburghhasaonecreditcoursethatistaughtbyfacultywithinthe

department.Sincenoneofthefirstyeareconomicsgraduatestudentsdoanyteaching,the

graduateteachingassistantsareenrolledintheteachertrainingclassatthebeginningoftheir

secondyear.Theclassmeetsfor2hourseverytwoorthreeweeksoverthefallsemester.One

sessioninvolvesseniorgraduatestudentswhileinanothersessionapanelofundergraduate

studentsofferstipsonthingsthattheylikeintheclassroomaswellasinrecitationsections.In

addition,eachstudentisvideotapedteachingandthenshe/hemeetswithpersonnelfromthe

InstructionalSupportOfficetoreviewher/histape.Facultymembersinchargeofeachcourse

makeatleastoneclassroomvisittoobservehoweachstudentisdoing.

II.TeacherTrainingProgramContent

Thissectionsummarizesresponsestospecificquestionsaboutourrespondents’teacher

trainingprograms.Alleightofourrespondentsincludedescriptionsofvariouslecturing

strategiesandtechniquesaswellasalternativeteachingstrategiesinadditiontolecturing(such

asactivelearning).Sevenofeightofourrespondentsassurethatteachertrainingparticipants

receiveinformationregardinguniversitypoliciesandregulationsregardingteachingattheir

specificuniversityand/orwithintheirparticulardepartment.Similarly,sevenoftheeight(with

onesimplyfailingtorespond)indicatedthattheyprovideinstructionontestingandother

assessment.Again,sevenofeightincludeadescriptionoftheuseoflearningobjectiveswhen

developingacourse’sstructure.Sevenoftheeightalsorequirepracticeteaching/teaching

warmups/microteachingbeforeallowingstudentstoteach“forreal.”However,onlyfourof

ourrespondentscoveralternativelearningtheoriesduringtheirteachertrainingprograms.

Sevenofoureightrespondentsrequiredirectsupervision/observation/evaluationof

doctoratestudentsteachinginrecitationsectionsorstandalonecourses.Thisdirect

observationistypicallyperformedbyTAcoordinators,seniorlecturers,ormentoringfaculty

members.

Whenaskedtodescribehowtheeffectivenessoftheirteachingtrainingprogramsis

evaluated,onlyfivetheeightrespondedthattheirprogramwasindeedevaluatedinsomeway.

Forthemostpart,ourrespondentsseemtorelyuponevaluatingtheeffectivenessofthe

teachingoftheirdoctoralstudentsasameasureoftheeffectivenessoftheirteachingtraining

program.Thisevaluationoftheteachingoftheirdoctoralstudentsisdonebythetraditional

methodsofanonymousstudentevaluationsanddirectclassobservation.Oneofour

respondentsadministersafinalexamwithsomecommonquestionsacrossallprinciples

sectionstaughtbydifferentinstructors,includingtheirdoctoralstudents,andthenuses

studentperformanceonthesecommonquestionsasonemeasureofinstructional

effectiveness.Onlythreerespondentsappeartoattempttoevaluatetheirteachertraining

programs“directly.”Twoofthemsurveyprogramparticipantsabouttheirexperienceinthe

programatitsconclusionwhiletheotherconductsinterviewswithparticipantsandasksthem

directlyabouttheirexperienceintheprogram.

Thefinalquestiononoursurveyaskedrespondentstosharewithusanyother

commentstheyhaveregardingtheirteachertrainingprogramswhichcolleaguesmightfind

interestingorhelpful.Onerespondentindicatedthattheyinitiallyrequiredtheirteacher

trainingbeforetheirdoctoralstudentstaught,butthisdidn’tworksowellbecausedoctoral

studentshadlittleinterestinteachertrainingwhentheywerenotactuallyteaching.Theynow

runtheirteachertrainingcourseconcurrentwiththeirdoctoralstudents’firstteaching

assignmentandthisseemstoworkbetter.

III.Conclusion

First,weacknowledgetheneedforexpansionofourresearchbeforereachingtoomany

firmconclusions.Weusedtheresponsesofonlyeightschools,andweunderstandthat

surveyingmoreschoolsknownforteacherpreparationoftheirdoctoraleconomicsstudents

maybehelpful.However,somepreliminaryobservationsarepossible.

Asageneralrule,andnotsurprisinglysincewehadalreadyidentifiedtheseschoolsas

havinghighqualityteachertrainingprograms,ourrespondentsappeartobedoingwellin

termsofparticipationoftheirgraduatestudentsaswellascontentwithintheirprograms.

However,possiblytwoareasmayneedfurtherthoughtandattention.First,theremaybea

voidinthecoverageofalternativelearningstylesinsomeprograms.Second,andpossiblymore

important,itappearsthatevenmanyofourexemplaryprogramshavenotspecifically

addressedtheissueofevaluatingtheirteachertrainingprograms.Dotheseprogramsactually

producebetterteachersvs.havingnoteacherpreparationatall?Arethegoodhabitsof

graduatestudentteachersdirectlytraceabletotheteacherpreparationtheyhavecompleted?

Aregraduatesofteachertrainingprogramsmorelikelytosecurepositionsrequiringsignificant

teachingand/orbesuccessfulinthosepositionsoncesecured?Thesearequestionsthatwe

haveonlyjustbeguntoanswer,atonlyafewoftheleadingedgeprograms,butthesewould

appeartobequestionswewouldliketoanswerasweinvestfurtherinteacherpreparationin

doctoraleconomicsprograms.

References

McCoy,J.P.,andM.I.Milkman.2010.DorecentPh.D.economistsfeelpreparedtoteacheconomics?JournalofEconomicEducation41:211‐215.

Salemi,M.K.2003.Amodelteachertrainingprogramforeconomics.AmericanEconomicReview9:455‐59.

Walstad,W.B.,andW.E.Becker.2010.Preparinggraduatestudentsineconomicsforteaching:surveyfindingsandrecommendations.JournalofEconomicEducation41:202‐10.